i have to agree, the golden popcorn is a real time sink. i notice the only expedition health regen upgrades are in that tree so it needs to be prioritized but it takes forever. i hope there's passive golden popcorn eventually but i haven't found it.
as far as I can tell upon completing everything I can currently see there there is no passive but I am only 4th floor dungeon and I cant be certain something after my current level doesnt give some kinda passive gain