10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (2024)

Have you ever tried a new play-dough recipe? Was it everything you hoped it would be or was it an experience you never want to repeat?

I have tried lots and lots of different play-dough recipes and been disappointed many times, I have also tried a few that were AWESOME. The problem is I can never remember which recipes worked and which turned out to be a horrible mess. I also never know how much play-dough a recipe is going to make or how long it is going to last...it is all a HUGE guessing game.

We LOVE play-dough at our house...it's my 4 year old's favorite activity and I enjoy it too so we have played this guessing game a lot. About a year ago I thought I'd found the perfect play-dough recipe online but when I made it I was very disappointed...it made a ton of play-dough and it was a crumbly mess. I decided I wasn't going to play this guessing game anymore. I decided to devote an entire day to making and playing with play-dough and recording info about each recipe.


10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (1)

What We Did- Our play-dough day

(Pretty much we had a HUGE play-dough day!)

1- We made all 10 of my play-dough recipes the same day (I followed directions exactly)

2- We played with each play-dough and wrote down what we thought about it

3- Measured how much play-dough the recipe made (We measured using store bought play-dough containers)

4- Took pictures of each recipe

5- Stored each recipe in plasticZiplocbags

6- Played with each play-dough at 3 weeks, 2 months, 6 months and 9 months after making it and took notes.

What We Wanted to Know

1- If we liked the recipe or not (Trash it or Keep it?)

2- How much play-dough the recipe made

3- How long it lasted/stayed good

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (2)


Recipes & Results
**Over the years we have tried some fun edible play-dough's. They are fun but typically a one day play-dough. They don't last long and usually end up getting eaten so we didn'texperimentwith any edible play-dough's.

Recipe #1 (Best Play-dough)

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (3)

Ingredients

1 C Flour

1 C Water

1/4 C Salt

1 T VegetableOil

2 t Cream of Tarter

Food Coloring (4 drops)

Sauce Pan and Wooden Spoon

Directions (Cook all ingredients over stove)

1- Pour all ingredients (order does not matter) into sauce pan.

2- Stir until everything is mixed well.

3- Once the mixture is mostly clump free heat over medium heat.

4- Stir and keep stirring, after a few minutes it will start to clump up.

5- Stir until one big clump is formed and remove from heat.

6- Knead by hand.

Keep or Trash?:Keep! This was by far my favorite recipe, it's just like store bought play-dough! It isn't toosticky/oilyanddoesn'tleave a residue on hands or surface.

How Long it Lasted:

9+ months (We still have it) At 6 months this play-dough was just like it was when we made it, at 9 months it was starting tocrystallizea tiny bit but still great to play with.

How Much it Made:

2 1/4 containers

Recipe #2 (Great Play-dough)

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (4)

Ingredients

3 C Flour
1 C Salt
6 t Cream of Tarter
3 t Oil
3 C Water
Food Coloring

Directions (Cook all ingredients over stove)
1- Pour all ingredients (order does not matter) into sauce pan.

2- Stir until everything is mixed well.

3- Once the mixture is mostly clump free heat over medium heat.

4- Stir and keep stirring, after a few minutes it will start to clump up.

5- Stir until one big clump is formed and remove from heat.

6- Knead by hand.

Keep or Trash:

Keep! This is a good play-dough and makes a ton. It does leave a very slight white residue on hands and surface.

How Long it Lasted:

9+ months. At 6 months itcrystallizedslightly, by 9 months it was a little dry but still good to play with.

How Much it Made:

6 containers


Recipe #3 (Good Play-dough)10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (5)


Ingredients

2 C Flour
1 C Salt
4 t Cream of Tarter or Alum
2 C Water
2 T Oil
Food Coloring

Directions (Heat water over stove then mix in large bowl)
1- Mix dry ingredients
2- Boil water and oil
3- Mix all together in large bowl
4- Knead

Keep or Trash:

Keep! This was a great recipe but did become sticky overtime.

How Long it Lasted:

9+ months. This recipe became sticky at 6 months but it was still okay to play with...just a little messy.

How Much it Made:

4 Containers

Recipe #4 (Kool-aid Play-dough)

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (6)

Ingredients
1 C Flour
1/2 C Salt
3 t Oil
1 Small Package of Kool-aid (any flavor)
1 C boiling water

Directions (Heat water over stove then mix in large bowl)
1- Mix dry ingredients
2- Add oil and boiling water
3- Stir
4- Knead on waxed paper

Keep or Trash:

Keep! This smells really good for the first week but then the smell wears off. It also stores well without having to be refrigerated.

