15 Homemade Edible Playdough Recipe Ideas

Edible playdough is so much fun!  We have collected the top homemade edible play dough recipes that are quick and easy to make at home and give you peace of mind with small children who might sneak playdough into their mouth. Older kids love playing with edible play dough too. These edible play dough recipes work well at home in the kitchen or pre-made for the classroom.

Edible Play Dough for Kids

These taste-safe playdough recipes are perfect for kids to learn through multiple senses as they play. These cover the sense of touch, smell, taste and sight all at the same time!

Our edible play dough recipes, homemade play dough, slime and more was so popular on Kids Activities Blog that we wrote the book, 101 Kids Activities that are the Ooey, Gooey-est Ever!: Nonstop Fun with DIY Slimes, Doughs and Moldables. 

see below for more information

You are not alone in your search for non-toxic playdough recipes! And edible playdough recipes are the perfect solution for homemade playdough play with small children (with supervision, of course).

Related: Edible Playdough Recipe – Only 3 Ingredients! and How to Make Edible Play Sand Out of Cheerios…Genius!

What Is Edible Play Dough?

We’ve included a simple recipe for play dough you can eat, along with a video to show just how your edible playdough should look when you make it. In our minds, edible playdough needs to be made with food ingredients and not just “taste-safe” meaning salt dough and those types of homemade play doughs don’t qualify.

Related: Our very favorite playdough recipe (not edible)

 Is Playdough Edible?

We feel like non-toxic and edible are quite different things. I think that is echoed by the original play dough, Play Doh:

“The exact ingredients of Play-Doh Classic Compound are proprietary, so we cannot share them with you. We can tell you that it is primarily a mixture of water, salt and flour. Play-Doh Classic Compound is not a food item…Play-Doh is not intended to be eaten.“

Play-Doh Website

OK, let’s move on to some truly edible play dough recipes! You may have suspected this, but edible play dough is one of our most popular requests here at Kids Activities Blog.

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How to make Edible Play Dough

There are a million edible playdough recipes (see below for our top 15), but our very favorite edible play dough recipe is something that you may not have made before and it uses ingredients you may already have in your kitchen…

Ingredients for our favorite Edible Playdough

• 8 oz tub of whipped topping (like Cool Whip)
• 2 cups cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

How to make Edible Play-Doh

One Minute Edible Playdough Tutorial Video

Watch our one-minute edible playdough video to see how easy it is to make this taste-safe recipe!

Step 1

Scoop the whipped topping into a large bowl.  

Step 2

Carefully fold the cornstarch into the topping until it is crumbly. We used a spatula to fold it together.

Step 3

Drizzle the lumps of edible playdough with the olive oil.

Step 4

Use your hands to work the dough together until it forms a ball.

Now it’s ready for play!

While we can appreciate a good basic recipe, we know kids love getting to explore different flavors, ingredients, and fun textures!

So we put together a list of taste-safe play dough recipes you can eat.

Top Edible Playdough Recipes

1. Birthday Cake Edible Play Dough

Play Dough Birthday Cake – This colorful and yummy edible playdough is a fan favorite in our Facebook community because it tastes just like birthday cake. 

2. Peppermint Patty Edible Play Dough Recipe

Peppermint Patty Dough  – Make a peppermint dough and a dark chocolate dough and combine them for this delicious recipe.

3. Candy Play Dough You Can Eat

Peeps Play Dough  – Do you have extra Peeps from Easter?  Turn them into playdough!

4. Peanut Butter Play Dough Recipe

Peanut Butter Dough – Mix marshmallows and peanut butter and let your kids explore the fun texture.

5. Edible Nutella Play Dough Recipe

Nutella Dough  – Who doesn’t love Nutella?  If your kids are crazy about this stuff, let them play with it!  From Still Playing School.

6. Let’s Make Edible Oatmeal Play Dough

Oatmeal Dough – Mix your kids favorite oatmeal with flour and water for a toddler perfect dough.   From The Life of Jennifer Dawn.

7. PB & Honey Play Dough Recipe

Peanut Butter and Honey Dough – Those two ingredients make a fantastic edible playdough.   From The Imagination Tree.

8. Allergy Free Play Dough Recipe

Allergy-Free Dough  – Have a kid with a food allergy?  No worries, this edible playdough is perfect for them! From Look We’re Learning

9. Edible Cream Cheese Play Dough Recipe

Cream Cheese Play Dough  – You won’t guess the main ingredients you need for this super yummy edible play dough.  From Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.

