Saguaro Cactus Watermelon Bowl

Last year when I hosted our dinner in the desert burger bar party, I put together a great evening with very little time spent on preparation. The Arizona desert is a beautiful background for a dinner party and this one didn’t disappoint with some fun cactus themed treats. The saguaro cactus watermelon bowl was surprisingly created in just 10 minutes and a favorite serving dish at the party.

How to carve a saguaro cactus watermelon bowl

Select the right watermelon

Your watermelon should be tall and able to sit upright on a flat surface. While shopping for our watermelon we placed a few good candidates on the floor to make sure they wouldn’t fall over or roll away. The saguaro cactus watermelon bowl can be any size you prefer as long as the watermelon can sit upright on its own.

Draw the outline with chalk marker

Determine the best side for the cactus and use a chalk marker to draw the outline of a saguaro cactus on the upper two thirds of the watermelon. The chalk marker wipes right off with a wet cloth and you can easily make changes to the lines as you draw. Draw a line all the way around the watermelon on the lower one third that meets the cactus trunk for your bowl.

Use a sharp knife to carve the watermelon

With a sharp knife carve around the shape of the cactus pointing the knife inward on the watermelon. Then carve around the watermelon following the bowl line. Slice the back of the watermelon into sections to remove while avoiding cutting inside the bowl and cactus outline. Slice away the fruit against the back of the cactus to make a flat surface but be careful not to cut into the watermelon rind as this is holding the cactus upright.

Scrape fruit out of bowl

You could get all fancy with specific kitchen tools designed to remove the fruit, or simply use a large metal spoon to scrape out the watermelon fruit from the bowl. 

Cut fruit and serve

Use the fruit you cut away from the watermelon for serving in your saguaro cactus watermelon bowl. Cut rind away, cube and serve in the cactus bowl.

Saguaro Cactus Watermelon Bowl serving tips: refrigerate bowl and cubed watermelon separately until party time. We carved our saguaro cactus watermelon bowl the morning of our dinner in the desert burger bar party and served it later that evening.

You could add toothpicks for spines and flowers for embellishments but our simple saguaro cactus watermelon bowl was perfect with the stunning Arizona desert behind it. Who will you share this fun 10 minute saguaro cactus watermelon bowl with?

Learn how to grow and harvest watermelons so you have plenty of options to serve your favorite melon!