This nopales recipe is made with beef, chiles, and nopales and is the most delicious thing to come out of my kitchen in a while. Serve this hearty stew with beans and rice or as a filling for tacos or burritos. If you’ve never cooked with nopales before, this is a great place to start.
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Nopales are this month’s Challenge Ingredient and when my team and I were trying to decide what recipe would be best to show them off, Dolores, my right hand in the kitchen, suggested we do a spin on our Carne Picada recipe but add the cactus paddles.
Although you can make all kinds of things with nopales like cactus salad (ensalada de nopales), green juice, sauté them with eggs (nopales con huevo), in salsa, etc. I loved the idea of adding a veggie boost to the spicy, meaty guisado or stew.
I’ll admit, I’m a recent convert to Mexican nopales. I’ve tried them before but was turned off by the slimy, gelatinous liquid that they emit. Determined to get over that, I tried a few different methods to reduce the slime factor and I’m pleased to say, this nopales recipe is mucous-free!
Now, I LOVE them and am thinking of all kinds of new ways to enjoy nopales. It was a real missed opportunity not to include them in my vegetarian Mexican cookbook, Plant Powered Mexican. Guess I need to write another one all about nopales!
What Are Nopales?
Nopales are the pads of the prickly pear cactus that grow all over the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The cactus pads can be found in Mexican grocery stores with the spines still attached, or the whole paddles that have been cleaned, or cleaned and chopped. You can also buy canned nopales that have already been cooked and are ready to add, as-is, to dishes.
They are a popular (and healthy) ingredient in Mexican cuisine. They are used in a variety of ways like to make nopales a la Mexicana, a side dish with nopales, onions, tomatoes and chiles. Or to make nopales tacos or lots of other Mexican recipes. The flavor and texture of nopales are similar to tangy green beans or asparagus but with the slimy factor of okra.
I couldn’t find any nopales with the spines still on, so I can’t show you how to remove them with step-by-step photos or a video. My friend Lola, has a great tutorial though, if you want to see that process. It’s really very simple and requires little more than a sharp knife.
You Should Absolutely Give Them A Try
If you’ve never eaten nopales, you will love this dish. It is:
- Supremely flavorful, comforting, and a little spicy. Like lots of Mexican food, this dish is loaded with lots of garlic, tomatoes, and onions that guarantee a flavorful base.
- Not at all slimy. Cooking nopales first in a hot pan with a little salt takes care of any mucousy situations that are common in fresh nopales.
- Loaded with chile peppers. Lots of spice in every single bite from jalapeños, poblanos, and chipotles in adobo. This is pretty similar to my Carne Picada. For those who don’t like a lot of heat you can either leave out the seeds and stems from the jalapeños or use less chiles all together.
- Healthy-ish. Granted, the beef isn’t the healthiest option, but nopales are loaded with health benefits from being high in vitamins and minerals to lowering cholesterol, not to mention it’s a great low carb option.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why:
Step-by-step instructions and full ingredient list in the recipe card below.
- Nopales: For this dish we are using fresh cut cactus, not canned. You can use the nopales pre-cut or whole. Look for them where you buy your other Mexican groceries.
- Sunflower oil: Or another neutral-flavored oil like canola or avocado.
- Chuck steak: I’ve also made this with sirloin steak. Both are good, the chuck steak is a bit fattier, making the dish richer but also you’ll get more for your money if you go with sirloin because they’ll be less fat and gristle to trim off.
- Cumin, dried oregano, coriander & kosher salt: These season the dish, they are my go-to spice combination.
- Poblano peppers & jalapeño peppers: Poblanos are the chiles we use for making chiles rellenos they are large and dark green in color.
- White onion & garlic: Create a flavorful base.
- Fresh tomatoes: Or substitute a 14.5-ounce can of chopped fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Chipotles in adobo: I love chipotles in EVERYTHING! Seriously, here’s the pizza to prove it. Use 2 chipotle chiles (not 2 cans-someone did that once and then was mad that their recipe was too spicy) if you’d like it mild, use 4 or more if you want it spicy.
- Beef broth: For braising the beef.
- Fresh cilantro and limes: I love squeezing a little lime juice over the top. I also like serving this with pickled carrots and jalapeños and some tortilla chips.
How To Un-Slime Nopales
The biggest turn-off for nopales is the gelatinous liquid they emit but you can easily get rid of that with a simple cooking technique.