10. Pumpkin Play Dough Recipe

Pumpkin Spice Dough  – Here’s a fun recipe to try in the fall or whenever you need a pumpkin fix!   From Housing A Forest.

11. Almond Edible Play Dough

Almond Dough  – If you’re more of an almond butter fan rather than peanut butter, this one is for you.  From Craftulate.

12. Gluten-Free Edible Play Dough Alternative

Gluten Free Dough  – For the kids with gluten allergies, this is great for them so they can still participate!   From Wildflower Ramblings.

13. Chocolate Play Dough Recipe

Chocolate Dough  – For the chocolate lovers!   This is fun to try at snack time.   From The Life of Jennifer Dawn.

14. Cake Frosting Play Dough Idea

Vanilla Dough – If you’re more of a vanilla fan, try this playdough made from cake frosting.   From Smart Schoolhouse.

15. Let’s Make Kool Aid Play Dough!

Kool-Aid Dough – Grab your favorite flavor of Kool-Aid and mix it with just a few other ingredients for this sweet play dough. From The 36th Avenue

Related: Make non-edible Kool Aid Play Dough Recipe

How to Make Edible Play Dough FAQs

Is edible playdough safe for my child if they accidentally consume it?

The beauty of edible playdough is it is taste-safe. As with any playdough with younger kids, adult supervision is required, but introducing edible playdough can enhance the fun! A word of warning, if your child is ONLY introduced to edible playdough, they may assume all playdough is edible!

How can I create different colors for my edible playdough without using artificial food coloring?

If you’d like to make your edible playdough colorful without using artificial colors, that’s a great idea! You can use natural ingredients to achieve a variety of colors. Fruit and vegetable juices, as well as some spices, can be excellent options.

Related: Make your own natural food coloring

Here are some suggestions:

• Red – Get some beet juice from cooked beets or smash up some raspberries or strawberries.
• Orange – Mix in some carrot juice, or maybe even a bit of pumpkin puree.
• Yellow – You can use a tiny bit of turmeric powder to make it yellow. Just be careful, it’s really strong!
• Green – Spinach juice or a little bit of matcha powder can turn your playdough all green and awesome.
• Blue – Blueberries are great for blue! Just mash ’em up, or get some blueberry juice.
• Purple – Mix in some purple grape juice or blend up blackberries for a fun purple shade.

Remember to add a little at a time to get the color you want. And don’t worry, these colors are all from nature, so they’re safe for kids! Have fun playing with your colorful playdough!

How can I incorporate educational activities while my kids play with edible playdough?

Hey! Playing with edible playdough is not only fun, but you can learn stuff too! Here are some cool ideas to make playtime both exciting and educational for your kids:

• Shapes: Teach your kids to make different shapes like circles, squares, and triangles with the playdough. You can even use cookie cutters! More shape activities
• Letters & Numbers: Help your kids create the alphabet and numbers with the playdough. They can practice spelling their name or counting from 1 to 10. More alphabet letters, coloring numbers and activities with numbers for learning
• Colors: Mix colors together to see what new colors they can make. Teach them the names of the colors and how some colors mix to create others. More color fun with colors – rainbow color order
• Patterns: Show them how to make patterns by placing different shapes or colors of playdough in a row. They can make simple patterns like “red-blue-red-blue” or more complicated ones as they learn. More pattern fun with easy zentangle patterns
• Sorting: Have your kids sort playdough pieces by color, size, or shape. This helps them practice their sorting and organizing skills. More sorting fun with a color sorting game
• Storytelling: Encourage your kids to create playdough characters and act out a story. This can help them use their imagination and develop language skills. More storytelling for kids and story stones ideas

Homemade Play Dough and Slime Activities Book

If your kids love making play dough, slime, and other moldables at home, you have to check out our book, 101 Kids Activities that are the Ooey, Gooey-est Ever!: Nonstop Fun with DIY Slimes, Doughs and Moldables. 

This huge resource even includes recipes you can eat like Gummy Worm Slime, Pudding Slime and Cookie Dough Dough. With 101 Kids Activities (that are also super easy to clean up), you can try them all!

More Homemade Play dough Ideas from Kids Activities Blog

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• Try out this edible playdough that only use 3 ingredients!
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What is your favorite edible playdough recipe to make with your kids?