How to Make Slime WITHOUT Glue or Borax (LOTS of Kid-Safe Ideas!) (2024)

How to make slime without glueor borax — non toxic and safe for kids of all ages! Learn to master making some of our favorite edible slimes!

How to Make Slime without Glue

Over the past year and a half I’ve gotten a reputation as a “slime blogger”— and I’m totally ok with that!

Slime may have started as a trend, but it looks like it’s here to stay! And why not – slime is easy to make and provides hours of fun, sensory play.

We love it in our house and I love to show others how to make slime, especially safe slime recipes that are kid-safe, taste-safe, and worry-free!

Why No Glue Slime?

When we first started making slime, my youngest daughter was two years old and still in the stage where she wanted to puteverything in her mouth. And of course she didn’t want to miss out on any activities that her older sister did, like making slime!

That’s why we started looking for ideas to make slime without glue, using simple kitchen ingredients.That way I didn’t have to worry about the girls touching or tasting any harsh substances.

The result was fabulous:squishy, colorful slime that smelled fantastic and was actually taste-safe too!

While I still supervise my girls closely when we make any type slime (even our safe slimes), with these no glue slime recipes I don’t have to worry about them sneaking a taste or licking their fingers while I’m not watching.

Read the Ingredients Carefully…

Many of the traditional slime recipes that you’ll find on the internet are glue-based and use borax or boric acid (either in liquid starch or saline solution) as an activator. The result is super-stretchy, long-lasting slime – awesome stuff!

We love our Elmer’s glue slime recipes— BUT —if you have young kids, you might worry about exposure to the chemicals used in these glue & borax slimes. Or you might be concerned about what would happen if your child tried to taste any of that slime.

WARNING: There are a lot of slime recipes that claim to be glue or borax free, but if they use contact lens solution or liquid starch, then they cannot truly be called “borax free.”

That’s because both contact lens solution and liquid starch contain boric acid, which is the chemical in borax and what you’re trying to avoid for a non-toxic slime recipe.

So if you’re really looking for a slime without borax or glue, be sure to read the ingredients carefully!

Our 2 Most Popular No Glue Slime Recipes Ever

These two glue free slime recipes are a great place to start!

1. Edible Silly Putty

This is the one that started it all!

Our first edible slime recipe turned out so fantastic, that I shared on my blog last year. That first recipe, Edible Silly Putty, was our most-visited post of all in 2017!

This kid-safe slime recipe changes colors when you mix it, and you only need 3 simple ingredients! You don’t even need food coloring!

Here’s a quick demo video showing how to make silly putty slime:

2. Edible Pudding Slime

This might actually be my favorite slime recipe EVER!

OurEdible Pudding Slime recipe went viral over the summer, and has been shared hundreds of thousands of times on Facebook and Pinterest.

We love this variety because it’s a thick, fluffy slime that’s soft like play dough. I’d consider it more of a “slime dough” but it IS stretchy! It’s the best of both!

Oh, and it smellsamazing!!

Here’s a quick video to make our super-soft Pudding Slime:

How Do You Make Slime with Household Items?

For our edible slime recipes, we almost always use one household item as our base…

Cornstarch!

Not only is cornstarch readily available in stores, it’s non-toxic too!

But the really cool thing about cornstarch is that when mixed with a liquid it becomes what is known as a “non-Newtonian fluid.” In super-simple terms, a non-Newtonian fluid exhibits properties of both a liquid and a solid.

In fact, the substance formed by mixing cornstarch and water is known as Oobleck, one of the most classic slime recipes of all time. (It’s actually the first type of slime that I made as a kid!)

We love to make cornstarch slime because of it’s morphing physical properties, and also because it is safe to touch and taste. (Even if it doesn’t taste so great by itself!)

Here’s how to make the cornstarch slime recipe known as “oobleck”…

How to Make Cornstarch Slime – aka “Oobleck”

Slime Play Tip: We love to make our oobleck in a large bowl and add mini-figures to the mix. The girls love to watch their figures sink into the slime!

Now let’s talk about how to make more more glue free slime by taking the basic Oobleck recipe to the next level!

Our Favorite Edible Slime Ingredients

We’ve experimented with almost everything in our pantry to make slime! And we’re always brainstorming new ideas and ingredients to try.

The following are things we like to have on hand to make easy slime without glue at home; we’ve included shop-able ad links for your convenience in finding these items (disclosure policy here).

• Sugar-free Jello
• Instant pudding
• Gummy bears
• Marshmallows
• Powdered sugar
• Coconut oil
• White frosting
• Cake sprinkles
• Cocoa powder
• Non-stick silicone baking mat (for easy clean-up)
• Non-slip mixing bowls

You won’t need every ingredient for every recipe, but if you have these at home, you’ll be able to try quite a few different easy slime without glue recipes!

