Curious how to cook nopales, or cactus paddles? This article tells you everything you need to know to work with the Mexican veggie! Find out how to cook nopales below.
For years leading up to that fateful day, I bristled at the thought of a “cactus taco”, shying away from nopales breakfast tacos when I was law schooling in Austin, TX, avoiding any and all menu items with the ingredient. Typically an adventurous eater, perhaps it was my years spent growing up in Phoenix, AZ around masses of prickly pears that turned me off. Or maybe it was watching my sister learning to ride a bike.. who then took a fateful turn off our driveway into a mess of them.
Whatever it was, my distaste gave way to curiosity on a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico (One of our absolute favorite spots, ugh. Who wants to go in on some real estate?) with O a few months ago. I ordered, fair enough, arrachera (marinated flank steak – super vegan), topped with slices of tender nopales and Manchego cheese. Did I mention how vegan it was?
Anyway, that was, as I said, the fateful day that turned it all around. Upon first bite into those tender pads, my eyes–I believe–rolled into the back of my head, as I let out a massive (and massively embarrassing) groan. Something like this: urgghhhooooooohhhhhmaaaaaAAAAAYYYYNthatisgood.
Back home, I pick up a few paddles every week at our local Asian market/supermercado and either sauté or boil them to remove the goopy ooze (how much am I selling you on these babies right now?) to produce those perfect little strips, which I then usually toss in chimichurri and serve at our weekly “indulgence” meal, the fanciest on the meal plan, usually served on a Sunday night.
When we went “mostly vegan”, it dawned on me that because of their heartiness, their meatiness, and their tender, subtle flavor, nopales would be perfect as a sort of “meat replacement” in the now-vegan meals we craved, like tacos. Pack your backs, Portobello, you’re being replaced.
Try these for some meaty heft and beautiful flavor anywhere you’d use vegan “meat”, eggplant, or portobello. They toss in sauce perfectly but I haven’t tried marinating them (as we often do with portobello). We had them in tacos, paired with oyster mushrooms and a vegan aioli (all coming soon!), and I pretty much died.
You should be able to find these at any well-stocked Latin or Asian market, or, if you’re lucky enough to live out West or in Texas or really anywhere with a strong Hispanic population, you can find these at your local grocery store! I know HEB carried a mess of them when I was in Austin.
How to choose nopales
These were a bit older when I took the photos, so aim for brilliant, bright green, unmarked paddles.
You want paddles that are flexible but not soft. I pick them up by the beefy stem and bend them a bit over on themselves to test them at the store. If they’re super flexible, I keep looking for paddles that bend but give a little. Smaller paddles are more tender, but more work.
How to cook nopales
You might intuit, intelligent reader that you are, that these paddles have spines on them.. spines that can prick you. While you’re first getting used to preparing nopales, try using rubber gloves when prepping them. Eventually you’ll get a feel for working with them and won’t need the gloves. I read that, too, when I first learned how to prepare them, thinking those people were insane, but about 4 go-rounds later, I wonder why in the world I needed gloves to begin with.
First begin by using the blade of a knife or a peeler to scrape off the little brown knobs. You can do this by using a very gentle and shallow sawing-motion inward from the end of the nopales to the thick base. You want to leave as much skin on as you can and just remove the knobs and spines, so just try to hit the taller knobs, leaving the flat nopale skin alone. You can also do this by holding a knife perpendicular to the nopales and scraping inwards towards the base with the edge of the knife. Lastly, a peeler is pretty self-explanatory, but mine I guess just.. sucks. I pretty much always use a knife.
Once you’ve removed the knobs and spines, trim the edges of the nopales, about 1/4″ off, and trim off the thick base, about 1/2″. Wash. Cut into strips or squares, or leave whole if you want. However you prefer.
Two methods for cooking
1. Put a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil, adding a hefty pinch of salt and couple smashed cloves of garlic, if you desire. Add prepared nopales and boil for about 15-20 minutes, or until tender. You want to boil out the gelatinous substance that will ooze out of the nopales. When tender, drain well and then add to recipe.
2. Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add in a bit of oil–not too much. Add in prepared nopales and a pinch of salt (to taste) and cook for a couple minutes. Cover with lid and reduce heat to medium. Let cook and sweat about 20 minutes, or until the goo has seeped out and dried up.
Nopales ideas
Try inside a taco for a totally delightful vegan dinner–I have a recipe coming! They’re delicious in salads, tofu scrambles, salsas, you name it. They’d be insane fajitas, and perfect stuffed into a burrito. Yum! What’s your favorite way to eat nopales?
How to cook nopales (cactus)
How to cook nopales (cactus): a perfect meaty veggie for vegan dishes. Awesome in Mexican-inspired meals or tossed with a little chimichurri!
Ingredients
- 4 whole Nopales paddles
- 1 tbsp Oil optional
- 1 teaspoon Salt to taste
- 3 cloves of garlic smashed, optional
Instructions
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Pick nopales paddles that are flexible but not soft. They should give a little but not TOO much. Smaller paddles are more tender.
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Remove knobs and spines with a knife or peeler. See post for greater detail. Trim the edges about 1/4" and the base about 1/2". Wash and then cut into strips or squares, as you desire.
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Two options for cooking. First: bring a pot of salted water with a couple smashed cloves of garlic to boil. Add prepared nopales and let boil about 15-20 minutes, or until tender and gelatinous substance has seeped out. Drain and use as desired.
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Second option: Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat on the stove and add a bit of oil. Add cactus and a pinch of salt and cook for a couple minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Let sweat and cook 20 minutes, or until clear substance has evaporated. Use as desired.
