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how to cook nopales without slime

Learn to choose, Clean, and Cook Nopales from a Native Mexican

I cook Nopales Cactus every week. I love making them in salads, and today I'd like to share my passion for nopales with you. Get ready to learn how to cook, select, and clean nopales—the ultimate solution to avoiding slime!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4
Calories 4 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Cutting board
  • 1 Pot

Ingredients
  

  • 8 paddles nopal
  • 1/4 piece onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 clove garlic

Instructions
 

Clean Cactus Paddles

  • Lay the paddles on a cutting board, and using a knife, carefully remove the spines and black bumps by running the knife back and forth across the paddle
  • Be careful because you can easily prick your fingers. Some people prefer to use gloves to protect themselves from the thorns.
  • Then, trim off the edges and ends.
  • Rinse the nopales under water to ensure they’re clean and spines-free.
  • Dice the nopales into strips and squares to make stews or salad, or save the clean paddles to grill them!
  • The Nopal paddle does not need to be peeled; it is just removing the thorns and the edges of the paddle, as they usually have spikes.

Cooking Nopales without Slime

  • Place diced nopales in a pot without adding any extra water. The nopales will drop the slime and cook in their juice. You do not need water to cook nopales with this authentic Mexcian recipe.
  • Add a quarter of an onion, a garlic clove, and a dash of salt for added flavor.
  • Cover the pot and simmer over medium-low heat for approximately 15 minutes, until the nopales take on an inviting olive green hue and become tender inside and out.
  • Once cooked, rinse the nopales under cold water to halt the cooking process and eliminate residual slime.
  • With these tips, you’ll enjoy perfectly cooked nopales in no time!”

Video

Notes

Do you know that Nopales have great health benefits? Have them in this smoothie! 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Learn to choose, Clean, and Cook Nopales from a Native Mexican
Amount per Serving
Calories
4
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
0.01
g
0
%
Saturated Fat
 
0.003
g
0
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
0.003
g
Sodium
 
292
mg
13
%
Potassium
 
18
mg
1
%
Carbohydrates
 
1
g
0
%
Fiber
 
0.2
g
1
%
Sugar
 
0.3
g
0
%
Protein
 
0.1
g
0
%
Vitamin A
 
9
IU
0
%
Vitamin C
 
1
mg
1
%
Calcium
 
6
mg
1
%
Iron
 
0.04
mg
0
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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