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    Nopalitos How to Cook and Clean

    Published: Sep 16, 2016 · Modified: Mar 26, 2023 by Laura Muller

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    Today I’m going to teach you how to cook and clean nopales. Learn how to choose the most tender and delicious nopalitos. A small sharp knife is going to be your nopal peeler and with these instructions say bye to Nopal slime! Nopal in English is known as Prickly Pear, they are full of fiber, are tasty and they’re only like 15 calories per cup!

    Nopales salad
    The easiest way to clean and cook nopales
    Table Of Contents
    1. How to clean Nopales
    2. How to cook nopales without slime
    3. Nopales Health benefits
    4. Nopalitos Recipes
    5. How to cook nopales without slime

    I love to eat nopalitos, nopales in a salad, on the grill with some queso on top, nopalitos asados next to your carne asada are delicious!

    how to cook nopales

    How to choose tender and, fresh nopalitos?

    The younger the nopal paddle the tender it will be. Look for the small- medium-size paddles. Make sure they are flexible but firm and they need to have a bright green color. Large nopales paddles or pencas usually have a stringy texture and are not as delicious as the tender ones.

    Nopalitos

    How to clean Nopales

    Peeling nopales is easy and you only need a small knife and a cutting board.

    • To clean the nopalitos spines place the nopal on a cutting board.
    • Run a sharp small knife over the nopal on the opposite side of the thorns and dark bumps, as if you were brushing the nopal. The thorns and bumps come out very easily.
    • Now run the knife to the opposite side of the spines.
    • Repeat on the other side of the nopalito leave.
    • Rinse in cold water and
    • Now cut in slices or chop.
    Nopalitos

    How to cook nopales without slime

    How to cook nopalitos! it is very easy! Nopales are delicious but many people have trouble eating them because they have a mucousy liquid that not everyone likes, especially children. The trick to removing the nopal slime, or baba as we call it in Mexico is very easy, and I am about to show you how to make no slimy nopales!

    • Place the clean nopales inside a pot with nothing in it! no water, no oil, just the pot with the nopales inside.
    • Cover the pot with a lead and let the nopalitos cook at medium heat.
    • Nopales have the slime and a lot of water and they literally cook in their own juice.
    • cook the nopales at medium heat for 20 minutes or until they all have changed to an olive green color and feel soft.
    • Place the nopales inside a strainer and rinse with cold water, this will stop the heat and will help you to get rid of the slime that they could still have.
    Nopalitos

    How Long to Boil Nopales?

    Boil Nopales for 20 minutes. To cook cactus you do not need to add water, just clean the nopal paddle from the spines and chop. Place in a pot and cover. Set to cook at medium heat. The Nopal has a lot of water on its own and it will cook in its own juice. This technique also will help you too for cooking nopales without slime.

    Nopalitos

    Nopales Health benefits

    Nopales in English are known as Prickly Pear Cactus and can decrease blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, according to several studies made by the UNAM and also referred by dr Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.at the Mayo Clinic website.

    So what are you waiting to cook nopales for the whole week!

    Nopal juice
    Nopales are a great source of fiber

    One of the latest studies has shown that Nopales have an important amount of calcium, vitamina A, B, B2. Thanks to its high levels of fiber Nopales can improve digestion.

    Nopalitos

    I have many Nopales recipes that I am sure you and your family will love. I have nopal green smoothies very often, they help me to feel satisfied faster during the day and they allow me to start my day full of vitamin

    Where can I buy Nopales in the USA?

    Visit a nearby Mexican supermarket! Nopales cactus are a very popular food in Mexico, almost as common as tortillas, so you can find the Nopales paddles in the vegetable section. Many supers already sell them prep, cleaned up with no spines, and even chopped and ready to cook.

    Nopalitos

    Can you eat raw nopales?

    Yes! Just make sure to clean them eliminating all bumps and picks and rinse in cold water. I eat them raw all the time in my green smoothies.

    Nopalitos Recipes

    Nopales avocado toast!

    Nopales Salad

    Nopal Colon Cleanse Smoothie

    Nopales salad

    How to cook nopales without slime

    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Author: Laura Muller

    Ingredients

    • 1 garlic clove
    • ¼ onion
    • ¼ tsp salt
    • 5 cups of nopales

    Instructions

    • Place the clean nopales inside a pot with nothing in it! no water, no oil, just the pot with the nopales inside.
    • Cover the pot with a lead and let the nopalitos cook at medium heat.
    • Nopales have the slime and a lot of water and they literally cook in their own juice.
    • cook the nopales at medium heat for 20 minutes or until they all have changed to an olive green color and feel soft.
    • Place the nopales inside a strainer and rinse with cold water, this will stop the heat and will help you to get rid of the slime that they could still have.
    How to cook nopal paddles
    Easy way to cook cactus paddles
    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Laura Muller
    Laura Muller is a trilingual Mexican mom living in the city of Chicago. Laura started her YouTube channel Las Recetas de Laura more than 10 years ago to teach people how to cook Mexican food in a healthier way. Laura's recipes are specialized for people with diabetes and high cholesterol. Laura promotes healthy eating for every body size and talks about her own experience dealing with being overweight and how people of any size can have an active and healthy life.

    Laura creates content in Spanish and English for a community of over 3 million followers and has been recognized as one of the most influential Latinas in the US, Latinos 40 under 40 in Chicago.
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    Comments

    1. JW says

      April 30, 2023 at 2:40 am

      5 stars
      It worked! No slime!!

      Reply
      • Laura Muller says

        May 03, 2023 at 3:42 pm

        So glad your nopalitos turned out great! I have many recipes for nopales remember to look for them on my site. Blessings

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    Laura Muller

    Hola, I'm Laura! a Mexican mom living in the city of Chicago sharing a healthier way to cook Mexican food recipes. I usually cook everything from scratch but with some tricks to make it fast and easy! Hope these recipes can bring joy to your table.

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