Let me show you how to make playdough. It is a great kid’s activity and this is seriously the best homemade playdough out there!  It is easy enough for kids to help with, only takes about 10-15 minutes, and gives you comparable results to store-bought playdough. It’s super soft, edible, and even smoother than the real thing.

Mood Sand (or Kinetic sand) is another fun sensory mixture for kids to play with.

how to make homemade playdough

How to Make Playdough

You probably have all the necessary materials on hand in your pantry. You are going to love this simple DIY playdough recipe! If you had fun with this and want more goopy goodness, check out How to make Slime and our other fun recipes below!

Homemade Playdough Recipe

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • food coloring

playdough recipe

How to make homemade playdough step-by-step

When in this process you allow your kids to assist is entirely up to you.  Younger children can mix dry ingredients, older kids can stir (supervised) at the stove top, and adding food coloring is fun for everyone.  My son is under two, so he mainly helps me with the “playing” part.

Please supervise your children and use caution with the stove and hot dough. If you are concerned about the stove, boiling water or hot dough, keep reading – I have a no-cook play dough recipe at the bottom. Either way you will know how to make playdough and it will be oh so soft and silky!

how to make playdough

  1. Combine all ingredients (except food coloring) in a medium-sized saucepan.
  2. Stir over medium heat until smooth. It will go through a clumpy stage – just keep stirring.
  3. Stir continuously until the dough balls (about 1-2 minutes).  Remove from heat.

homemade playdough recipe

  1. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead the dough until smooth.
  2. Form into a ball.
  3. Divide into as many colors as you’d like to make.  A single batch makes a good amount for four colors.

homemade playdough recipe

  1. Add several drops of food coloring to the divided dough.  Gel food coloring works quite well.  I have not tried liquid food coloring, although some recipes recommend adding that in while the dough is still in the pot so it’s easier to blend.
  2. Knead the food coloring into the dough. To protect your countertop, knead over wax paper.  It may stain your hands, so wear plastic or rubber gloves if you have them (you could also put the dough and food coloring inside a ziplock bag and have the kids squish it around inside).
  3. When the dough is a consistent color, ball and set aside.

homemade playdough

  1. Repeat with the rest of your colors.
  2. Put the dough in separate containers.  Toddler-sized snack containers are a good size, and I have also wrapped the colors individually in wax paper and stored in zip-lock bags.
  3. Store in an air tight container until ready to use.  It will stay soft for several weeks if stored airtight. The playdough can be stored at room temperature for a long time.

Hmm … I feel like I’m forgetting the most important step.  Oh, that’s right – PLAY! Now that you know how to make playdough at home, your kids are in for tons of sensory play and creativity!

For more creative goodness visit Homemade By Jill 

How to make playdough without cooking

Can you make playdough without cooking? Yes, you can! Try:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3/4 cup salt
  • 1 Tablespoon oil
  • food coloring

Mix the wet ingredients together and mix the dry ingredients together. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry until you have the correct consistency.

This is a super quick and easy playdough recipe and it works great! We love this one because children can help with the entire process, although it can be a bit messy. Notice this recipe has no cream of tartar – yes, you can make playdough without cream of tartar.

How do you make the best homemade playdough?

Now that you’ve got the base recipe you like best, try making your own custom colors! Store-bought play doh comes in classic blue, yellow, hot pink, and more, but you can make just about any shade your little ones want with food coloring at home!

  • Or how about adding glitter? My daughter loves any reason to break out the glitter, and it works great with playdough. Add about 1 tablespoon of glitter to each batch. If you’ve got little ones who like to taste test and sample your wares, you might want to pass on this special addition…
  • For wonderfully scented playdough, try kneading in a couple of drops of your favorite essential oils – just playing with this is so relaxing. Or what about giving natural food coloring a try?

There are so many variations on how to make playdough out there, so if you have any recommendations, tips, or tricks, please let us know in the comments! How do you make playdough fun for your kids?

