Popcorn Salad

Being a blogger around the holidays isn’t always easy.  My family likes me to make their traditional favorites and since I blogged most of them the first year, I’m at a loss for posts.  I solved the problem by making at least one new side dish and one new dessert every holiday.  The holidays where we have large family gatherings are always the best.  More people = more food!

This year I laughed out loud when I found a new salad recipe.  I was cruising through Pinterest late one night instead of sleeping and saw the recipe for Popcorn Salad.  Unable to believe my eyes, I had to take the link to the recipe’s site and read the ingredients.  Oh man, it sounded good!  The next morning I read it again, double checking to make sure I wasn’t just hungry the previous night.  Nope, it still looked good.

But honestly this quirky salad was going to be another recipe my family teased me about.  They’ve done it many times then ended up loving the recipe.  I don’t mind the teasing if it becomes a favorite of at least 2 or 3 family members.  I have to be in the mood to eat popcorn, and even I was interested!

Popcorn Salad

Popcorn salad is thrown together at the last minute.  That’s a plus for Thanksgiving cooking when we’re traveling 20 miles to the family gathering at my sister’s house.  I could make it all ahead of time and toss together in a bowl just before the meal.

I had mixed the mayo, celery, cheddar, water chestnuts, carrots and chives in a bowl and stored it covered in the fridge.  In smaller zippered bags I had the reserved celery, cheese and bacon to use as garnish.

In a separate bag I had the bacon to mix in the salad itself.  I knew if I mixed it in with the mayo ahead of time it might get all soggy and limp.  Best to keep it crispy alone.  Prep work was done and ready for travel.

At my sister’s house I waited until I had all of the other dishes I brought set up, then assembled my popcorn salad.  I’d brought a large bowl and added the popcorn my sister microwaved for me.  Next I scooped in the mayo mixture and the bacon pieces and folded it until the popcorn was coated.

Finally I sprinkled the bag of reserved bits over the top as garnish and added a spoon to the bowl.  Ready to impress!

Many of my family members did love this salad.  It’s hard to imagine before actually tasting it but it all goes well together.  I wasn’t a huge fan but as I said before, I’m not a popcorn fan really.  There wasn’t much leftover and I didn’t taste it the next day.  It looked soggy and sad.  It’s truly a one meal salad.  I also say it was a one-time salad.  We tried it, it was ok, we can move on to new adventures in salads!

Popcorn Salad

• Servings: 8-10 servings
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A fun cold vegetable salad with popcorn! It might be your new favorite quirky salad!

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 + 1/4 cup celery
• 1 + 1/4 cup cheddar cheese; shredded and divided
• 8 oz water chestnuts; sliced or chopped
• 1/2 + 1/4 cup bacon bits; divided
• 1/4 cup carrots; shredded
• 2 tablespoons chives; minced
• 6 cups popcorn; popped

Add mayo, 1 cup cheddar cheese, water chestnuts, 1/2 cup bacon, carrots and chives to a large bowl. Mix well.

Add popped popcorn and stir gently until coated.

Garnish with the 1/4 cup celery, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup bacon bits. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Homemade Hooplah