How to Make Colored Pasta (2023)

Making colored pasta is easy and such a fun process.

There are so many fun ways to create with colored pasta.

You’re going to see exactly how to color pasta in just a few simple steps.

Let’s get started!

Ingredients for Coloring Pasta

You need a few simple ingredients

Other optional supplies

How to Make Colored Pasta Video

Check out the video below to see exactly how we make colored pasta. But, also see the written directions below for more clarification.

Directions on How to Make Colored Pasta

Here are the 5 easy steps:

Step 1: Add 1 cup of pasta into a ziplock bag and squirt some acrylic paint inside.

I don’t have a specific measurement I use; you can always add more if you don’t like the color.

Step 2: Close the bag and shake up the acrylic paint and pasta mix so the color gets all over the rice. You will need to use your hands to massage the bag to make sure all the pieces of pasta get color on it.

This is where you can check if you like the color. If you need to add more paint, squirt a little bit more in and shake up again.

Step 3: Grab an art tray and line it with parchment paper to dump the pasta on to dry. I linked my favorite art trays in the ingredients section. These trays are large and can hold up to two colors spread out.

Placing the colored pasta on the parchment paper will make for an easy clean-up!

Step 4: Dump out the pasta onto the parchment paper and spread it out as much as you can. This will help them not stick together.

Step 5: Wait a few minutes for the pasta to dry. The beauty of this method of coloring pasta is that it doesn’t take a long time for it to dry.

I typically wait about 5 minutes, and it’s done!

You are now ready to craft or play! Check out some ideas on how to use colored pasta below.

What can you do with colored pasta?

Now that you have learned how to make colored pasta check out all the fun ways it can be used to create and play!

#1: Crafting

We have created some fun crafts using colored pasta. This is one of my favorites! The bow tie noodles were perfect for the feathers of the flamingoes.

Check out some other ways to craft with colored pasta later in this article.

When crafting with colored pasta, you want to make sure to use cardstock paper. If you are using quite a bit of pasta, it will be pretty heavy. ]

Construction paper won’t be able to hold all the pasta, and your craft will fall apart. Use the cardstock paper for the best results!

How do you get the pasta to stick to the paper?

To get the colored pasta to stick to the paper, we used Elmer’s school glue. Spread a thin layer of glue on the paper, then spread it around with a popsicle stick, and just place the pasta on top.

#2: Threading

Use colored pasta to practice threading! This is a great fine motor activity for toddlers and preschoolers.

Here are the materials you’ll need

When doing this activity, I like to also work on color-matching skills. This is just another optional learning activity to go along with threading!

Grab an art tray and roll the play dough into balls. Stick a pipe cleaner in each one. If working on color matching, match the colored play dough with the correct pipe cleaner.

Then, have the kids thread the matching colored pasta on the pipe cleaner.

We have also done this activity by making a rainbow! To do this activity, just roll up two blue play dough balls (to be the clouds) and separate them a little on an art tray.

Then, stick a pipe cleaner on one side of the play dough and let the kids thread the colored pasta on in order of the rainbow.

#3: Color Sorting

A simple learning activity you can do with your toddlers and preschoolers is to practice color sorting!

For this activity, grab a small muffin tray or paint tray to separate the colored pasta.

I just placed a dot sticker in each section of the muffin tray so my son would know where to put the colored pasta to start.

This is such a simple but effective learning activity for little ones.

#4: Sensory Play

The main reason why we create colored pasta is for the sensory play! It’s fun for the kids to be able to learn and explore different textures.

The awesome thing about coloring pasta is that there are different types of noodles the kids can feel and create with.

Talking about the differences in the types of pasta helps build vocabulary skills! Talk to your kids about the shape of the pasta, the size, the feel, and the look.

Other Crafting Ideas for Colored Pasta

#1: Pineapple Craft

How adorable are these pineapple-colored pasta crafts? This is a fun way to use wheel and bow tie pasta.

We did the on summer break a few years back, and it’s still one of my favorites.

How to do this activity

A. Extra materials you need

B. Set-up

Dump some wheel pasta in a plastic bag. Also, dump some yellow acrylic paint in the bag, shake it up, and dump it out on parchment paper on an art tray.

