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    Home » Recipes » Fruit

    How To Slice Watermelon (Three Ways)

    Published by Melissa on July 11, 2020 | Updated June 10, 2022 | 4 Comments

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    How to slice a watermelon in three easy ways: bite-sized cubes, triangles without rinds, and hand-held wedges! Plus, how to choose the best watermelon and store it to stay fresh.

    How-To-Slice-Watermelon-Three-Ways-Collage-Barbara-Bakes

    When watermelon season rolls around, we frequently have a fresh melon on the counter or in the fridge. There’s nothing better than biting into a perfectly ripe, chilled slice of watermelon on a hot summer day.

    And kids love it too! It’s sweet, juicy, and simply fun to eat. The not so fun part about watermelon, however, is slicing it. The melon can wobble around, roll off your cutting board, and be altogether difficult to cut through with a regular knife.

    That’s why we’re covering how to cut watermelon in three easy ways. From now on, you can enjoy everything about watermelon season, including slicing up perfect cubes, triangles and wedges.

    slicing thick wedges of watermelon with the rind

    What kind of knife is best to cut watermelon?

    Serrated knives are ideal to get through tough watermelon rinds. I love the watermelon knife pictured above and in the video because it’s longer than most serrated knives.

    It makes cutting medium to large watermelons a breeze. And it also comes with a cover, which is great for storage!

    What is the best way to cut watermelon for kids?

    Slicing watermelon in cubes, triangles, or wedges are all fun ways for kids to enjoy the fruit.

    To keep juice dribbles to a minimum, I recommend bite-sized cubes. They can pick them up with a fork or toothpick for easy access without covering their hands (or faces) in sticky watermelon juice. 

    watermelon triangle on a popsicle stick for kids

    You can also turn the fruit into a hand-help popsicle for little hands by inserting popsicle sticks into peeled watermelon wedges.

    For older kids, watermelon wedges are perfect for quick fruit servings on the go. 

    bowl of watermelon cubes

    How to select the best watermelon at the grocery store or farmer’s market

    There are 3 simple things to do to choose the best watermelon at the store. First, look for a melon with yellow patches on the rinds. Find several, say three, similar-sized watermelons that have these tell-tale patches. 

    Next, pick up each melon to see which is the heaviest. Grab the heaviest and give it a good thump. If the watermelon sounds hollow, that’s your winner!

    The heavier the watermelon, the juicier it will be. A yellow belly on the watermelon is a sign that it had time to ripen on the vine. Aka: your melon will be sweet, deep pink and uber flavorful. 

    cubed watermelon in a bowl

    What’s the Best Way To Store Watermelon for Freshness?

    Prior to cutting your watermelon, you can store it at room temperature. You can also pop it into the refrigerator if you want to serve the melon cold immediately after cutting. 

    Store sliced watermelon in an airtight container in the fridge. If you’re storing a lot of open watermelon that will take a few days to finish, drain the juice from the bottom of your container daily. This preserves the crispness of the watermelon sitting at the bottom of the container in the juice.

    peeling a whole watermelon with a watermelon knife

    Peeling Watermelon

    For our tips on peeling watermelon, read the section below on how to slice watermelon into triangles without rind.

    You’ll start by cutting off the ends of the watermelon so you have a flat surface on the bottom, which makes removing the rind from the whole watermelon safer and easier.

    Then, simply cut the melon into quarters and divide these quarters into easy-to-eat, rindless triangles.

    It’s easier than you think to peel a big watermelon, and it makes for a lot less garbage if you’re feeding a crowd.

    How-To-Slice-Watermelon-Three-Ways-Collage-Barbara-Bakes
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    5 from 1 vote

    How To Slice Watermelon (Three Ways)

    How to cut watermelon in three easy ways: cubes, wedges with rind, and peeled triangles without rind perfect for kids!
    Active Time10 mins
    Total Time10 mins
    Course: Fruit
    Author: Barbara Bakes LLC

    Equipment

    • Serrated knife
    • Cutting board

    Materials

    • Watermelon

    Instructions

    • <div>
    • Slice a watermelon in half widthwise (you now have 2 sides).

      slicing a whole watermelon in half widthwise
    • With the flesh facing down on your cutting board, slice each half again down the middle (you now have 4 equal large wedges).

    • With the rind facing you (flesh side down) cut 1-inch strips.

      one half of a red watermelon on a cutting board flseh side down sliced into equal triangles before cutting into cubes
    • Hold one of the watermelon triangles by the rind and vertically slice 1-inch strips (stopping at the rind to not cut all the way through).

      a triangle of watermelon held by the rind and sliced into strips to make watermelon cubes
    • Rotate the triangle so the cuts you just made are now horizontal and slice 1-inch strips vertically again, creating cubes that fall directly into your bowl.




      </div>
      a slice of watermelon being cut into cubes by holding a triangel by the rind and slicing vertically
    • <div>
    • Cut off both narrow ends of the watermelon.

      slicing the ends off of a watermelon with a watermelon knife
    • Stand the watermelon vertically on one of the sliced ends. Position your knife between the flesh and the rind and run your knife lengthwise down the contour of the watermelon on all sides.

      peeling a whole watermelon with a watermelon knife
    • Cut off any missed areas of rind.

      trimming remaining rind off of a peeled watermelon
    • Slice the peeled watermelon in half lengthwise (you should have two long halves).

      a whole peeled watermelon sliced in half on a cutting board
    • Slice both halves again, creating 4 long wedges.

      a whole peeled watermelon sliced in half on a cutting board
    • Cut each wedge in 1” slices.



      </div>
      slicing a half of a watermelon into 1-inch wedges without a rind
    • watermelon triangle on a popsicle stick for kids
    • <div>
    • Cut off both narrow ends of the watermelon. 

      slicing the ends off of a watermelon with a watermelon knife
    • Slice the watermelon in half width-wise.

      slicing a whole watermelon in half widthwise
    • Place each half standing up on your cutting board, so the large flesh side is facing up. Cut each half in half.

    • Slice each half into 4 equal triangles (like a pizza or pie)



      </div>
      a watermelon on a cutting board sliced into thick wedges with the rind

    Video

    More How To Posts You Might Like:

    • Step-by-step photo tutorial on How to Slice Peaches.
    • How to Freeze Lemon Juice – I love to keep lemon juice in the freezer so it’s easy to use in recipes without having to buy lemons and juice them each time.
    • How To Cut A Pineapple – Pineapples are easy to cut with a few simple steps and within minutes you’ll be enjoying the sweet taste of Hawaii.
    • How To Cut A Mango – from the Cookin’ Canuck – the flat pit makes it difficult to cut unless you know how.
    • How To Cut An Avocado – Simple Recipes – How to cut and peel an avocado, safely and quickly.

    Pin it.

    Collage with several images showing how to cut bite-sized watermelon cubes, watermelon triangles without rinds, and handheld watermelon wedges with a popsicle stick.
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    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Kathryn Brown

      July 13, 2020 at 9:47 am

      I have another way (thanks to pinterest).  Great for kids!  Cut watermelon in 1/2 then on each 1/2, cut it vertically the horizontally.  You will have long skinny pieces of watermelon with a small square of rind at the end!

      Thank you for all of your ways, too!

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        July 13, 2020 at 10:17 am

        Nice tip – thanks for sharing Kathryn!

        Reply
    2. 2 Sisters Recipes

      July 12, 2020 at 10:44 am

      Love this post Barbara!! And your photos are gorgeous!! Hope you are having a fun summer!  Xo Anna and Liz

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        July 13, 2020 at 10:17 am

        That’s so nice to hear – thanks!!

        Reply

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