The 9 Best Slime Recipes For Kids

Are your kiddos dying to make slime, but are you too worried about what it's made out of? Here are nine natural, non-toxic slime recipes for kids of all ages.

More: 6 Homemade Playdough Recipes

Are your kiddos dying to make slime? You might be hesitant to get involved with a slime project since traditional slime recipes include ingredients that don’t fit with a non-toxic lifestyle. Luckily, there are now plenty of natural, non-toxic slime recipes out there—and even better, they are easy recipes!

Making slime is a fun STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) activity. It’s a simple way to introduce children to science concepts like polymers and molecules. It’s also a hands-on activity where the end result provides safe and kid-friendly entertainment. Perfect for a rainy day, can enjoy participating in a science activity that results in lots of fun sensory play.

Here are nine of our favorite natural and non-toxic easy slime recipes:

Edible Slime Recipes

1. Edible Slime from Starburst Candy

Materials:

• 1 bag of Starburst candy
• Powdered Sugar
• Cornstarch

Directions:

From the Teach Beside Me blog:

1. Gather materials. You will want a couple of small glass bowls and a pot of water to cook on the stove (or a microwave). Divide the Starburst candies by color and unwrap. Place each color into a small glass bowl.
2. Mix ¼ c. powdered sugar with ¼ c. cornstarch.
3. Boil a pot of water and place the glass bowl into the pot to melt the Starburst candies. (Making it like a double boiler). Stir regularly to prevent burning. Once melted, remove from heat. You can also do it in the microwave for 2 – 30 second increments, stirring in between.
4. Turn onto a surface dusted with the cornstarch and powdered sugar mixture. Wait about five minutes until cooled. It can burn you at this point, so REALLY be careful!
5. Knead the melted candy with the powdered sugar mixture. Be sure to pull it and stretch it as you knead to let a lot of air into it. This will help it to be less sticky and more stretchy.

2. Edible Marshmallow Slime

Materials:

• 1 Bag of Mini Marshmallows
• 1/4- 1/3 c. Coconut Oil or any vegetable oil -add more to make it less sticky
• 1/2 c. Powdered Sugar
• Rainbow Sprinkles or Edible Glitter Stars– optional but fun! We added 1-2 Tbsp.

Directions:

From the Teach Beside Me blog:

1. Pour the whole bag of marshmallows into a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stop. Then repeat. Two times was enough for our marshmallows to be entirely melted.
2. Add in the powdered sugar and 1/4 c. of oil. Mix well.
3. Let it cool for about 15 minutes. Coat your hands in some of the remaining oil and mix by hand. It will be really sticky, but you can continue adding a little oil until it can be held and played with without sticking entirely.
4. Mix in 2-3 Tablespoons of rainbow sprinkles.

3. Edible Chocolate Slime

This slime takes on a more playdough texture, which makes it less sticky and clean-up is a breeze.

Materials:

• ½ cup cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• ⅓ cup coconut milk

Directions:

From The Soccer Mom Blog:

1. Add heaping 1/2 cup of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder to a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together until well combined and you have a light brown powder.
2. Heat 1/3 cup coconut milk in microwave until warm (not steaming or boiling). This should take about 20 seconds. Make sure to use a microwave-safe bowl and handle with care.
3. Pour warm coconut milk into mixing bowl with cornstarch and cocoa powder. Milk together with a spoon until a smooth slime begins to form.
4. You’ll be able to easily scoop the putty out of the bowl by hand when you’re done mixing.

4. Valentine Slime

You can change up the colors to make this perfect for any holiday, but we love the sweet conversation heart accessories.

Materials:

• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 14 ounce Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 Tablespoons extra fine granulated sugar
• Red Food Coloring
• Conversation heart candies or Valentine sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

Download a free printable with instructions from Kid’s Activities Blog.

Glue Based Slime Recipes

1. Fluffy Slime

Materials:

• School glue
• Shaving cream
• Contact lens solution
• Food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Watch this fun video from the Hi Sugarplum blog for step-by-step tutorial on how to make slime. This fun homemade slime option takes a little kneading but is a great product for extended play.

2. Borax-Free Baking Soda Slime

This DIY glue-based slime is easy to follow and easy recipe. Because it uses clear glue, you can add any color you like to make it suit your child’s preferences. Get ready for lot’s of sticky sensory play!

Materials:

• Baking soda
• Food coloring
• Elmer’s clear glue
• Glitter

Directions:

From the Schooling a Monkey blog:

1. Mix 1/4 of a cup of baking soda into two cups of warm water and set aside.
2. In a second bowl, mix 5 ounces of Elmer’s clear glue (it must be the clear glue) and your chosen color.
3. Pour the glue mixture into the bowl of baking soda water.
4. The slime will start to form little balls in the water. Fish these out, and you’ve got slime.

Two-Ingredient Slime Recipes

1. Orange Slime

Materials:

• Psyllium husk powder (Metamucil)
• Americolor Soft Gel Paste Food Color (optional)
• Water

Directions:

From the Fun Littles blog:

1. In a really large microwave-safe bowl add 1 tablespoon of fiber supplement. Add your favorite food color and then mix in 1 cup of water. Give it a good whisk and place it in the microwave for about 5 minutes. But do not walk away. The supplement will rise up so it is very important to use a large bowl so that the concoction does not bubble up and spillover. Check after 3 minutes, if it bubbles over, pause the microwave and then restart it. After 5 minutes, it will be like a snakeskin.

2. Glue Stick Slime

Materials:

• Elmer’s Glue Stick
• Water

Directions:

1. Add the glue stick to a microwave-safe bowl, add a little bit of water, and heat for 1 minute.
2. Once it comes out mix glue and water together
3. Pour water from the mixture into another bowl and freeze for 5 minutes
4. Remove from the freezer and play with your slime!

From Kimspired DIY:

3. Pom Pom Slime

Materials:

• Clear Elmer’s Glue
• Contact Solution or saline solution
• Pom Poms for an added pop

Directions:

From Kimspired DIY:

1. Add Elmer’s Glue to a bowl
2. Add contact lens solution and stir until it forms a slime
3. Add mini pom-poms and use your hands to stir

You can feel good about all of these slime recipes thanks to their safe and non-toxic ingredients. More importantly, your child will love the fun of science and end up with a product that she can play with and feel proud of! Even though all of these slimes are made from non-toxic ingredients adult supervision is recommended, particularly when using heat.