Looking for a quick gluten free playdough recipe? You’ll love this easy, no-cook method. Perfect for gluten sensitive or celiac toddlers and kids!
I have an almost 2-year-old, and I’ve been trying to get creative with some toddler activities that she might be interested in. Since she loves sensory play, playdough seemed like the perfect thing she can occupy herself with to enrich her creative side.
However, the classic Play-Doh ingredients (here’s their patent) include preservatives, chemical fragrances, and chemical coloring that I would rather my kid not swallow (since she puts everything in her mouth). It also contains wheat, which isn’t ideal if your kid is gluten-sensitive. There ARE several cleaner, better-for-you brands of playdough that you can buy, but I’ve found that they can get pretty pricey.
Luckily, it’s actually SO easy to make homemade playdough that’s gluten free with great texture. My kid has been loving playing with and I don’t have to worry about her accidentally swallowing it!
No Cook Gluten Free Playdough Recipe
If you are looking for a quick homemade playdough recipe, you will love this one. In most homemade versions I’ve seen, you have to heat the dough in a pot until it firms up. Depending on the type of flour you use, it can become a sticky mess and not turn out. However, with this recipe, it doesn’t require that extra step. You just need to boil water, which I honestly don’t consider as cooking!
Ingredients for Homemade Playdough
There are just 6 total ingredients for homemade playdough, 5 if you don’t count water:
- All-purpose gluten free flour: I used Bob’s Red Mills brand but other brands may work. I’ve heard that King Arthur’s brand is not great for playdough, so I would avoid that brand.
- Salt
- Cream of tartar: You’ll see many recipes of homemade playdough with cream of tartar. Despite the name, cream of tartar is dairy free, and it’s what makes the texture soft.
- Boiled water
- Olive oil or coconut oil
- Food coloring: I used this natural brand. While it’s not as bold as conventional food coloring, I would rather choose more natural ingredients for what my family uses. Just a personal choice! I haven’t tried them but these food coloring powders may also be a great healthier alternative.
Instructions: How to Make Gluten Free Playdough
If you’ve made playdough before, you might ask, “How do you make homemade playdough without cooking?” It’s actually very easy:
- Stir together gluten free flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine boiled water and oil in a separate bowl.
- Pour the water and oil mixture over the flour mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
- Knead into a ball with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water. If it’s too wet, add more flour. Transfer to a parchment or wax paper.
- Knead with your hands a few more times, then divide the dough equally into the number of colors you want to create.
- Use your fingers to make a dent in the center of each dough, then add 5-6 drops of food coloring to start. Knead until the color is fully incorporated, adding more for a bolder hue. Since you are adding moisture with food coloring, you may need to add a little bit more flour if the texture gets too sticky.
- How to store homemade playdough: Store in a resealable plastic bag or an airtight container at room temperature. If the playdough gets too moist or too dry during storage, you can fix the consistency with more flour or water.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gluten Free Playdough Recipe
If stored at room temperature in an airtight container or bag, homemade playdough can last up to 3 months. If the texture does change to too wet or dry, you can knead in some flour or water to fix it.
Depending on what flour you use or the humidity level or where you are, the dough can be too sticky or too dry. You can add more flour or boiled water when kneading to reach the ideal consistency.
Not only is this homemade playdough with cream of tartar is gluten free, it’s dairy free as well. Despite the name, cream of tartar is dairy free and it’s what gives the playdough that soft and malleable texture. It’s an acidic powder and it’s a byproduct of fermenting grapes into wine (there’s no alcohol in it). You can usually find it in the spice aisle at grocery stores.
You can just combine these primary colors for different shades! Red and yellow will make orange, yellow and blue will make green, and red and blue will make purple. You can even knead the primary color doughs together after you make them to create new color dough.
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How to Make Gluten Free Playdough (No-Cook & Easy)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour I used this brand
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cups boiled water
- 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
- Food coloring I like this natural brand
Equipment
- Parchment or wax paper
- Resealable plastic bag or airtight container
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together gluten free flour, salt, and cream of tartar.
- In another bowl, combine boiled water and oil. They will separate but that's okay.
- Pour the water and oil mixture over the flour mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
- Use your hands knead into a ball. If the dough is too dry, you can add a bit more water. If it's too wet, add more flour until it reaches the right consistency. Transfer to a parchment or wax paper.
- Knead with your hands a few more times, then divide the dough equally into the number of colors you want to create.
- Make a dent in the center of each dough, then add 5-6 drops of food coloring to start. Knead until the color is fully incorporated (this can take a bit of time), adding more for a bolder hue. Since you are adding moisture with food coloring, you may need to add a little bit more flour if the texture gets too sticky.
- Store in a resealable plastic bag or an airtight container at room temperature. If the playdough gets too moist or too dry during storage, you can fix the consistency with more flour or water.
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I originally decided to make my stand-by tried and true playdough recipe and just swap out white flour for GF flour. Believe me, it was way too sticky. I had to throw away a whole batch. This one is a little dry, even with added water, but it’s way better than being too sticky. Thanks for all the work you put into this to create a GF playdough recipe!! BTW, since I do one color for the whole class, I add the color to the water/oil mix and it works perfectly. Not a bright color, but they’re still happy with it. Thank you again.
SO happy to hear that!! I appreciate your review. 🙂
Do you know, if I want to bake the items the children make, will it crack or break?
Hmm I actually haven’t tried! Maybe you can test it out with a small piece.