Would you like to make the best no cook playdough? One that will last for months and doesn’t require stovetop preparation?
After making what I consider the best play dough recipe for a few years now without too many changes, I wanted to see if we could get the same results without using the stove.
I love drinking tea, and invested in an amazing BPA-free electric kettle, which seemed to be just the tool to take this play dough recipe off the stove top.
So I did some experimenting, and low and behold — if you want to go rogue, the original recipe can be even easier and still deliver the amazing dough that we all love. Here you go…
Supplies
- 1 1/4 c. salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp. cream of tartar
- 2.5 cups flour
- 5 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2.5 cups water
- Food coloring or liquid watercolors. I’m a fan Sax Concentrated Liquid Watercolors and Wilton Icing Colors, which make gorgeous shades of play dough to match any occasion, mood, or toddler request.
Directions
- Mix the first three ingredients together
- Boil water
- Mix the water and oil together in a small bowl
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.
Sound fantastic, my kids would crazy for it
Made this yesterday with my 4 year old granddaughter. It came out amazing! She thinks I’m the best Nana ever! I kneaded the dough on waxed paper to avoid staining the cutting board. It worked great! Thanks so much; I’m now a new fan of your site!
Can this recipe be used as air dry clay? Have my students make a simple sculpture and let it air dry?
This came out really soft and sticky. What do you recommend for that? It won’t even cut out shapes.
Hi Tiffany, It’s possible that humidity/air temperature could effect the final outcome ad you may have to put it on the stove (I know, that’s not why you’re using this recipe!) until it pulls together.
Does one need to wait for the dough to set up before kneading? After mixing then ingredients until the dough comes together it’s still like cake mix. What comes after? I feel like this page is missing the end of the recipe.
Hi Aubrey, Sorry to hear it’s not working for you.The key is for the water to be boiling and it should come together without a stickiness. It’s possible that humidity could effect the final outcome. If it’s still sticky, you can put it on the stove (I know, that’s not why you’re using this recipe!) until it pulls together. – Rachelle
Wooohooo love this recipe, easy to make 🙂
This is very clearly the wrong amount of water. I recommend the author try making this herself without coming out with soup. I reduced the water to 1.5 cups and it worked well. (And If If has to be put on the stove, like the response in one of the comments, then don’t advertise it as no cook. There are plenty of no cook recipes that actually work. )
I need to make about 2.5 kilos playdough. How many grams does this receipe make with the specified ingredients?
Hi Sar, you can search “pound to gram” or click to this link for some fast math on the conversion: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/weight/pound-to-gram.html
After reading comments I used 1 1/2 cups of water and 3 TB oil looks perfect easy to work with for the kiddos also. Thank you for posting the how to I appreciate it.