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
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!
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 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:
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (do not use olive oil)
- 1 cup water
- food coloring
Note on Food Coloring
We like to use this liquid food coloring. It makes the playdough more vibrant than regular food coloring. If you’re using regular food coloring, you’ll need to add in a lot more drops.
Steps to Make Homemade Playdough
1. In a large bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients (flour, salt, cream of tartar) and mix well.
2. Mix food coloring with your water first. Then add the vegetable oil and water with food coloring to a large pot. Mix together.
3. Add the dry ingredients to your pot and mix well.
4. Cook over low to medium heat until the dough starts to form and becomes dry.
5. Once it starts to form a ball together and looks fully cooked, take off the heat. Let the dough cool first before touching.
6. Once cool, knead the dough for 5 minutes to make the dough soft. If the dough is still really sticky, put back in the pan and cook for few more minutes.
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Playdough Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- food coloring
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients (flour, salt, cream of tartar) and mix well.
- 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.
- 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
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 play dough 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 play dough, get out some cookie cutters and have fun making shapes! We also like using rolling pins and stamps to play with our play dough.
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 to 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!
how long does is the playdough good for?
Keep it wrapped tightly (so no air gets in) and it should last a few months.
I love this recipe. I’ve been using for my kids for almost a decade! It always turns out perfect!
Can you use coconut oil or avocado oil instead of vegetable oil?
Avocado oil will be fine! It just might alter the color of the playdough slightly if it’s darker.
This is exactly the recipe I used as a Head Start teacher forty plus years ago! Glad it’s held up so well.
this was great – I didn’t have cream of tartar so subbed in for 2 tblsp white vinegar and reduced the water by the same amount.
Quick and easy to make and provides hours of fun, a great cheap home made craft which can also be baked and painted to make homemade Christmas decorations- thanks for sharing this
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!!!!
Perfection in play dough! Vibrant color with the Wilton gel food coloring.
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.
Does this recipe still work if you use gluten free flour? If so, does it matter if it is self raising or plain flour?
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.
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!
If we make shapes and leave them out will they harden?
Unfortunately this is a playdough for sensory play only.