Rainbow Spaghetti is a vibrant and tasty twist on a classic pasta dish. Enjoy it as a fun family meal or a show-stopping party dish – easy to make, guaranteed smiles!
How To Make Rainbow Pasta Noodles
Our easy Rainbow Spaghetti recipe takes minutes to prepare using spaghetti noodles, ziplock bags, and food coloring.
To make colored spaghetti, cook it on the stovetop, mix it with olive oil, separate it into six pasta portions, and massage in the food coloring.
Noodles cooked al dente and dyed into rainbow colors is a fun way to turn any plain pasta dish into the most colorful meal, or add it to a sensory bin and make your rainbow spaghetti sensory play activity for babies and toddlers.
Why We Love Rainbow Pasta
- Quick and easy to make.
- Uses 3 simple ingredients.
- It’s finger food that can help improve fine and gross motor skills.
- Customize your colors for holidays or top your plate of pasta with cheese or sauce.
- You can dye spaghetti noodles for sensory bins or to make any meal more fun!
Rainbow Spaghetti Ingredients
- Spaghetti
- Water
- Olive oil
- Food coloring drops (red, yellow, blue, and green)
Substitutions and Additions
- Pick Your Pasta: You can use any pasta for this recipe. Spaghetti (or even linguine) is my favorite since you get to play with the long noodles, and kids love it!
- Serve With Sauce: You can serve your rainbow pasta for supper by topping it with tomato sauce, marinara sauce, or Alfredo sauce. But if you really want to showcase the rainbow colors, choose a light coating that won’t cover them up, like butter or olive oil with garlic sauce.
Recommended Tools
- Saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Ziploc bags
- Strainer or colander
How to Make Rainbow Spaghetti
- Prepare The Pasta: Cook and drain the pasta. Mix in the olive oil.
- Color: Add one color to each Ziploc bag, then add equal portions of pasta to the bag. Massage the food coloring into the pasta until the noodles are dyed a solid color. Allow the pasta to rest inside the bag for 5-10 minutes.
- Plate Or Play: Rinse the noodles separately and pat dry. Enjoy as a spaghetti dinner or use them for a fun activity!
Tips For Making Rainbow Pasta
- Start on the lower ends of the food coloring, especially for the blue and purple colors. You can always darken the coloring, but it is very hard to lighten it.
- Apply food coloring in multiple places in the pasta bags. This will help distribute the color evenly.
- Massage the coloring into the pasta. Distributing the dye evenly may take 2-3 minutes per color.
Food Coloring Combinations To Create The Rainbow
- Red – red (30-35 drops)
- Orange – red & yellow (15-20 drops yellow, 15-20 drops red, equal parts)
- Yellow – yellow (35-40 drops)
- Green – green (30-35 drops)
- Blue – blue (15-20 drops)
- Purple – blue & red (20 drops red, 4-5 drops blue)
More Fun Food for Kids
Other Easy Kid-Friendly Recipes
Rainbow Pasta
Serves — 8
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry spaghetti
- Water for boiling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Food coloring drops red, yellow, blue, and green
Instructions
- Bring the pasta to a boil over the stove and cook until fully done.1 pound dry spaghetti, Water for boiling
- Drain the pasta and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix into the pasta well.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Divide the pasta into 6 equal portions.
- Use 6 Ziploc bags for the next steps. Add coloring to each Ziploc bag then add 1 portion of pasta to the bag. See coloring instructions above.Food coloring drops
- Close the bag shut and massage the food coloring into the pasta until it fully bleeds into the noodles, dying it a solid color. Add more food coloring if needed. Allow the pasta to rest inside the bag for 5-10 minutes. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each color and portion of pasta.
- After the noodles have soaked in the food coloring, remove from the bag and rinse them separately in a strainer or colander. Pat dry. Enjoy the rainbow noodles with a spaghetti dinner or use them for a fun activity!
Jenn’s Notes
Tips:
- Start on the lower ends of the food coloring, especially for the blue and purple colors. You can always darken the coloring but its very hard to lighten it.
- Add a little bit of water to help distribute the dye into the bags. This will help the food coloring not be as concentrated and can help evenly coat the pasta.
- Apply food coloring in multiple places in the pasta bags. This will help distribute the color evenly.
- Really massage the coloring into the pasta. This may take 2-3 minutes per color to distribute the dye evenly.
- Red – red (30-35 drops)
- Orange – red & yellow (15-20 drops yellow, 15-20 drops red, equal parts)
- Yellow – yellow (35-40 drops)
- Green – green (30-35 drops)
- Blue – blue (15-20 drops)
- Purple – blue & red (20 drops red, 4-5 drops blue)
Nutrition Info
Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