How Long it Lasted:

9 + months. After about 3 months it is a little sticky and leaves a slight white residue but is still great to play with.

How Much it Made:

2 1/4 Container

Recipe #5 (Jello Play-dough)

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (7)

Ingredients
1 C Flour
1 C Warm Water
2 t Salt
2 t Cream of Tarter
2 t Oil
1 Packet (3 oz) Jello (any flavor)

Directions (Cook all ingredients over stove)
1- Pour all ingredients (order does not matter) into sauce pan.

2- Stir until everything is mixed well.

3- Once the mixture is mostly clump free heat over medium heat.

4- Stir and keep stirring, after a few minutes it will start to clump up.

5- Stir until one big clump is formed and remove from heat.

6- Knead by hand.

Keep or Trash:

Keep. This was a good one time play-dough although itdoesn'tlast long.

How Long it Lasted:

At 2 weeks it had become really sticky.

How Much it Made:

2 1/2 Containers

Recipe #6

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (8)

Ingredients
1/4 C Salt
1 C Flour
1/4 C Water

Directions (No cook, just mix in bowl)
Mix with hands in bowl, knead.

Keep or Trash:Trash, it worked but was not a very good play-dough.

How Long it Lasted:

At 3 weeks it was a little watery, at 2 months the oil had surfaced and it was very sticky.

How Much it Made:

1 1/2 Containers

Recipe #7 (Baking Soda Play-dough)10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (9)

Ingredients

1 C Baking Soda
1/2 C Corn Startch
3/4 C Water

Directions (Cook all ingredients over stove)
1- Pour all ingredients (order does not matter) into sauce pan.

2- Stir until everything is mixed well.

3- Once the mixture is mostly clump free heat over medium heat.

4- Stir and keep stirring, after a few minutes it will start to clump up.

5- Stir until one big clump is formed and remove from heat.

6- Knead by hand.

Keep or Trash:

Trash. This could be a good alternative to flour recipes, but it's not a great play-dough.

How Long it Lasted:

3 Weeks. At 2 Months it hadseparatedand was not good to play with.

How Much it Made:

1 1/2 Containers

Recipe #8

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (10)

Ingredients
2 C boiling water
2 T oil
1/4 C Salt
2 C Flour
2 T Cream of Tarter or Alum

Directions (Heat water over oven then mix in large bowl)
1- Boil Water and Oil
2- Mix all ingredients in large bowl
3- Knead

Keep or Trash:

Trash. This would be an alright one timer but I won't be making it again.

How Long it Lasted:

Molded in 3 weeks.
How Much it Made:3 1/2 Container

Recipe #9 (Crumbly No-Cook Play-dough)

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (11)

Ingredients
3 C Flour
1 C Cold Water
1 C Salt
2 t Oil
Food Coloring

Directions (No Cook, mix ingredients in large bowl)
Mix with hands in bowl, knead.

Keep or Trash:

Trash, way to crumbly.

How Long it Lasted:

This was really crumbly in the beginning but we held on to it for 2 months to see if it got better. At 2 months the oil came to the surface and it was sticky but still crumbled like crazy.
How Much it Made:4 Containers

Recipe # 10

Ingredients
2 C Flour
2 C Water
4 t Cream of Tarter
2 T Oil
1 t salt
Food Coloring

Directions (Cook all ingredients over stove)
1- Pour all ingredients (order does not matter) into sauce pan.

2- Stir until everything is mixed well.

3- Once the mixture is mostly clump free heat over medium heat.

4- Stir and keep stirring, after a few minutes it will start to clump up.

5- Stir until one big clump is formed and remove from heat.

6- Knead by hand.


Keep or Trash:

Trash, Molded in 4 days.

How Long it Lasted:

4 days. This play-dough was fine (sticky) for a one-time use but did not store well at all.

How Much it Made:

3 Containers

Secrets to Making Great Play-dough

I learned a few things from this experiment::
~Cream of Tarter really helps the dough stay together.

~Don't add a lot of salt...it dries the dough out.

