Homemade Slime Recipe

Homemade slime recipe made with only 3 ingredients! Only takes a few minutes to make and will entertain your kids for hours!

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The Best 3-Ingredient Slime Recipe

My kids have been obsessed with making homemade slime for years and it seriously never gets old. Do you remember Gak? This slime recipe is very similar and my kids react the same way I did as a kid. They literally played with it all afternoon the first time we made it.

The best part is it only costs about $1 to make, uses just 3 ingredients with no borax, and comes together in minutes. This is hands down the best slime recipe because it always works and the texture is perfectly stretchy every time. It is a little messy so make sure to lay down a plastic tablecloth or trash bag before you get started!

Slime Ingredients

• 8-ounce bottle Elmer’s white school glue
• 1 1/2 – 2 Tablespoons contact saline solution, more as needed (or slime activator)
• 1 Tablespoon baking soda
• Food coloring, optional

How to Make Homemade Slime

1. Add glue and food coloring to bowl. Squeeze the bottle of glue into a bowl (photo 1). Add your food coloring if desired, and stir until combined. Then mix in baking soda (photo 2).
2. Mix in saline solution. Add 1 1/2 Tablespoons saline solution and mix until combined (photo 3). If it’s too sticky, add 1/2 Tablespoon more solution at a time. The more you add, the thicker it’ll be. The less you add, the slimier it’ll be (see texture in photo 4).
3. Knead the slime. Using your hands, knead the slime until it holds together. It will be wet and gooey at first, but just keep kneading until it all comes together.
4. Store slime. Store slime in a container with lid, or in a zip top bag. The slime is best to play with on a place mat.

Tips for Making Slime

• Use plastic bowls and spoons to make clean up easier.
• Make sure to get the color correct before adding the saline. It’s harder to mix in when it begins to thicken.
• For thicker slime, add more saline solution. For a slimier texture, add less saline. If your slime gets hard too quickly, you added too much so go slowly and stop as soon as it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Slime is best to play with on a place mat, plastic tablecloth or even a trash bag.
• Can add in extras like glitter, scented oils or even mini styrofoam balls.
• Recipe makes about a cup of slime. Can double or triple based on how many kids there are.
• If you have long hair, make sure to put it into a pony tail. If a little slime gets in your hair, simply rub some coconut oil or olive oil on top and comb it out.

Variations

This slime recipe is perfect for making fun variations like a fluffy slime or my butter slime recipe! It’s super easy to customize and add mix-ins like different food coloring dyes, glitter, scented oils or even mini styrofoam balls.

It’s especially fun to make different holiday variations, like the orange and green Halloween slime below. We put it in these hefty quart size bags and drew monster faces on for a fun Halloween activity. My kids loved the different colors and are already begging to make blue and pink!

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