This is so simple to make – no cooking required! Just mix all the ingredients together and in 5 minutes you have perfect playdough! You will never need to buy it from the store again!
Check out our simple video tutorial at the top of this post!
Ingredients
1.5 cups of flour
1/2 cup of salt
2 tbs of cream of tartar
1 tbs of oil
Food colouring
1 cup of boiling water
Directions
Mix all ingredients except the boiling water together into a large mixing bowl
Add the boiling water and mix well (Note, the food colouring will mix in better if added to the boiling water) Please take care when using boiling water around children.
Stir well until the mixture is well combined
Roll it out on a flat surface and you are ready for some playdough FUN!
The playdough will last quite a few days if it is stored in an air tight container or plastic wrap too! : )
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wawwww!
thanks for sharing and greetings from Italy
Thank-you so much for sharing 🙂 my children are so excited to create some today & we are even thinking of doing some Christmas ones for all their friends instead of chocolates 🙂 xo
That’s a great idea Samantha! Thanks for taking the time to say hello : ) Jenni x
I am going to try it out right now
This the best homemade playdough I’ve ever tried! Thank you so much!
Hi Lara, That’s fantastic to hear! Thank you so much for letting us know :). Louise x
Instead of food colouring, try using koolaid powder. The colours are deeper and it smells good too!
That’s a great idea! I’ve seen that done in Pinterest, but sadly, I don’t think we can get it here in Australia
You can also use cocao powder or extracts for smell if you can’t get the sugar crystals. When the kids play with it there is a nice aroma as well!
I don’t really get yr worries. I just did the playdough . I live in Perth. Super. Thank you very much 🙂
I am always interested in things like this for my grandkids.
Thanks for sharing
It ‘s a very good and fun activity for preschoolers:)
Great recipes.
I didnt have enough salt and i only had sea salt i added more flour and les salt and it worked i just played with it till i got it
love the preschool stuff
Thank you! We made this today when buses were cancelled due to weather. It was easy and the students from JK to grade 7 were all very excited. Cream of tarter is expensive though so I will check the bulk stores because this is a keeper.
That’s great news! So glad we could help out Liz! Thanks for sharing! Jenni x
I JUST made this and well lets say it did not work!…are you sure it’s only 1 cup of flour? cause my ‘play dough’ looks like a thick soupy mess of goo!…..lol
Just made this!.. I first thought I could add a package of jello to the boiling water to make a green lime smelling play dough. But it just made green lime smelling slop, just added flour until I got the right consistency. Turned out great so I made 3 more batches!! (Without jello and added in some fine glitter)
This play dough is excellent colored with 1 package of jello… it can be any flavor and any color and smells and looks wonderful. It is also non-toxic so if it gets in a mouth it is okay.
Not jello… Koolaid…… sorry
are these the same measurements and ingredients as “cooked” playdough? Thank you!
This play do is great but every few day i need to add water to give it moisture
If you keep it on the fridge will be better
Perfect recipe, worked first time! I used olive oil instead of canola. My 2 year old and 4 year old love it!
Just made play dough for my grandson,what fun he is having. Great receipie, thanks, hours of fun.
This recipe is the best, my little sister used this recipe for her birthday party thank you!!!:)
I am new here. But am absolutely thrilled to have stumbled upon your website. Looking forward to doing fund craft activities you share. Thank you for sharing the knowledge. Appreciate it. Really.
Just made a double batch of this playdough…..a fantastic, easy recipe!!! This has now become my go to playdough!!!
Hi Alethea!! So happy you gave it a go :). Louise xox
This was so easy to make, I used 4 homework and I had heaps of fun making it. LOL!
Absolutely brilliant. Kids love it so easy to make and so squidgy. Will be making more colours soon
I made this a few weeks ago. Keeps really well in a sealed bag in the fridge. Didn’t lose any moisture and my 4 year old appreciates the coolness on a hot summers day.
I’m adding glitter to my next batch:)
Thank you for this recipe!
Hi Chantal, Thank you so much for your great feedback! We LOVE this recipe too :). Louise x
I just got done making this. I didn’t have any food coloring so I used a few drops of marker ink from my daughters marker maker. Worked perfectly! I am excited to try Kool-Aid, glitter, and different colors. My 3 year old and 7 year old are playing with it right now!
Hi Jaclyn, What a brilliant idea to use some ink from the marker maker! Such a cool product! Thank you for letting us know how much you and your kids enjoy it :).
Louise x
I love it
Thanks for sharing.
Hello,
I am a recreational therapist in California and I just wanted to let you know I use your activities and recipes all the time in my groups with my clients and they love everything we have done so far! I just wanted to say thank you and keep up the great work!
Hello Rose, thank you so much for this lovely feedback! We are so happy to hear you are able to help others using these recipes and ideas. We think you should also keep up the great work!
Thanks again,
Louise x
Just made my first batch. I used jello powder 1 package added to the hot water I did ended up using more flour but it still beats having to cook it!! Thank yoU!!
My kids been begging for playdough and I refuse to buy them because I can’t stand the awful smell. The smell of playdough just makes me gag and want to vomit ever since I was a kid. Glad to have found this recipe, so easy to make and my boys are enjoying it right now. It’s cost less than buying playdough. I think I’m going to start buying the ingredients in bulk! Thanks!
That’s wonderful to hear Karen! We’re so glad 🙂 Jen x
Can I substitute the Cream of tartar for something else? I haven’t seen this ingredient in Spain where I am living.
I followed the recipe exactly but it was very soupy, ended up adding at least another cup of flour, did this happen to anyone else’s? Anyway still really like this no cook method & loved the video!! Thank you so much!
Yes it’s like making that perfect cup of tea. Every once in a while you need to adjust the recipe. I found that out the hard way. Just because someone perfected and send it out that doesn’t mean it will be perfect all the time. I’ve been making a lot of playdough and tried different recipes. The trials and errors make it so fun for me.
Is it really sticky?
If it gets sticky add more flour
OK, I just cut the recipe in half to save on Cream of Tartar, and got a PLENTY big blob that is more than enough for kids to have fun with. I recommend just under a half cup of water, as the complete 1/2 cup is a LITTLE tiny bit sticky at first (though it firms up nicely with kneading).
Absolutely brilliant procedure, thank you!
Was super sticky and gooey with that much water! I recommend half the water. I had to add a bunch more flour and some more oil to get it to the consistency that I wanted. Love that I don’t have to cook it tho!
Hi, just wondering if there are any replacements for cream of tartar cause I can’t seem to find any in my country
I was wondering if I was to dissolve the salt in the boiling water and then add to cake flour, If it would make a difference?
I used hotplate and I subbed 1/3 of the flour to cornstarch.. Made it softer. Worked out great. Until the next day. It’s a gooey and can’t wok the dough. Maybe air tight container was a bad idea? Or temp?
Hot water*
Hi there…did you try adding salt to the water first? Just wondering as Ilove this recipe but need to make a TON for xmas…
I just tried to make this 3 times ,all I get is a liquid mess ,why is it not working for me ,help
This is the best play dough recipe. I use it all of the time with my kids. I added your recipe to a recent blog post I wrote. https://skidaddlers.net/10-simple-ways-to-connect-with-your-child/
Thanks for the great ideas!
My daughter is 15 months old who really need help with scensory and loves it.. I had to add a lot of flower to make it not so sticky…
About how much does each batch make?