Buc-ee’s is a huge Texas-based gas and convenience travel center famous for its Beaver Nuggets, and for good reason. These sweet and crunchy treats resemble caramel corn but are made with Puffed Corn.

The original Beaver Nuggets taste somewhat like pancakes and syrup, but this copycat recipe is even better. The copycat nuggets are crunchier and less sweet without the maple flavor. If you want the maple flavor, all you need to do is add maple extract to the caramel coating.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No Travel Necessary: This copycat recipe allows you to enjoy the delicious taste of Buc-ee’s Famous Beaver Nuggets without leaving home.
- Easy Recipe: Making these copycat Beaver Nuggets at home gives you the opportunity to savor a unique snack that is light, crunchy, and crispy with minimal effort.
- Customizable: Experiment using different extracts like maple or almond, adding a pinch of cinnamon for a warmer flavor, or even drizzling melted chocolate or peanut butter over the finished product.
- Perfect for Gifting: This unique treat is perfect for packaging in clear cello bags and giving as thoughtful gifts.
Ingredients – Here’s What You’ll Need
Buc-ee’s Beaver Nuggets are very similar to standard caramel corn, but with a substitute for the popcorn.
- Puffed Corn: The primary ingredient in the Beaver Nuggets is Puffed Corn, which is sometimes referred to as puffcorn or corn puffs. Unlike popcorn, which is made from kernels of corn, puffed corn is made from cornmeal that is processed through extrusion cooking and then baked. This processing gives the puffed corn its light and airy texture.
- Caramel: For the caramel, I used unsalted butter, light brown sugar, light corn syrup, salt, baking soda, and vanilla extract.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Beaver Nuggets
- I started by dumping the puffed corn into a large, heat-resistant bowl, and setting this aside while I made the caramel.
- For the caramel, I added the unsalted butter, light brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan set over medium-high heat.
- I stirred the ingredients with a silicone spatula while the butter was melting, until the mixture started to boil
- Once the butter had melted and the mixture had come to a boil, I reduced the heat to medium-low and allowed it to boil undisturbed and uncovered for five minutes.
- After five minutes, I removed the caramel from the heat and added the baking soda and vanilla extract. I stirred the mixture well to ensure the baking soda and vanilla were well incorporated. I had to be careful here because the baking soda made the hot caramel bubble up quite a bit.
- Once the caramel was ready, I poured it over the puffed corn and stirred to coat the puffed corn.
- I transferred the Beaver Nugget mixture to an ungreased, large, disposable aluminum roasting pan and tossed it to better coat the puffed corn with the caramel.
- I baked the Beaver Nuggets in a 250°F oven for an hour and 15 minutes, removing the pan from the oven every 15 minutes and stirring the mixture well.
During the hour and 15 minutes, the periodic stirring of the Beaver Nuggets further coated the puffed corn with the caramel. When I removed them from the oven after an hour and 15 minutes, they were well coated in caramel, golden brown, and crispy crunchy.
I transferred the Beaver Nuggets to a large piece of parchment paper and allowed them to cool completely.
One taste, and all I could say was WOW!
Both Susan and I thought that they were even better than the original. They lacked the pancake and syrup taste since I didn’t include the maple flavoring, and they were more crispy and crunchy than the originals.
The combination of caramelized brown sugar and buttery goodness, with a hint of vanilla created a sweet and salty snack that’s hard to resist.
In addition, making your own Beaver Nuggets is cheaper than buying them pre-made and is a fun and satisfying way to recreate the experience of actually visiting a Buc-ee’s. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
I purchased the butter-flavored puffed corn used in this recipe at Aldi. It was inexpensive and worked well. It’s also generally available in local grocery stores.
No. Light Karo Corn Syrup explicitly notes that it contains zero high fructose sugar.
Corn syrup acts as a stabilizer by preventing sugar from crystallizing, ensuring a smooth and velvety texture in the caramel. This is essential in caramel corn to avoid graininess and lumps.
Baking soda is a base and it reacts with the acidic ingredients in the caramel, such as brown sugar and corn syrup. This reaction creates tiny carbon dioxide air bubbles that aerate the caramel, making it lighter and smoother
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I use the large disposable aluminum pan to make these Beaver Nuggets because there is no cleanup of the baked-on caramel. Just throw the pan away!
- It’s important to store the Beaver Nuggets in an airtight container. The reason is that the sugars are hygroscopic meaning that they attract moisture.
- I like to store the copycat beaver nuggets in a gallon-size Ziploc bag for airtight convenience. This will keep the beaver nuggets crispy and crunchy for up to a week.
Other Delicious Copycat Recipes
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Buc-ee’s Copycat Beaver Nuggets
Equipment
- Large disposable aluminum roasting pan
Ingredients
- 10 ounces (2 5-ounce packages, 283 grams, 16 cups) Puffed Corn (plain or butter flavored)
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks, 6 ounces, 170 grams) unsalted butter (See Tip 1)
- 1 cup (7.5 ounces, 213 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (5.4 ounces, 160 ml) light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt (See Tip 2)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract – optional (See Tip 3)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Place the Puffed Corn into a large heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until the butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium-low; boil, undisturbed and uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in vanilla extract and baking soda. (See Tip 4)
- Pour the caramel over the Corn puffs; stir to coat.
- Spread the mixture onto an ungreased, large, disposable aluminum roasting pan. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes, removing every 15 minutes to stir. (See Tips 5 and 6)
- Spread the mixture onto parchment paper to cool. It may seem sticky at first but will dry as it cools.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Yield: 16 to 17 cups.
Video
Tips/Notes
- If using salted butter, reduce the amount of salt to ¼ teaspoon.
- The Puffed Corn that I used in this recipe was salted. If you use unsalted Puffed Corn, increase the amount of salt to 1 teaspoon.
- The original Buc-ee’s Beaver Nuggets taste almost like pancakes and syrup. If you prefer that flavor, add a teaspoon of maple syrup to the caramel. Otherwise, leave it out.
- Be careful when you stir the baking soda into the hot caramel. The caramel will bubble up and could burn you if you’re not careful.
- I like using a large disposable aluminum roasting pan in this recipe so I don’t have to worry about cleaning up the baked-on caramel. I just throw the pan away!
- Don’t worry if the Puffed Corn isn’t totally covered with the caramel initially. As it bakes in the oven, the caramel remains liquidy and is easily stirred to help coat the Puffed Corn during the 15-minute increments.
Nana says
These were a huge success! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. This is so much better than any other version I’ve tried. The Buc-ee’s fans in my family ravenous it n Christmas.
Chula King says
Nana,
I’m so glad the recipe worked for you! I’m a Buc-ee’s fan as well.
Chula