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The BEST Playdough Recipe

No need to buy store-bought play doh after you try our homemade playdough recipe! This easy playdough recipe takes 5 minutes to prep and 5 minutes to make. And the playdough will last for months! It’s super soft, stretchy and non-toxic for kids.

RELATED: Kool-Aid Playdough

The BEST Playdough Recipe

We have tried a few recipes before that require you to mix the coloring in after the playdough is made. This was SO messy! We got food coloring all over our hands and surfaces doing it this way. You’ll love this method because there’s no need for bags to mix the coloring with and no mess too!

It’s easy to make a batch of all different colors for the kids to play with. Just store the finished playdough in an air-tight container. It will help to also wrap it in some saran wrap to keep the air from touching the playdough which can make it go hard.

How to Make Playdough

How to Make Playdough

There are many ways to make playdough – using a stove-top or using a kettle with boiling water. Personally, we prefer the stove-top method. We find it’s easier to mix the ingredients in the pot. There are also no-cook playdough options but we also prefer this cooked playdough recipe. We find this recipe to last the longest and be the softest. This recipe only takes a few minutes to make and it will last for months!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

  • Flour
  • Cream of Tartar
  • Water
  • Oil
  • Food Coloring
  • Salt

Skip down to the recipe card below to see the full recipe instructions and video.

Do you need cream of tartar? 

Yes, if you want a soft playdough and want it to last longer, you need to add a little bit of cream of tartar. We tested different amounts and found 2 teaspoons to be the perfect amount to make the playdough super soft. If you skip the cream of tartar your dough may turn out a bit more dry and crumbly. It also helps your playdough last longer. If you want a dough recipe without cream of tartar, see our cloud dough recipe.

How do you get vibrant playdough colors?

We like to use this liquid food coloring. It makes the playdough much more vibrant than regular food coloring. If you’re using regular food coloring, you’ll need to add in a lot of drops. And don’t mix after you make the playdough – add it into the water instead which is so much easier and less messy!

Best Playdough Recipe

How to Keep Playdough Soft

First wrap your playdough in saran wrap then store in an air-tight container. You’ll notice that playdough will go hard if left out – so the less air that can get to the playdough when storing, the longer it will last!

How Do I Make Playdough Soft Again?

If your playdough dries out and turns out to be a little dry after making it, try adding in a little more oil first. You can knead the oil in with your hands. You can also knead in a little bit of water.

When you’re done making your playdough, get out some cookie cutters and have fun making shapes! We also like using rolling pins and stamps to play with our playdough.

Easy Playdough Recipe

Homemade Playdough Recipe

Playdough Recipe Image
5 from 48 votes

Playdough Recipe

The Best Homemade Playdough Recipe
Prep Time5 minutes
Active Time5 minutes
Total Time10 minutes

Video

Ingredients

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients (flour, salt, cream of tartar) and mix well.
    Dry Ingredients Playdough
  • Mix food coloring with your water first. Then add the vegetable oil and water with food coloring to a large pot. Mix together.
  • Add the dry ingredients to your pot and mix well.
    Mix Dry Ingredients with Wet for Playdough
  • Cook over low to medium heat until the dough starts to form and becomes dry.
  • Once it starts to form a ball together and looks fully cooked, take off the heat. Let the dough cool first before touching.
  • Once cool, knead the dough for 5 minutes to make the dough soft.

Notes

If your dough is not soft, continue kneading for another 5 minutes. If you find it is still too dry add a little bit more oil and knead in. 

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Recipe Rating




108 comments on “The BEST Playdough Recipe”

  1. 5 stars
    Shocked at how easy and perfect this was!!! I don’t really like the smell of play doh and my 3 year old has a tendency to lick her food shapes so this was perfect! Loved being able to make any color I liked also!!! I was honestly so surprised at how well it turned out. At first my batter looked like cake batter and I thought maybe something went wrong but it dried out and started cooking and I knew I had the perfect consistency to kneading. 2 mins in front of a kitchen fan and it was cool enough to start kneading. LOVE!!!!

  2. 5 stars
    Thanks for this! I substituted the flour for Doves Free From Plain flour, it worked well although had to knead using a sprinkling of flour as dough was stickier due to using GF flour.

  3. Does this recipe still work if you use gluten free flour? If so, does it matter if it is self raising or plain flour?

    1. I haven’t tried it with gluten free flour but it should be okay, it might just feel a little more grainy. Use plain flour.

  4. Annie, Xen and Amelia

    5 stars
    In my 10 years of being a pre school teacher I have never made play dough so soft, light and easy. It’s no mess, easily mouldable. We do not have access to a hob in our classroom but we cooked it in 30 second bursts in the microwave!

  5. I used the amount shown but didn’t seem to be enough water when mixing but was never gooey like in you video. what am I doing wrong?

    1. Is it possible the heat was too high? Try on a lower heat and make sure to mix it all together quickly while cooking.

    1. Store in an air tight container. I usually like to wrap tightly with plastic wrap then remove all of the air out of a storage bag and place it inside that.

  6. Mandy Pratt

    5 stars
    Can I bake this playdoug? My grandchildren want to make foods for their play kitchen (like pizza, cake etc). I’ve left it uncoloured so we can paint the finished product…

    1. This recipe isn’t recommended for baking but search salt dough on my site and that is the perfect recipe for baking and painting.

  7. 5 stars
    love this recipe AND everything on your site! Perfect ideas for our weekly “Science Fridays”. We added a few drops of essential oils for an additional sensory experience. 🙂

  8. Peggy Gulley

    Best play dough. Been making it for years in my classroom. Kids measure and pour ingredients into an electric skillet. I mix it from there. They are 3 yr olds.

  9. Can you use anything to substitute for the flour. My granddaughter is allergic to wheat and so I can’t use regular flour. Any thoughts or ideas

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