The BEST homemade playdough recipe – make in less than 5 minutes for under a $1 and have it last for months! It is so soft and squishy and cuts perfectly with cookie cutters.
Favorite Kids Activity
One of my kids favorite activities is playing with play dough. It is the perfect indoor activity for when it’s raining, too cold or too hot. When the weather’s nice we’ll even take it outside on the porch. My kids (age 8, 6 and 2) ALL love playing with play dough. My son pretends like he’s outgrowing it, but whenever my girls start playing with it, he always ends up joining in on the fun. I usually give them a few different colors, a mini rolling pin, some cookie cutters and let them go to town. I love seeing their imagination work.
Why is this the best homemade playdough recipe?
- It is SUPER soft and squishy, but doesn’t stick
- The play dough lasts for months in a zip top bag
- It is inexpensive to make
- It makes enough for 4-6 kids
- You can add different colors and even scents to customize your dough
We love making our own play dough, because it is so much softer (and cheaper) than the store bought stuff. I find it also lasts longer as well. Over the years I’ve tried dozens of recipes and this one here is the best playdough recipe out there! I got it several years ago from my son’s preschool teacher and figured I better post it to my blog so I don’t have to keep searching for it. At their preschool, the parents take turns making the play dough a different color each month and once I used this recipe, I haven’t looked back. I have slightly adapted the original recipe over the years. The main thing that I have done is cut down on the salt, as I found it keeps the dough extra soft for months!
How to make playdough
Playdough ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
- Food coloring, optional (I like Wilton gel food coloring or AmeriColor gel)
- Quart sized bags
Stir together the flour, salt and cream of tartar in a large pot. Next add the water and oil. If you’re only making one color, add in the the color now as well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the dough has thickened and begins to form into a ball. Remove from heat and then place inside a gallon sized bag or onto wax paper. Allow to cool slightly and then knead until smooth. If you’re adding colors after, divide the dough into balls (for how many colors you want) and then add the dough into the quart sized bags. Start with about 5 drops of color (my favorite brands are listed above) and add more to brighten it. Knead the dough, while inside the bag so it doesn’t stain your hands. Once it’s all mixed together you’re ready to PLAY.
Store the play dough inside the bags once done to keep soft. Keeps for up to 3 months.
Once the dough is finished, I like to put each dough ball into it’s own quart sized zip top bag. Then I let my kids squish the colors together. It gives the kids something to do, makes it so your hands aren’t stained and then gives the dough a home after. We use the same bag to store the dough when the kids are done playing with it. If you only plan on making ONE color, just add the food coloring into the pan when you add the water (makes it easier to mix it in). My kids can never decide on just one color, so we usually need to divide it out.
Need more kid friendly activities? Make homemade slime, fluffy slime or this recipe for butter slime, too!
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How to Make Homemade Playdough
Video
Equipment
- Spoon for stirring
- Gallon size bag or wax paper for cooling
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
Optional: food coloring (I use Wilton for brighter colors)
Instructions
- Stir together the flour, salt and cream of tartar in a large pot. Next add the water and oil. If you’re only making one color, stir in the the color now.
- Cook over medium-heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the dough has thickened and begins to form into a ball. Remove from heat and then place inside a bowl. Allow to cool slightly and then knead until smooth.
- If you’re adding multiple colors, divide the dough into balls (for how many colors you want) and then add the dough into seperate quart sized bags. Start with about 5 drops of color and add more to brighten it. Knead the dough, while inside the bag so it doesn’t stain your hands.
- Once it’s all mixed together, you’re ready to PLAY. Store the play dough inside the bags to keep soft. If stored properly it will keep soft for up to 3 months.
Notes
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Another fun addition to the play dough is to add glitter. We added about 1/4 cup to the bag and kneaded it in with blue and yellow.
My almost 2 year old loves squishing the dough. I love watching those chubby little fingers go to work.
My 6 year old daughter loves pulling out the cookie cutters and making all kinds of designs! She is quite the girly girl. ;)
Make a batch for your kids once school is out for a summer to remember!
AMAZING! I recomend cloud slime
So glad you liked it :)
I just made this! With olive oil though.. but it still turned out good! Now to let my son have some fun. Thanks for the recipe! I was running out of stuff for him to do.
You are so welcome! Hope he loves it :)
Just made this today during nap time! Can’t wait to let my toddler go to town with it when he wakes up. Recipe worked perfectly!
Yay! I hope he loves it! :)
Great recipe! Thank you!!
You are so welcome! Enjoy :)
I never buy playdoh. This recipe works really well and I’ve made it three times. Tips: I use a heavy silicone flat end spoon for stirring when heating it. I divide the finished batch into three bags. It’s easier to mix the color with a smaller amount of dough.
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for your helpful tips :)
Worked perfectly. Not sticky at all and my kids love it! Thanks so much.
So happy your kids loved it! Thanks for your comment Meghan :)
My Grandchildren love making this play dough. We use coconut oil, which doesn’t leave permanent stains, and we get the food coloring from Dollar Tree. They are very creative with the colors.
Great tips, Becky! Thank you for sharing :)
What kind of scents do you recommend using ? Essential Oil or something else?
Yes you can add in a few drops of essential oils. We like lavender or lemon.
So amazing! Feels just like the real thing. Made one batch 5 months ago that is still in perfect condition, and my daughter plays with it at least 3x a week. Just finished a second batch with more colors and came out absolutely perfect again! This recipe is a keeper for sure!
This makes me so happy to hear! Thanks so much for your nice comment and review, Catie :)
I loved this but when we next went to use it, it’s so sticky we can barely get it out of the bag and it’s stuck to our hands. I’ve had to get rid of it. How do you store it? I tried putting it in the fridge and still didn’t seem to lose the stickiness. I’m wondering if it got too warm.
Hi Heather! So sorry it got sticky. My guess is there wasn’t enough flour added or it was stored in the heat maybe? I typically store in a zip top bag or covered container is a cabinet.
Can not tell the difference between this and the real thing! AMAZING!
Yay! I’m so glad it was a success!
It was alright. But it took me awhile to get to medium heat on the oven. There are different types of ovens, you know!
Hi,
Have you had any issues with this molding? I noticed some black spots on mine I think may be mold. Also, my nephew is gluten-free, any luck with a recipe that doesn’t have gluten? We love this recipe!!
I haven’t had issues with that, but it may have gotten water in the bag. I would toss it if you notice any spots. I haven’t tested gluten free recipes, but I would use a gluten free flour.
Hi!
I made this for our math camp with shapes! We worked with the playdough to make it into shapes while keeping it in each zip lock bag ( per covid). It was super easy to make and the kids loved it so much! Thank you for sharing your great recipe with us!
Yay, this makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for your comment, Bethany :)
This is amazing! The texture is perfect! I used a hand mixer and it made it even easier!
So glad to hear :)
This recipe was so nice and gooey and really nice to play with. I made it for my little sister and she loved it so much. Will definitely be making this one again!
Yay, so happy your little sister loved the playdough! Thanks for your comment and review, Anou!
Omg my sister and I loved this. Thank you so much!
Yay, I’m so happy to hear that! :)
What if I don’t have cream of tartar? Can I use something else ?
I haven’t had as much success with substitutes.
Baking soda works very well! Use the same amount.