Pumpkin Slime Recipe for Kids

Homemade pumpkin slime is a fun way to use the guts of a whole pumpkin.

Whether you want to make the slime inside the pumpkin, or use the guts after roasting your pumpkin for eating, we’ll show you how to make pumpkin guts slime that’s perfect for sensory play.

Best Pumpkin Slime for Kids

Like most kids, my children LOVE playing with slime. This pumpkin slime is one of their favorites because it’s a once a year activity, and has pumpkin seeds and stringy pumpkin guts for added texture. 

I love the recipe because I only need two ingredients in addition to the whole pumpkin.

Of course there are a lot of different ways to make slime, so you can adjust the slime recipe based on what supplies you have AND what you feel is best for your family. 

If you keep borax at home for laundry, you can use our borax slime recipe to make a basic laundry detergent slime. 

For people looking for a slime without borax, we find that laundry starch slime is the easiest way to make pumpkin slime from bulk ingredients (which saves you money!). This is the method we use for our pumpkin slime and our two ingredient glitter glue slime.

Roasted Pumpkin Method

When using up pumpkins that have been out for decoration, my favorite method is to cook a whole pumpkin. Use this method if you want to eat the pumpkin and use the guts for pumpkin slime.

1. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet and pierce it a few times with a fork. This just gives some spots for steam to escape, like when baking a potato.
2. Roast at 350 degrees F for about an hour. You can do 45 minutes for smaller pumpkins, and a full hour for medium sized. If you’re roasting a large pumpkin you’ll need to go longer.
3. Make sure the pumpkin is now easy to pierce with a fork. Then let sit out of the oven (still on the baking sheet) for at least 10 minutes before opening.

4. At this point you can carefully use a spoon or knife to pull the pumpkin apart. You’ll see the seeds and guts (aka pumpkin slime ingredients!) in the middle and lots of soft pumpkin flesh.

5. Then you can divide the pumpkin into the flesh (ready to puree or turn into fresh pumpkin soup), guts, and skin. The skin peels off very easily and then is the only part of the pumpkin that gets tossed in the compost bin.

Using raw pumpkin guts for pumpkin slime

You can also use raw pumpkin guts to make pumpkin gut slime.

If that’s the method you prefer, just use a knife to cut the top out of the pumpkin, then a big spoon or rice paddle to scrape the guts and seeds out.

I suggest chopping the guts up a bit since they will not be soft like the guts from a roasted pumpkin.

How long does slime last?

While regular typical fluffy slime or laundry starch slime can last up to a month in an airtight container, pumpkin slime has a shorter shelf life.

Keep the pumpkin slime in an airtight container in the fridge. You can play with it for about a week before the pumpkin starts to spoil. We just pull it out 10-15 minutes before playing to let it warm up a little bit.

Printable Recipe for Pumpkin Gut Slime