Easy Recipe for Homemade Playdough (2024)

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!

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!

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.