Learn how to make aquafaba which is a fluffy, fun sensory play material for kids. This is a great taste safe option for babies and toddlers! This post is written by Rachel Withers (our Editorial Manager here at The Artful Parent) who she teaches art classes for kids in her home.
One of my favorite sensory materials to make for my kids is chickpea foam (also known as aquafaba). Have you heard of this stuff? I originally read about it over @cara_florance & we’ve been testing it ever since!
Aquafaba is a great egg substitute in baking so you may have seen this in vegan recipes before. Although I have yet to try it in baking, we do eat a lot of chickpeas around here.
It feels so satisfying to turn the liquid into an amazingly fluffy AND taste safe sensory material for babies on up! All you need is a can of chickpeas + cream of tartar and some food coloring (optional).
If you’d like to make separate colors to layer, I’d recommend the drained liquid from one can of chickpeas per color. For our Valentine’s Day foam I whipped up red foam & poured it into our IKEA flisat table bin and propped it up slightly to keep the foam from spreading out. Then I whipped the next can of liquid and colored it pink, poured it into the big bin and so on.
One thing to note, I find it’s best to whip this up right before you’d like to use it as the chickpea foam will slowly turn back into a liquid as time goes on.
How to Make Aquafaba (Chickpea Foam)
PrintHow to Make Aquafaba
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 4 minutes
Description
Learn how to make aquafaba, a fluffy, fun sensory play material for kids. It makes a great taste-safe option for babies and toddlers!
Ingredients
- 2 cans of chickpeas
- cream of tartar
- food coloring or liquid watercolors (optional)
Instructions
- Drain chickpea liquid into a large bowl.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar into the bowl.
- Whip ingredients with mixer on high until soft peaks form (about 4 minutes).
- Add food coloring or liquid watercolors to color chickpea foam. Briefly whip the color in to incorporate.
Keywords: aquafaba
Play Ideas with Aquafaba
And that’s it! This is such an easy sensory play material to whip up. I often add baking toys from our play kitchen like cupcake liners & a little whisk, along with sprinkles for a bakery setup. We’ve added dinosaurs to the mix with plastic Easter eggs. And seasonal setups are especially fun like Valentine’s Day or Christmas with sprinkles, coconut flakes, cranberries, etc!
Questions about how to make Aquafaba
We fielded some questions on our Instagram account a few months back that you also might be wondering:
- Do I need to use cream of tartar? I made it once without it, but cream of tartar is extremely helpful in stabilizing the foam and keeping it fluffy.
- Do the chickpeas need to be canned or can the liquid from cooked dried chickpeas too? I’ve only used the liquid from canned chickpeas, but I’ve read that it works with both.
- Can I make aquafaba with other beans? I have yet to try this but black beans and white beans are supposed to create a nice foam as well.
- Does it smell? There is a chickpea smell to the foam, but I’ve come to like it!
More Sensory Play Ideas for Kids
- 8 Engaging Sensory Activities for Kids
- 13 Fun Things to Do with Oobleck
- What to do with Water Beads (with Video!)
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6 Comments
Jess
July 15, 2020 at 3:06 pmHow long does the foam stay fluffy?
Rachel Withers
July 15, 2020 at 3:35 pmIt stays foamy for one play session and I normally mix it up shortly before we want to use it. I hope you can give it a try!
JW
July 16, 2020 at 1:11 pmYou can beat it again when it starts to turn back into a liquid. We make this all the time as a whipped cream substitute since we have severe dairy allergies, just beat in powdered sugar after stiff peaks form. We also have made meringues and Swiss frosting and as an egg sub in baking cakes but I never thought to just play with the stuff.
Don’t waste the chickpeas from the can either. Add them to soup or make roasted chickpeas as a easy healthy snack.
Rachel Withers
July 16, 2020 at 1:15 pmWe’ll definitely try the powdered sugar, thanks for the tip!
Jeanine
July 18, 2020 at 2:41 pmOMGSH I cannot wait to try this!!!!!!
Rachel Withers
July 20, 2020 at 1:28 pmIt’s really fun! :)