Nopal

Nopal is the name for the flat, fleshy pads of Opuntia cacti, eaten as a vegetable throughout Mexico. Grilled or boiled, nopales appear in salads, guisados and as a side or filling in tacos.

Description

Larousse uses nopal as a generic name for several Opuntia species, cacti with tender, oval, fleshy, flattened pads, spines and a mucilaginous sap called baba. They are native to the Americas, and between 65 and 100 wild and domesticated species have been classified in Mexico. The sweet fruit is the tuna and the sour one the xoconostle, which appears in salsa borracha and pico de gallo.

Preparation

Cooks remove the baba by boiling in plenty of water, steaming, or cooking with lime or tomatillo husks.

Use

Nopales go into soups, salads, moles, antojitos, meat dishes and tamales, and even jams and breads. Rick Bayless pairs seared steak with griddled cactus paddles in tacos, and the State of Mexico and Hidalgo use nopales in mixiotes.

Reviews

See also

• Mixiote leaf
• Tomatillo
• Salsa borracha

References

1. "Nopal". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Mixiote". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "Seared Steak Tacos with Cactus Paddles". Rick Bayless. Retrieved 2026-10-10.