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Learn how to cook nopales at home! You’ll learn how to choose the best nopales, how to clean and prep them by removing the spines, and how to cook them to use in all your favorite dishes.
Nopales have always been in regular rotation in my Mexican kitchen growing up. My mom and dad would bring home fresh nopales from the local hispanic grocery store and would prep and cook them that day to eat in different dishes throughout the week.
Nowadays, many grocery stores are starting to carry already prepped and chopped nopales in the produce aisle. But if you don’t live near a store that carries them, don’t worry! Prepping and cooking nopales at home is actually super easy!
What Are Nopales?
Nopales, or cactus paddles, are the pads of the prickly pear cactus. They’re a very common ingredient in Mexican cuisine and are used in all sorts of dishes, including tacos and salad.
They have a thick and meaty texture with a mild flavor that’s a cross between asparagus and okra.
When their spines and thorns are removed, nopales can be chopped or sliced and then cooked until tender.
During the cooking process, they release a slime similar to okra. This is easily removed by rinsing the cooked nopales a few times before using them in other dishes.
How to Pick the Best Nopales
You’ll want to pick ones that are flexible but not too soft. You don’t want them to be extremely floppy and limp.
Also, try to choose ones that are bright green. The brighter the color, the fresher they are.
How to Cook Nopales
Carefully remove the spines and brown bumps from the cactus paddles. If you’ve never worked with cactus paddles before, be careful because each pad has tiny spines and thorns that will easily prick your fingers. I recommend using gloves at first. Once you get the hang of it, you can try to handle them without gloves.
Lay the cactus paddles flat on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, carefully scrape and slice off the spines and the brown bumps by running the knife back and forth along the paddles. Most of the spines and brown bumps will come off by scraping, but you’ll likely have a few stubborn spots that you’ll need to slice off.
Cut, dice, or slice the nopales. Give the cactus paddles a quick rinse to make sure they’re totally clean. Then dice them into 1/2-inch pieces or slice them into 1/2-inch strips (like you would chicken fajitas).
Dicing is great for quick veggie side dishes, and slicing is great for eating in tacos and salads.
Cook in boiling water until tender. Add the fresh-cut nopales to a medium pot and fill it with enough water to cover them. Add a little salt and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 more minutes until tender.
Rinse and drain. Once they’re cooked through, drain all the water from the pot and give them another rinse under warm water to remove any excess slimy liquid.
That’s it! You can eat them just like this or saute them in a little olive oil with garlic, onions, and any other spices you like.
Recipe Tips
- Choose the right nopales: Look for fresh, bright green cactus pads that are firm and free from blemishes or dark spots. Smaller pads are usually more tender and have fewer spines.
- Clean them properly: Use a sharp knife or vegetable peeler to remove the spines and trim the edges. Rinse the pads thoroughly under cold water to remove any slimy residue and remaining spines. If you’ve never cleaned nopales before, you may want to wear gloves.
- Blanching: Blanching nopales helps reduce their sliminess. Boil the cleaned pads in salted water for about 10-15 minutes. Drain and rinse them under cold water immediately to stop the cooking process and remove excess slime.
- Season well: Nopales can be somewhat bland on their own, so season them well with salt, pepper, lime juice, and other spices or herbs to enhance their flavor.
Ways to Eat Nopales
Nopales are a delicious vegetable addition to any meal. Here are a few of my favorite recipes that use nopales:
How to Store Nopales
If you have leftover cooked nopales, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. They can be reheated or used cold in salads.
More Mexican Recipes
How to Cook Nopales
Ingredients
- 2 cactus paddles
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- water
Instructions
- Place the cactus paddles on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, carefully scrape and slice off the thorns and dark brown bumps on all sides.
- Rinse the cactus paddles under running water to remove any dirt and grime.
- Dice the cactus paddles into bite-size pieces or slice them into thin strips.
- Place in a medium pot with salt, and fill with water until all the cactus paddles are covered.
- Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook for 10 more minutes.
- Drain the water from the nopales and give them another rinse under warm water to remove any excess slimy liquid.
- Eat plain or saute in a little olive oil with your favorite seasonings. (See post above for more ways to use cooked nopales.)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I drink the water from which I cooked the nopales as well?
Hi Oprah, I’m not sure about that, you might try looking up a recipe that uses it to be sure. There are lots of great food blogs that may have what you’re looking for.
Want to make nopales but had thrm the 1st time with a red juice and hamburger meat all mixed together cant remember the name of it?
Hello! It sounds like it may have been picadillo with nopales? We have a recipe for picadillo on our website if you wanted to check that out! That recipe doesn’t feature nopales but it’s super easy to add them.
Thankyougod2020!!
I bought too many nopales. Do you know if I can freeze them (after cleaning and removing the thorns)? Or if they hold up well cooking them and then freeze them using a food saver?
Hi Sue! Yes, both of those options are fine!
Boil them first
Had napoles tacos. Got me rethinking using them. Thanks for your notes on how to prep. They are good for us.
Hey Isabel, thank you for sharing!
I was wondering if you have any suggestions on what to serve nopales with, or what dish do you enjoy nopales in?
Hello Donna! We have different recipes that feature nopales on our website, like nopales con huevo and nopales slaw tostadas!
Looking forward to trying recipes
Hi Isabel, I’m new here. It only took me one look at your recipes & I was already full😉 I’m following you now. You’re giveaway all your secret recipes. I thank you for sharing though. Congratulations & god bless you & your family.
Thanks for posting your nopales recipe, Isabel. As the product of 2 Arizonans and being a southern Californian myself, I’m surprised I haven’t cooked any yet. Just the confidence kick I needed. Will keep an eye out for them on my produce runs to the store.
on a visit to arizona in 2013 i had a pink nopales margarita.. flavored with the nectar of a pink flower of a nopales…blooms can also be in different shades of yellow and orange and are very edible and delicious