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Friends Art Lab / Blog / Colorful Cooked Pasta – Sensory Activity for Kids

Colorful Cooked Pasta – Sensory Activity for Kids

Author: Kristian Klebofski    Published: 08/10/2023     Updated: 04/17/2025

You HAVE to make colorful cooked pasta for sensory play! It’s easy, fail-proof, and makes for the most incredible sensory activity for kids (and adults).

two photos for making colorful cooked pasta: (1) tongs hold bright pink spaghetti noddles above a pot of bright pink boiling water on the stove (2) bright pink and purple spaghetti noodles are mixed together
Table of Contents:
  1. There’s nothing like colorful cooked pasta
  2. Colorful cooked pasta is ooey, gooey sensory fun
  3. Materials
  4. How to make colorful cooked pasta
  5. Vegetable oil is the hero of this activity
  6. How do you store colorful cooked pasta?
  7. WAIT – let’s kick it up a notch!
  8. You can use any color combinations for cooked colorful pasta
  9. Frequently Asked Questions

There’s nothing like colorful cooked pasta

I have dyed all of the sensory things ever to exist, from chickpeas to rice to salt and everything in between.

I have even dyed shoes!

You can find me dyeing anything I can get my hands on, and dying cooked pasta is absolutely stunning every time.

💜 Related: Check out how to dye uncooked pasta, too!

tongs hold bright purple spaghetti noddles above a pot of purple boiling water on the stove

Colorful cooked pasta is ooey, gooey sensory fun

It’s slippery and slimy, and kids’ eyes get as large as soccer balls when they see how cool this is.

Colorful cooked pasta doesn’t just use the sense of touch; kids also engage sight, sound, smell, and possibly even taste (see below).

AND BONUS: Whatever shape pasta you have works for this method!

💜 Looking for more sensory activities for kids? We love these:

  • The Easiest Play Dough Recipe Ever
  • Rainbow Sensory Bin with Dyed Garbanzo Beans
  • Ribbon-Cutting Sensory Table
  • Outdoor Oobleck Sensory Activity for Kids
two pots of boiling water sit on a stove ready to make colorful cooked pasta

Materials

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  • Pasta – I use spaghetti noodles, but you can use any kind you’d like
  • Liquid watercolors or food dye  Pot + boiling water
  • Vegetable oil
  • Tongs
  • Water
  • Kid scissors (optional)
purple liquid watercolors are squirted into a pot of boiling water on the stove

How to make colorful cooked pasta

💜 READ THIS FIRST: Making cooked pasta involves using a pot of boiling water on a stove, which is unsafe safe for young kids to do. This step is for adults only.

Let the fun begin!

  • First, bring a pot of water to a boil.
  • Second, add a generous squirt of liquid watercolors or food dye to the boiling water (I did a couple of tablespoons of liquid watercolors, you would use less food dye).
  • Third, add in the pasta! If you’re using long noodles like I did, set the pasta in with as much in the water as possible, then push the top of the noodles down slowly as the bottom cooks and becomes soft. Cook for as long as the package recommends.
  • Last, drain the pasta, rinse it off (the color won’t come off), and add in a tiny splash of vegetable oil.
A bottle of vegetable oil is held over bright pink and purple spaghetti noodles

Vegetable oil is the hero of this activity

Can you visualize what drained pasta looks (and feels) like in your hands?

It’s sticky, globby, and makes this activity less exciting.

However, just a tiny amount of vegetable oil keeps your pasta feeling perfect. It will make it smooth and silky and perfect for sensory play.

pink and purple colorful cooked pasta sit next to each other but are not mixed yet

How do you store colorful cooked pasta?

I keep mine in a Ziplock bag or airtight container in the refrigerator.

When doing this with preschoolers, we would only keep it for 1-3 days (and because pasta is inexpensive, even one day of play makes it worth it).

If doing this at home, it will likely last much longer.

Kid hands hold a pair of scissors and cut a handful of pink and purple colorful cooked pasta

WAIT – let’s kick it up a notch!

Kids love scissors.

Kids love cutting things.

We love providing kids with non-paper cutting activities, and cooked pasta is a blast to cut up with scissors!

bright pink and purple spaghetti noodles are mixed together

You can use any color combinations for cooked colorful pasta

Maybe you’d like to make orange, black, green, and purple pasta for Halloween.

Maybe you’d like to try pink and purple for Valentine’s Day.

Or, let it be a fun surprise each time!

No matter what colors you choose, you’re going to love this.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age is this recommended for?

Any that can safely use and enjoy the materials!

How do you make pasta colorful to eat?

If you’re using food coloring, then it is a food safe. Liquid watercolors, as shown here, are not edible.

Does this stain hands?

No. The color is cooked into the pasta and rinsed after it comes out of the pot.

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Kristian

Hi, I’m Kristian!

I have spent over 15 years in the preschool classroom, I have a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, and I was a college professor of education for eight years. My passion is sharing creative learning activities for children and I'm so happy you're here.

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