Playdough for Toddlers: 7 Favorite Recipes

Are you looking for an easy playdough for toddlers? We make tons of play dough and these are seven of our favorite no-fail play doh recipes for little hands. Enjoy!

7 play dough recipes

Easy Playdough recipes that you’ll find in this article:

  1. The BEST playdough recipe (kid-tested – you will love it!)
  2. Stretchy No-cook Playdough
  3. Glowing Playdough
  4. Pumpkin Pie Playdough
  5. Masa (Corn Flour) Play Dough
  6. Cloud Dough (Just 2 Ingredients!)
  7. Gluten-free Cloud Dough

7 Play Dough Recipes for Toddlers

the best play dough recipe1. The Best Homemade Playdough Recipe

The Best Playdough Recipe is the one that all of my preschool teacher friends use and the best playdough for toddlers. It last for ages, is non-toxic, and the texture is amazing. You have two choices in preparing this playdough: to cook or not cook. Cooking doesn’t take too much longer, but we also provide a stovetop-free version. Either way, the effort is 100% worthwhile. This recipe can last for months if stored in an air-tight container.

stretchy no-cook playdough

2. Stretchy no-cook playdough

No-cook Playdough, made with hair conditioner and corn starch (aka corn flour) is one of our easiest playdough recipes because it only has two ingredients. What makes this dough great? It’s simple, no-cook, stretchy, and smells divine. This dough only lasts a day, so no need to make ahead of time.

glow playdough with white dough

3. Glowing Playdough Recipe

Add some glow-in-the dark pizazz to your playdough with this super popular glowing playdough recipe.

pumpkin pie playdough, tinkerlab

4. Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Make a batch of this pumpkin pie playdough for the Autumn season. It’s based on our best playdough recipe (above), with the addition of pumpkin pie spices.

masa play dough

5. Masa (Corn Flour) Play Dough

Masa Playdough is made from masa harina (corn flour, used to make tortillas), rather than all-purpose flour. The dough has a grainy texture to it, and I’d encourage you to try it if you live near a Mexican market, where masa harina is easy to find.

Squishy and moldable cloud dough

6. Cloud Dough

Cloud Dough has to coolest texture! The consistency of the dough is lovely to feel and hold. It can be powdery like flour one moment, and then moldable like damp sand the next. It’s made from flour and vegetable oil.

gluten-free cloud dough

7. Gluten-free Cloud Dough

Gluten-free cloud dough is made from rice flour, and a super alternative to traditional cloud dough. It’s a bit more grainy, but it still works great!

playdough for toddlers: 7 favorite recipes

What to do with your playdough?

Three essential play dough tools (that you may already have) |Tinkerlab

Now that you have the playdough, you’ll need some tools and fun ways to play with it. You probably already have these fun (and I think, essential) play dough tools in your kitchen. Take a look!