How to make a Popcorn Snack Board for Movie Night
Calling all popcorn lovers! I've got a snack board that's calling your name. Instead of a charcuterie board, we're assembling all the things you want to nibble on while watching a movie, including lots of popcorn.
For any popcorn snack board, you can do it with a theme. I’m doing mine with a Hufflepuff theme to eat while I rewatch the first Fantastic Beasts movies before the new one comes out. I’m sticking with a yellow color palette for this. You can add in some treats from your movie or tv series too, if they’re easy enough to find or make. I really wanted to include some yellow jelly beans and chocolate frogs, but both were too difficult to find (even though yellow jelly beans should be easy to find around Easter??).
Make a List
Start by making a list of all the things you could add to your board. This is the fun brainstorming phase. Use Pinterest for inspiration–look for color themes, party food people have made for that show, foods from cultures the movies are inspired by, etc.
My wish list had a bunch of foods that I like with some sweet and some salty and some savory and filling:
Popcorn (of course)
Yellow jelly beans
Chocolate frogs
Hard boiled eggs
Hummus (link)
Plantain chips
Yellow bell pepper
Dried mango
Narrow it Down
Start to find a focus for your board, making sure you have different textures, flavors, colors, etc. I always like to make sure I have some elements that are more filling so I’m not just endlessly snacking. For me this was hard boiled eggs, hummus, and dried mango. Some other options could include jerky, nut butters, Greek yogurt dip, and fruits and veggies.
Choose a popcorn! You can use your favorite popcorn for this. Microwave, stovetop, air popped, Skinny Pop, Boom Chicka Pop, buy it from the movie theater… You choose!
Make sure to keep it FUN
You know those snacks that you can endlessly eat? Make sure you don’t exclude those! You’re portioning out how much will be available to you, so you can use as little or as much as you’d like. Measure it out if you want! Don’t include elements that you don’t like. It’s your snack board!
How to Style your Popcorn Snack Board
I chose a wooden tray for my snack board, but you can use whatever you have available–a baking dish, tray, sheet pan, aluminum foil pan, cardboard box…the possibilities are endless. Use parchment paper, a paper bag, paper towels, etc. to line it if it’s not necessarily food safe. My wooden tray might have absorbed too much oil from the popcorn, so I decided to line mine with parchment paper.
“We eat first with our eyes” - Apicius
Okay, so it is your snack board and you can arrange it any way you want. But if you want it to be pretty, here are some tips:
Make a swirl
Start in the center and gradually spiral the line as you add more items. Think peppermint candy if you have a smaller serving.
Line everything up
Whatever you have the most of in the middle, build out from there. Think stripes! Go diagonally, horizontally, or vertically.
Polka dots
If you have a lot of bowls or smaller items, try making polka dots! Spread popcorn out over your tray and make an opening to place each of your other elements.
Character
This will take some artistic talent, but if you have the right colored items, you could make them shaped like a character from your show! It would’ve been really cute to make a niffler with chocolate elements (cookies, candies, licorice, etc.) and have the popcorn surrounding him!
