Frosted Marshmallow Popcorn Balls
Oct 19, 2015, Updated Oct 29, 2025
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Held together with a mixture of melted marshmallows and butter, and dipped in frosting, these marshmallow Popcorn Balls make great treats for kids, especially around Halloween!
I first made these Frosted Popcorn Balls for my daughter’s classroom Halloween party eons ago, and now they’ve become a yearly tradition. They’re sticky, sweet, and a little bit messy, which, in my book, means they’re exactly right.
Held together with gooey melted marshmallows and butter, then dipped in sweet frosting, these popcorn balls are a fun, no-bake treat that both kids and adults can’t resist. Whether you’re making them for Halloween, school parties, or a Friday movie night, these sticky-sweet popcorn balls are quick to make and even quicker to disappear!
Why You’ll Love This Popcorn Balls Recipe
- Quick & easy: Made in about 20 minutes with simple pantry ingredients.
- Kid-approved: Perfect for little hands and classroom parties.
- Customizable: Use colored frosting, candy drizzle, or sprinkles for any holiday.
- No corn syrup: These are made with melted marshmallows instead of the traditional sugar syrup! Easier, safer, and just as delicious!
What You’ll Need
For the popcorn balls
- Freshly popped popcorn (air-popped or stovetop)
- Mini marshmallows
- Butter
- A pinch of salt
- Vanilla extract (optional but adds flavor)
For the frosting
- Your favorite store-bought frosting (vanilla, chocolate, or colored for holidays)
- Food coloring or sprinkles if you’re feeling festive!
How to Make Popcorn Balls
- Pop the popcorn. About 10–12 cups should do it. Pick out any unpopped kernels.
- Melt the marshmallows. Combine butter and marshmallows in a large pot over low heat until smooth and melty. Stir in vanilla.
- Mix it all together. Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the popcorn and gently stir until evenly coated.
- Shape the balls. Grease your hands with butter or cooking spray and quickly form the popcorn mixture into balls.
- Frost and decorate! Melt frosting in the microwave for about 20–30 seconds until pourable, then dip or drizzle it over each popcorn ball. Add sprinkles before the frosting sets.
Recipe Tips
- Work fast! The marshmallow mixture sets quickly.
- Grease your hands well. It’s the only way to keep them from sticking.
- Mix-ins welcome: Add M&Ms, crushed pretzels, or candy corn before shaping.
- Storage: Keep popcorn balls in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Fun Flavor Ideas
- Halloween Popcorn Balls: Use orange and black frosting or candy melts.
- Christmas Popcorn Balls: Dip in red and green frosting and add sprinkles like I did here with my chocolate caramel popcorn balls.
- Birthday Popcorn Balls: Use rainbow sprinkles and white frosting for a cake-batter vibe.
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Frosted Marshmallow Popcorn Balls
Ingredients
- 8 cups popped popcorn
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups miniature marshmallows
- 16 ounces tub of cake frosting, I used Betty Crocker
- popsicle sticks
Instructions
- Prep. Line two baking sheets with wax paper and set them aside.
- Prepare the popcorn. Pop the popcorn. Place the popped popcorn in a large buttered bowl. Set aside.
- Make the marshmallow mixture. Melt the butter and salt in a saucepan. Add half of the mini marshmallows to the butter mixture and stir until they melt. Stir in the rest of the marshmallows and continue to stir until melted.
- Combine. Pour the marshmallow mixture over the previously prepared popcorn and stir with a buttered wooden spoon until all the popcorn is coated.
- Shape. Grease your hands with butter and quickly shape the popcorn mixture into balls, about the size of a softball (or make them as big as you'd like). Insert a popsicle stick into the center of each ball while they’re still warm.
- Let them set. Place the popcorn balls on the wax-covered baking sheet to set. This could take 1 to 2 hours.
- Warm the frosting. Once the popcorn balls are cooled, place the tub of frosting in the microwave and warm it in two 15-second bursts. The frosting will be melted, but not hot.
- Finish and serve. Dip the popcorn balls in the frosting and set them back on wax paper to set before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Those dang Twix Bars and Beer 🙂 Love these and the trick with the frosting!
These popcorn balls look so much better than most….because FROSTING!!! Yum!
good choice on that frosting, it’s my go to frosting for funfetti cake, which is the best cake mix ever.. EVER!
are you serious? 220 calories and 22 g sugar for one ball? This is NOT good or healthy food for anyone, least of all children. Really disappointed in this recipe
Hi Kip! I agree, but I do make exceptions around these fun Holidays. They are kids, after all, and trust me when I tell you that neither one of my kids ate even half of the ball. But I do understand your concerns, completely. I thought the same thing when I was adding it all up. 🙂
thanks for your reply I love your site and recipes are fantastic! I”d say over 50% of the dinners I cook are from your recipes. We just try and keep carbs and sugar as low as possible, Splitting a ball is a good way to make sure we keep to our goals.
Oh my gosh, Twix are totally my downfall! I seriously cannot have them in the house otherwise I will eat them all, ha! These popcorn balls look amazing!
I love how simple yet so yummy these popcorn balls are! My kids would definitely be very happy to have these 🙂
These are the CUTEST! I love them and your photos are beautiful!
OMG! These are stunning. I love them!!
SO cute! My son would love these! Shared!
I love these! How thoughtful, festive, and creative! My daughter would love dipping them (and try and get as much sweet stuff as possible on the popcorn!) Thanks for sharing.