Ensalada de Nopales, or cactus salad, is an authentic Mexican side dish that features crisp nopales, tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and queso panela for a quick and refreshing recipe that pairs well with any Mexican meal.
Ingredients
3largenopales cactus paddles,trimmed, cleaned, and diced
Add the diced cactus paddles, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and enough water to cover them completely in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain the water from the nopales and rinse them under warm water to remove any excess slimy liquid.
Transfer the cooked nopales into a separate bowl. Add the Roma tomatoes, jalapeño, onion, lime juice, remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, cilantro, and queso panela.
Lightly toss to combine all the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to come together.
Uncover and serve as a side dish or appetizer with tortilla chips.
Notes
Cheese: Panela cheese is the best. It’s a firm, mild-flavored Mexican cheese. If you can’t find it, you can use queso fresco or queso cotija instead.
Work smarter, not harder. Some Mexican grocery stores sell fresh nopales that have already been cleaned and prepped. I highly recommend grabbing those if you can! They’re a great time-saving option and save you the work of removing the spines and thorns.
Can’t find fresh nopales? Use jarred. You can find them in the Hispanic foods section of most large grocery stores. Just rinse them from their juice and toss them with the remaining ingredients.