Safe PlayDoh for celiacs and kids of all ages! An easy tutorial on How To Make All Natural Homemade Gluten-Free PlayDoh. A fun and easy craft to DIY with the kids and have them playing for hours! Non-toxic, no artificial colors or chemical ingredients required!
Yes, I made this for all my celiac and food allergy moms out there, but also everyone who wants something a little fun to make on a rainy weekend! I’ve been dieing to share this here on the blog, but I wanted to make a video of the process first. You don’t need a video; this craft is so super simple! There are different options for the ingredients as well and that makes it 99.9% guaranteed you have everything you’d need to whip up some gluten-free PlayDoh at this very moment!
My brother and I loved PlayDoh when we were growing up. It’s one of those “right of passage” activities for childhood. There’s the old school way of play, just rolling it around into “snakes”, balls, and funny food shapes. And there’s the more “modern” approach with plastic PlayDoh factories and machines to make PlayDoh master pieces. Then there’s one approach to PlayDoh playing that always comes out of every child’s curiosity. What is it you ask?
TASTING it, of course! That super salty interesting taste of smooth fresh PlayDoh. If you never licked PlayDoh as a kid, you’re lying. Way to enticing not to! And that’s where the problem arises for children with food allergies like celiac disease. PlayDoh contains wheat (i.e. gluten). From their site: “The exact ingredients of Play-Doh 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. It does NOT contain peanuts, peanut oil, or any milk byproducts. It DOES contain wheat. Play-Doh compound is not a food item and is not intended to be eaten. Play-Doh compound is non-toxic, non-irritating & non-allergenic except as noted: Children who are allergic to wheat gluten may have an allergic reaction to this product. Also, due to the high salt content in Play-Doh compound, the product can be harmful to pets if ingested.” So it a curious little celiac child decides to take a lick or just puts their hands in their mouth after play, there’s going to be some major problems!
We can’t have celiac kiddos missing out on one of the simple joys of childhood that all should experience! Solution? Make some all natural homemade gluten-free PlayDoh! More perks from making your own is the experience you have making it! Kids will feel so accomplished when they make their own gluten-free PlayDoh and then get to play with their homemade creation. Another perk? The coloring I use is 100% from real food! No fake colors here!
All Natural Homemade Gluten-Free PlayDoh
- 2 Cups Gluten-Free Flour
- ½ Cup Hot Water (you may need a touch more)
- ½ Cup Salt (any kind)
- 2 TB Liquid Oil (any kind)
- 1 Tsp Cream Of Tartar
- Coloring*:
- Beet Juice (red/pink)
- Turmeric (yellow)
- Matcha (green)
- Mis together the gluten-free flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large bowl.
- Add in the water and mix again, then knead with your hands until your dough is just about formed.
- Add in the coloring of your choice to all the dough or split the dough in a few sections to make multiple colors.
- Knead in the coloring with your hands until fully incorporated.
- Keep the PlayDoh in a sealed container to preserve freshness.
See how easy?! You can use any all purpose gluten-free flour you have, any oil, any salt (I just happened to have a huge container of Epsom). The cream of tartar is to preserve the freshness of the gluten-free PlayDoh even longer. You can use normal (all natural) food coloring dyes or just sprinkle in some turmeric, match, or a few drops of beet juice. Any other “real food” colorings will do as well! Honestly, just have fun with it! That’s what PlayDoh is all about! Perfect for a summer play activity, boredom buster, rainy day craft, or stress reliever for the adults!
So tell me:
+ Were you a PlayDoh player as a kid? Did you taste it? (Obviously, that answer is yes!)
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I remember making homemade Playdoh for my son when he was younger. 🙂 What a lovely recipe to have.
Well this is never a bad time to make more 😉
I’ll admit, when I saw your title, I wondered: “why do we NEED gluten free Play Doh? Is it supposed to be edible?” But as i read, I guess it is.
I think I’m going to try to whip up a batch as a side course for my wife. I think she’s gonna love it! 😉
Haha, this still isn’t “safe” to eat, regardless! Too much salt for a human!
What a great idea!
Thanks!
I remember my childmaker making play doh when I was little. Boy was it smelly. I still remember the smell of it now. Must try this with me wee boy.
Why did it smell?
I’ve been looking for a good recipe for this! So excited to give it a try!
It is so fun and easy to make!
Can’t wait to try this with my girl!
You’ll have loads of fun!
This is so smart, I never really thought about GF wrt play-doh! Also, the natural colors are MUCH better.
It’s a must for us food allergy and celiac folk!
Love homemade Playdoh. I’ve never tried a gluten-free version. Such a great idea!
Same thing, just safe for celiacs!
