Edible Yogurt Silly Putty (Only 2 Ingredients!)

Looking for a fun alternative to slime that’s both easy to make and safe for toddlers? This 2-ingredient yogurt silly putty is super stretchy, borax-free, and takes under 5 minutes to make. And the best part? It’s totally edible!

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There are so many things to do when you have kids at home that spending hours planning activities is just not feasible. So having a few activities in your repertoire that require little to no prep time is a must.

This homemade silly putty only takes a few minutes to make, and because it is made from just two edible ingredients, it is safe for little ones who still like to put everything in their mouths.

It is also no-cook and gluten-free, and is a fantastic alternative to glue-based slime for kids who are still too young to play with it. Keep this one on hand for the next time your child is looking for something fun to do!

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Required Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make a batch of non-toxic silly putty for your kids using only 2 ingredients:

While this silly putty is taste-safe and made from edible ingredients, it doesn’t taste very good, even if you use flavoured yogurt. (We only had vanilla in the fridge.) I also wouldn’t recommend letting your child eat large quantities of it because eating too much cornstarch could give them upset stomachs.

But I love knowing that if they do decide to take a few nibbles, there’s nothing to worry about!

How to Make Edible Yogurt Silly Putty (Step-by-Step)

1. Add Food Colouring to Yogurt

Start by placing ¾ cup (6 oz) of yogurt in a bowl and adding a few drops of food colouring. The colour will dull a bit after you add the cornstarch, so make sure you add a few extra drops to ensure that the colour stays nice and vibrant.

2. Add Cornstarch

Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch, adding a bit at a time and stirring until smooth.

Keep stirring until all the cornstarch has been mixed in and the dough feels smooth.

3. Knead Silly Putty

Grab the ball of yogurt dough and knead it a few times with your hands until it no longer feels sticky. If it continues to feel sticky, add a bit more cornstarch and knead it into the dough; if it feels too dry, add a bit more yogurt.

Once you’re satisfied with the consistency of the silly putty, it’s time to play! Give it to your child and allow them to explore. (Didn’t I tell you this would be easy?)

This yogurt silly putty actually has a really unique texture that I absolutely loved. At first I felt that it was behaving more like play dough, but as we played with it, it became really stretchy and started to behave like slime.

Thankfully, unlike slime, this silly putty doesn’t contain any borax or other toxic ingredients that would make it unsafe for babies and toddlers. This makes it a great alternative if your older kids are playing with “big kid” slime and your younger kids want to participate!

Note: We were able to store ours in the fridge for a couple days and reuse it a few times before we threw it in the compost, but of course, your ability to do this will depend on how long it stays out of the fridge and how filthy it gets during play.

Edible Yogurt Silly Putty

Looking for a fun alternative to slime that’s both easy to make and safe for toddlers? This 2-ingredient yogurt silly putty is super stretchy, borax-free, and it takes under 5 minutes to make!

15 Facts About Silly Putty

Silly Putty is one of the top-selling children’s toys of all time. However, the ooey-gooey substance isn’t just for kids. Here are 15 facts about Silly Putty that prove it’s a true product of American ingenuity—not just a petty plaything.

1. SILLY PUTTY WAS INVENTED BY ACCIDENT.

Several individuals claim to have invented Silly Putty, but no matter who’s claiming the title of inventor, the underlying story’s the same: It was definitely created by accident. During World War II, the government asked chemists to search for a synthetic rubber substitute. One scientist, Dr. James Wright—the man who’s most commonly credited for Silly Putty’s invention—came close. In 1943, the chemical engineer for General Electric added a bit of boric acid to silicon oil. He noticed that the compound polymerized to form a resilient, flexible material that was almost like rubber. But the substance tended to melt, and it couldn’t hold a solid shape.

A toy store owner named Ruth Fallgatter caught wind of the goo and decided to carry it in her New Haven, Conn. toy store. Eventually, she lost interest in the product. However, a marketing consultant named Peter Hodgson was more than happy to take it off her hands.

