How To Make Rainbow Sprinkles

The first time you make homemade rainbow sprinkles, you’ll delight in how easy they add a bit of magic to your favorite desserts. Whether you sprinkle your sprinkles atop a triple layer chocolate cake, rice krispie treats with chocolate peanut butter ganache, or your favorite ice cream, your rainbow sprinkles would make even a unicorn jealous.

So read on for all the detailed tips and tricks to learn how to make sprinkles. Or just grab your food coloring, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make this rainbow sprinkles recipe!

strips of rainbow colors piped in thin lines on parchment paper with three lines each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

Ingredients

bag of powdered sugar, jar of meringue powder, box of food coloring, bowl of vanilla and salt on a grey countertop.

The ingredients for rainbow sprinkles are the same as the royal icing you use to decorate sugar cookies. The key for me is the meringue powder, which is a mixture of egg whites, sugar, and a stabilizer like cornstarch. It is also possible to make royal icing with egg whites, but I prefer the simplicity of meringue powder.

 

Feel free to add use any food coloring – natural or artificial – and any flavorings you like!

Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Recipe tips and tricks

The hardest part of learning how to make sprinkles (and it’s not that hard!) is figuring out when you’ve beat the sprinkle mixture enough. Your goal is a glossy mixture that forms very firm to stiff peaks.

whisk attachment for a stand mixer held upright to show a white mixture that has formed firm peaks, with just the slightest bend of the tip.

The second hardest part of this rainbow sprinkle recipe is deciding when you’ve got the perfect color for your rainbow, and you should stop messing with them any more!

six bowls each filled with a different rainbow colored mixture and a spoon.

Finally, then you’ll have to decide whether to pipe your sprinkles in long lines using piping bags or sandwich bags with a hole snipped off the side. Using piping bags and a piping tip will give you more uniform sprinkles. Or go wild and pipe rainbow chips instead of rainbow sprinkles!

lines of rainbow colored sprinkles piped on parchment paper with three lines of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

Then you’ll have to have patience, because you’ll need to wait at least eight hours for your rainbow sprinkles to dry. No, this the hardest part of learning how to make sprinkles!

Rainbow sprinkle FAQs

How should I store my homemade sprinkles?

Store your rainbow sprinkles at room temperature in a dry plastic bag or tupperware container, and your sprinkles can last indefinitely.

Can I bake homemade sprinkles?

Yes, I use them in funfetti recipes like these funfetti muffins. They work perfectly.

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.

Recipe

Rainbow Sprinkles

5 from 1 vote
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Unspecified
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Drying time: 8 hours
Total Time: 9 hours
Servings: 32
Calories: 30kcal
Knowing how to make homemade rainbow sprinkles will open your eyes to the magic of sprinkles. They're so easy to make and so easy to color and flavor whichever way you like. So try it once, and you won't ever buy sprinkles for cakes and cookies and ice cream ever again!
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Equipment

  • 1 Stand mixer or hand mixer

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
  • tablespoons (14 grams)meringue powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons room temperature water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • food coloring as desired

Instructions

  • Lay out a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet and ready six small piping bags fitted with round tips or sandwich bags.
  • Mix together the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer or a medium-sized mixing bowl.
    2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar, 1½ tablespoons (14 grams)meringue powder, 1 pinch salt
  • Add three tablespoons of water and the vanilla to the powdered sugar mixture and beat until the mixture is glossy and you get very firm or stiff peaks so that when you turn the beater upside down, the mixture remains upright or only the tip bends over. If it seems too thick, add a bit more water, about a teaspoon or so at a time.
    3 to 5 tablespoons room temperature water, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • For rainbow sprinkles, divide the mixture into six small bowls and use food coloring for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple sprinkles. Mix until there are no more traces of white, and cover 5 of the bowls with plastic wrap.
    food coloring
  • Spoon one color sprinkle mixture into a bag and snip a small hole at the end. Pipe thin lines on the parchment paper – the lines can be very close together – then proceed with the next color.
  • Let the sprinkles dry for at least eight hours, then cut them to desired lengths.
  • Store unused sprinkles in a air-tight bag or tupperware container.

Notes

This rainbow sprinkles recipe will make 2 cups of homemade sprinkles, enough to cover a 9 inch round layer cake, two sheet cakes, or all the ice cream and cookies you can eat.
Sprinkle color may bleed onto pale backgrounds.

Nutrition

Calories: 30kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 0.2g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 2mg | Sugar: 7g | Calcium: 0.2mg | Iron: 0.005mg
Love this recipe?Mention @Uglyducklingbakery or tag #uglyducklingbakery!

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5 from 1 vote

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