18 Chocolate Bars You Need To Throw Into Your Next Bowl Of Popcorn

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While popcorn is pretty satisfying on its own, there's no reason not to make it even better with different add-ons. You can elevate basic popcorn with savory nutritional yeast, or you can go with Selena Gomez's tangy hot sauce and pickle juice popcorn upgrade. But if you want your puffed corn sweet and decadent, consider adding your favorite chocolate bar to the mix.

The combination of sweet, creamy chocolate and warm, salty kernels is way more indulgent than eating them separately. There's no need to melt the chocolate bar in the microwave or on the stove, either. Just chop or break the chocolate into bite-sized bits and pieces, toss them into freshly made popcorn, and you'll have a bowl of deliciousness with varying textures and flavors. Some of the chocolate bars in this list feature caramel and nuts; others come with cookies, wafers, crunchy bits, and even dried fruits. Regardless of which one you add, it will upgrade your plain, salty popcorn into a snack with an exciting blend of varied flavors in every handful.

You can never go wrong with classic Hershey's Milk Chocolate, one of the first mass-produced chocolate bars. Its smooth, pure milk chocolate flavor goes well with the light, toasted taste of freshly popped popcorn. Toss the chocolate bits in a bowl of warm popcorn, and allow the kernels' temperature to soften the chocolate slightly without completely melting it. The contrasting flavors and textures of the crunchy, salty popcorn and the soft and sweet chocolate make for an indulgent and exciting snack for movie nights and casual get-togethers.

If you're not a fan of plain chocolate and want more crunch in your bowl of popcorn, then you should consider adding Kit Kat instead. There are so many Kit Kat flavors available, but the original already has a lot going on. With each bar, you're getting three layers of crispy wafer bound by chocolate cream filling and encased in a shell of milk chocolate. After mixing in the chopped Kit Kat bars, the wafer pieces add a satisfying crisp texture to the popcorn, while the creamy chocolate transforms the mixture into a sweet-and-salty snack.

For popcorn with even more salty and nutty character, try mixing it with a Tony's Chocolonely Dark Chocolate Almond and Sea Salt bar. The dark chocolate has a rich, slightly bitter taste that will balance the buttery flavor of the kernels. The chopped almonds add a nutty crunch, while the sea salt gives a burst of savory flavor to further enrich the chocolate. Tip: Don't divide the chocolate bar evenly; crack it into pieces following the irregular ridges for a heartier chocolate-meets-popcorn experience.

Ferrero Rocher may be best known for its aluminum-clad hazelnut chocolate balls, but the brand also has a series of chocolate bars. One to consider for this popcorn hack is the Ferrero Rocher Macadamia and Hazelnut milk chocolate bar. What's good about this candy bar is that, aside from the milk chocolate, each bite is loaded with two types of nuts: hazelnuts and macadamias. The filling is made up of hazelnut pieces folded into a macadamia cream, while the milk chocolate forms the outer shell.

The Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme bar is a fan favorite, thanks to its distinct creamy flavor and crunchy texture. Incorporating it into a bucket of popcorn brings something new to the airy corn-based snack. The combination of the sweet white chocolate and chocolate cookie bits tastes kind of like an Oreo. The cookies aren't too boldly flavored, so they don't overpower the creamy chocolate. Similarly, the white chocolate's sweetness doesn't eclipse the taste of the cocoa cookies. The salt from the popcorn brings everything together.

Twix is one of those candy bars you can find almost anywhere no matter the time of year. It's inexpensive compared to other brands and easily recognizable in a pile of chocolates due to its iconic gold packaging. It is also different than many other bars since its base is a shortbread cookie. The cookie is topped in a layer of caramel and dunked in milk chocolate. If you crave a very familiar chocolate taste with crunchy, chewy, and creamy textures, then this chocolate bar is what you should add to a big bowl of popcorn.

The most well-known chocolate bar in the United States is the Snickers, according to data from Statista. It is also a satisfying match for popcorn. There's even a recipe on Snickers' website for Sweet and Salty Popcorn, which has a mixture of the chopped candy bars and lightly salted popcorn, along with melted dark chocolate, pretzel twists, salted peanuts, and butterscotch chips. But even without the additional ingredients, a Snickers' nougat base, caramel-with-peanuts layer, and milk chocolate coating pairs exceptionally well with popcorn.

