Picadillo Con Nopales-Beef with Cactus and Green Chile

Picadillo con nopales! Picadillo(ground beef)! Nopalitos(cactus)! Green Chile! Chile Ancho Sauce! Four of my favorites all in one dish! As a kid, I wasn’t sure that I liked cactus, but I was always curious. I mostly remember the nopales during Lent time. Nopalitos en salsa, tortitas de camaron and ensalada de nopales. Those are just a few of the recipes, but there are so many ways to incorporate cactus into many savory recipes.

I always associate Nopales, cactus, with lent and meatless meals, but they’re so much more!

As a kid, I cannot say that nopales were my favorite ingredient! Maybe it was all those times I would get stung by one of the fine needles when handling them, lol! Or many I was intimidated by the sticky bab, ha, ha, ha! Neither one of them bother me in the least now. I absolutely love them and can confidently say that I would choose a grilled nopal taco over a meat taco! Wow! I’ve come a long way! Cactus is tender, a little waxy in texture, like green beans and has a citrus note. Some people don’t enjoy the tartness, but I feel the older the cactus paddles are, they could be a bit sour.

It only makes sense to combine picadillo and nopales!

For me, picadillo is one of the top Mexican comfort foods. It’s loved by kids and adults, both. Nopales are tasty when combine with beef, pork, chicken, seafood, potatoes, in salads, soups, green juices and so much more. If you get a chance, grill them for taco night or you can add breading or a batter to a cheese stuffed cactus paddle and fry them. Ladle on some warm caldillo and you have a delicious meal.

Besides salt and pepper, what are your go to spices for Mexican food?

Besides salt and pepper, I typically reach for granulated garlic(as well as fresh), oregano, cumin. Those are the most simple and basic. And no, I do not add comino(cumin) to every thing I prepare. There are certain dishes that I enjoy a little more comino in, like my pork or beef chile verde recipes or my red chile pork for tamales. Mom always had a jar in the cupboard, but it was used sparingly. Mom did not cook with fresh minced garlic, ever. The only times I saw her reach for fresh garlic was when she was using the whole bulb in beans, big ollas of caldo or cooking large portions of pork for tamales. Some of the other spices I keep for Mexican cooking are, all spice, coriander, canela(cinnamon), clove, bay leaves, some pure chile powders , thyme, marjoram and a few others that I can’t remember, lol!

Do you wing it most times for dinner or are you a prep ahead kind of person?

When I used to work outside of the home, I could pretty much cook meals at a moments notice with a quick run to the market. That’s how mom cooked. Or I should say, she cooked with the ingredients she had on hand. But, she made sure there were a few choices of protein in the freezer, like ground beef or chicken pieces. Beans and rice were staples and easy to prepare sides for most meals. I was always very familiar with the ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry and I would start to think of the meal I would prepare ahead of time while I was working. To me, it was always the better option, than going out to eat and spending extra money.

Salsas/Sauces!

I find myself preparing certain salsa/sauces all of the time because I can use them in a variety of recipes. Simple Chile Ancho Sauce can be used in soups(caldos), stews(guisados) and enchiladas. Chile Verde Sauce, the same. And then there is the tomato based sauces like Caldillo which is a bit more loose and delicious over chiles rellenos and tacos ahogados. A simple Tomato Salsa is tasty for entomatadas and all kinds of egg dishes like huevos en salsa or huevos rancheros.

In my cooking, I typically use 80/20 lean ground beef or ground chuck.

Are you a minced fresh garlic cook or do you prefer the garlic in jar?

I add onion and garlic to all of my Mexican meat dishes. How about you?

How To Cook Nopales!

To cook freshly diced nopales, simply place them in a sauce pan with a little salt, fresh onion, garlic clove and chile serrano. Heat the covered saucepan to medium/low heat. The nopales will release their own liquid after a few minutes. Cook, stirring now and then, until most of the liquid has evaporated. 

If you are not crazy about nopalitos, you could substitute with green beans in this recipe. Tasty!

Chile ancho is one of the more mild dried chiles, but if you want to add some heat, add 4-6 chile de arbol to the recipe.

More Green Chile Recipes!

There are various recipes on site where green chile is featured. When I can get my hands on Hatch green chile I will use it, but for the most part Anaheim peppers are delicious as well. Find a dozen more recipes HERE!

More Picadillo Recipes!

Picadillo con Papas (potatoes) is my first choice when it comes to favorites. Picadillo Ranchero and Picadillo con Verduras(vegetables) are close second and third!

How To Cook Beans!

My first choice is to use my traditional pressure cooker because it’s pretty efficient and fast! When I am not in such a hurry, the traditional olla de barro (clayware pot) cooks beans low and slow. I personally have never cooked pinto beans in the crockpot, but I know some people do and they enjoy that method.

After the first night of enjoying this delicious picadillo, the next day it was tamal time!

You have never had a tamal with picadillo? They’re tasty! Just take your basic masa for tamal recipe and surprise your family with these hearty beef tamales. There so many variations on preparing tamales. Get the scoop HERE!

Of course, there must be leftover tamales with eggs on top and a spicy salsa! The best!

And not just tamales, also delicious in tacos dorados, enchiladas, burritos, sopes, gorditas, tostadas and more!