The Best Taste Safe Recipes for Sensory Bins

I love sensory play, but I don’t love using sensory bin fillers that aren’t taste safe for my toddler. Many sensory bins use rice and dried chickpeas, but they can be choking hazards for young children. I’ve tested many taste safe sensory bin recipes, and these are my top four favorites for sensory bin play! I bet that you have all these ingredients in your pantry already and they can be stored in air tight containers for up to two weeks.

Taste Safe Dirt

I usually lay out a disposable tablecloth for easy cleanup. This taste safe dirt is so fun to play with, but it is messy. The more water you mix in, the chunkier the dirt gets. Careful though…if you add too much water, you’ll turn it into ooblek mud! We did a simple gardening sensory bin, and this taste safe dirt was a huge hit with my kids because they were able to shovel it and “plant” their faux flowers.

• 1 c. Corn Starch
• 1 c. Cocoa Powder
• 1 c. Water (add more water if you want chunkier “dirt”)

Taste Safe Ooblek Mud

I loved playing with ooblek as a kid. Oobleck is a simple, non-toxic substance made from just two ingredients: cornstarch and water. It’s a type of non-Newtonian fluid, which means it behaves like both a liquid and a solid depending on the pressure applied to it. This taste safe ooblek mud is great for introducing kids to basic science concepts like states of matter and pressure. Adding ooblek to your sensory bin is great for car wash or farm sensory bin play!

Ingredients for Taste Safe Ooblek Mud

• 1 cup Cornstarch
• 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 cup Water

Taste Safe Snow

This taste safe snow was probably my favorite sensory bin filler! The snow is moldable and can even scoop like ice cream. After adding each ingredient to the bowl, I found it best to use my hands to finish mixing. Add a little water if you find the dough to be too dry. I made two batches of taste safe snow to fill my sensory bin. If you leave the taste safe snow out, the baking soda will react and start to bubble. Simply remix the snow and it is ready again for play.

Ingredients for Taste Safe Snow

• 1 c. baking soda
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. cornstarch
• 1 TBL cream of tartar
• 4 TBL water

Taste Safe Moon Sand

This taste safe moon sand is softer and less grainy then kinetic sand, but it is just as moldable. I made a moon sand and water sensory bin because my child is learning about animals. I also made a land, sea and air activity sheet so she could practice sorting the animal figurines into the different categories. I have found that Walmart carries the best budget friendly animal figures that are perfect for sensory bin play! Just remember to bake the flour at 350 degrees for five minutes to make it taste safe.

Ingredients for Taste Safe Moon Sand

• 2 C. Flour – You MUST bake the flour at 350 degrees prior to mixing.
• Food coloring of choice. I use this artificial dye free version.
• 1/4 c. oil

Directions for Taste Safe Moon Sand:

• Bake flour in oven at 350 for 5 min.
• Add food coloring
• Add a tasteless oil. I used vegetable oil.
• Mix all ingredients and pass it through a sieve/strainer to make the sand texture extra fine.

Taste Safe Sensory Bin Animal Sorting

I made a simple activity sheet so my child could sort their sensory bin figurines into land, air, and water creatures. Download my activity sheet and create your own play!

Other Taste Safe Sensory Bin Fillers:

• Frozen Peas (check out this frog life cycle sensory tray where I used frozen peas)
• Crushed graham crackers (sand)
• Crushed rice crispies (sand)

Wishing you the most memorable afternoons of PLAY with these taste safe recipes for sensory bins! Leave me a comment if you have questions or suggestions for other ideas you want to see!