Recipe Notes
See post for more detail on choosing, preparing, and cooking nopales.
Cooking cactus with bacon is amazing! I know you said you’re vegan but for those who aren’t— while they’re boiling cut bacon into about 2” squares and cook them— when almost done add the cactus put on low or simmer and add the lid for about 10-15 minutes.
Heather,
Thanks for your suggestion: cooking cactus with bacon. The bacon really enrich the cactus flavor otherwise I felt the cactus tasted a little flat.
My husband loved it too.
Always happy to please the whole family!
My favorite cactus recipe. 1 jar of cactus, rinsed chopped, and the pepper removed (and eaten)
One little box of pico de gallo in the produce section (or make your own. 3 or 4 diced tomatoes, a jalepeno seeded, a small diced onion, and a handful of chopped cilantro. Yeah, I know, its a pretty precise recipe). An avocado or two diced up. Lemon juice squeezed over to taste, and salt. Optional, add some shrimp or whatever to make it a true ceviche. Grab a sleeve of tostada chips, and again optionally, sprinkle with queso fresco (small wheels of soft white mexican cheese) We regularly do these as the main and only dinner course. Also makes a cool pot luck item. Just hold telling them what it is until the find out they like it.
Love your last sentence ! I do this all the time. People are so head strong on trying new things.
As an added bonus nopal is one of the best things for regulating blood sugar levels.
My husband introduced me to Nopales! I didn’t like them much at firs (ew goo!), but this summer we grilled them over our fire pit and I have become a bit addicted to them! Yum! Since its snowy and cold where i am, I wanted to find a way to cook them inside! So I tried sautéing them, and it turned out delicious too!
I eat Nopales all the time. I am able to buy them all cleaned, thorns removed and sliced at Smart and Final.. I put them in everything. Soups, salads, burritos, scrambled eggs, homemade salsa, tacos. They have documented medicinal properties like aiding in stabilizing blood sugars. I did check that in the medical literature. Every little bit helps when dealing with diabetes— which, luckily, I do not have.
Hi! I am a vegan from Mexicali (Mexico) -about 5 hours driving distance from Arizona- and nopales are a common ingredient in my house, we have like 20 nopales plants in my garden… so I believe it is my duty to give you a typical Mexican dish recipe 😀 .. I think my favorite nopales recipe is very simple, here you go:
ENSALADA DE NOPAL
(serves about 4 people as a side dish)
– 5 nopales
– juice of 2 or 3 limes
– 2 or 3 firm diced tomatoes
– 1/3 diced red onion
– 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
– salt and pepper to taste
– 1 chopped fresh jalapeño (optional… we love spicy over here!)
1. Boil water in a pot with a bit of salt. Add the nopales and let them simmer for about 30 seconds. Let the cover on so they can finish cooking by themselves (for about 3 minutes). TIP #1: You don’t need much water… only enough to barely cover them. TIP #2: I have seen my mom put tomatillo leaves or baking soda while they boil… she says it helps absorb the “goo”.
2. Get them out of the pot so they don’t overcook and drain them. They should be tender. Let them cool while you chop the rest of the ingredientes.
3. Mix all the ingredients. Once the nopales are at room temperature -or colder- you can add them to the mix.
4. Taste and adjust ingredients if necessary.
5. Enjoy!
You can eat it now or let it chill in the freezer… it is tasty either way. We usually eat it with salted crackers, tostadas or soft tortillas. 🙂
Oh my goodness that sounds SO good and perfect for the warmer weather! I can’t wait to try it. Maybe I’ll post it on the blog! 🙂 thank you for sharing!!
Glad you liked it!
I also like to put a raw nopal into my morning smoothie. For example, today I had a smoothie with nopal, strawberries, pineapple, beetroot, banana, oats, hemp seeds, medjool dates, chia and almond milk 🙂
I have also had “agua fresca” of nopal, pineapple and cilantro… it is delicious and healthy.. you only have to mix all the ingredients with the sweetener of your choice and drain it. Something like this:
http://www.rachellaudan.com/2008/04/agua-fresca-5-agua-de-pina-pineapple-and-variants.html
As you can see, we love nopales and they have many uses for it… 😀
Wow, I would NEVER have thought to put nopales in a smoothie. I don’t know if I’m that adventurous yet! But that agua fresca sounds totally incredible. I’m accumulating summertime “mocktails” in case of potential family starting, and that sounds perfect. You’re making me hungry.. and craving a trip to the Mexican market!
I have totallly seen nopales at the grocery store before and had NO idea what anyone would use them for. This is awesome. I am definitely going to pick some up and try them next time I see them on the shelf. I didn’t know you used to live in Arizona! We lived in Arizona for a few months (Marc was traded there at the end of a season a few years back) and I loved it there. Maybe that’s where I saw the nopales!
You live such a crazy life, I’m kind of jealous! Where in AZ? And yes, I’m sure you saw them there! They basically coated Texas grocery stores and AZ is even worse! You should fix some arrachera steak with slices of the nopales and then that manchego (which iphone is amusingly correcting to “man chefs”) cheese. Ughhh. You’ll love it 🙂
Love this, Cheryl! I have never cooked with cactus before but I see them for sale at my local ShopRite and I have seen nopales tacos at local taquerias too. Btw- I didn’t realize you had a second blog! Love it!
Yeah, writing one blog wasn’t crazy enough, I thought I’d start a second – ha! And yes, you definitely have to pick up some paddles and try them for yourself. They’re super yum! Thanks for visiting Mallory 🙂