Repeat this process with green paint and the bow tie pasta.

C. Activity

Draw a pineapple shape on cardboard or cardstock paper.

Paint the bottom of the pineapple yellow and the stem green.

Glue on googly eyes and draw a mouth with a marker.

Add a little glue to the bottom of the pasta and place it down on the pineapple. onto the yellow parts and start adding on the wheel pasta. Then, add on the green bow-tie pasta noodles!

#2: Fish Pasta Craft

We used small macaroni noodles for this fun fish craft!

This was the first time we tried this type of colored pasta for a craft, and I think it turned out so cute.

How to do this activity

A. Extra materials you need

  • cardstock paper
  • glue
  • scissors
  • googly eyes
  • marker

B. Set-up

Dump some macaroni noodles in a plastic bag. Squirt some acrylic paint inside, shake it up, and dump it out on parchment paper to dry. Make sure to separate them as much as possible so they don’t stick together.

Repeat this process with all the colors you want to make!

C. Activity

While you are waiting for the noodles to dry, create fish out of colored cardstock paper. Cut them out, glue them on a googly eye, and make a smile with a marker.

Lastly, use glue to paste on the colored pasta for the scales of the fish.

#3: Christmas Tree Craft

I love how this colored pasta Christmas tree craft turned out. The bow tie pasta was perfect to look like a tree.

This craft was a little different, though; we actually hand-painted these bow tie noodles instead of the bag method.

How to do this activity

A. Extra materials you need

B. Set-up

Paint the pasta noodles individually. There aren’t that many noodles, and this is a fun sensory activity to do with the kids.

Also, the bow tie noodles may have spots where the paint doesn’t reach if you do the bag method, so I have to paint the spots it missed anyway.

Then, paint a tree on a piece of cardboard or cardstock paper.

C. Activity

Once the pasta noodles are dry, have the kids use glue to glue them on top of the tree you painted. Regular glue will work for this part!

When all the noodles are in place, you can glue some poms to the tree to be the ornaments. Lastly, add a star sticker on top!

#4: Pumpkin Pasta Craft

This cute pumpkin-colored pasta craft is great for all ages!

This one is great for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or a fall-themed craft.

noodle pumpkin craft

How to do this activity

A. Extra materials you need

  • cardboard/paper
  • acrylic paint
  • art trays
  • googly eyes
  • glue

View Amazon’s Price

B. Set-up

You can either paint the pasta noodles by hand or place them inside a ziplock bag with some acrylic paint and shake it up. Then, dump out the pasta on parchment paper to let it dry.

The wheel pasta won’t be completely covered with this method because of all the holes in the pasta, so you may have to hand-paint the spots it missed!

Then, you can paint the spiral noodles for the leaves of the pumpkins.

While the pasta is drying, you can draw and paint the pumpkins! Add googly eyes and a funny face to each one.

C. Activity

Once the pasta is dry, add a small amount of glue to the noodles and stick it down to the pumpkin around the face you created.

Then, glue down the leaf next to the stem you drew! How fun is this craft?

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How long does colored pasta take to dry?

Answer: It takes 5-10 minutes using the acrylic paint method.

2. How can you get the pasta to stick to paper?

Answer: You can use glue like Elmer’s school glue to attach pasta to paper. Just add a little glue to the back and stick it on cardstock paper or cardboard.

3. How long can you keep colored pasta?

Answer: It stays good for a long time! We have kept it for about a year before, then we would make a new batch!

4. Do you have to use vinegar to color pasta?

Answer: Nope! Not with this method; you just need acrylic paint! That’s why I love using this method. It won’t smell like vinegar!

5. Will colored pasta stain my child’s hands?

Answer: Not with this method! Since you don’t use food coloring, it won’t stain their hands at all!

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Once you know how to make colored pasta, there are so many fun crafts and activities that you can that you can do.

Kids of all ages will love learning how to make colored pasta. They will love helping with the process.

I’d love to know if you make any colored pasta crafts using the recipe above! Let me know in the comments how it went.

Happy Crafting!

Deena

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply