Slow Cooker Play Dough

Submitted by Simon Christie

Slow Cooker Play Dough

3.80 from 5 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 4 tbsp cream of tartar
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1-2 tsp food colouring

Instructions
 

  • Combine flour, salt and cream of tartar in a bowl.
  • In a separate bowl combine the water, oil and food colouring.
  • Pour dry ingredients mix into the slow cooker bowl, add wet ingredients mix and combine thoroughly.
  • Place tea towel under lid and cook on HIGH for 45-60mins, stirring often for the first half hour of cooking time, then once or twice for remaining cooking time.
  • Dough will be done when it forms and no longer sticks to the sides of your slow cooker.
  • You can test this by taking a small amount out, form into ball and cool in freezer for a few minutes. When it's ready this won't stick to your fingers when you handle it. This small test ball can then be returned to the mix.
  • Remove complete mix from slow cooker, knead and place in container to cool.
  • When cool, store in fridge in your plastic air tight container.
  • This makes 1kg of play dough.
  • Vary the colours you use to make various coloured doughs. Add glitter for extra sparkle if desired.

76 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Play Dough”

  1. Fantastic and easy recipe to follow, however maybe an add on into the recipe letting people know that the mixture will go lumpy before it all cooks, and that’s fine. Maybe even that a wooden or metal spoon would be optimal to use when stirring. But, otherwise, the end product is great – my daughter has barely stopped playing with it since yesterday morning!

  2. I love this play dough! It’s the best I have ever made! It’s so silky and feels beautiful, and it really does last for ages!!

  3. I trained as a Kindergarten teacher many moons ago and over those years have tried many recipes…..but this is undoubtedly the best recipe. The texture is fantastic and it does last for a long long period….a childs delight….and adult too….so soothing.

  4. We used to make this for the kids to play with at REGENCY PARK CENTRE FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN and it is the nest silky smoothest play dough ever. Definitely a fan.

  5. First time making Play Dough ever and i was very impressed. So much softer than store bought. Recommended 100% 🙂

  6. Hi… If I half the ingredients will it take half the time to cook or roughly same? Thanks! I just don’t need so much 🙂

  7. I made this all plain colour then divided into 4 afterward and kneaded in the colour. Worked amazing!! I couldn’t believe how well it turned out and also how well it has lasted

  8. This is most definitely the best I’ve ever made! I’ve tried so many different recipes & methods and this is the best!! I’ve been making it weekly for about 8 months now between my kids and my sons preschool and now kindergarten

  9. Tried this today in my 1.5l cooker. Halved the recipe and substituted the cream of tartar with white vinegar and reduced the water to compensate for the extra liquid. Cooked a little quicker than stated. Feels really nice – soft and smooth. My son loves play-doh, so can see I will be making this regularly!

  10. I may just be a little two excited about this! It worked so well, and was so easy. I’ll always do it this way now. Thanks for the recipe

  11. I have tried a few recipes in the past, and this was by far the easiest. I didn’t stir it all that frequently (my 2 year old demands so much attention!), but it still turned out fabulous. So silky and smooth, without the overpowering scent that so many play doughs tend to have. This will be a regular at our house 🙂

  12. Super easy, the kids loved it the texture is amazing nice and silky smooth, i definitely recommend it for others to try 🙂

  13. Jodie Leemhuis

    Absolutely fantastic recipe, thanks so much for sharing Simon 🙂 Took 45 mins tops to make and is going to bring endless hours of joy to my day care children 🙂

  14. I made this play dough in the Christmas holidays (about January) and it’s only just starting to go crusty now. (May)

  15. If you add a few drops of lavender oil as you kneed playdough it can make a nice calming activity in the late afternoon early evening leading into bedtime.

  16. I made this for my prep class. Took just over an hour and I found I needed to let it cool before I could knead it. I added glitter to make it a bit more special.

  17. Easy enough recipe to follow and it makes such a silky and smooth play dough. I cooked mine for 60 mins total and when I took it out I don’t think it was quite ready as it was still rather sticky. I added a sprinkle of flour while kneading and it turned out great!

  18. Hey guys. This is probably a really silly question but for more than one colour do you just leave the food colouring out and need it into the dough once done?

  19. Does this have to be kept in the fridge or will just an airtight container be ok being we are coming into winter weather?? Thanks

  20. Really the best play dough ive ever come across. So smooth and soft, even after (accidentally) leaving it in a ziplock bag in my sons room for 6 months — still completely perfect to use.

  21. This is the best play dough I’ve ever made… so smooth and silky and lasts for such a long time. I have made at least 3 lots and kept in a ziploc bag lasts for at least 9 months.

  22. Awesome school hols activity!!! Very easy to make with the kids!! Just remember use gloves when mixing in the food colouring!! ??

  23. This is a fab school hols activity to do with the kids!!I will be wearing gloves next time I knead the food colouring into the mixture haha

  24. I love this recipe! I can put it on and leave it while I cook or bath the kids…I put the food colouring at the start and find it comes out so much brighter! Also lasts so much longer then the stove top version and softer!
    I find it comes out sticky (maybe I’m not cooking quite long enough?) but a knead on a floured surface and it’s perfect! I made 4 double batches yesterday and doubling it was fine.

