Easy Edible Finger Paint Recipe

Do you have a baby or a toddler you need sensory activities for? I am sharing our favorite baby safe finger paint recipe. It is good for finger painting with toddlers or with older children who like to put things in their mouth.

We needed finger paint for our toddler. After all the play dough recipes my kids love, it was just natural that they’d want paints too. Making paint is a lot like making play dough but, so much more fun because you get to mix and match colors more easily. Here is a fun but very easy edible finger paint recipe.

Please note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. That means if you purchase through them I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Finger Painting for Toddlers

Last week, while hubby and son went out and the baby slept, I rescued myself from Lil’One’s wailing by promising her paint! *(She wanted to go out too!) She quickly went and retrieved a piece of paper (that she had minutes before thrown away!), all set and ready to paint! Her mommy pulled her high chair closer to the kitchen door and set herself to entertain. Here is what we made:

Homemade edible finger paint

Really bright colors, no?

Aren’t those colors beautiful. I had only raspberry, green and yellow. The rest three have been mixed and matched!

The colors that we used are all food colors so it is absolutely non toxic. There are many recipes that use gel paints and liquid food colors but we used this food colour (affiliate link) in powder form. I used about pinch or more of it, for the intensity, and mixed with a tooth pick. You have to mix it well and for long because if you don’t, there is a chance that the color may transfer to fingers and clothes. If you mix it well while still warm, it won’t. We have tested this finger paint recipe cold and warm and it is the mixing that makes all the difference.

Is edible finger paint safe for babies?

This easy edible finger paint recipe that I am sharing is taste safe for toddlers and babies. It is actually like pudding. The paint is fully cooked and as I mentioned earlier, the colors that I have used in these are all safe food colors. Of course, anything out of moderation is not good so please make sure you are supervising your child while they play with these paints.

Will this edible finger paint stain clothes?

It depends on the food color you have used. You have to mix it well and for long because if you don’t, there is a chance that the color may transfer to fingers and clothes. If you mix it well while it is still warm, it won’t stain. We have tested this finger paint recipe cold and warm and it is the mixing that makes all the difference.

How long does edible finger paint take to dry?

A few hours is generally enough but if you have thick splats on it then you may need to dry it over night. We generally hang it up or pin to the notice board (and forget about it) till daddy comes home. The kids are always so excited to show off their creations as soon as their dad comes home. 🙂

Home Made Easy Edible Finger Paint Recipe

Here is the recipe:

1 cup white flour
2 cups water
2 tablespoons sugar
Food Colour of your choice in powder form (affiliate link)

Mix sugar, flour and water in a heavy bottom pan and stir on low heat. It will take up to 10 minutes or more for your flour mixture to start becoming thick. Keep stirring and don’t be tempted to increase the heat. If you increase the heat, it will make lumps and they will not dissolve! Once it is thick, remove and separate into little cans. Inspired by Happy Hooligans’ water paints recipe, we used a muffin tray for the picture. You can use a plastic tray or little paper cups too. I store my finger paint in mason jars in the fridge to be used within a week.

Mixing the colors:

Let the base cool down a little but let it be warm. Start mixing the colors one by one. We have about 6 muffin cups full.

The colors we chose turned out really bright. The paint is pudding like consistency. It felt really cool and well… what can I say… just what finger paint should be like!

Please Note: Since this finger paint includes sugar and flour, please do not store them at room temperature. In the fridge, they may last about a week. They may be okay for 10 days too but I wouldn’t recommend using them that long because with little ones, it just isn’t safe. I didn’t have to worry about using it after a week because we finish it all out in three days! It would have finished earlier had I not been saving them for taking photographs. 🙂

My son was so excited when he came home to find this edible finger paint that he was at it all evening with his sister. You can read all about it here. Look at how crazy they went. 🙂