Edible Marshmallow Play Dough (Only 3 Ingredients!)

Do your kids love play dough? If so, they’ll love this colourful marshmallow play dough made from just 3 edible ingredients! This taste-safe marshmallow play dough is so easy to make, and it’s perfect for babies, toddlers and preschoolers who like to put things in their mouth.

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Have you ever made your own play dough at home? With four kids under six who all love sensory play, we’ve tried quite a few play dough recipes over the past few years.

This 2-Ingredient Cloud Dough is probably the easiest one we’ve made, and perhaps the softest, too. But because our baby and toddler like to be included in the fun, we also like to keep some taste-safe and edible recipes on hand.

Of course, we’ve done some “fancier” taste-safe sensory activities like Edible Water Beads and Psyllium Husk Slime. But play dough is a classic for a reason… and as it turns out, there are lots of ways to make it that are both fun and taste-safe.

So if you’re looking for a fun new sensory experience for your baby or toddler, this easy marshmallow play dough recipe is definitely worth a try!

Related: Edible Rainbow Marshmallow Slime

Required Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make edible play dough with marshmallows:

• Marshmallows
• Coconut oil (if you live in a colder climate, place it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt it before you start making this play dough)
• Cornstarch
• Food colouring (liquid or gel)

Note: Each ball of marshmallow play dough is pretty small, so if you’re making this activity for several kids, I recommend making multiple colours or increasing the recipe quantities. (You may need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.)

How to Make Edible Marshmallow Play Dough (Step-by-Step)

1. Heat Marshmallows

Start by placing six marshmallows in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, then heating them in the microwave until they’re nice and puffy.

I heated mine for about 30 seconds at full power. You’ll want to heat the marshmallows long enough to soften them up for stirring, but not so long that they start to cook. Overheating the marshmallows will make your play dough lumpy and stiff.

Note: If you don’t have any regular-sized marshmallows, you can use 1 cup of mini marshmallows instead. Or, for a fun Easter twist, try replacing them with Peeps marshmallows to make Peeps play dough!

2. Stir Marshmallows

Use a small spoon to stir the melted marshmallows. If you’re having trouble stirring them, you can place the bowl back in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier—just make sure you don’t overcook them!

3. Add Food Colouring

Add a bit of food colouring and stir until well combined. The colours will dull a bit once the cornstarch is added, so be sure to add a little extra food colouring to keep the play dough colours nice and bright.

4. Add Cornstarch & Coconut Oil

Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 1 more teaspoon of coconut oil to the bowl and stir them in with a spoon. If you’re unable to combine the ingredients with a spoon, try working them in with your hands.

5. Knead Play Dough

Once you’ve gotten as far as you can with the spoon, add another tablespoon of cornstarch and use your hands to knead the dough (or continue kneading the dough if you already started doing it during the previous step).

Feel free to set aside the bowl and simply knead it on your table or counter.

6. Adjust Texture

When you’re done kneading the play dough, try squishing it between your fingers.

Because it’s made from marshmallows, it won’t be as soft as regular play dough and will feel more like marshmallow putty. But you should still be able to flatten it with a rolling pin and use cookie cutters to cut it into fun shapes.

If your marshmallow dough is too sticky or stretchy and feels more like slime than play dough, you’ll need to add some more cornstarch. If needed, add more coconut oil to help you work it in.

On the other hand, if your marshmallow dough is too stiff, keep working in small quantities of coconut oil with your fingers until the dough is soft enough to roll out.

Repeat the previous steps for as many different colours as you want. Then, give the marshmallow play dough to your little ones and let them play with it!

As stated above, marshmallow play dough has a putty-like consistency and isn’t as soft as regular play dough. (If you’re looking for a homemade play dough recipe that’s both soft and edible, check out this 3-Ingredient Frosting Play Dough.)

But even though it’s more putty-like than regular play dough, we had lots of fun flattening it with a rolling pin and cutting it into various shapes. And of course, the kids loved that they could sneak a taste here and there!

Is Marshmallow Play Dough Edible?

Because it’s made from kitchen ingredients, this DIY marshmallow play dough is technically edible—though I like to think of it as “taste-safe” because I don’t typically encourage my children to eat our sensory materials.

But the great thing about edible play dough is that although it’s not meant to be eaten as a snack, you can rest assured that if ever your kids do decide to sample it, none of the ingredients will be harmful to them.

This means that it’s safe for babies, toddlers and preschoolers who love to do sensory activities, but are too young to play with some of the materials you’d give to older children!

How Long Is Marshmallow Play Dough Good For?

Unfortunately, edible sensory materials don’t tend to last as long as regular sensory materials, so this marshmallow play dough doesn’t keep very well.

If it’s still in good condition after your kids are done playing with it, you may be able to store it in a sealed sandwich bag or airtight container for a couple of days. You can also try softening it a bit by adding more coconut oil if it becomes too hard to play with it.

But in all likelihood, marshmallow play dough will be the sort of sensory activity that you set up for that day and then throw out once your kids are done playing with it.

More Homemade Play Dough Recipes

Looking for more fun play dough recipes to make at home? Check out these articles:

• Edible Frosting Play Dough
• 3-Ingredient Chocolate Play Dough
• 2-Ingredient Cloud Dough
• Rose Petal Play Dough (Perfect for Valentine’s Day!)
• DIY Bubble Bath Play Dough

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