Alum versus Cream of Tartar in Playdough

Some recipes will call for alum instead of cream of tartar. While they aren’t the same thing, they can be interchanged in your playdough recipe, since they both help with texture and consistency.

What does cream of tarter do for playdough? Cream of tartar is an acid, like lemon juice, and is used in cooking as a stabilizing agent for items like meringues and whipped cream. While it does help with the consistency…and I bet you won’t miss it.

More Sensory Fun!

Now that you know how to make playdough, how about giving these other squishy recipes a try? These great ideas will keep kids of all ages playing all day long:


About Cindy Hopper

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Comments

  1. As a preschool teacher, I make play doh weekly for my class…sometime more often if there is a sneeze in it or such…I prefer the kool aid recipie…and it may work for those who can’t find cream of tartar or alum.
    2 1/2 cups flour
    1/2 cup salt
    2 small packages of kool aid(unsweetened)

    2 cups boiling water
    3 tbsp oil

    mix together the dry ingredients
    add the wet ones while boiling

    mix with wood spoon, then knead by hand

    when COOL store in an air tight container

    can be frozen and thawed for later play!

    🙂 good luck!

  2. This one from Cooks.com uses alum instead of cream of tartar. I have used this one and it is great! Maybe those of you who can’t find cream of tartar can use this one!!

    1 1/2 c. water
    1/2 c. salt
    2 tbsp. powdered alum
    2 tbsp. cooking oil
    2 1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. flour
    Food coloring

    Mix water, salt and food coloring and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add alum and oil. Pour all at once into flour. Mix and knead with hands. Store in a plastic bag. (If playdough should get hard, add water.)

  3. We made the playdough Saturday morning….my 7 & 9 year old sons LOVED it! They have gotten it out constantly since. Thanks for the reminder of how fun playdough is!

  4. You can also add a drop of food extract to make it scented. I add a drop or two of vanilla for calming playdough…LOL! Thanks for the recipe Jill. I had lost mine. With kids stuff having so many chemicals in them these days, it is great to have some old fashion recipes for things that you can control. Plus it is a great lesson to teach kids not EVERYTHING comes from the store

  5. Wow I didnt know you could do that. This is perfect as my son keeps eating the playdough.

  6. Hi, I made the cooked playdough recipe with liquid colours (pink, blue, green, fire engine red) this afternoon with my 4 year old. He loved squishing in the colours in the ziplock bag (great suggestion!).
    It turned out just as beautifully as the pictures by Jill. Thank you so much. I am going to make play dough as party treats for the kids for his 5th birthday next month! Great website Skip to my Lou! thank you xox

  7. I made the non-cook version and I thought it was good (I chose it because I told my son I’d make him some playdough, and I was too impatient to do the cooked version because I thought it would take too long to cool), but then when I did the cooked version, the product was VASTLY superior, and it didn’t even take that long to cool. 🙂

    Love homemade playdough.

  8. I am looking at the substitutions for cream of tartar, and the options are vinegar or baking powder. Anyone try using one of these? In Peru there are a lot of things I can’t get, so we do lots of substitutions.

  9. @ Ahuefa
    and in German its Weinstein(back)pulver.

    However, I can’t find it at any store here.
    Anybody knows if it can be replaced by backing soda/backing powder??
    Would really love to make this awesome playdough for my little boy.
    Waving from Germany,
    Jule

  10. @ Ahuefa

    in Dutch it is called “wijnsteenpoeder”, perhaps that’s easyer to translate.

    Toffe kleuren zeg!

  11. This looks great, but could you tell me how it would turn out without cream of tartar? I’ve been living in Peru for 2 1/2 years, and I still can’t find it.

  12. This is my favorite play-dough recipe! I love how bright the colors are and how long it stays pliable… or playable. 🙂 I made some in the Fall for our co-op pre-school and it’s still good.

  13. a Kool-aid envelope (the kind you add sugar to) are great to use instead of dye and gives the playdough a great smell too

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