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.
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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!
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:
- 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 much more vibrant than regular food coloring. If you’re using regular food coloring, you’ll need to add in a lot of drops.
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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.
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 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.
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!
What an awesome recipe.
I’ve always hated making playdough as you get stained hands mixing in the colour and the salt texture makes it feel course and grainy.
I’ve always just rather bought despite the fact that its crazy expensive and my 3 year old mixes the colours the same day i buy them.
We’re currently in lockdown in South Africa so i was desperate and looked for recipes on pinterest and yours was the first one to pop up so i used it. And I’m so glad i did.
It’s a nice soft, smooth texture and so quick and easy to make. Everything was in my kitchen unlike some recipes that require alum powder.
I added a teaspoon of clear peppermint essence to it while cooking and it smells as good as it feels.
Awesome, so happy to hear that!
Hi, thanks for sharing. Did this with my 3yo girl. She enjoyed so much making the play dough and it turns outs soooo nice. She played with her baby sis 1yo. Both had fun time playing. N it’s super easy n fast to make. Never thought would be this easy. Thanks alot!!
I find when I make the play doh with salt after playing for a while hands are filled with salt? Is there something I am doing wrong?
Sounds like it maybe needed to be either cooked a little longer or kneaded a bit more. Salt shouldn’t come off on the hands. Hope that helps!
Can you define “looks fully cooked”? I have no idea what that means since I haven’t made this before.
It’s formed into a ball, but still seems very soft.
Soft is okay but if it’s still sticky then it probably needs to be cooked just a little longer. Hope that helps!
Could you use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil?
You can try! We haven’t tested it but let us know if you do!