Easy Recipe for Homemade Playdough (2024)

by Leslie 1 Comment

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Looking for a fun indoor activity for your kids? Whip up a batch of this quick and easy recipe for homemade playdough . It’s simple to make, easy on your pocketbook and is sure to keep your youngsters entertained for hours!

Best of all, there’s no cooking, no cream of tartar, and it takes barely 10 minutes to make. It’s even simple enough the kids can help make it too! So gather the littles around and let’s making some of the best playdough ever.

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Why You’ll Love this Playdough Recipe

  • Uses simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand
  • No cooking required or any special tools
  • Save money by making it yourself
  • Make whatever colors you want…even ones that are hard to find in the store!

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What You’ll Need:

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Flour
  • ½ Cup Salt
  • ½ Cup Water
  • 2 teaspoon Vegetable Oil
  • ½ teaspoon Food Coloring

Tools:

Easy Recipe for Homemade Playdough (3)

Step-by-Step Directions:

To make things easy for you, I’ve got a step-by-step tutorial with photos at the bottom of this post. Don’t forget to leave a rating and print out your copy of the instructions!

Essential Tips:

Don’t skip these tips – read them before starting to avoid any potential mistakes.

  • Feel free to use any oil you like. We use vegetable oil to keep the cost down.
  • Gel food coloring give the brightest and most vibrant colors.
  • If your dough feels a bit sticky, add a teaspoon of flour and knead some more. Continue adding a teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Don’t skip adding the food coloring to the water. It’s the best way to ensure your color is even and reduces kneading time by 75%.

Making Playdough for Party Favors?

Pack up the dough in clear containers like these and add a fun printable tag. It’s a cute, easy, and affordable party favor kids will love!

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FAQs:

Will this playdough recipe stain hands or surfaces?

We didn’t have any issues with the playdough staining our hands. That said, brighter or more intense colors made with extra food coloring are more likely to stain.

As for surfaces, it’s hard to say as I don’t know what type of surface you’ll be using.

It should be fine on dark and solid surfaces such as plastic, dark wood, and granite, but you may want to put down a playmat for very porus surfaces like white marble.

My playdough was left out and is dry. Can I revive it?:

Yes, you can revive most dry playdough by adding a few drops of water and kneading it back in. Be sure to add the water slowly to avoid making your dough too sticky. If that happens, simply knead in some more flour until you reach the desired consistency. You may need to work the dough for a few minutes to get it back in shape.

Alternatively, you can coat your hands with a little bit of oil for a softer consistency. Be careful not to use too much oil as you don’t want the playdough to leave oil stains on clothing and surfaces.

Is this recipe for playdough safe for toddlers that might eat it?

While many people will say that homemade playdough is safe to eat, raw flour can contain harmful bacteria. Some cooks recommend heating flour to kill the bacteria, but even that is considered controversial.

I’ve included a very large proportion of salt in the recipe, which should make it taste yucky to kids and deter much tasting. However, you should always supervise toddlers and young children when playing with any recipe for homemade playdough.

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How to Store Homemade Playdough

Store your playdough in airtight containers such as ziplock baggies or hard containers like these. Stored properly, it should last for many months.

Tip: After resting for a night, the playdough may get a bit sticky again. Simply knead in a bit of flour and you shouldn’t need to add any again.

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If you liked this fun kids craft, you’ll also love my printable coloring pages. With options for most major holidays, it’s the perfect way to keep kids entertained and quiet for a while.

Or you can check out all my party games and activities right here.

Homemade Playdough

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Looking for the best recipe for homemade playdough? Our DIY playdough recipe is no cook, needs no cream of tartar, and is ready in about 10 minutes. How's that for simple?

Prep Time2 minutes

Active Time10 minutes

Total Time2 minutes

DifficultyEasy

Materials

  • 1 Cup Flour
  • ½ Cup Salt
  • ½ Cup Water
  • 2 tsp Vegetable Oil
  • ½ tsp Food Coloring

Tools

Instructions

  1. Combine flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir together. Easy Recipe for Homemade Playdough (8)
  2. Use a liquid measuring cup to measure out 1/2 cup water. Add the food coloring to the water and mix them well. Easy Recipe for Homemade Playdough (9)
  3. Add the colored water to the flour mixture, along with the oil. Easy Recipe for Homemade Playdough (10)
  4. Stir together the ingredients (hands work very well for this). Easy Recipe for Homemade Playdough (11)
  5. Keep mixing, folding, and kneading the dough until it reaches playdough consistency. Make a few more colors and enjoy! Easy Recipe for Homemade Playdough (12)

Notes

Remember, Tips and FAQ in the tutorial post are there to help you if you feel stuck at any point.

  • Feel free to use any oil you like. We use vegetable oil to keep the cost down.
  • Gel food coloring give the brightest and most vibrant colors.
  • If your dough feels a bit sticky, add a teaspoon of flour and knead some more. Continue adding a teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Don't skip adding the food coloring to the water. It's the best way to ensure your color is even and reduces kneading time by 75%.

How much did you love this tutorial?

Follow me on Pinterest for more, and don't forget to use the Pin It button at the top of the tutorial card.

Join me over at Facebook, Instagram, orTwitter,

for more fun ideas and inspiration!

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About Leslie

Leslie is the passionate party planner in her family. Living with metastatic breast cancer since 2022, she is determined to find a way to continue making amazing parties for her kids that don't leave you exhausted. To do that Leslie combines the experience she learned working for a professional event planner with the reality of a busy family life to create party inspiration that the average mom can reproduce and be proud of.

Comments

  1. Gretchen Rodgers says

    I made this with my five-year-old son and it was super easy way easier than the one you had to cook and cool done quickly the kiddo can help you need it all together easy to clean up and I use the food coloring which did not color hands at all. Thank you so much for all tips.

    Reply

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