In our master list of edible slime recipes, we’ll show you how to make slime using the ingredients listed above!

Keep reading for our full list of kid-safe edible slime recipes, including this fascinating glow in the dark slime! (Believe it or not, it’s taste-safe too!)

Slime Troubleshooting – How to Make Cornstarch Slime Perfectly Every Time

Cornstarch slime exhibits different properties than traditional glue & borax slime, so the steps to make it will be different too. While glue free slime (like the edible slimes we make) isn’t quite as stretchy as glue and borax slime, the trade-off in safety makes it SO worth it for us!

If your cornstarch slime doesn’t turn out how you expected, here are a few tips we use to fix it:

• If your slime is too dry or starts to crumble:Add more of your liquid ingredient, one teaspoon at a time. (This is also how you can re-hydrate slime that has been sitting out for a few hours).
• If your slime is too sticky:Add cornstarch, one tablespoon at a time, kneading into your slime or dough until it no longer sticks to your hands.
• The most important thing:Patience! With most of our slime recipes, it can take a few minutes of stirring and mixing to achieve the perfect slime consistency. Don’t worry if your slime isn’t ready in seconds— keep following the instructions for how to make slime in each of our recipe posts and you’ll get it!

Making slime isn’t an exact science, and sometimes you simply need to play around with it a bit to get the perfect consistency.

If you don’t get it right at first, don’t throw that slime away! It’s actually pretty hard to completely “mess up” our edible slime recipes, and they can usually be easily fixed!

How to Store Your Glue-Free Slime

Since these safe slime recipes are made with food ingredients, they won’t keep for weeks like glue-based slimes. The good news is that these edible slime recipes are usually inexpensive to make, and they are safer than glue and borax slime!

These edible cornstarch slimes are best enjoyed the day they are made, but you can store in an air-tight container in the fridge for a day or two. You may need to rehydrate before playing the next time. I also don’t recommend tasting these slimes after the first day of play. (Since these glue free slimes are perishable, always check for signs of mold before using on the next day).

More slime safety tips follow our favorite glue free slime recipes!

Slime Safety Tips

Making slime is TONS of fun, and the recipes we share here are designed to be safe for kids to play with under adult supervision. However, it is still important to review safety guidelines, no matter what type of slime it is.

We love to share recipes, but we also want to make sure we talk about how to make slime safely.

Following the tips below will help ensure that your slime experience is all fun!

• While our taste-safe slime recipes are technically edible, they’re not meant to be consumed as food. Always supervise kids when playing with slime, even taste-safe slime.
• All activities and slime recipes on this website should be used or tried with your good judgement and common sense.
• Every child is different in their capabilities, so be sure to consider the age-appropriateness of each activity for individual children. Never leave children alone when playing with any type of slime.
• To avoid staining, make slime on non-porous surfaces that can be easily wiped down and cleaned afterwards.
• Always wash hands thoroughly after any trying any slime recipe. Some ingredients may stain hands temporarily (like brightly-colored Jello), so we stick to cool colors that are less likely to stain, like green.
• We also recommend wearing play clothes or an apron when making slime to prevent staining of clothing.
• The Soccer Mom Blog is not responsible for any damages incurred by trying any of the slime recipes listed on this website.

Read this next: How to Make Slime Safely (includes safety tips for making ALL types of slime)

Now that we’ve got through the “fine print,” let’s get back to the fun stuff!

Keep reading to learn how to make slime with our BIGcollection of edible slime recipes below!

How Do You Make Easy Slime?

The Oobleck recipe above is one of three starter slime recipes that form the base for hundreds of awesome slime variations! Once you master these basic recipes, you can make almost anything, from fluffy slime to floam to galaxy slime!

Click here to learn how to make slime using our three starter recipes!

More Edible Slime and Play Dough Recipes

See ALL of our edible slime recipes!Check out our Master List of Edible Slime Recipes for Kids here!

Our edible slime recipes are made with simple household ingredients that you might already have in your kitchen. Perfect for hours of sensory play that’s safe and non-toxic!

Learn how to make glue free slime recipes like:

• Pudding Slime
• Gummy Bear Slime
• Stretchy Candy Slime
• Chocolate Slime
• …and more!!

Want Even More Slime Fun??

Get over 100pages of slime recipes in our Updated 2nd Edition ofThe Slime Book! This colorful sensory play resource is available in both print and digital formats!

From seasonal & holiday slime, to glow-in-the-dark slime, there are 43 unique slime recipes for hours of play! Many of them are brand new and never published!

CLICK HERE to see ALL the recipes grab your copy of The Slime Book today!