Sour Patch Kids Slime – Edible Rainbow Candy Slime
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Have extra Halloween candy sitting around? Here’s a fun way to turn some of it into a colorful, stretchy activity! This Sour Patch Kids slime is made with gummy candy, and the rainbow colors are absolutely beautiful!
I’ve always loved sour candy, and Sour Patch Kids are no exception. So naturally, I had to try turning them into edible slime. And I love how this one turned out! It’s bright, colorful, stretchy, and so much fun to make. Plus, you only need Sour Patch Kids candy and a little cooking oil to help prevent sticking.
If your kids love slime and candy experiments, this is one they’ll want to try!
How to Make Edible Slime with Sour Patch Kids
This edible rainbow slime is surprisingly simple to make.
Instead of using glue, borax, or traditional slime ingredients, we’re melting gummy candy and allowing it to cool into a stretchy, moldable material.
The trick to making it rainbow-colored is to separate the candy by color before melting it.
A quick safety note: Melted candy can become extremely hot and sticky. An adult should handle the microwave, stirring, and hot candy. Let it cool thoroughly before children touch or play with it.
Ingredients and Supplies
- Sour Patch Kids candy (I used a 1.9-pound jumbo bag)
- A small amount of cooking oil to prevent sticking
- Five microwave-safe bowls
- Spoon or heat-resistant spatula
- A lightly oiled work surface
The amount of candy you use will determine how much slime you make. You don’t need to make a huge batch if you only have a few handfuls of leftover candy.
Step 1: Sort the Candy by Color
Open your bag of Sour Patch Kids and divide the candies into separate bowls by color. I used five bowls for the different colors in my bag.
This is a fun part of the activity for kids to help with before any heating begins. They can sort, count, and compare the colors. And I’m sure a few candies will disappear along the way!
Step 2: Melt the Sour Patch Kids
Have an adult microwave one bowl of candy at a time.
For my batch, I heated each bowl for approximately one minute, stopping halfway through to stir.
Microwave times will vary depending on the amount of candy and the microwave’s power. Use short heating intervals, stirring carefully between them, and stop when the candy is melted and can be mixed together.
Be especially careful here. Melted gummy candy is very hot and can cause burns if it touches skin.
Step 3: Let the Candy Slime Cool
Lightly coat a heat-safe surface with a little cooking oil to help prevent sticking. An adult can carefully transfer the melted candy onto the prepared surface.
We spread ours out a little so it would cool more quickly.
Allow the candy to cool thoroughly before anyone handles it. Check that the center is cool enough, too, since the inside can remain hot after the outside has cooled.
A little cooking oil on your hands can also help reduce sticking once the candy is safe to touch.
Step 4: Make Rainbow Slime!
Once all the colors have cooled enough to handle, arrange them in rainbow order. This is my favorite part!
The individual colors are so vibrant, and lining them up makes the prettiest rainbow slime. You can leave the colors side by side or gently stretch them together to create a rainbow effect.
Step 5: Stretch and Play
Now it’s time to experiment with your edible candy slime! Try stretching it, rolling it, pulling it apart, and seeing what shapes you can make. We even experimented with stretching it into thin sheets and making bubbles.
Because it’s made from candy, it behaves differently from regular glue-based slime. It may be stickier and will change texture as it cools.
It’s such a fun sensory activity and a great way to explore how heating and cooling change materials.
Can You Eat Sour Patch Kids Slime?
Yes, this recipe is made from edible candy and a small amount of cooking oil. However, edible doesn’t mean that it’s safe to eat after everyone has been playing with it.
If you plan to taste it, set aside a clean portion before sensory play begins. Use clean hands, food-safe surfaces, and clean utensils. Once the slime has been handled repeatedly or placed on play surfaces, treat it as a play material rather than a snack.
Adult supervision is important, especially with younger children.
The Science Behind Sour Patch Kids Slime
Sour Patch Kids contain sugar, corn syrup, and gelatin. Gelatin is made of proteins that help give gummy candy its chewy, flexible texture.
When you heat the candy, the gelatin structure softens and the concentrated sugar syrup becomes easier to move and stretch.
As the candy cools, the mixture becomes thicker and firmer again. Depending on its temperature, it can be sticky, stretchy, or chewy.
This makes the slime a fun example of how temperature affects the physical properties of materials. It’s primarily a physical change, not a chemical reaction like the one between baking soda and vinegar.
You could ask kids to predict whether the slime will stretch more when it’s warmer or cooler, then observe how its texture changes as it cools to a safe handling temperature.
A Fun Halloween Candy Science Activity
This is such a fun experiment to try when you have an abundance of Halloween candy!
You can even turn it into a little science lesson.
Ask your kids:
- What happens to the gummy candy when it’s heated?
- How does the texture change as it cools?
- Does the slime stretch more when it’s warm or cool?
- What happens when you mix two colors?
- How is candy slime different from regular slime?
You can also have kids predict what will happen before melting the candy, then compare their predictions with the results.
It’s a simple way to explore temperature, changes in materials, and sensory properties while making something colorful and fun.
More Edible Slime Recipes to Try
We love making edible slime at our house, and I’ve shared quite a few different recipes over the years!
If you have other kinds of candy left over from Halloween, try one of these next:
You can also explore my full collection of Edible Slime Recipes for even more ideas.
Get My Edible Slime Recipes Book
Love experimenting with edible slime? I’ve collected more fun recipes in my Edible Slime Recipes book!
It’s a great resource for families who enjoy hands-on sensory activities and creative experiments with edible ingredients.
Get the Edible Slime Recipes Book in My Shop
Have fun experimenting with your candy, and enjoy making your own beautiful rainbow slime!
I love sour patch kids! This looks like an awesome craft/recipe to do with the kids. I have made the regular kind with them several times. I am excited to try this tasty slime recipe. Thanks!
Wow, I never knew you could do that with those candies. I think the children would really enjoy this. Thank you for sharing over on Littles Learning Link Up at Tots and Me…Growing Up Together. Your post is one of the featured posts this week.
My only question…how easy is it to clean the bowls? I am wondering if I would want to do this with disposable bowls.
It actually washes out easily with hot water!
Oh wow, this is cool. + fun for the kids. Thanks for sharing at the inspiration spotlight party @DearCreatives. Pinned & sharing.
Will the slime stay slimy ar does it harden up when it’s cool?
It hardens as it cools. But can be re-warmed.
This looks like fun! My boys love making slime and I know they’d go nuts over slime they could eat. Pinned.
How much sour patch slime would be good to use per grandchild? I have three–ages 2, 3, and 5. Not sure how much candy to buy. I don’t want to over do it, lol.