Start by cooking the nopales in a little oil over medium heat until they start releasing their mucous. Next, lower the heat a little to medium-low heat, cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until they start to dry up.
As they begin cooking they will release a lot of liquid and it will seem like they won’t ever dry out, but just keep cooking, stirring occasionally, with the lid on. They will eventually stop exuding liquid and become tender and dry. The raw nopales will turn from bright green to a muted green color.
How To Make Nopales Con Carne
After the nopales cook this recipe really only requires a few more steps.
First, brown the meat with the seasonings over medium-high heat in the same large pan you used to cook the nopales.
Then add the vegetables and cook until those start to soften.
Finally add the broth and return the nopales to the pan. Cook, uncovered, until the meat is tender, about 30 minutes. Serve with borracho beans or refried beans, rice, warm corn tortillas and a nice sprinkling of fresh cilantro on top.
This is a great make-ahead dish, it actually improves with flavor as it sits. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Enjoy! And if you make it don’t forget to snap a photo and enter into our Challenge Ingredient Recipe Contest for a chance to win a $150 Amazon gift card!
By the way, If you love this dish, you’ve got to try our carne picada or our carne deshebrada.
Nopales Con Carne
This nopales recipe is made with beef, chiles, and nopales and is the most delicious thing to come out of my kitchen in a while. Serve this hearty stew with beans and rice or as a filling for tacos or burritos. If you've never cooked with nopales before, this is a great place to start.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh nopales, cleaned of their spines and diced (about 4 cups diced)
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil (or other neutral cooking oil), divided
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided
- 2 pounds chuck steak, cut into 1-inch pieces (or sirloin)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 2 jalapeños, stemmed and diced (seeds removed if you'd like it less spicy)
- 2 poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded and diced
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 2-4 chipotles in adobo, chopped (add more if you'd like it more spicy)
- 1 cup beef broth
- Fresh cilantro, limes, and pickled jalapeños and carrots, warm tortillas and/or tortillas chips, for serving
Instructions
- Clean the pound of nopales of any spines if necessary (see note below) then dice into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large (3-4 quart), shallow pot over medium-high heat. Add the diced nopales and 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Stir to combine.
- Let the nopales cook, uncovered, for a minute or two until they start releasing thier mucousy liquid. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and let cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has dried and the nopales are starting to brown a little, about 20 minutes. They will seem like they are never going to dry up, but they will, just keep cooking. Once they have dried up, transfer to a heatproof bowl.
- Return the pot to medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the 2 pounds diced chuck steak, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 teaspoon coriander, and remaining 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Cook until meat has browned.
- Add the chopped white onion, the 2 diced jalapeños, 2 diced poblano peppers, and 6 cloves of chopped garlic. Cook until vegetables are softened and the pan is dry.
- Add the 2 diced tomatoes, 2-4 diced chipotles (depending on how spicy you'd like things). Return the nopales to the pan and add the 1 cup beef broth. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a slow simmer.
- Cook, uncovered, over low heat, pushing the meat under the liquid, until it is tender, about 30 minutes.
- Serve with beans, rice, tortillas, and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro, lime wedges, pickled jalapeños and carrots and warm tortillas or chips—or both!
Notes
- Cleaning nopales: If you buy nopales with the spines still on, follow the tips in this post from my friend Lola.
- Type of beef: I've made this recipe with chuck steak and sirloin steak. The chuck steak is fattier, therefore more juicy but you will have to remove a lot of gristle and fat so you get less meat for your dollar. The sirloin is more toothsome and meatier. Both work great!
- Spice level: If you want this to be spicier, add more chipotle chiles and leave the seeds and white ribs in the jalapeños. Less spicy? Use less chiles and remove the seeds and white ribs from the jalapeños or use only 1.
- Make-ahead/freezing: This dish gets even better as it sits. Make up to 5 days in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before warming in the microwave or on the stove.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 43Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 113mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g
I know I have seen napoles somewhere here in Bismarck, ND … I think. It’s one of the things I’ve always wanted to try. Thank you for sharing. As soon as napoles show up here again, I’m trying this and I will follow up!
Hey Nick, you can also use canned or jarred nopales (which you can buy online). If you use those, drain and rinse them and add them directly to the meat. You don’t need to cook them first.