Do your kids love picking dandelions? Extend the fun by whipping up a batch of dandelion play dough for them to play with! This easy homemade play dough is naturally dyed, super soft and stretchy, and lasts for months when properly stored. What a fun way to make use of those dandelions you have growing in your yard!
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If your yard is overrun with dandelions (it can’t just be us, right?) and you’re looking for a fun way to use them to entertain your kids, you’ll definitely want to give this recipe a try. This play dough is both fun to make and fun to play with!
My kids were thrilled for the excuse to run around the yard picking as many dandelions as they wanted, and I loved that we were able to turn them into something fun that lasted for many months after dandelion season was over.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fun for kids: This play dough recipe is a great way to repurpose those dandelions that are taking over your yard and turn them into something fun. My children were really excited to have an excuse to run around the yard picking flowers!
- Easy to make: Making your own play dough at home is a lot easier than you think, and takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish.
- Soft and long-lasting: This recipe yields play dough that is super soft, super stretchy, and lasts for months when properly stored. It is so much better than store-bought dough!
- Naturally dyed: If you aren’t a fan of artificial coloring, dandelions are a great natural alternative. This play dough gets its color solely from the dandelion flowers and doesn’t contain any synthetic dyes.
Looking for more naturally dyed play dough recipes? Check out this Edible Cranberry Play Dough, this Edible Pumpkin Play Dough, this Cinnamon Play Dough or this Chocolate-Scented Play Dough!
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Required Ingredients
- Dandelions: You’ll need yellow dandelion flowers for this recipe. To make the petals easier to cut off, pick dandelions that are in full bloom after having been exposed to sunlight for a several hours.
- Water: Clean, room temperature tap water is fine. Because this play dough is cooked on the stovetop, you won’t need to boil the water before you use it.
- Salt: Regular table salt is fine. If you make a lot of play dough, you may want to consider buying it in bulk. (We buy ours at Costco.)
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is best. If you need the play dough to be taste taste-safe, I recommend heat treating the flour first to kill any lingering bacteria.
- Cream of tartar: This helps preserve the play dough and make it more elastic. Because of how often I make play dough, I usually buy cream of tartar in bulk to save money.
- Oil: I typically use vegetable oil when making play dough because it’s inexpensive. Other types of oil, like olive oil and (melted) coconut oil, can work too.
The full ingredient list, quantities and instructions can be found in the recipe card.
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How to Make Dandelion Play Dough (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Prep dandelion petals. To make this recipe, start by gathering some fresh dandelions and removing the stems. You’ll need about 1 cup of flowers with the stems removed—the measurement doesn’t need to be precise. Once you’ve measured your dandelions, use a knife to separate the yellow petals from the rest of the head. (It’s fine for a bit of green to be mixed in with the petals.)
Step 2: Blend dandelions and water. Pour the water into a blender and add the chopped dandelion petals. If desired, you can set aside 2-3 tablespoons of petals and mix them into the dough later on so that larger pieces are visible. Run the blender for 20-30 seconds, until the dandelions have been reduced to a pulp and the water has turned yellow.
Step 3: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium wok or saucepan, combine the flour, salt and cream of tartar. If you set aside some of the dandelion petals during the previous step, stir those into the dry ingredients as well.
Step 4: Add water and oil. Add the yellow dandelion water and the vegetable oil, and stir until combined.
Step 5: Cook play dough. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes a ball of dough that no longer sticks to the sides of the saucepan. Set aside to cool.
Step 6: Knead play dough. Once the dough has cooled enough to be handled, knead it with your hands until smooth and elastic.
My kids had so much fun with this one! It’s been a few years since we made this for the first time, and making dandelion play dough has become a yearly tradition for us whenever we see those yellow flowers start to pop up in our yard.
Helpful Tips
- Use fully bloomed flowers: To make things easier, pick dandelions that are in full bloom after being exposed to bright sunlight for several hours, and chop them up before they have a chance to wilt.
- Set aside some petals: I prefer the look of the play dough with larger bits of dandelion visible in the dough, so I like to set aside 2 to 3 tablespoons of dandelion petals to stir into the dry ingredients. This is done purely for aesthetic reasons, so feel free to just add all the petals to the water during step 2 if that works better for you.
- Don’t overcook the dough: For best results, remove the saucepan from heat as soon as the dough seems dry and stops sticking to the surface of the pan—you can always cook it longer if needed, but it’s hard to get rid of the stiffness if you overcook it.
- Knead the dough while warm: Once the dough stops sticking to the sides of the saucepan, set it aside to cool for a few minutes, then knead it while it’s still warm. Do not place it in the fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling process, as this may cause the play dough to become stiff and lose its elasticity.
- Adjust the consistency: Dough too stiff or too sticky? You can adjust its consistency by cooking it longer or adding a bit more flour (if it feels too sticky), or by adding a bit more water or oil (if it feels too dry).
Looking for more dandelion-themed activities? Check out this Frozen Dandelion Sensory Bin or these Q-Tip Painted Dandelions!
Storage Instructions
To store this play dough once your kids are done playing with it, place it in a sealed zip-top bag with all the air removed and keep it at room temperature until they are ready to play again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have a question that wasn’t answered here? Let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to help!
More Play Dough Recipes
If you have tried this Dandelion Play Dough or any other project on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!
Dandelion Play Dough (Naturally Dyed!)
Materials
- 1 cup yellow dandelion flowers stems removed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup salt
- 4 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp oil (vegetable, coconut, etc.)
Instructions
- Use a knife to separate the yellow dandelion petals from the stems, discarding the rest. (It’s fine for a bit of green to be mixed in with the petals.)
- Set aside 2-3 tablespoons of dandelion petals if desired (for aesthetic reasons), then pour the water into a blender and add the remaining petals. Run the blender for 20-30 seconds, until most of the dandelions have been pulverized and the water has turned yellow.
- Combine the flour, salt and cream of tartar in a medium wok or saucepan. If you chose to set aside some of the chopped dandelions during the previous step, stir those into the dry ingredients as well.
- Add the yellow dandelion water and the vegetable oil, and stir until combined.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes a ball of dough that no longer sticks to the sides of the saucepan. (This should take no more than 5 minutes.)
- Set the play dough aside to cool. Once the dough has cooled enough to be handled, knead it with your hands until smooth and elastic.
Video
Notes
- Use fully bloomed flowers: Pick the dandelions when they are in full bloom and chop them up quickly, before they have a chance to wilt.
- Set aside some petals (optional): To make play dough that has larger bits of dandelion visible, set aside 2-3 tablespoons of dandelion petals to stir into the dry ingredients. This is purely aesthetic—feel free to simply blend them all up with the water instead.
- Don’t overcook the dough: The dough is ready to remove from the heat as soon as it looks dry and stops sticking to the sides of the pan.
- Knead the dough while warm: Knead the dough as soon as it is cool enough to handle, and do not place it in the fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling process.
- Adjust the consistency: If needed, you can add a bit more flour (if the dough is sticky), or a bit more water or oil (if the dough is stiff) to reach the perfect consistency.
Nutrition
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A fun and interactive activity that kids can help with too. We had a lot of fun with this!!! The Play dough turned out great!
So glad to hear it was a hit!!