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Edible Finger Paint Recipe

Looking for an edible paint recipe that’s safe for kids? This edible finger paint recipe is perfect for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and beyond!

Edible Finger Paint Recipe for Kids

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Edible Finger Paint

Finger painting is a rite of passage for preschoolers, but with it comes the danger that they’ll put it in their mouths!

While many commercial brands claim that they are non-toxic, I was always leery about having my taste-curious kids putting bright red paint in their mouths.

So, instead of putting the halt on all finger painting (although truth be told I was never a big fan of the mess finger painting entailed), I made our own kid-friendly edible finger paint recipe.

By creating our own, I knew exactly what went in it and wasn’t worried if they started licking their fingers while painting. Kids do gross things sometimes.

Edible Finger Paint Recipe for Kids

Our Edible Paint Recipe

There are a lot of recipes out there for edible finger paint for toddlers and babies. Our recipe is the one that has proven to work the best for us.

It isn’t too runny. It has just the right amount of thickness. It dries – unlike some of the other versions we have seen. And it’s honestly tasty if your kids decide to chow down on their paint. (We always taste test the finger paint after we make it because we want to make sure it’s not going to make the kids sick.)

This paint recipe also only calls for a little bit of cornstarch. We’ve seen some that call for cups upon cups of cornstarch. We just don’t buy cornstarch that often so we needed to create a recipe that used only a little and, if need be, could be omitted. Tons of cornstarch can get pricey!

Our edible finger paint recipe uses flour, water, salt, sugar, and just a bit of cornstarch.

The best part? It cooks up quickly and typically cools quickly as well!

Edible Finger Paint Recipe for Kids

Painting with Homemade Finger Paint

Fingerpainting is different from regular paints in that it’s usually a bit thicker. That means plain copy paper or construction paper isn’t a good choice for painting.

Instead, we opt for thicker cardstock, designated finger paint paper, or even paper plates. In fact, we love using finger paints on paper plate crafts because the plates are thick enough that they hold the paint nicely.

Supplies you’ll need for finger painting with kids:

Make Your Own Edible Finger Paint

As you embark on making your own edible finger paints, make sure that you have all of the supplies gathered first. It makes it so much easier!

Here’s how we make our edible paint for kids:

How to Make Edible Finger Paint

This easy edible finger paint recipe is perfect for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 25 minutes
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Estimated Cost Less than $5

Materials

  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 cups water
  • Food coloring
  • Small containers with lids

Tools

  • Medium sauce pan
  • Rubber spatula

Instructions

  1. In the medium sauce pan, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and cornstarch.
  2. Add the water and stir.
  3. Heat over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and starts to pull away from the sides when stirred. This takes us about 15 minutes.
  4. Remove pan from heat and let cool completely.
  5. Spoon equal amounts of the mixture into small containers. (We got ours from the dollar store, but you could use baby food jars, margarine containers, etc.)
  6. Place 2-3 drops of food coloring into each container to get the colors that you want.
  7. Stir the food coloring in completely.
  8. Test to make sure that the paint is completely cooled.
  9. Set up a painting area for your little Picasso and let him paint!

Notes

  • I always test the paint before coloring it to make sure that it's not horrible and that it has cooled completely.
  • If your child has allergies or other health issues, please consult your doctor and use common sense before giving it to your child.

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