Edible paint that’s perfect for toddlers. Made with just 3 ingredients in less than 5 minutes, this is a homemade finger paint that’s a great activity to entertain your toddler. Includes gluten-free instructions.
Paint on paper or try painting on bread for a whole new texture. Toddlers will get a kick out of this edible craft as they have a blast mixing together the colors.
As a parent, you’ll love this finger paint as much as your kids. It is easy to clean up, made with ingredient staples, and safe if tasted. It’s a win-win for everyone! Make this gluten-free by using gluten-free flour and using gluten-free food dyes.
Edible crafts are a great kid-friendly way to keep kids engaged after school, on the weekends or during the summer months when school is out. Our Preschool Snack Necklace, Cake Pops, Peanut Butter Playdough, Bread in a Bag and Pudding Slime are all kid-approved craft ideas.
To get started, grab the equipment and ingredients. Kids can help each step of the way or come running to the kitchen once the paint has cooled!
Equipment
- small saucepan
- measuring cups
- whisk
- mini muffin tin or regular muffin tin
- toothpicks or spoons
- paintbrushes
- paper or bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour or gluten-free flour
- 1 cup hot water
- food coloring
How To Make
This edible craft is thrown together in just three simple steps then left to cool before ready to use.
Heat the mixture
Add the flour and water to a saucepan then whisk over medium heat until you see the mixture start to thicken on the bottom. Then, turn the heat off and continue to whisk until thickened and smooth. The mixture should be the consistency of a thin pudding.
Divide and color
Next, divide the thickened mixture into a mini muffin tin or regular muffin tin. This is a kid-friendly way to prevent your toddler from spilling a bowl of paint. It also makes for a super quick clean-up.
Add drops of food coloring to the muffin tin and stir using toothpicks or a small spoon. If you have older kids at home, they can help stir together the colors for your toddler. Kids of all ages love watching the thickened mixture turn a variety of colors. Kids enjoy combining drops of different colors together to see what color it turns into!
Paint
Let cool in the muffin tin before painting.
Once cooled, children can use as finger paint or use paintbrushes on paper or bread slices. Sugar cookies and marshmallows are two other fun foods for kids to paint.
Paint Colors
Mix together a variety of paint colors for your kids. Here is a quick guide to creating colors. Adjust the number of drops of food coloring as desired to lighten or deepen the colors.
- Green = blue + yellow
- Purple = red + blue
- Orange = red + yellow
- Brown = red + yellow + blue
Frequently Asked Questions
This paint recipe is not meant to be eaten but is completely safe for kids to taste. As parents, we all know that it is almost impossible for toddlers to keep their fingers out of their mouths. With this kid-friendly paint, there is no need to stress if fingers (and paint) end up in your kid’s mouth.
Any leftover paint can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 week. Keep in the muffin covered with foil or transfer to air tight containers or ziplock bags. If the paint hardens, stir in a few drops of hot water until smooth.
From our experience, this recipe does not stain hands. Kids can easily wash the paint off their hands with soap and water.
More Toddler-Friendly Recipes
- Yogurt Parfait For Kids
- Watermelon Sticks
- Mango Slushie
- Pink Hot Chocolate
- Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
- Apple Pie Bites
CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Edible Paint For Toddlers
Equipment
- small saucepan
- mini muffin tin or regular muffin tin
- toothpicks or spoons
- paintbrushes
- paper or bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour ✅ use gluten-free if needed
- 1 cup hot water
- food coloring ✅
Instructions
- ⭐️Heat the mixture. Add the flour and water to the saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until you see the mixture start to thicken on the bottom. Turn heat off and continue to whisk until thickened and smooth.1/2 cup flour, 1 cup hot water
- Divide and color. Divide the thickened mixture into a mini muffin tin or regular muffin tin. Add food coloring and stir using toothpicks or a spoon.food coloring
- Paint. Let cool. Children can use as a finger paint or use paintbrushes on paper or bread slices.
Notes
Nutrition
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Then follow us on social media and tag #createkidsclub if you make the recipe. We love seeing what you come up with!
Lo says
It turned into a very thick dough. I had to add over 2X the amount of water and it was still goopy.
Jodi Danen, RDN says
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. What kind of flour did you use? Make sure to turn the heat off as soon as it starts to thicken. Hope that might help if you try it again.