Soda and popcorn are classic snack combinations that go hand in hand, and are perfect for a movie night after a long day at work. Given the almost unlimited soda and popcorn combinations out there, it can be hard to know what soda will go best with popcorn. Thankfully, there are some tried and true solutions you can always fall back on.
Pepsi, Sprite, and Coca-Cola are classic sodas that go well with multiple popcorn flavors. Fruit-flavored sodas like orange, grape, and citrus-flavored are excellent sodas to drink with butter popcorn. Root beer is a soda that goes well with butter, cheese, kettle corn, and other popcorn flavors.
Popcorn and sodas come in many different flavors and styles. Keep reading to learn more about pairing sodas with popcorn and ensure that you elevate your movie watching experience!
Do Diet Sodas Go Well With Popcorn?
Diet sodas go will with popcorn because they taste very similar to regular sodas. If you’re watching your calories, a diet soda will be the perfect accompaniment for salted popcorn.
If you’re watching your calories, you should also opt for salted over flavored popcorn. The toppings that dd flavor to popcorn, such as butter and cheese, cause your snack to have high amounts of salt, sodium, fat, and calories. Movie theatre popcorns especially are high in calories, and a diet soda is the recommended accompaniment.
However, it should be noted that home-made popcorn is generally a low calorie snack, so unless you’re on an extremely strict diet, you shouldn’t worry about indulging in your favorite flavoring. If you’re someone who prefers salted popcorn, feel free to indulge in regular soda instead of diet – remember, you may be counting calories, but you do still need to get in your recommended daily intake!
Can You Drink Pepsi With Popcorn?
You can drink Pepsi with popcorn. Pepsi is a dark, sweet soda that goes great with several different types of popcorn. It can act as a sweet treat when paired with butter popcorn, and it can further enhance the taste of a sweet popcorn like kettle corn or caramel corn.
Pepsi and caramel corn will go well together for those looking for a sweet snack. It will also pair well with cheese popcorn because its subtle sweet notes will highlight the cheese’s savory flavor.
Pepsi isn’t an overly sweet drink, so it goes well with various foods. Use Pepsi to balance out salty popcorn, or pair it with naturally sugary popcorn to add to its sweetness. Diet Pepsi is also available for those who prefer a lower-calorie option.
Can You Drink Sprite With Popcorn?
Sprite goes well with popcorn. Sprite is a somewhat tangy soft drink that isn’t overly sweet, and can burn a little while it’s going down your throat. However, it’s an excellent soda to pair with popcorn. For those who don’t like extremely sweet or sugary sodas, Sprite is one of the best options.
The soda is fizzy and has a lemon-lime taste that can support popcorn’s buttery flavor. Popcorn is naturally salty, and Sprite can add to that savory taste. It is the ideal soda to pair with savory popcorns, though it may not work as well with sweeter options, like caramel popcorn.
Can You Drink Sprite Zero With Popcorn?
Sprite Zero works great with popcorn and is a healthier alternative to regular Sprite. It has zero calories, and it tastes almost the same as normal Sprite – it is simply slightly less sweet.
Sprite Zero also lacks some of the tang in the original Sprite, which means it won’t burn as much when you drink it. It’s a great drink to pair with popcorn because it is light and if you don’t want to leave the movie feeling stuffed, you should opt for a Sprite Zero. It balances out buttery popcorn and the lower sweetness means it pairs great with caramel or kettle popcorn.
It is a great soda to drink when you’re eating sweeter popcorn because it’s a light and airy drink, similar to a cider. Other sodas like Pepsi or fruit-flavored sodas are extremely sweet and you can feel overloaded on sugar when you’re pairing it with caramel popcorn or kettle corn. Sprite Zero, on the other hand, enhances the popcorn’s naturally sweet flavor and doesn’t overload your palette.
Can You Drink Coca-Cola With Popcorn?
Coca-Cola is arguably one of the most popular soft drinks, and you can drink it with popcorn. It’s both tangy and sweet because of the vanilla and cinnamon it contains, and pairs excellently with butter popcorn.
The vanilla offers a subtle sweetness, while the cinnamon adds an element of spice. Coca-Cola will pair well with caramel corn because it will enhance its rich flavor while adding a slight hint of spice.
Coca-Cola is a beloved soda in America because it is so versatile. It’s a dark-colored soda rich in flavor and will pair well with a light snack like popcorn, including other sweet flavors such as kettle corn, as well as more savory options, like ranch, bacon, paprika, and similar popcorns.
Diet Coca-Cola is a well-loved version of the original soda. It is sugar-free and has zero calories, yet it offers the same great taste as regular Coca-Cola. Diet Coca-Cola will pair well with various popcorn and is a great low-calorie option for those who love the soft drink. Coca-Cola is also available in sugar-free cherry and vanilla options for those who want to add a lower-calorie, fruity element to their soda.
What Fruit-Flavored Sodas Go Well With Popcorn?
Orange and grape sodas are some of the most popular fruit-flavored sodas in the market, and they go well with popcorn because they are incredibly sweet.
- Orange soda goes great with butter, cheese, or caramel-flavored popcorn because it is sweet and tangy. The sweet elements will balance out the salty aspect of butter or cheese popcorn, and its spicy punch will add variety to sweet caramel popcorn.
- Grape soda is very popular among children, and it works well with butter popcorn. Butter popcorn is naturally savory, while grape soda is extremely sweet, and they pair excellently together.
- Lemon-lime sodas like Mountain Dew and Mello Yello will go well with sweeter popcorn like caramel corn because of their acidic nature. These sodas have sugary elements that highlight the caramel corn, while the spicy citrus flavor will balance the rich caramel.
Fruit-flavored sodas often don’t come in diet options, except Mtn Dew and Mello Yello Zero, which are zero-calorie and zero-sugar versions of the original citrus-flavored drinks. Most orange and grape soda flavors will contain sugar.
Can You Drink Root Beer With Popcorn?
Root beer is an excellent option to pair with popcorn. It’s a subtly sweet and tangy soda that isn’t overly sweet or overly tangy. Root beer has just the right amount of both flavor options, making it suitable for various types of popcorn.
Root beer will pair well with traditional butter popcorn, and it will also taste great with cheese, Chicago style, or other gourmet popcorn. It is also available in cream soda and zero-calorie options, allowing you to add some variation with your popcorn pairings.
Final Thoughts
Sodas and popcorn is one of the most famous snack combinations in America. Whether you’re watching a movie in a theater or at home, it’s always lovely to snack on some popcorn while drinking your favorite soda. Try pairing tangy sodas with sweet popcorn to intensity both flavors. Sweet sodas will naturally go well with savory popcorn like butter or cheese. However, you can mix it up and pair sweet sodas with sweet popcorn for a super-sweet snack.
