Have you ever tried cactus? If you're skeptical, I encourage you to give it a try because our nopales salad is one you'll be using on repeat.
If you enjoy this salad with fresh, hot tortilla chips, you may also love our copycat Chipotle tomatillo salsa and tomato salsa.
Quick Look at Nopales Salad Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 35 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 35 minutes
- 🍽️ Yield: 2½ cups
- 🥕 Dietary Info: Vegetarian (if made with vegetarian queso fresco), Gluten Free
- ⚡ Calories: 91 calories per serving (based on nutrition facts in recipe card)
- 🍅 11 Ingredients: jalapeño pepper, roma tomatoes, pickled cactus, onion, cilantro, queso fresco, lime juice, white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- 🥣 Method: No Cooking Required!
- ⌛ Time-Saving Hack: Use a food processor to chop the veggies.
- 🔪 Equipment: bowl, citrus reamer.
- ⭐ Expert Tip: If you don't have any queso fresco (Mexican fresh cheese) on hand, feel free to substitute with feta cheese.
- 🌶️ Flavor & Texture: This Nopales salad is packed with fresh veggies, cheese, and a tangy dressing and is perfect as a dip or salsa.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Made with 11 Simple Ingredients: This healthy salad is made from a small amount of simple ingredients.
- Fresh & Healthy: This salad is made mostly with fresh veggies, pickled cactus, cheese, and spices and is colorful and flavorful.
- Versatile: Enjoy with tortilla chips as a snack, as a side for grilled meat, or as a salsa or topping for any Mexican-inspired dish.
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Cactus salad is very unusual, but it is really good. 🌵"
- Beth
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Ingredients
All the ingredients for this Nopales salad recipe are easy to find at any large grocery store that has a Mexican section. Let's talk about some of the key ingredients.
- Pickled Cactus: We used pickled cactus and chopped it up.
- Peppers: We used one large fresh jalapeno and diced it.
- Fresh Herbs: We used fresh cilantro leaves for flavor.
- Cheese: We used queso fresco and crumbled it.
- Vinegar: We used white balsamic vinegar to give it some zing.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Nopales Salad
- In a large bowl, place the onion, tomato, pickled cactus, and fresh jalapeño.
- With a large spoon, stir until it is well mixed.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the vinegar, spices, and olive oil.
- Pour the freshly squeezed lime juice into the salad and stir.
- Add the homemade salad dressing. Mix until it evenly coats the vegetables.
- Sprinkle on the freshly chopped cilantro and stir. Cover and chill for a minimum of one hour.
- Just before serving, add half the crumbled cheese to the mixing bowl and stir. Place it in a serving dish and garnish with the remaining cheese.
- To have the best flavor, serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.
Nopales Salad FAQs
Prickly pear cactus is actually a vegetable that tastes similar to cooked green beans but has a different texture. Like okra, it produces a slimy substance when boiled. If you use the pickled version of this vegetable for this salad like I did, it will probably be pickled with serrano pepper and onions. This will make it taste spicier.
Nopales are high in fiber, antioxidants, and carotenoids, rich in potassium and high vitamin A and C.
You can use nopales or nopalito in salads, as an appetizer with tortilla chips, quesadillas, soft tacos, a side for grilled meat or mixed with scrambled eggs.
Nopal, or the plural nopales refers to the pads of the cactus plant. In English, this part of the cactus is called prickly pear.
Expert Tips
- To make this less spicy, don't use the pickled onion and serrano pepper from the jar of pickled cactus.
- If you don't have any queso fresco (Mexican fresh cheese) on hand, feel free to substitute with feta cheese.
- Use the pickled version instead of fresh to save time.
- To remove any slime, rinse the cactus under cold water.
- Serve as a side with grilled meat or with tortilla chips.
Other Mexican Recipes You'll Love
Recipe
Nopales Salad
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (about 1 large pepper)
- ¾ cup Roma tomatoes, diced (about 1½ large tomatoes)
- 15 ounce jar pickled cactus, chopped (¾ cup)
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced (about ½ an onion)
- ⅓ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
- 2½ tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice, from two limes
- ½ tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix together the chopped onion, tomato, pickled cactus, and fresh jalapeño in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the white balsamic vinegar, spices and olive oil in a smaller bowl.
- Pour the freshly squeezed lime juice over the vegetables and stir.
- Add the dressing, then mix well to coat all the vegetables.
- Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and stir until well blended.
- Cover and chill for at least an hour, then mix in half of the crumbled cheese just before serving. Transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining crumbled cheese. For best flavor, serve slightly cold or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- To make this less spicy, don't use the pickled onion and serrano pepper from the jar of pickled cactus.
- If you don't have any queso fresco (Mexican fresh cheese) on hand, feel free to substitute with feta cheese.
- Use the pickled version instead of fresh to save time.
- To remove any slime, rinse the cactus under cold water.
- Serve as a side with grilled meat or with tortilla chips.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Beth
Cactus salad is very unusual, but it is really good. 🌵
Emma
It is an usual salad, but so tasty! I love how similar it tastes to salsa.