Ensalada de Nopales (Mexican Cactus Salad Recipe)
Ensalada de nopales is a Mexican cactus salad that’s bright, slightly lemony, aromatic, savory, tender, nutritious and just downright delicious! You can pair it with other dishes or serve is as a scrumptious appetizer. Let me show you how easy it is to make this versatile dish.
What Are Nopales
Nopales, also known as cactus paddles, are a very Mexican food that many non-Mexicans probably haven’t had the pleasure of tasting. But I believe everyone should nopal at least once in their lifetime.
Nopales are the pads of the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia species), and they are commonly used and an important part of traditional Mexican cuisine. They’re known for their unique, slightly tangy flavor and crunchy texture.
They have sharp spiny needles also called glochids that first must be carefully removed in order to make them edible. Nowadays you can buy fresh nopales from the grocery store or mercado with the glochids already removed. This applies to both stores in Mexico and Mexican grocery stores in the US.
But if you need to remove them yourself, make sure to watch my video guide on how to clean nopales paddles.
These nutritious prickly pear cactus pads are used to make several different dishes like nopales with scrambled eggs, sauteed nopales, nopales with chorizo, a healthy and nutritious green juice, and the nopal salad you see pictured here.
What is Ensalada de Nopales
Ensalada is the Spanish word for salad and nopales refers to fresh cactus paddles.
An ensalada de nopales are nopal cactus cooked until tender and cooled then mixed with tomato, onion, green chile and coated in a citrusy dressing made with fresh lime juice, oil and aromatic herbs.
It’s one of the most simple recipes yet it’s bursting with incredible flavors and textures.
Why You’ll Love Nopalitios
• This recipe is a great introduction to nopales, if you’ve never had them before.
• You can enjoy as a side dish, appetizer with tortilla chips or tostadas, or use as a filling for tacos and gorditas or as a topping for tlacoyos.
• Nopales have a lot of health benefits, such as: a good source of fiber, they’re low in calories, can help stabilize high blood sugar levels, are low in calories, but packed with vitamins A, C, and K, nopales are a good source of calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Cactus is also full of antioxidants and also have anti-inflammatory properties.
Ingredients Needed
Raw Nopales: You can find them at your local Mexican markets or anywhere you can find Mexican groceries near you.
Tomato: Traditionally roma tomatoes is used but you can also use the large round tomatoes.
Onion: Traditionally white onion is used but occasionally I like to use green onions for a different flavor. In a pinch red onion would work too.
Green Chile: You can use either fresh jalapeño pepper or Serrano chilies. For heat leave the seeds and for a milder taste remove them.
Spices: Just salt, black pepper and Mexican oregano are needed.
Oil: You all know that I prefer to use olive oil but you could also use avocado oil or your favorite vegetable oil.
Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is needed here but if you are a person that cilantro tastes like soap to, then you could omit it but the taste will be different.
Tomatillo Husks: This is to help the nopales not that viscous or “slimy texture”.
Water: For cooking the nopales.
Queso: Not everyone adds this, but many people do and it adds a delicious creamy flavor and texture to the salad. Use cotija cheese or queso fresco.
Ingredient Variations
As with any Mexican dish, there are some variations to the ingredients. For example some people will skip the lime juice and use red wine vinegar instead. I personally prefer the lime juice.
When I lived in Europe and didn’t have access to the fresh prickly pear cactus leaves and I could find a jar of the pickled nopales, I would use them to make this flavorful ensalada. It tastes much better with the fresh nopal but drastic times called for drastic measures in order to satisfy my cravings.
I have a vegan cotija cheese recipe already on the blog or you can use a dairy-free feta cheese, but if you eat dairy and don’t have either cotija or queso fresco then feta cheese makes a good substitute.
How to Make Ensalada de Nopales
Step 1: Clean The Nopales
If your grocery store doesn’t sell cleaned nopales then you’ll have to remove the little spines yourself. Make sure to watch my video tutorial for a step-by-step guide.
Step 2: Slice The Nopales
Thoroughly rinse the nopal paddles and then slice them into even-sized strips like in the pictures. Of course the easiest ways and to skip these first two steps is to just buy the nopals cleaned and sliced.
