Colored rice is one of the most common fillers moms use for sensory bins. It is a lot of fun to make and it is a great base to do fine motor activities.
To make colored rice all you need is to mix food coloring, vinegar and white rice.
Below you can find a printed recipe and a step by step video tutorial that will turn you into a an expert!
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Colored rice is a great sensory material for sensory bins used for toddlers and preschool kids. Scroll to the end and find some sensory bin inspiration using rice!
For toddlers, it is a great sensory material to practice pouring and scooping, both important exercises to practice fine motor skills.
I use Jasmin rice (Amazon), but you can use any brand or type of rice you already have at home.
Here is the easiest way to make colored rice for sensory play.
Color Rice Recipe
Color Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups of White rice (1 cup per color)
- 1 Tbs of Vinegar
- 10-15 drops of Food Coloring (pick yourself color)
- 1 gallon Ziplock or Tupperware container
- Aluminum paper
- Tray
- Optional- essential oils
Instructions
- Measure 1 Tbsp of vinegar into zip lock or Tupperware
- Mix in food coloring into to the vinegar
- Measure 1 cups of white rice and add into the ziplock
- Close ziplock and shake, shake, shake to mix well.
- Optional – add some essential oils to remove the vinegar smell from the rice
- If the color is too dull, add additional food coloring until desired color is achieved
- Cover a tray with aluminum foil
- Spread colored rice into aluminum foil and allow for it to dry
- Repeat process with other color to create 🌈 rainbow rice
- Place on sensory bin for a fine motor skills activity
How long does colored rice last
Colored rice can last a few months if stored properly. I usually keep it sealed in a Ziplock or in Tupperware.
How long does rainbow rice take to dry?
Depending on how much vinegar you use to the ration of rice it may take longer. Usually, with the recipe on this page, you can have dried color rice in 15-30 minutes. Just make sure that the rice is spread out on the tray and not overlapping each other too much to allow for air to get to each grain and dry it out.
What are other ways to Color Rice?
There are different ways you can color rice. Some people don’t like the smell of vinegar and don’t have essential oils to add so they use acrylic paint, or use alcohol instead of vinegar.
How to color Pasta or noodles
Raw noddles or pasta uses the same technique. If you want to make edible safe cooked colored spaghetti try this simple recipe.
Sensory Bin Inspiration using Color Rice
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