I needed this the other day, my son’s into fidget spinners and thanks to YouTube he wanted to make a mould of one and create all sorts of mayhem in my kitchen! I’ll be making some of this with him later so that said chaos can take place!!!
Haha, well playdoh will be a fun change 😉
This is an inspired idea. People might not think that gluten in playdoh would affect coeliacs and now we can make it knowing that it’s totally safe.
Yes, especially in school setting or on playdates. Need to be safe!
What a great option for those with gluten sensitivities! Love your photos, too!
Jennifer recently posted…Simple Restaurant Salsa
Yes! Thank you!
This is such a great idea! I’m going to share it with my mom friends!
Thank, Amy!
We love playing with playdough….at someone else’s house. LMAO! But really, as a mom this stuff and I have a love hate relationship. On one hand, it’s super fun and the kids love creating with it. But on the other, the mess it makes and the little itty bitty pieces I find for days after make me want to open a bottle of wine at 7 am. So my rule is we play with play dough the day before the cleaning lady comes! Win win! Funny enough though none of my kids ate it. Maybe because they eat so much food! Ha!
Really? PlayDoh isn’t messy at all and a rather calm and quiet way to play.
How cool!! does it last long?
If you store it properly in a tight container then you have a few weeks, but it also depends on how much you’re “playing” with it!
Every kid needs to be able to play with play dough! Love that you’ve made this one safe for Celiac kids and also completely natural.
Yup, they should!
Great idea! My kids would love this…they are currently obsessed with slime.
Lane & Holly @ With Two Spoons recently posted…Roasted Vegetables
Anything they can get their hands dirty in, eh? 😉
This is SO cool! I don’t have any children in my life at the moment but I will be passing this post along to some of my friends. What a great alternative to playdoh.
Lol, well I don’t have children either, but it’s a fun craft and great stress-reliver!
I used to make Play-Doh for my kids … back then (30+ years ago), I’d never heard of anyone being coeliac or gluten/wheat intolerant. Certainly in our schools and playgroups, there were no ‘banned’ foods or anything. How times have changed – makes you wonder what’s happened to our food in the past few decades, doesn’t it?
It honestly would never have occurred to me to make GF Play-Doh but as soon as I read your post, I thought, “Wow, this makes so much sense” – kids are always putting things in their mouths! And yes, I remember being sooo disappointed that Play-Doh, while smelling delicious and almondy, tasted utterly gross!
Nico @ yumsome recently posted…A Feast of Falafels For International Falafel Day
Ah, but everyone always tasted it nonetheless! I remember that taste still! That’s why we NEED it GF!
Sharing with a friend that has kids. thanks
Awesome, thanks!
Love that you used natural colorings here! This play dough looks so soft and moldable – now I totally want to go home and make some!
Jenni recently posted…Rainbow Veggie Sushi for Mulan – Eat Like A Princess
Yes! I loved playing around with the colors! You could use so many different all-food things!
In a year or so I will most likely be making my playdoh also.I love that you have an option for a gluten-free playdoh! Great idea. And it looks really cute also 🙂
It’s so fun to play with!
I love this! I have a couple brand new nephews who are young enough we aren’t yet aware of any possible allergies, but I know their mother has a list, so I’ll be using this as they get older to have something safe here for them to play with for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Even if they have no allergies, homemade playdoh is the way to go! So fun to make!
i had no clue that playdoh contained wheat as an ingredient. thank you for sharing this…cute video!
That’s alarming.
Love that this can be made right at home!
Easy weekend play!
I would have never even thought about this! I can’t wait to share this recipe with all of my teacher friends!
That would be fun for a safe school activity!
Oh, this is the great craft for kids. Thanks for sharing Rebecca.
Kids of ALL ages 😉
So useful for parents of littles, especially those with gluten intolerance! We are constantly surprised at how many people we get in our brick and mortar shop who had topical gluten intolerances and need GF skincare and beauty. Thanks for sharing this useful resource! 🙂
Yup! Sneaky places we need to look out for to keep us celiacs safe!
I am definitely going to have to share this with my little cousins! 🙂
It will be a fun project!
What a great idea! i will try these with my nieces.
They’ll have a blast!
Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
Haha, “recipe” yes!
Hi, have posted this link on PainPals regular feature “Monday Magic – Inspiring Blogs for You” and pinned/stumbled etc Claire x
Thanks, that’s very kind of you!
I’m still a massive play doh fan and, yes, of course I tasted it as a kid as did all my children! Sharing this for all my mum friends with little ones and so I can come back to it when I want to make some too!
Chris @thinlyspread recently posted…Rustic Somerset Cider and Apple Tart
It’s a right of passage in childhood! Thanks, Chris! xoxo