Step 3: Cook The Nopales
Place the nopal strips into a medium pot, drop the tomatillo husk in if using, sprinkle in a teaspoon salt then pour in plenty of water to cover the nopales by a couple of inches. Simmer over medium-high heat until they turn an olive green color. You’ll notice the water will have a slight viscous texture to it, that’s fine.
Step 4: Cool The Nopales
Drain the nopales and rinse them under cold water for a couple of minutes. Leave to drain inside the colander until they are cooled to room temperature.
Step 5: Make The Dressing
In a small jar or mixing bowl combine the salt, pepper, and Mexican oregano with the fresh lime juice, and olive oil. Place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously or mix in the bowl until very well combined.
Step 6: Make The Nopales Salad
To a large bowl (make sure it’s glass or not plastic or metal) add the drained and cooled nopales, chopped onion and chile and tomato, and mix until well combined. Mix in the cilantro until well combined then pour in the shaken dressing over the mixture. Stir until the ingredients are well coated with the dressing.
Step 7: Cool or Serve
You can cool the salad for 30 minutes before serving or you can serve right away. If you’re using cheese you can mix it into the salad right before serving or crumble it up and have everyone top their nopales salad with as much cheese as they’d like.
Variation Instructions
If you’re having to use the jarred nopales then simply thoroughly rinse with cold water, strain then follow the rest of the instructions.
How to Serve
One of my favorite ways to serve this Mexican salad is on top of crispy tostadas and crumbled vegan queso cotija. It’s so simple yet so delicious!
To make a more complete main dish you can smear some refried black beans on the bottom of the tostada then top with the ensalada de nopales and crumbled cheese and drizzle some salsa if desired.
You can also serve on top warm corn tortilla to make nopales tacos or use to top tlacoyos. You could also use fill gorditas with this ensalada, though traditionally sautéed nopales are used it still tastes amazing.
Taste
The taste of this nopales salad is fresh, herby, a little tart from the lime juice, a tiny bit earthy from the nopales, it’s savory and a tad slippery and tender.
You can taste all the delicious fresh ingredients and it’s a wonderful combination.
How to Store
You can make this cactus salad a few hours ahead of when you’ll serve it and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Just keep in mid that the longer the nopales sit the higher the risk you run of them releasing some of their viscous liquid and therefore changing the texture of the salad.
I think it’s best to prepare and enjoy the dish the same day. But it will last up to three days in the refrigerator.
Gracias
I’m so happy you stopped by. If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this recipe, do leave a comment. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!
Other Nopales Recipes
Mexican Cactus Salad Recipe (Ensalada de Nopales)
Ingredients
- 3 large cactus paddles or 3 cups sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- water for cooking the nopales
- 3 medium Roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
- ½ cup chopped spring onion or white onion
- 1-2 whole Serrano peppers roughly chopped
- ½ cup chopped cilantro adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano crushed, adjust to taste
- 3 Tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- If you buy nopales with the spines still in them then you’ll need to clean them first. Watch my video for a visual step-by-step guide.
- Slice the nopales paddles into even-sized thin slices then rinse thoroughly.
- In a medium to large pot, place the sliced nopales with the tomatillo husk if using, the 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of water to cover the nopales by a few inches.
- Simmer the nopales until they have softened and turned a dark green color.
- Drain and thoroughly rinse with cold water.
- Place the olive teaspoon salt, ground black pepper, and oregano in a small jar or a small bowl. Then pour in the lime juice and olive oil and shake or stir until well combined.
- Place the cooked, drained, rinsed, and cooled nopales into a large glass bowl then add the onion, serrano and tomato and mix until well combined. Add the chopped cilantro and mix well.
- Shake or stir the dressing ingredients then pour over the mixed veggies and stir until everything is well combined. Taste for salt and adjust if desired.
- Allow to chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator or serve right away.
- Serve with tostadas or with corn tortillas or as a side dish. See more serving suggestions in the article.
Notes
Nutrition
Nancy Lopez is a food blogger and author of the cookbook Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Born in Mexico, raised in the US, and currently living in Southern Mexico, she has followed a meatless diet for almost 10 years. It is her passion and mission to share all she has learned about vegan Mexican cooking and vegetarian Mexican recipes. Mexican Made Meatless is a blog dedicated to preserving the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine just without the meat. It’s a place to celebrate Mexican culture and all it’s delightfully delicious traditional foods. Read more…
