A low oven temperature of 250 °F (121 °C) will reheat the popcorn without easily burning it or drying it out.
Use a baking sheet that has at least a shallow rim around it to avoid spilling popcorn when you put the baking sheet in the oven or when you take it out.
You can use this time to prepare any seasonings you plan to add to the popcorn. For example, if you want to add some butter, you could melt the butter while the popcorn reheats.
If it’s too awkward to pour the popcorn directly from the baking sheet into the bowl, you could set it on the counter and use a large spoon or scoop of some kind to transfer the popcorn.
Use a flat dish if possible so you can spread the popcorn out more evenly. If you don’t have a large microwaveable dish, you can heat the popcorn up in batches in a smaller dish. If you’re making popcorn for multiple people, you could even just heat up each person’s serving separately.
For example, some microwaves just have 3 power settings: low, medium, and high. Others have a scale of 1-10 or different percentages. If your microwave has a scale of 1-10, put the heat on 5. If it has percentages, choose 50%.
Every microwave is different, so it’s best to always start with a small amount of time to avoid overheating the popcorn, which can give it a hard texture.
Microwaves have hot spots, so try stirring the popcorn around between intervals to get it to reheat more evenly.
You can also get popcorn makers that have built-in warming display cases if you want to pop your popcorn professionally as well, just like at the movie theater!
If you don’t have anywhere to put the warmer, you can also buy or rent antique-style carts and stands that you can set the case on.
Depending how big the popcorn warmer is, there might be a button to turn on the heat lamp on the left side and a button to turn on the heat lamp on the right side. If you have a popcorn maker with a warming case, there will be 3 buttons at the top of the machine. The button to turn on the heat lamp in the display case is typically the third button.
If you got a popcorn maker and warming display case combo, pour popcorn kernels into the machine’s kettle, then press the first 2 buttons at the top of the machine to turn on the kettle heat and the motor.
If you are using a popcorn maker with a built-in warmer, tilt the handle on the side of the display case to dump the popcorn out of the kettle into the warmer. Be sure to turn off the heat switch and the motor for the kettle if you aren’t going to make any more popcorn.