2. SILLY PUTTY WAS PACKED IN PLASTIC EGGS BECAUSE IT WAS EASTER.

Hodgson decided to re-name the goo “Silly Putty” and sell it on his own. But it wasn’t just whimsy that drove Hodgson to package Silly Putty in plastic eggs—it was also timing. Spring was arriving, Hodgson needed a promotional hook, and what would sell a new toy better than a commercial holiday like Easter?

3. SILLY PUTTY WAS FIRST MARKETED TOWARD ADULTS.

Silly Putty wasn’t a hit at the 1950 International Toy Fair. Still, buyers at Neiman-Marcus and Doubleday bookstores picked it up, and before long, the novelty item had received a shout-out in the New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town” section. Thanks to the New Yorker, Hodgson received more than 250,000 orders in three days.

But Silly Putty really took off once the savvy marketing man identified a more lucrative customer base: children. Hodgson created a TV ad campaign for Silly Putty that’s today credited as one of the first commercials for kids. The strategy paid off; when Hodgson died in 1976, his estate was worth $140 million. Today, it would be worth close to $590 million.

4. SILLY PUTTY PRODUCTION WAS HALTED DURING THE KOREAN WAR.

A restriction on silicone during the Korean War meant that Hodgson had to stop making Silly Putty for a few years. Business suffered, but sales picked up once the fighting ended.

5. SILLY PUTTY IS NOW OWNED BY THE COMPANY THAT MAKES CRAYOLA CRAYONS.

Binney & Smith—the Easton, Penn.-based company that invented the now-eponymous Crayola crayon—purchased Silly Putty a year after Hodgson’s death. (Today, the company goes by Crayola LLC.) The two products are manufactured in the same factory.

6. SILLY PUTTY IS A “LIQUID SOLID.”

Drop a ball of Silly Putty and it bounces. Throw it from a roof and it shatters into pieces. Pull it apart, and it stretches. Hit it with a hammer and it keeps its shape.

7. IT ONCE LIFTED INK OFF NEWSPRINT.

Before Photoshop, crafty kids could digitally manipulate and distort images by placing Silly Putty over newspaper, lifting it off, and transferring the ink onto a new surface. Sadly, this is no longer the case; today’s newspapers are printed using nontransferable ink.

8. IT’S IN THE SMITHSONIAN.

Silly Putty became as historically relevant as Judy Garland’s iconic ruby slippers after a sampling of the brand’s products were added to the National Museum of American History’s permanent collections. According to museum archivist John A. Fleckner, he chose to include Silly Putty because it’s “a case study of invention, business and entrepreneurship, and longevity.”

9. IT’S BEEN IN SPACE.

In 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts took Silly Putty to lunar orbit with them in a specially crafted sterling-silver egg. It amused the bored crew, but the toy also had a practical purpose: It was used to hold down tools in zero gravity.

10. IT’S USED AS A GRIP ENHANCER.

Athletes use Silly Putty to strengthen their grip—a practice popularized by famous football player Raymond Barry.

11. IT’S BEEN USED BY ZOOS.

The Columbus Zoo in Ohio once used Silly Putty to make molds of gorilla paws for educational purposes. No word on whether the animals enjoyed playing with Silly Putty as much as their human counterparts.

12. IT’S MADE INTO ART.

Artist George Horner’s paintings are produced on an unusual canvas: large swaths of Silly Putty. These playful works sell for thousands of dollars.

13. IT’S ONE OF HISTORY’S TOP-SELLING TOYS.

According to Crayola, more than 300 million eggs of Silly Putty have been sold since 1950. That’s 4500 tons of goo!

14. ITS PRICE HAS NEVER CHANGED.

Silly Putty was first sold in 1950 for $1. Today, it retails for the same price—but don’t think you’re scoring the same deal as your parents or grandparents. Silly Putty eggs used to contain 1-ounce lumps. Now, they hold less than .5 ounces.

15. ITS FORMULA IS TIMELESS.

Modern-day incarnations of Silly Putty range from neon to gold and glow-in-the-dark—a far cry from the peach-colored polymer that first filled eggs in 1950. However, scientists have never bothered to tinker with the basic formula, a mixture of silicone oil and boric acid. It’s remained the same for 65 years, and will most likely stay that way. Talk about a childhood constant you can count on.