39 Edible Sensory Play Ideas for Little Kids

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Little kids put everything into their mouths, and these edible sensory play ideas are perfect for their hands-on activities!

Occupying babies can be tough at times because they put everything in their mouths. You just need some safe edible sensory play ideas.

39 Edible Sensory Play Ideas for Little Ones

It’s hard when you have older kids around that want to play with little things, such as the Lego craze we’re on right now in our house.

Louis kind of gets left out of a lot of things simply because he wants to explore everything with his mouth. Everything gets a taste test.

For my own sanity, and maybe yours, I’ve pulled together a list of easy edible sensory play ideas that babies and toddlers will love!

These are all perfect activities for babies, even toddlers, that constantly are mouthing objects.

These sensory play ideas go beyond a sensory tub, I’ve included a few creative sensory activities that are great to branch out and be creative. Everything on the list is edible for those that keep putting things in their mouth.

Edible Sensory Play Ideas From the Pantry:

1. Colored bread crumbs from Happily Ever Mom.
2. Dry pasta! Add scoops and cups for lots of edible sensory play!
3. Make an indoor sandbox with pantry items, like oatmeal!
4. Cornmeal is also a great substitute for sand when you’re stuck indoors.
5. Messy Motherhood knows rice crispies are awesome for sensory play, they crunch!
6. Make a necklace with Fruity-Os or just a sensory tub is fun too from No Time for Flash Cards.
7. Making Time for Mommy loves a sweet hot cocoa mix with marshmallows! 
8. Flour alone is a great sensory activity for young kids to play in.
9. My Small Potatoes uses a bowl of uncooked Cream of Wheat for kids to play in!
10. Explore all 5 senses with a marshmallow activity from Fantastic Fun and Learning.
11. Build a sandcastle out of brown sugar – it’s super moldable!
12. Play on the farm and follow a maze through dry lentils with an idea from Mommy Evolution!

More Edible Sensory Play Ideas From the Kitchen:

1. Merri Cherry loves this simple rainbow jello sensory play activity!
2. Learn, Play, Imagine made fizzy oobleck with cocoa for some chocolate-y sensory ideas!
3. Busy Toddler whips up edible cool whip tub paint for messy-clean sensory play fun.
4. Play in pudding “dirt” with pasta “worms” for gross-out sensory fun from The Measured Mom.
5. Make coconut dough, with an idea from Creative Playhouse.
6. Fresh fruit, balls of melons make a refreshing sensory tub for babies to taste test, like Play at Home Mom.
7. Explore fruit in fruit jigglers! Modern Parents, Messy Kids added cookie cutters for more fun!
8. Dig frozen veggies out of the freezer! A chilly sensory bin!
9. Colored cooked spaghetti! Slimy Fun!
10. Ice! So simple, yet ice is so fun for kids to play with, it gets slippery and hard to hold on to!
11. Add a little seasonal scent to just plain rice for a fun scented sensory discovery bin!
12. Try adding a colorful twist to salt and DIY a rainbow at home!

Creative Edible Sensory Play Ideas:

1. Babies can paint on not worry if they put it in their mouths. Try fruit paint!
2. Or just baby food works great for edible finger paint!
3. We also made this gelatin-based homemade finger paint recipe to paint tape resist!
4. The Imagination Tree has a cornstarch-based finger paint recipe that looks a little thicker to try!
5. Yogurt also works for finger painting for little kids! Smells great too!
6. Make some pudding for painting too like The TipToe Fairy.
7. Edible Kool-aid adds a sweet smell for extra sensory play ideas when you paint, like Fun at Home with Kids.
8. Use spaghetti ‘brooms’ as paintbrushes, like Fun Littles.
9. Whip up yummy edible banana marshmallow slime, with a recipe from Crafts4Toddlers.

Take Sensory Into Play, and Keep Them Edible:

1. Set snacks out to put in a bottle to make a baby rattle! Young kids will love to hear it shake! Plus its added fine motor.
2. Set up a food exploring station to see all they can explore, like Modern Parents Messy Kids.
3. Freeze berries in some water and have the kids ‘excavate’ them out!
4. Make a peanut butter play dough, just like Kids Activities Blog
5. Check out these frozen smoothies for sensory play from Learn Play Imagine! How cool!
6. Decorate pancakes with baby food, with an idea from Modern Parents Messy Kids.

What’s your favorite way to let your baby play?

We’d love to check out your creative ideas!