Rainbow Playdough Recipe
Play dough is one of the best boredom buster activities for kids of ANY age to occupy them for hours. Our easy play dough recipe is not only fun to make but only requires 4 ingredients you likely already have in your pantry! Crafty mom win!
Parents and kids all around LOVE our popular orange scented play dough so in honor of St. Patrick’s Day coming up, we’ve made an easy rainbow play dough that only uses 4 pantry staple ingredients and EASY to make!
Rainbow Playdough
Some parents opt out of using food coloring so that is definitely optional but sure makes the play dough pretty! Note that this is only 6 colors while the rainbow is technically made up of 7 but it’s still colorful and fun!
Ingredients for Rainbow Playdough Recipe
You likely already have these supplies to make play doughh in your pantry ready to go. Furthermore, I love this recipe because it doesn’t require a trip to the store for fancy ingredients!
- 3 cups water
- 8 tablespoons cooking oil
- 4 cups flour
- 8 tablespoons cream of tartar
- food coloring: 4 basic colors, blue, red, green, yellow
How to make Rainbow Playdough Recipe
- In a large pot, combine all ingredients except food coloring.
- Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until a ball of dough forms.
- Remove from stove and let the dough cool for five minutes then shape into 6 fist size dough balls.
- Add food coloring to each dough ball: Red: 2 drops. Orange: 2 red, 2 yellow. Yellow: 2 drops. Blue: 2 drops. Green: 2 drops. Purple: 2 red, 2 blue. (For more vibrant colors, double the amount of drops/color.)
- Knead each ball with your hands until smooth.
- Bust out the cookie cutters for instant shapes, (optional.)
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge when not in use to preserve freshness!
Rainbow Playdough Recipe
Here’s a printable recipe card if you don’t want to keep coming to the website:
Rainbow Playdough Recipe
Materials
- 3 Cups Water
- 8 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
- 4 Cups Flour
- 8 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar
- Food Coloring 4 basic colors, blue, red, green, yellow
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine all ingredients except food coloring.
- Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until a ball of dough forms.
- Remove from stove and let the dough cool for five minutes then shape into 6 fist size dough balls.
- Add food coloring to each dough ball: Red: 2 drops. Orange: 2 red, 2 yellow. Yellow: 2 drops. Blue: 2 drops. Green: 2 drops. Purple: 2 red, 2 blue. (For more vibrant colors, double the amount of drops/color.)
- Knead each ball with your hands until smooth.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge when not in use to preserve freshness!
Notes
Pin this 4-ingredient play dough recipe to make later!
More kids activities and crafts!
We’ve rounded up 30 activities to do with your kids. Some require a little planning or prep but most can be done with items you have laying around the house.
Check out all of our kid activities like our fun glitter slime recipe, easy embroidery hoop tic-tac-toe game, or these cute Sock Snakes your kids will LOVE making!
Remember that a rainbow is 7 colors, not 6.
Let us not mix child activities with adult activism.
You’re right, we should have said colorful scheme or something instead of rainbow since it’s not 7 color. I don’t know what you mean about adult activism? The only thing we associate the rainbow with is God. ♥️
I love the colors and the easy recipe! Looking forward to making dome very soon 🙂
How fun!! Love all the gorgeous colors of playdough
I make homemade clay all the time and it never looks this pretty. I’m going to try it your way 🙂
I love this! My kids love play dough so I make it often. Your colors are SO pretty!!
Such happy photos and the play dough could be gluten free 🙂 ( I have Celiac and have to steer clear of regular play dough) Then Animal Jam & National Geographic!? Perfect, I can’t wait to tell my little granddaughters all about it! ox
That is just so cool!! I’ll have to tell my sister about Animal Jam.Her boys(11,9,5) would just love that!!