~Their are all sorts of ways to make play-dough: Cooking it over the stove: adding hot water to the dry ingredients and no-cook recipes. If you are looking for a store bought like play-dough that stays together well and doesn'thave visible grains of salt you are most likely going to use a recipe that requires cooking it over the stove. Others are easier to make but don't turn out as well.
~Play-dough is best stored in plastic Ziploc bags that seal well. Weexperimentedwith storing it in containers and plastic bags and the play-dough in the bags stayed better longer...it didn't dry out as fast.

Wondering what to do with your play-dough now that you have a great recipe? Click the link below for some fun play-doughactivities.

Fun Play-dough Activities

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10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (12)

10 Homemade Play-dough Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best homemade playdough recipe? ›

how to make the world's best homemade play-doh. You'll need 3 cups of white all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons cream of tartar, 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of table salt, 3-4 tablespoons of any cooking oil (start with 3 and add more if necessary), 3 cups HOT water, and food coloring.

What are the 4 ingredients in playdough recipe? ›

1-cup salt 4 cups flour 1 ½ cups water 4tbs. oil Mix flour and salt. Add water and oil slowly to the dry ingredients, stirring with a spoon until well blended. Knead dough until soft and pliable.

How to make homemade playdough with 2 ingredients? ›

Instructions. Place the cornstarch in a large bowl. Mix in the hair conditioner with your hands--it will just start coming together and it will be pliable and very, very smooth. If desired, add a drop or two or food coloring.

What is the secret ingredient in play dough? ›

With this recipe the key is to really make sure you knead the dough well to avoid ending up with an end product that is too sticky or wet. The glycerine is a secret ingredient that makes the playdough extra stretchy and fun!

How to make play dough easy no cook recipe? ›

Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly stir in the oil, warm water, and 2-3 drops of food coloring until the mixture is well combined. Transfer the dough to a flat surface and let it sit for a few minutes. It may feel a bit sticky, but DO NOT add more flour.

What is the secret recipe for play doh? ›

Ingredients for Super Soft Playdough
  1. 3/4 cup flour.
  2. 1/4 cup baby powder (this is the secret ingredient! If you don't like using baby powder, corn starch is a good alternative)
  3. 1/4 cup salt.
  4. 2 tsp cream of tartar.
  5. 1 tablespoon of baby oil.
  6. 3/4 cup of water.
  7. food coloring (I used gel food coloring)
Feb 20, 2023

Why cream of tartar in playdough? ›

In fact, baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and cream of tartar. It is slightly acidic, and because of this, it affects the gluten structure of the playdough to make it more elastic. Tartaric acid acts as an emulsifier, so it helps prevent any added oil from separating.

How to make cloud dough? ›

Just mix baby oil and flour in a 1:8 ratio-- we used 1/4 cup baby oil and 2 cups flour--and you have cloud dough!

What is the 3 ingredient homemade playdough recipe? ›

Easy Playdough Recipe – Just 3 Ingredients!

Mix together your flour, water, cream of tartar, and vegetable oil in a large mixing bowl. Scoop the mixture into a sauce pan and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly until your mixture turns into dough.

How do you make playdough with plain flour? ›

For one playdough ball, mix together:
  1. 8 tbsp plain flour.
  2. 2 tbsp table salt.
  3. 60ml warm water.
  4. 1 tbsp vegetable oil.
  5. food colouring (optional)

How to make play doh with lotion? ›

- 1 part baby lotion or conditioner (we used 1/3 cup) - 2 parts cornstarch (we used 2/3 cup) - A few drops of food coloring (optional but.

What is the secret recipe for play-doh? ›

Ingredients for Super Soft Playdough
  1. 3/4 cup flour.
  2. 1/4 cup baby powder (this is the secret ingredient! If you don't like using baby powder, corn starch is a good alternative)
  3. 1/4 cup salt.
  4. 2 tsp cream of tartar.
  5. 1 tablespoon of baby oil.
  6. 3/4 cup of water.
  7. food coloring (I used gel food coloring)
Feb 20, 2023

How to make homemade playdough soft and stretchy? ›

Cream of tartar– gives the dough it's body and texture. A little makes the dough soft and stretchy, add a bit more, and the Makes the dough soft and stretchy as opposed to soft and crumbly. Vegetable oil- Keep the dough moisturized, so it doesn't dry out as quickly.

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