Easy Colored Spaghetti Recipe For Kids (2024)

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This colored spaghetti recipe is such a fun pasta recipe for kids! (And colored pasta noodles aren’t just fun to eat, they’re fun to play with, too!) Here’s how to color pasta to eat for kids of all ages (even older kids and picky eaters will enjoy this dish!).

Easy Colored Spaghetti Recipe For Kids (1)

Edible Colored Spaghetti Recipe

This rainbow pasta recipe is sure to be a hit a kids’ parties, birthday parties, a summer pasta salad for a barbecue, or even just a simple children’s lunch on a day you want to do something a little extra! (Add this to your spaghetti secret recipe menu to pull out when your kids are having a hard day!)

How to Dye Spaghetti For Eating

To color spaghetti to eat, you’ll need:

  • Favorite dried spaghetti noodles
  • Favorite pasta sauce
  • Food coloring (in the colors you want, we made rainbow dyed pasta)
  • Sealable bags (like a Ziploc bag)

Get the printable recipe card for how to make color spaghetti below! This is one of those easy recipes that you can make with what you have in your pantry right now!

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Easy Colored Spaghetti Recipe For Kids (2)
Can I add food coloring to spaghetti?

Yes! You can use food-safe food dye to color spaghetti for play or for eating. Cook the spaghetti al dente and then add gel food coloring to the desired colors.

How To Food Color Spaghetti To Eat

How do you change the color of spaghetti noodles?

  1. Star with cooked thick spaghetti noodles. (The regular spaghetti, aka: thick noodles, work better than angel hair pasta because it holds the color better.) Drain the pasta and allow to cool. (Don’t add olive oil or rinse with cold water!)
  2. Separate the cooled pasta in resealable bags. (We did six food colors, so we had six resealable bags of pasta.) You can try to do this in bowls, but we found baggies the easiest way (and less messy).
  3. Add 20-40 drops of food coloring to a bag. Seal bag and gently massage the spaghetti noodles through the bag until all the noodles are colored. (This is a fun sensory kids activity, too!) IF NEEDED: Add more food coloring and repeat process until you’ve achieved the pasta coloring you want. The color of pasta is up to you and your food theme! (We did colors of the rainbow, but you may only want to make green pasta or orange coloring for a Halloween pasta recipe.)
  4. Repeat with other bags.
  5. Top with favorite spaghetti sauce and/or parmesan cheese!

Learn how to make dyed spaghetti with the full recipe directions below.

Easy Colored Spaghetti Recipe For Kids (3)

How long does rainbow spaghetti last?

Store your colored spaghetti in an airtight container in the refrigerator like you would any other cooked spaghetti noodles. They should keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

TRY THIS EASY SPAGHETTI NEXT: HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI IN A HOTDOG BUN (JUST LIKE THE BOOK!)

Easy Colored Spaghetti Recipe For Kids (5)

How to Make Rainbow Pasta Noodles For Spaghetti

This makes a fun rainbow pasta salad or to eat with your favorite spaghetti sauce / pasta sauce! You can even just make is rainbow spaghetti with parmesan if your kids don’t like sauces.

It’s just a fun way to present your pasta dish and a great way to get your kids involved in cooking. (They’ll have fun adding the drops of food dye and creating their own colors or making rainbow colors for rainbow foods!)

PRO TIP: You can also make a fun rainbow pasta sauce by alternating different colored pasta sauces! It’s so much fun with different colors!

We found that using gel food dyes make the most vibrant color and most colorful pasta. However, you do have to let it sit for a bit so that the gel colors can set. (You can see in our picture the purple got on the edge of the plate because we didn’t let the dyed pasta dry enough time.)

Here’s how to make easy rainbow colored pasta to eat — different ways to serve pasta…

Yield: 8

Colored Spaghetti Recipe

Easy Colored Spaghetti Recipe For Kids (6)

Learning how to make dyed spaghetti is a fun kids food craft activity that you can eat after!

Be sure to read the tips for coloring spaghetti noodles in the post, so scroll up!

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time10 minutes

Additional Time10 minutes

Total Time25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 16 ounce box of dried spaghetti (the regular spaghetti noodles, not angel hair pasta noodles)
  • Gel food coloring, colors of choice
  • Pasta sauce of choice, optional
  • Parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions

  1. Cook spaghetti noodles al dente (around 8-10 minutes) according to package directions.
  2. Drain noodles in colander and set aside to cool slightly.
  3. Portion noodles into resealable plastic bags. You will have as many resealable bags of pasta as colors you want to make. For example, we made six colors so we had six bags of pasta.
  4. Each bag is for one food coloring. Add 10-20 drops of food coloring. Seal the bag and let kids gently move the pasta around until all noodle pasta is colored. Add more food coloring, if needed.
  5. Repeat with each pasta bag until you have all the spaghetti dyed the colors you want.
  6. Remove pasta from bags and arrange on a plate. (We made rainbow pasta, so we arranged ours in a rainbow.) Let sit and allow food colored pasta to dry.*
  7. If needed, warm in microwave and then top with favorite spaghetti sauce and/or parmesan cheese. Serve and watch the smiles!
  8. Store leftover colored spaghetti in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

*Allowing the colored pasta to sit for a few minutes and "dry" will make the colors less likely to smear and be messy pasta!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 96Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 86mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g

Nutrition information is estimated. Changes to the recipe and use of different brands may cause changes to the nutritional information to vary slightly from the ones provided here.

