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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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)
Equipment
- Serrated knife
- Cutting board
Materials
- Watermelon
Instructions
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- Slice a watermelon in half widthwise (you now have 2 sides).
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
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- Cut off both narrow ends of the watermelon.
- 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.
- Cut off any missed areas of rind.
- Slice the peeled watermelon in half lengthwise (you should have two long halves).
- Slice both halves again, creating 4 long wedges.
- Cut each wedge in 1” slices.
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- Cut off both narrow ends of the watermelon.
- Slice the watermelon in half width-wise.
- 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)
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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.
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Kathryn Brown
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!
Barbara Schieving
Nice tip – thanks for sharing Kathryn!
2 Sisters Recipes
Love this post Barbara!! And your photos are gorgeous!! Hope you are having a fun summer! Xo Anna and Liz
Barbara Schieving
That’s so nice to hear – thanks!!