  25. Absolutely perfect every time. We love making this play dough, it is the softest and fluffiest ever. Last for ages too

  26. Rhiannon Landaverde

    Wow. I have made many versions of playdo ugh. In the thermomix, on the stove top and obviously have bought ALOT of stuff from the shops, and this by far is the best! My slowcooker only took about 40 minutes to make on high,stirring regularly. I used coconut oil that was put of date abd added the food colouring to the wet ingredients. It makes a tonne!

  27. Seriously, the best playdough recipe in the world!!! First attempt and it’s seriously dummy proof 😛
    Things to note:
    – Plain flour
    – It took my slowcooker 48mins (Kmart brand)
    – Divided into 4 balls at end then kneeded in the colours

  28. This is amazing. So soft and smooshy. It doesn’t crumble and crack like other recipes and the colour is vibrant. It is So easy to make .
    Side note. I told my 3yr old daughter she could have any colour she wanted, she chose brown lol. She loves it, I’ll never need to buy store bought again ??

  29. Was nervous to try & make this, but it was super easy & turned out really well, so soft & squishy. A little sticky until it cooled a bit then kneeded with some flour!

  30. The very best play dough , makes a huge batch and is so silky and easy to make. You’ll never want to use another recipe or buy play dough again once you w tried it. Someone gave my kid some bought stuff for Christmas and he said it felt yucky because he’s so used to how brilliant this is. Love love love it.

  31. Lovely to touch Play-Doh!
    Made this for my son and have had it well over a year now. We just keep it in the fridge in sandwich bags. I also added a few drops of lavender so it smells relaxing when you play with it. Would love to add glitter next time

  32. i made it today, i cooked it for an hour and it only got stired once and it turned out ok… i got nap-trapped with my toddler!

  33. This is the BEST playdoh I’ve ever made and used. It’s so silky smooth and long lasting. I made a batch for a Frozen themed birthday party. Kept it white and added lots of glitter. It was a big hit with all of the children.

  34. Sarah-jane Howard

    My daughter and I made this playdough and absolutely love it! Very simple to make and is so soft and smooth to play with. We’ve made a couple of batches now and it always turns out perfect!

  35. I love this playdough recipe. Made this for my two special needs kids during the first lockdown in May 2020. It’s been used during all our homeschooling and with our carer for therapy for a year and it’s still soft and silky. It’s the best playdough we have ever had and I don’t have to worry if they eat some.

  36. This play doigh is AMAZING! So easy – I completely forgot I put it on, so didn’t stir it at all and left it in there for longer than an hour and it still turned out perfect. I madee it without the food colouring then broke it into 4 sections after cooking and each of my kids then chose a colour to kneed into the dough

  37. Best and easiest play dough ever.
    Made 2 batches and 4 different colours.
    Placed all ingredients (except for colouring) in the slow cooker, stirred every 10 minutes. Only took 45 mins (per batch). Once ready I Kneaded play dough and then cut each batch in 2 and coloured and kneaded with colouring (wearing disposable gloves. I used icing colouring as it’s what I had. Made Pink, Purple, Blue and Green. – Awesome recipe, Thankyou.

  38. It is seriously the best playdough, so silky and smooth. I’ve made a lot of playdough in my time, but not much recently. When I saw this recipe, I had to try it. After a small test run by my big kids (young adults) who loved it, I gifted it to families with small children & they have been amazed at its texture & how well it lasts.

  39. I have just made this and I substituted cream of tartar for lemon juice ratio of 1/2 teaspoon of tartar to 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. And I reduced the water I think I a bit to much as went quite dry quite quickly. I added some more water and stirred/kneaded about 20 mins in. Came together nicely. I added colouring at the end of cooking which was about 35 mins . I also had it on high for first 10 mins them put it to low for reminder of cooking . I also added some more oil after cooking when I was kneading it. Will definitely be making some more. Alot easier then on the stove.

  40. Love how easy this is to make.
    I went with colouring once made so we have a variety of colours. (really need to make sure i get some gloves before I make another batch. )
    Love how soft it feels ?

  41. I cooked mine for probably close to 2 hours in the end, it just wouldn’t stop being sticky. Followed the recipe to a tee… anyone know why that might be? I even added more flour then tried to kneed flour in, still sticky….

  42. perfect recipe! my 9 and 11 yo were able to make it on their own. they haven’t stopped playing with it since.

  43. 5 stars
    Made this play dough yesterday. Made the recipe as follows. Only change, I made the dough plain, divided into 4 and kneaded 4-5 drops of colour per batch. I am happy with the result and excited to use it with Mstr 2 today!
    Note: if kneading colour in yourself – wear gloves! ?
    Really easy to make. so soft.

  44. Anne-Marie Laycock

    5 stars
    Make this for my grandsons and keeps in the fridge for ages. I double the recipe so they can have multiple colours ??????

  45. 5 stars
    Best play dough recipe ever, so easy to make, lovely texture and keeps in the fridge for ages.
    My Grandkids love it.

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