The Calories In Popcorn With No Butter

Popcorn is such a popular treat that Foods.com lists 386 recipes using it. Most popcorn lovers have a favorite way to enjoy it, whether it's caramel corn, kettle corn, chocolate covered corn, or just plain old popcorn.

A small bowl of popcorn with no butter. (Image: Melissandra/iStock/Getty Images)

Air-Popped Calories

One of the healthier ways to enjoy popcorn is to pop it using an air popper. When it's prepared this way, popcorn contains only 31 calories per cup, according to CalorieKing.

Oil-Popped Calories

You may want to pop your popcorn in oil, the old fashioned way. When you prepare it this way, CalorieKing notes that 1 cup contains 55 calories. Unless you add salt to it, popcorn is naturally low in sodium too.

Nutrition

Since popcorn is one form of a vegetable, it offers some nutritional rewards, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One cup of popped popcorn provides vitamin A, calcium, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, carotene and lutein. But you should also be aware that it contains starches and carbohydrates.

Burn Those Calories

Once you've enjoyed that cup of popcorn, you may want to know what it will take for you to burn those calories. CalorieKing reports that to work off the 31 calories in air-popped popcorn, you'll need to walk for nine minutes, cycle for five minutes, swim for three minutes or jog for four minutes. However, if you ate popcorn that was popped in oil, you'll need to increase those times to cycling for eight minutes, swimming for five minutes, jogging for four minutes or walking for 15 minutes.