How Many Cups of Seeds in a Pomegranate? (We Counted)

Craving for a glass of chilled pomegranate juice?

Are you confused about how many pomegranates you’ll need to fill a cup?

You came to the right place!

We picked a few pomegranates and got our cups out to (finally) write this article.

As a bonus, we have shared our wicked pomegranate juice recipe!

Contents show

How Many Cups of Seeds in a Pomegranate

A single ripe average-sized pomegranate will have one full cup of seeds. This single cup will be filled with about 552 pomegranate seeds from the single pomegranate. These edible seeds, while light in weight, will still weigh about 5 ounces once weighed.

But do you need more than a cup of seeds to make a glass of pomegranate juice?

You’ll find the answer to that in this article.

Which Type of Pomegranate Has the Most Seeds?

Pomegranates come in different sizes and have many seeds; an average pomegranate weighs 9 ounces. Larger pomegranates generally have more seeds.

How do we know?

We picked pomegranates of all sizes from our backyard and counted the number of seeds in them.

Yes, we have a lot of time on our hands!

Here are the results for each size of pomegranate:

Small: 300 to 430 seeds

Medium: 430 to 590 seeds
Large: 590+ seeds

The most number of seeds we counted in a single pomegranate was a whooping 834 seeds!

We found them to be larger than regular seeds, too.

If your pomegranates seem small (weigh less than 9 ounces), you might need two pomegranates to fill a cup.

More miniature pomegranates may have smaller seeds.

Varieties of Pomegranate

Broadly, there are three varieties of pomegranates.

Sweet Pomegranates

This variety has yellowish skin, and its seeds are a very light red.

They are extra sweet.

Wonderful Pomegranate

These are the most common variety.

Wonderful pomegranates have red skin and red seeds and are super big.

We recommend them for making juices.

Parfianka Pomegranate

These pomegranates are best for eating raw.

They have dark red seeds with red skin.

Can you Swallow Pomegranate Seeds?

Pomegranates have edible seeds; you can eat them raw, and it is entirely safe to swallow them. Rest assured that a pomegranate tree will not grow in your stomach. Their taste is a delicious mix of sweet and sour when the fruit is ripe.

The taste is very distinct and may be similar to tart grape juice.

Picking a Pomegranate

If you’re out to buy pomegranates or eyeball the pomegranate trees in your backyard, look for the biggest pomegranates. Size and weight matter when picking pomegranates; bigger and heavier ones are riper and have more juice.

The third criterion is the skin.

We recommend picking pomegranates with leathery skin without cracks.

But the skin should not be perfectly smooth.

The mounds and bumps are common on well-ripe pomegranates.

Making Pomegranate Juice

You will need one and a half cups of pomegranate seeds to make one glass of juice. If you’re wondering how many pomegranates you should buy, we recommend two pomegranates for one glass of juice. To fill a jug, you will need five large pomegranates.

Prep time: 30 minutes!

Items you’ll need to make pomegranate juice:

Blender
Five pomegranates or 5 cups of fresh seeds

Paring knife
Plastic cutting board
Cup, bowl, and plate

Spatula
Lemon juice

It is easy to juice a pomegranate once you have everything listed above. We have given the step-by-step guide below:

Step 1: Cut in a circle and remove the crown of the pomegranate, also known as the pomegranate’s blossom end, with the knife. Do the same with the stem end.

Step 2: Cut the pomegranate from one end to the other, and break it in half. Cut the half again to have a total of four sections.

Step 3: De-seed and peel the sections in a bowl of cold water to avoid making a mess. Discard the skin and white membranes.

If you cut on a cutting board, you can use lemon juice to remove the stains.

Step 4: Removing seeds inside the water and discard discolored seeds. Discolored seeds are transparent instead of red.

Step 5: Drain the water and transfer the seeds to a clean plate.

Step 6: Pour the seeds into a blender and start it. Let it blend for a couple of minutes.

Step 7: Pour the juice mix into a container through a strainer. Use a spatula or spoon to press the thick pomegranate pulp to strain faster.

That’s it! You now have a jug of fresh juice, and you can pour it into glasses to serve yourself, your friends, and your family!

Homemade juice tastes much better than store-bought juice, has less sugar content, and is much better for your health. (See More)

Nutritional Benefits of Pomegranate Seeds

Pomegranates are fleshy fruits rich in fiber, vitamin C and K, iron, and potassium. You will fulfill 20-30% of the recommended daily intake of these nutrients when you eat pomegranate seeds from one whole pomegranate.

Calorie count of one pomegranate: 230 calories

Pomegranates are also rich in antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. Better than green tea. Smarty-pants scientists have also discovered they lower your blood pressure, may fight arthritis, and improve memory.

That’s not all! Pomegranates contain a precursor to an anti-aging molecule called Urolithin A.

Scientific studies have shown that this molecule can delay muscle aging. (See More)

Muscle aging slows us down as we get older.

Homemade juice tastes much better than store-bought juice and has less sugar content. It is also much better for your health.

How To De-Seed and Freeze Pomegranate Seeds

You can freeze and store pomegranate seeds for later use. You can also freeze whole pomegranates, but they take up more space in the fridge than just the seeds.

Here’s what you’ll need to seed a pomegranate:

Knife

Cutting board
Pomegranate
Pomegranate de-seeder

Large bowl
Cup
Mallet

Wooden spoon
Freezer bag

Now that you have the required items, here’s how to seed a pomegranate:

Place the pomegranate on the cutting board. Slice the pomegranate around the center and gently pull the halves apart from the white pith.
To avoid the stains, you can cut a pomegranate and remove the seeds underwater.
Place the de-seeder in the bowl. Put one half of the pomegranate on the de-seeder, and pound on the pomegranate skin with your mallet.

Once the skin of the pomegranate is flattened, the pomegranate will be de-seeded. Repeat the process with the other half
Pick up the de-seeder and remove any skin and white membrane from the bowl.

You have successfully de-seeded a pomegranate.

Now you can freeze the seeds as mentioned below:

Transfer the seeds from the bowl to a cup with a spatula
Pour the pomegranate seeds into a freezer bag and close it. Flatten out the bag to remove air and seal the bag.

Alternatively, you can place the pomegranate seeds as a single layer on parchment paper and a baking sheet.
Place the bag in the freezer. It takes about 2 hours for them to freeze.

It is crucial that you consistently freeze them before consumption. If the seeds are de-frozen for a while, they can go bad.

Difference Between Pomegranate Arils and Seeds

The juicy red pods with pomegranate seeds suspended are called arils. The flavor of pomegranate fruit is in the arils. When we say seeds, we mean arils. Seeds are used to grow a new tree, and arils – along with the seed in them – are used to make juice.

Pomegranate Foods and Beverages

You can prepare many delicious foods and tantalizing beverages using pomegranates.

They can also supplement regular drinks and foods to enhance the taste.

List of pomegranate drinks:

Juice
Cocktails
Smoothies

List of pomegranate food items:

Cake
Salad

Jam
Sprinkled with chicken and spinach

You can also sprinkle seeds on yogurt and cereal to enhance the taste.

How Many Seeds In A Pomegranate

In an average sized pomegranate you can assume to get about 550 pomegranate seeds (we counted!!) from a single pomegranate. While light in weight, these edible seeds will still weigh about 5 ounces once weighed.

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Shelby Kaplan

We’ve been eating Moringa daily for years: in capsules, in recipes, in teas. At first, we began using it mostly as an experiment. When I was young, My mother said it was called the tree of life. I said you couldn’t believe everything you read on the internet. 30 years later and I'm still taking this wonderful plant every morning.