How to Make Rainbow Rice for Kids (Taste Safe Recipe)

This Rainbow Rice Recipe is incredibly easy to make and perfect for introducing young kids to sensory play. 100% taste safe, you can use this great activity for kids aged 1 year old and up.

The first time I made coloured rice was when my son was a toddler. He LOVED it and ended up playing with it every day for months. And when I say every day, I don’t mean just 5 minutes, I mean a good 30-45 minutes. It was then that I realized that this stuff was magic.

Four years later, my rainbow rice sensory bin is still the number 1 sensory bin idea that my young children will play with. We’ve tried so many simple ways to use it and it still hasn’t gone off. Learn how to dye rice with food coloring, by following the easy steps below.

Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a small commission if you use this link to make a purchase.

More Taste Safe Sensory Play Ideas

There are so many wonderful benefits to sensory play, that I recommend starting this type of play with babies as soon as they can start grasping something. Here are some more taste-safe sensory play ideas that babies and toddlers will have so much fun playing with.

1. Taste Safe Mud Sensory Bin
2. Rainbow Jello Sensory Bin
3. Taste-Safe Rainbow Spaghetti
4. Taste Safe Moon Sand
5. Kinetic Sand Taste Safe Recipe
6. …

For more ideas, visit 15 Taste Safe Sensory Bins.

Materials Needed

1. Uncooked white rice (about 1 cup of rice per color)
2. Large ziplock bag (1 per color)
3. Food coloring (10-20 drops per color)
4. White vinegar (1 Tbsp per color)
5. Rimmed baking sheet
6. Parchment paper or a paper towel

How to make Rainbow Rice

1. Put the food coloring and vinegar into a ziplock bag

You’ll need a separate bag for each of the colors. Or if you want to cut down on waste, wash out each bag before using it for the next color too.

You can use either natural-based food colorings or gel food coloring for your rice, use whatever you already have in the kitchen cupboard.

If you don’t need the dyed rice to be taste-safe, you can also color it using liquid watercolors or acrylic paint.

2. Add in the uncooked rice

Pour in your cups of rice with the vinegar and food coloring mixture.

3. Shake until completely covered

Close the ziplock bag and shake until all of the rice has been completely covered. If the rice is patchy, there’s an easy way to fix that. All you need to do is to add in another teaspoon of vinegar and drops of food coloring and shake the bag again.

4. Pour it out to dry

Pour the different colours in an even layer onto paper plates or cookie sheet to dry, which doesn’t take a long time. I find that leaving it out overnight works perfectly.

It will smell like vinegar initially, but I find that after a few days the vinegar smell disappears completely.

5. Ready to play

Once your sensory rice is dry, you’re ready to play. When I first made a rainbow rice sensory bin I organized the rice in the colors of the rainbow, and then let my toddler mix them together.

You don’t need any fancy tools to play with a sensory rice bin. Cups, spoons and small bowls have always been the kids favorite tools. Which are great ways to develop fine motor control and hand-eye coordination. You can also add in some small toys to make the same rainbow rice sensory bin into a new activity every time.

When you’re finished playing, just store the rice in an airtight container, ready to use the next time you want to play.

More Sensory Bin Rice Ideas

One way I love using rainbow rice is as a classic base for almost any sensory bin. Keeping the different colors separate means you can reuse each color in a variety of different ways.

For example, I just make a large batch of only green rice, which I can then use for St. Patrick’s day, or nature themed creative play activities, like this Butterfly Sensory Bin.

Or turn a bag of rice into only yellow rice, which can then be used in this Bee Sensory Activity or a Sun themed sensory bin.

FAQ’s

What does Playing with Rainbow Rice Teach Toddlers and Preschoolers?

There are a variety of essential life skills that young children develop through playing with rainbow rice, and sensory activities in general. Such as fine motor skills, language development, math and more. This is one reason why a regular sensory experience should be included in every early learning journey.

How do you keep rainbow rice sensory play mess-free?

Easy, put a blanket or a fitted sheet down first. This is a great way to create a barrier that contains the rice in one place (instead of going all over the floor). When your kids are finished, all you need to do is gather up the corners of the blanket and pour the rice back into the tub. The good news is that with this hack, it’ll only take 2 minutes to clean everything up.

Is uncooked rice safe to play with?

Yes and no, if your child does accidentally ingest some plain rice it won’t cause any serious illness’. However it is important to supervise your child at all times when they’re playing with a rice sensory bin. After all, rainbow rice still poses a choking hazard for babies and toddlers.

Do you need vinegar to make rainbow rice?

Vinegar is not essential, but it does make the process a lot easier when you’re learning how to dye rice. For example:

1. It helps the drops of food colouring to go further and makes it easier to spread the color around.
2. It helps to set the color, so that the colored rice doesn’t stain hands or clothes.

How long does dyed rice last?

As long as the rainbow rice is stored in an airtight container, it will keep for years. I first made our batch of rainbow rice over 4 years ago and it’s still as good as new. Even after all this time, it’s still my children’s favorite sensory table activity.

Can you dry colored rice in the oven?

Absolutely. If you want to speed up the drying process you can put the rainbow rice into the oven using a low heat. However, if it’s a relatively warm time of year, leaving the rice at room temperature overnight works just as well.

Does colored rice stain?

It can, which is one reason why I highly recommend making your rainbow rice with vinegar. The vinegar helps the color to set and prevents staining hands, clothing and furniture when it’s being played with.

Are you going to make Rainbow Rice for your kids?
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More Play Based Learning for Kids

Sensory Activities for Kids

Taste Safe Sensory Bins