Colored pasta is one of our favorite craft and learning materials. We often dye it in batches and save it for all kinds of future kid art projects and activities. Here’s how to dye pasta!
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As a classroom teacher, one of the first things I learned to do was dye pasta! It can be used for all kinds of learning activities and crafts, and the actual process of coloring the pasta is always a fun activity for kids.
Dyeing your own pasta is super simple and only requires a couple of ingredients. (This post contains affiliate links.)
How to Dye Pasta
Materials Needed for Dyeing Pasta
- Dried pasta
- Rubbing alcohol
- Food coloring
- Gallon size plastic baggies
- Newspaper
- Tray or cookie sheet
Directions for Dyeing Pasta
1. Start by placing your dried pasta into a large baggie.
2. Add some rubbing alcohol and food coloring to the bag of pasta. (The amount depends on how much pasta your are dyeing, but you really can’t go wrong. For one whole package of rigatoni, I used about 1/4 cup alcohol and 4-5 big squirts of food coloring.)
3. Mush the bag around so all the pasta gets covered with the rubbing alcohol and food coloring. (I did this all outside since I had a few bags that leaked a bit.) At this point you can add more food coloring if you want your color a bit deeper or add more rubbing alcohol if the color doesn’t seem to be covering all the pasta.
4. Let the bags sit for about 10-15 minutes. Be sure to move them around a few times to get even coverage.
5. Spread some newspaper out. (We put our newspaper in a tray because it was super windy out.) Dump the pasta out of the baggie and onto the newspaper. Spread it out as best you can and wait for it to dry.
6. Once the pasta is completely dry, store it in some fresh baggies or containers.
What Can You Do with Colored Pasta?
Wondering what to do with all that colored pasta you just made? Here’s some ideas to get you started!
- Thread it onto some yarn to make a necklace like our caterpillar necklace craft.
- Make a colorful rainbow craft.
- Set up a simple fine motor activity with pasta and playdough.
- Use the colored pasta in a sensory bin.
- Substitute colored pasta for the pompoms in this toddler invitation to play.
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Great explanation of coloring pasta. And thanks for sharing our rainbow pasta craft!
Looks great! Thank you! For planning purposes, how long does it take the pasta to dry?
Hi Karen~ In the sun it only takes about 15 minutes. Inside it takes about 45 minutes. 🙂
you’r pasta the colors look so vibrant. I have colored pasta before and they came out kind of dull but I like the idea of letting them sit in the baggie for a while. I will try that next time and maybe my color will come out pretty like yours. #thoughtfulspotweeklybloghop
This is a lot simpler than I always thought it was. This is a great tutorial, thanks I will definitely be using this!
My first year teaching, I dyed pasta this way…..but….I did not let it dry LONG enough. I Let the kids string the pasta and wear their necklaces home…Some of the children had shirts that were dyed from the food coloring! Oh boy, I learned my lesson on that one!
Did u cook the pasta dry it then dye it and could i use vinger instead of alcohol?
The pasta is never cooked, just use it dry right out of the box! You can also use vinegar- it will take longer to dry and sometimes keeps a vinegary scent after it’s dry.
This is great! The process is so easy! Thank you for sharing! I do have 1 question though. Would the noodles be safe to eat? I’ve coloured 4 different types of noodles and plan on cooking them for some sensory play with my son. However, he is still at the age of putting EVERYRHING in his mouth. I’m just wondering if with the rubbing alcohol if it is safe for him or if I should wait until he is older?
My pasta has come out really dull, what can I do?