Easy DIY Playdough Recipe for Hours of Sensory Play!

This homemade playdough recipe is so simple and provides hours of sensory play for young children!

It takes just a few minutes to mix some simple ingredients, and then a couple of minutes to cook on the stovetop. The result is squishy, colorful, soft playdough!

This playdough lasts for months when stored in an airtight container and you can make all sorts of fun colors.

Gather some cookie cutters, mini animal figurines, measuring cups, utensils, or any other creative tools from your kitchen drawers that you can use to mash, stamp, and cut playdough. Young children come up with all sorts of ways to turn a regular old ball of playdough into a magical world through pretend play!

In Search of the Best Playdough Recipe

When I decided I wanted to make some homemade playdough for my toddler, I searched through many different recipes online. I tried a no-cook playdough recipe first, but it didn’t turn out so well. The playdough ended up being tough, dry, and crumbly, and my toddler was completely disinterested. 

I was hesitant to try another recipe after this total diy playdough fail, but I decided to give it another go. I’m so glad I did!

Playdough has become a staple activity in our house ever since. The homemade play dough recipe I share here is adapted from livingwellmom’s recipe with one very important difference!

I had been using livingwellmom’s recipe for years until one day I accidentally used 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar instead of 2 teaspoons. This made such a big difference!

The playdough with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar came out extra pliable and squishy. It was way better than the previous version. So now I always use 2 tablespoons instead of 2 teaspoons.

An Easy Playdough Recipe with 6 Simple Ingredients

• Cream of Tartar
• Flour
• Salt
• Canola or Vegetable Oil
• Food Coloring
• Water 

Flour, salt, and canola or vegetable oil are common ingredients most people already have in their cupboards. Cream of tartar and food coloring, however, may be ingredients many people have to go out and buy. At least I had to.

These are both very easy and inexpensive ingredients to come by though, so don’t let them stop you from trying out this great recipe! As I found out firsthand, trying to take a shortcut and use a recipe that doesn’t call for cream of tartar just isn’t worth it. The cream of tartar is what helps give the dough that perfect playdough squish feel and it’s also a natural preservative and helps keep the dough fresh. 

You can grab a small jar of cream of tartar during your next grocery shop for about $3 (it’s usually alongside the spices in the baking aisle).

And food coloring is usually in the same aisle as the cream of tartar and spices. I bought a pack of 4 colors for less than $4. 

You can make many balls of playdough with just one small jar of cream of tartar and a single pack of food coloring. So you end up getting the ingredients for a ton of playdough for a fraction of the price of store-bought playdough. Plus it is so fun for kids to be a part of the production process and create their own colors!

How Long Does Homemade Playdough Last?

Cream of tartar and salt are natural preservatives, so they help this playdough stay fresh for a long time (as long as it is stored in an airtight container)!

We have a few balls of playdough I made a couple of months ago, and they still look and feel fresh. In an ideal world, I’d make a new batch every 3 months or so. In reality, we have balls of playdough around our house that are older than 3 months and still look and feel just fine. 

Like any playdough though, no matter how soft and squishy it is to start with, it will eventually start to dry out. I use this as a measure of when it’s time to make a new batch (unless my toddler has been playing with it often with greasy grimy little fingers and I’m afraid of what bacteria might be starting to grow in there!). 

Reasons to Love Homemade Playdough

My toddler has so much fun exploring playdough and it is one of his favorite activities. He uses playdough during independent playtime as well as during playdates.

We set up a kids’ craft table with our homemade playdough, little animal figurines, cookie cutters, and mini rolling pins and it’s always a big hit!

Other reasons to love having a diy playdough recipe in your activity arsenal include the following;

• Give homemade playdough kits as gifts. Include cute little cookie cutters and tiny figurines to use with the playdough. This is such a fun and budget-friendly gift, and other parents will love you for not giving them yet another plastic toy to clutter up their house.
• Kids learn sequencing skills and how to follow directions with this fun recipe.
• Playdough is a soft and soothing texture that helps calm and ground kids.
• Exploring playdough encourages creativity. There is no end to what kids can make and explore with playdough.
• A big ball of playdough that provides a rich sensory experience keeps kids engaged and focused. Forget those mini containers of store-bought playdough; big globs of homemade playdough give kids something to sink their hands into!
• Molding playdough helps develop fine motor skills.
• Making playdough is a great activity to do on a rainy day or lazy afternoon.
• Homemade playdough uses simple ingredients and does not take a lot of time, so even parents who have their hands full can do it!

Additional kids’ activities to encourage creative exploration:
Homemade Kinetic Sand Recipe
Free Painting on Wooden Shapes
DIY Cardboard Toys

How did you like this DIY playdough recipe? Say hi and let me know in the comments!