Nopales (cactus paddles), in Mexican cuisine, are used for endless recipes: prepared cold, sautéed, fried and even roasted. Today you’ll learn all about nopales plus how to prep and cook them without the sticky texture.
? The Nopales
We carry the nopal even in our veins, well not so much, but even in the shield of our flag. It is native to Mexico, so it is a gift from nature that nourishes, tastes good, can be combined with endless other foods and is practically consumed in Mexico from end to end.
It belongs to the cacti family. It is made up of 300 species, which exist from Patagonia to the north of the United States. They have flowers that can be white, orange, red or purple, and produce a fruit, the prickly pear.
It is used to prepare many types of dishes, such as salads, stews, juices, sweets, and it is already produced in different presentations, such as dehydrated or powdered.
Are nopales a fruit or vegetable?
The paddles are consumed as a vegetable or is associated more with a vegetable, while the prickly pear is the fruit that grows in the nopal.
Nopales benefits
In Mexico, the nopal is like a sacred food due to its large number of healing, moisturizing and preventive properties. Here we show you more about the nopal and its health benefits.
To start, we must know what the nopal contains, it has vitamins and minerals such as: vitamin A, complex B, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron and lots of fiber!
This prickly pear cactus is known for treating diabetes, prevents colon cancer, helps with high cholesterol, obesity, keeps us hydrated and hangovers plus many more benefits. It is also known for its antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. For more information see WebMD.
Remove the thorns (spines)
Before we make any recipe, the first thing you need to know is how to clean the nopales and how to remove the thorns. By carefully handling them, you can prepare the nopales without pricking yourself.
This process must be done before cooking them, it is very simple.
Clean the cactus paddles
- Using a sharp knife, carefully hold the nopales by its stem with kitchen tongs or a kitchen towel and trim the edges off.
- With the tip of the knife, scrape off its thorns. Then turn it to the other side and scrape down its stem until you get to the soft part.
- Rinse the nopales under cold water and pass your fingers thru the flesh to ensure no more thorns or hard spots are left behind. You don’t want to eat those!
Slice nopales into strips or squares depending on how you’re going to prepare them.
Also, make sure you leave as much flesh as possible. That will make the nopales less slimy when cooking them.
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 small to medium nopales paddles
- onion
- garlic clove
- a handful of cilantro with stems
- kosher salt
How to Cook Nopales
Learn to cook nopalitos to keep all of the nutritious properties and not having to rinse the slimy stuff (baba).
To cook the cactus
- In a medium pot, add the cut nopales with ¼ onion, 1 garlic clove sliced in half, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and a handful of cilantro.
- Heat over medium and cook. You’ll start to see the slime come out right away, but don’t worry, this will go away soon.
- Continue to cook uncovered, stirring once in a while to cook evenly.
- Cook until tender and the slimy juice has disappeared. About 13 to 15 minutes.
- Cool and store in an airtight container or use in your planned recipe.
Recipes with Nopales
In the next few weeks I’ll be sharing a few new recipes for my “Nopalitos series”. Here are a few ideas to get you started and what will be coming soon!:
- Nopales Salad
- Tacos
- Grilled Nopales – Grill them whole without slicing or dicing them. Just enjoy as a side veggie.
- With eggs
- Tortillas
Buying guide
You can find them at your local grocery store in the vegetables department. Sometimes they are sold loose (like in the photo) or sometimes they come in bags already cleaned up!
Choose nopales that are bright green and not soggy. Smaller paddles are a little bit more tender, but larger ones are also delicious.
Storing instructions
- Fridge – Clean paddles as directed and place in an airtight freezer bag. Store them cooked or raw. They last up to 1 week raw.
- Freezer – To Freeze cactus paddles, clean them as directed. Boil for one minute then submerge in ice cold water for a few minutes. Then place in a freezer bag removing as much air as possible. They last up to 1 month in the freezer.
FAQs
The flavor of nopal is very discreet and a little tart, with a consistency similar to asparagus or okra with a slight touch of acidity.
In recent years, the study of this cactus and its nutritional properties has launched it into the category of super food: it has large amounts of calcium, fiber and water.
You can boil in water them following the same ingredients as this recipe plus add 1 teaspoon of baking soda. This will help remove the slime that forms in the water.
MORE delicious…
Vegetable Recipes
? If you make this recipe be sure to leave a rating in the comments below. You can also tag me on Instagram at @anafriasb.?
Print Recipe
How To Cook Nopales (No Sticky Texture!)
Equipment
- Medium pot
- Shar knife
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 small to medium nopales paddles
- ¼ onion
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- a handful of cilantro with stems
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or ¼ tsp table salt)
Instructions
Clean the cactus paddles
- Using a sharp knife, carefully hold the nopales by its stem with kitchen tongs or a kitchen towel and trim the edges off.5 to 6 small to medium nopales paddles
- With the tip of the knife, scrape off its thorns. Then turn it to the other side and scrape down its stem until you get to the soft part.
- Rinse under cold water.
- Sliced nopales into strips or squares depending on how you’re going to prepare them.
- Tip: make sure you leave as much flesh as possible. That will make the nopales less slimy when cooking them.
To cook the cactus
- In a medium pot, add the cut nopales with the onion, garlic, salt and cilantro. Heat over medium and cook until the slimy juice has disappeared. About 13 to 15 minutes.¼ onion, 1 garlic clove, a handful of cilantro with stems, ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or ¼ tsp table salt)
- Cool and store in an airtight container or use in your planned recipe.
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Nutrition
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
History
The nopal is so important for Mexicans because it is part of our daily diet and also because it symbolizes a lot. In fact, the original legend of the country involves it:
It is said that Huitzilopochtli convinced his people to leave Aztlán in search of a territory where their new territory would be founded. The location would be indicated by an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a snake. This is how they traveled for 165 years until in 1325 they found the signal and founded the city of Mexico Tenochtitlán. And now that symbol is part of our flag.
The nopal was very important in this pilgrimage because it was found in different places and with hostile climates; in fact, they considered it “plant of life”, because it resisted a lot. They also used it for medicinal purposes.
Extremely helpful and tasty! Strange how a recipe I’d never made before reminds me so much of home. I grew up in SoCal but my family never took full advantage of all the cuisine we had access to. I’m so lucky to find a market here in the Midwest that sells nopales.
I have seen these cactus leaves in the store and never known what to do with them. This post was so helpful and we really enjoyed having nopales for dinner last night with some grilled chicken!
Great to hear this Amy! I’m so happy to see that nopales are starting to be more popular in grocery stores. Stay well!
There are a few dishes I have been wanting to make with these but I am super intimated to prepare them! Loved your simple step-by-step instructions! Going to try your salad next!
Thank you so much Casey! You’ll love them!
Wow, this is fascinating! I never knew you could eat nopales and your recipe makes it look so simple to prepare them. I want to try it in tacos!
oh yeah they’re great on Tacos! That recipe is next! Thanks for stopping by!
Well, I never made or tasted nopales before. This will be a challenge and something new for me, thanks!
They’re so good for you Natalie! You’ll love them!
THank you for such a detailed tutorial!
My pleasure Kate! I really love Nopales as they have amazing health benefits. Have a good one!
Ana
Cooked my nopales to make the salad and they came out great! Perfectly crisp. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Elizabeth! I’m delighted you liked these nopalitos!