How Many Pounds of Watermelon Do You Need per Person?

Sheela Prakash
Sheela PrakashSenior Contributing Food Editor
Sheela is the Senior Contributing Food Editor at Kitchn and the author of Mediterranean Every Day: Simple, Inspired Recipes for Feel-Good Food. She received her master's degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy and is also a Registered Dietitian.
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published Aug 23, 2016
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Watermelon wedges at a cookout or a picnic are always a good idea. But when you go to the store to pick up a watermelon, how do you know exactly what size you need? Get familiar with a little melon math and consider the problem solved.

Pounds of Watermelon per Person

According to the Watermelon Board, an average large watermelon weighs about 20 pounds, which is equal to about four small watermelons at five pounds each. Quarter and slice that 20-pound melon into 3/4-inch-thick wedges and you’ll get about 66 wedges. So one pound of watermelon yields roughly three wedges. That 20-pound watermelon will feed 33 people if you want to allocate, say, two wedges per person at your next cookout, while a five-pound melon will feed six people with the two-wedge allocation.

1 pound of watermelon = about 3 (3/4-inch-thick) wedges

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