Caramel and popcorn go so well together, which is why caramel corn exists. That's also why pairing the Galaxy Salted Caramel bar with popcorn makes sense. The science behind why salty and sweet flavors work so well is actually a bit complicated, but to put it simply, salt enhances the caramel's taste by rounding out its sweetness so the more subtle flavors can shine. Take the pairing one step further by adding this salty-sweet chocolate bar to popcorn, creating a flavor profile your brain craves.

Another upgrade to try on bland popcorn is adding 3 Musketeers. It's one of the well-loved creations of Mars, featuring a fluffy, whipped nougat center covered in milk chocolate. It's one of the simpler chocolate bars on this list. Without all the extras, you get a chocolate bar that is light, airy, and pillowy, almost like a marshmallow or mousse. Mixing pieces of 3 Musketeers into warm popcorn softens the chocolate shell and filling, creating little pockets of melty sweetness among the popped kernels.

If you want it to tick all the boxes for taste, crunch, and flavor, consider the Chocolove Pistachios and Sea Salt bar. It has all the components to upgrade bland popcorn: dry-roasted pistachios, 33% cocoa milk chocolate, and a hint of sea salt. While each ingredient on its own would add something to the popcorn, together, they take your average salty snack to the next level.

It's one of the 10 white chocolate bars everyone should try once, so it is only to be expected that we are recommending the Milkboy Swiss Chocolate White Chocolate with Bourbon Vanilla as another must-try partner for popcorn. The vanilla in this bar comes from Madagascar and is considered the gold standard. The vanilla is sweet, balsamic, and spicy with hints of tobacco, perfectly complementing the mild, sustainably sourced cocoa butter. Combine this chocolate with warm popcorn for a simple but impactful salty-sweet snack. 

Whatchamacallit is from the makers of the famous Hershey's chocolates, but it's not very similar to any of the brand's other bars. Instead, it has a flavor and texture akin to cereal squares. Each bar features a peanut-flavored crispy rice center, a layer of soft caramel, and a chocolate coating. If you want something crispy and chewy to nibble on in between bites of popped kernels, this chocolate candy bar is worth a try. Note: Chill the bar before cutting it if you don't want to make a mess out of the caramel layer.

One of the more popular Cadbury chocolate bars, the Dairy Milk Fruit and Nut bar also goes well with popcorn. This one comes with raisins and whole almonds. The concentrated sweetness of the dried fruit and the earthy crunch of the nuts bring a trail mix vibe to popcorn. Of course, the rich, velvety signature taste of Cadbury's milk chocolate also enhances the popcorn's flavor profile.

The Hershey Company makes Payday candy bars, which are basically just a bunch of salted peanuts around a chewy caramel center. When amping up your popcorn, reach for a Chocolatey Payday instead — it has the same base as the classic, but the whole thing is dipped in chocolate. Pairing Chocolatey Payday with popcorn gives you a snack with a mixture of salty, sweet, nutty, crunchy, and chewy flavors and textures.

A 5th Avenue bar has a crunchy peanut butter candy center, toasted almonds, and a milk chocolate coating. Before adding this chocolate candy bar to your popcorn bowl, consider giving it a few good whacks with a rolling pin while it's still wrapped. It will be easier to break apart the brittle-like candy this way.

If you're a big Kit Kat fan but want something other than the usual experience, try the Kit Kat Breaking Bones Vanilla Creme candy bar. While this chocolate bar has the same form and size as the original, instead of milk chocolate, the crunchy wafers have a vanilla filling and are coated with white chocolate. Note: Kit Kat Breaking Bones is a seasonal offering that typically comes out around Halloween. 

For vegans or anyone avoiding dairy, No Whey's Milkless Bar is the ideal choice to match with popcorn. Despite being dairy-free, this bar tastes like real deal milk chocolate. People who bought the bar were surprised by how similar both the taste and texture are. This product is also free of eight major allergens, including soy, tree nuts, and peanuts — it's a trusted, allergy-friendly brand.

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate is among Amazon's best-selling chocolate bars for a reason. It has a balance of acidity and bitterness and a good range of dark chocolate content — it's available in 72%, 86%, and 92% cacao formulations. It's a dependable and fairly affordable good-quality brand. Ghirardelli feels fancy, and depending on which bar you buy, you can choose just how much bittersweet contrast you want to add to your popcorn.