Did you make this recipe?

Enjoy this? We'd love your 5-star review so we know to create more like this!

Want More Pasta Recipe Ideas? Try Pepperoni Pasta Salad (aka: Pizza Pasta Salad) – A Pasta Dish Kids Love!

Let us know how your colored spaghetti recipe turns out!

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Easy Colored Spaghetti Recipe For Kids (2024)

FAQs

How to make coloured spaghetti for kids? ›

Add a drop of food colouring to each bowl, or combine two colours (such as red and yellow to make orange). Mix well, adding a splash of water to help the colour disperse, if needed. Leave for 5 mins, then rinse the spaghetti under cold running water to set the colour.

How to make paint spaghetti? ›

How To
  1. Begin by placing 1 ½ -2 cups of dried pasta in a plastic bag.
  2. Add two squirts of hand sanitizer and a dash of paint. ...
  3. Mix it around and let it sit for 10 minutes in the bag.
  4. Spread out paper towels or parchment paper on a tray and place the pasta on the tray.
  5. Spread the pasta out so it has space to dry.

How to make coloured pasta for sensory play? ›

In just one easy step!

Simply tip your chosen pasta shape (uncooked) into a series of zip loc bags or bowls. Squirt over the desired paint colour and mix thoroughly. Tip out onto paper towels or a baking tray and leave to dry for 1-2 hours. Done!

How to make colored pasta to eat? ›

Add about 20 drops of each food coloring and 2 tablespoons water to gallon-size resealable bags. When the pasta is done, drain it in a strainer and immediately run cold water over it to halt the cooking. Transfer the pasta, portioning it as you go, into the bags of food coloring.

Can you use hand sanitizer to dye pasta? ›

Put 1-2 squirts of hand sanitiser/rubbing alcohol in each bag. Then add approximately 10 – 15 drops of food dye (this will depend on how much pasta you have in each bag & how vibrant you want to make it). What is this? Close up your bags and gently 'massage' the pasta so as to spread the colouring evenly all over.

What is the recipe for DIY paint? ›

Mix 1 - 2 parts water with 1 part glue or flour paste (recipe below). Add pigments until desired color is achieved, not exceeding a ratio of 20% by volume. Note - wet paint is much darker than when it's dry on the wall.

How to color pasta with vinegar? ›

DIRECTIONS:
  1. For every cup of dry pasta, pour 1 tbsp of vinegar.
  2. Add a few drops of food coloring.
  3. Mix until all the pasta pieces are fully colored.
  4. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the baking tray and pour the colored pasta on top.
  5. Lay out in an even layer and let out to dry for a few hours.
Nov 9, 2021

How do you make colorful food? ›

What the best way to turn foods different colors?
  1. Juice your veggies. ...
  2. Use water from boiled veggies or fruit. ...
  3. Try Japanese green tea. ...
  4. Make green mac 'n' cheese with greens! ...
  5. Beets offer a natural way to color foods red or pink. ...
  6. Pomegranate juice can create a pinkish-red hue. ...
  7. Turmeric or saffron can make foods yellow.
Apr 8, 2020

Can I dye spaghetti black? ›

Boil water for spaghetti as instructed, then add 1 1/2 teaspoons black food coloring to boiling water. If you do not have black food coloring, use 1/2 teaspoon each of red, blue, and green food coloring. This won't turn the water black, but a dark grey color that will dye the noodles while cooling.

How do you dye pasta or rice? ›

Instructions. Add 1 cup of uncooked rice to a small plastic baggie and add a few drops of food coloring to the bag. If using gel coloring, you'll only need a tiny bit. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the bag, seal the top, and shake up the bag to mix the color around the rice.

What does colored pasta taste like? ›

While the colors give the pasta a different appearance, they do not affect the flavor of the pasta, since that is primarily derived from the type of wheat used to make it and any accompanying sauces or ingredients in the dish.

How to color spaghetti green? ›

Add 10-20 Drops of Green Food Coloring to the boiling water which you are cooking the pasta inches. If you want it more Green, add more food coloring to pasta after you drain it and stir. It will absorb the color and create some darker and lighter strands.

How do you dye spaghetti purple? ›

Fill the bags or bowls with two tablespoons of water and then with about 10-12 drops of food coloring. I recommend using dark bowls so the dye doesn't stain them. Once the pasta has finished cooking strain the water from it in the colander. Use tongs to mix the pasta in the food coloring.

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