Microwave popcorn, as a product sold in bags for home microwaves, really took off in the late 1970s, with the first commercial microwave popping bags patented in 1978 and mass‑market products appearing around 1981–1984. The very first microwaved popcorn experiments, however, go back to 1945–1947, right alongside the invention of the microwave oven itself.

Quick Scoop

  • The earliest lab popcorn popped by microwaves was done by engineer Percy Spencer around 1945 while working with radar magnetrons.
  • Patents describing microwave popping and bag-style packaging appeared in the late 1940s and then again with refined “popping bags” in the 1970s.
  • Consumer-style, branded microwave popcorn in familiar bags began showing up in stores around 1978–1981, with companies like General Mills and Golden Valley Microwave Foods leading the charge.

From Lab Accident To Snack Aisle

In the mid‑1940s, Percy Spencer at Raytheon noticed a chocolate bar melting in his pocket near a magnetron and started testing other foods, including popcorn, which popped under microwave energy. This marks the first time popcorn was intentionally popped with microwaves, but at that point it was a lab curiosity rather than a supermarket product.

Raytheon’s commercial Radarange microwave oven arrived by 1947, but it was huge, expensive, and used mostly in commercial settings, so microwave popcorn as a convenient home snack had to wait until home microwaves became common decades later.

When Did Bagged Microwave Popcorn “Come Out”?

  • 1970s prototypes: Inventors and food companies experimented with ways to package popcorn and oil so it would pop reliably in a home microwave, including early bag concepts and refrigerated packs.
  • 1978: One of the first dedicated microwave popping bag patents was filed/issued, setting the standard for the familiar fold‑up paper bag that expands as the kernels pop.
  • Early 1980s:
    • General Mills research by Lawrence C. Brandberg and David W. Andreas led to the first practical microwave popcorn bag.
* Golden Valley Microwave Foods launched **Act I** around 1981, sold refrigerated or frozen because it used real dairy fats.

* Around 1984, a shelf‑stable formula arrived, helping microwave popcorn explode in popularity and become a pantry staple.

So for “when did microwave popcorn come out?” in the everyday, grocery‑store sense, the most accurate short answer is: late 1970s to early 1980s , with 1978–1984 as the key launch window.

Fun Context & Today’s Trend

Microwave popcorn’s rise in the 1980s coincided with the boom in home microwave ovens, turning popcorn into a quick, TV‑night ritual snack. Brands like Orville Redenbacher, Act II, and Jolly Time have since competed on flavor varieties, “movie theater butter” styles, and lighter options to match changing health trends.

Even now, there are ongoing discussions about packaging safety, flavor additives, and better-for-you oils, so microwave popcorn continues to evolve rather than being a fixed product of the 1980s.

TL;DR: Microwaved popcorn experiments: mid‑1940s.
The familiar bagged microwave popcorn you toss in a home microwave: late 1970s invention, widely available by the early 1980s.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.