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!
Follow our Recipes for Play and Creating Pinterest board!
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.
