How to Make Colored Salt for Sensory Play

You’re going to love learning how to make colored salt for sensory play and art! It’s quick, easy, beautiful, and a much less expensive alternative to colored sand.

A yellow tray sits on a red table and has damp teal salt in it. The letter "A" has been drawn into the teal salt and the yellow tray in the lines of the letter are visible.

Interested in learning how to make colored salt? You’ve come to the right place

My mom loves colored sand, and we use it regularly for art, crafts, and sensory tables.

But it’s expensive. Absurdly expensive.

So, years ago, we started playing around with dyeing salt with liquid watercolors and food coloring, and it was the best discovery!

Related: Liquid watercolors are also GORGEOUS on our giant 10-foot coloring pages!

Kristian holds an orange tray filled with purple salt and pours purple salt from a small, clear bowl into the tray. Also in the tray are pompoms, tongs, and another small clear bowl, showing how to make colored salt.

You kids will love learning how to make colored salt, too

A sensory table filled with colored salt is not only fun for kids to play with but also fun for them to make WITH you!

We love coloring salt with our preschoolers just as much as we enjoy using it.

Like kids who are more apt to trying foods they helped cook in the kitchen, kids are more likely to engage in a sensory table they helped make, too.

There are tons more DIY materials that you can make for a sensory table!

How to Dye Chickpeas with Liquid Watercolors – Friends Art Lab
How to Dye Rice with No Vinegar or Rubbing Alcohol – Friends Art Lab
How to Dye Oats for Sensory Play – And Next Comes L
How to Dye Dried Beans – Fun at Home with Kids

A hand holds a small glass mason jar of orange liquid watercolors in front of two other small mason jars, one of which has teal liquid watercolors in it, Behind the jars is a Ziploc bag and a large bowl of salt.

Materials

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Salt – the regular, inexpensive tub of iodized salt
Liquid watercolors or food coloring
Zippered plastic bag – I use a gallon size
Shallow tray – a baking sheet or casserole dish work well, too

A large plastic zippered bag is open and has salt in it. A silver measuring spoon pours teal liquid watercolors into the salt. A bowl of salt sits next to the bag, both of which are on a yellow tray on a red table.

How to Make Colored Salt

It’s unbelievably easy and almost impossible to mess up!

Add 1-2 cups of salt into the large zippered bag.

Add a small splash of coloring (start small, you can always add more color if you want or need to).

Shake, shake, shake it up!

Once the salt is colorful, spread it into a shallow container and allow it to dry. The time it takes to dry will vary based on how much color you use, whether inside or outside, the temperature, etc., but it’s pretty quick.

You have colorful salt right at your fingertips in just a few simple steps.

Note: Make the colored salt with your kids if you can!

A peek into the Ziplock bag of damp teal salt.

What do you do with colored salt?

When I was a kid, my mom would take me to many craft fairs, and I loved the booths where you filled plastic necklaces and bottles with colored sand. If yours do, too, you can make them at home or school and fill them with your homemade colored salt.

My favorite way to use colored salt is in a sensory table!

Add as much colored salt as you’d like to a shallow container, add props and supplies, and your kids will know exactly what to do.

Ideas of materials to add to a salty sensory table:

Feathers
Tongs
Gems
Beads
Pompoms
Pipe cleaners
Plastic gems
Blocks
Animal figurines
Paintbrushes

This smooth, beautiful salt is stunning in large quantities and always makes for a popular sensory table with our preschoolers.

Related: You can use the same method to dye pasta, too!

A blue tray is filled with orange salt and small 1" pieces of colorful pipe cleaners standing in the salt.

FAQ

What age is this recommended for?

Salt ingested in large quantities can be dangerous, so make sure to only do this with kids who won’t try to ingest the materials (and always have appropriate adult supervision).

Do you have to throw the salt away when you’re done?

No, and that’s the best part! Store your dyed salt in an airtight container or bag and it can last for years!

Can you play with the salt while it’s drying?

Not only can you, but it’s one of my favorite parts of making salt! When it’s wet it’s moldable and a fun bonus activity.