Licuado de Nopal (Cactus Smoothie)
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Updated Oct 05, 2026
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This refreshing Licuado de Nopal (Cactus Smoothie) is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh nopales beyond the savory Mexican dishes I grew up eating. Made with raw nopal, cucumber, fresh lime juice, and water, it’s light, tart, and comes together in just 2 minutes.
I first learned about this simple licuado from my friend Ania more than a decade ago, when we discovered our shared love of nopales during a Christmas gathering. She told me she drank a nopal smoothie every morning and shared her simple combination with me. I’ve been making my own version ever since.
Why This Is Muy Bueno
What I love most about this cactus smoothie is its simplicity. My version uses just four ingredients: fresh raw nopal, cucumber, lime juice, and water. There’s no added sugar, dairy, or complicated prep.
I also like to clean and slice several nopal paddles at once, portion them into freezer bags, and keep them frozen for smoothies. That little bit of prep makes this 2-minute licuado especially easy to blend in the morning.
Ingredients
You only need four simple ingredients to make my licuado de nopal:
- Nopal: Use a fresh, cleaned cactus paddle with the spines removed. You can use it fresh or frozen. Learn how to clean and prepare nopales.
- Cucumber: Peel and chop it before blending.
- Lime: Freshly squeezed lime juice gives the smoothie its bright, tart flavor.
- Water: Use more as needed for a thinner consistency.
- Crushed ice, optional: For a colder, frostier smoothie.
How to Make Licuado de Nopal
This cactus smoothie takes just a couple of minutes to make. If you’re starting with a whole cactus paddle, first clean and prepare the nopal by removing the spines and trimming the edges. You can use the nopal fresh or use some that you’ve already sliced and frozen.
Step 1: Add the ingredients. Place the nopal, cucumber, fresh lime juice, water, and crushed ice, if using, in a blender.
Step 2: Blend. Blend until smooth, adding a little more water if needed to reach your preferred consistency.
Licuado de Nopal Variations
I love this licuado de nopal as written, but it’s also easy to customize depending on what you have on hand or how sweet you like your smoothies.
- Adjust the consistency: For a thinner smoothie, add a little more water and blend until smooth.
- Coconut water: Replace the water with coconut water.
- Add fruit: Blend in frozen pineapple, mango, banana, or berries for natural sweetness.
- Lemon instead of lime: Fresh lemon juice works well if you don’t have lime.
Have you tried another fruit combination with nopal? Let me know in the comments. I always love hearing how you make these recipes your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. I use cleaned, raw nopal in this licuado. There’s no need to cook it first. If you’re starting with a whole cactus paddle, be sure to remove the spines and trim the edges before washing and adding it to the blender. See my guide to preparing nopales for step-by-step instructions.
I like to cube and freeze my cleaned nopales before making this smoothie. Blend the ingredients thoroughly, and add a little more water as needed until you reach your preferred consistency.
Look for fresh nopales in the produce section of Mexican or Latin markets and many well-stocked supermarkets. You may find whole cactus paddles with the spines intact or nopales that have already been cleaned and trimmed.
I enjoy this licuado as written, but you can blend in pineapple, mango, banana, or berries for natural sweetness.
More Nopal Recipes
Did you make this Licuado de Nopal? I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a ⭐ star rating and a comment below.
Ingredients
- ½ cup nopal (cactus paddle), cleaned, spines removed, and sliced
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 cup water
- crushed ice, optional
Instructions
- Add the nopal, cucumber, lime juice, water, and crushed ice, if using, to a blender.
- Blend until smooth. Add additional water as needed to reach your preferred consistency.
Notes
- Meal-prep tip: I like to clean and slice fresh nopales, portion them into freezer bags, and freeze them for smoothies. You can blend the nopal straight from frozen.
- Consistency: For a thinner licuado, blend longer or add a little more water.
- Coconut water: You can replace the water with coconut water if you prefer.
- Sweeter smoothie: For natural sweetness, blend in frozen pineapple, mango, banana, or berries.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Jeanine Thurston & Jenna Sparks
This looks so refreshing — I am making it in the morning. I could do with something that will add radiance to my skin. But you don’t think it increases one’s chances of having twins, do you?? 🙂
By the way, your nopal pads are so much larger than what I can find here in the grocery stores — just small, tender ones. They are very good, but don’t make great “plates”.
Kathleen
Kathleen: LOL! Twins?! Hmmm, not that I know of! But if that happens be sure to tell us. Hey, maybe this is what the celebrities drink in Hollywood with the epidemic of multiples 😉
Interesting about the size of nopales?! I remember my grama’s thorny cactus bush in the backyard being HUGE — Must be a U.S. thing 😉
Also…the reason most diets fail is because people do not strictly follow the guidelines and deviate from them. And eating at night is a NO NO. Stop eating at night and you will see a weight loss. Unfortunately this is a Western syndrome which is why obesity is so epidemic.
Mary Ellen: You are preaching to the choir! I know its naughty, and am determined to try harder. Wish me luck!
I am going to add this smoothie as a mixer for tequila. I live in Tijuana where any imported spirits including wine are expensive so tequila is the drink of choice.
I’ve already used cucumber (pepino) as a mixer drink with tequila so this will be perfect! Adding 1/3 of a jalapeno will give it a kick!
Mary Ellen: Tequila makes everything yummier! We’d love to hear how your mixer turns out! Feel free to share a photo of it on our Facebook page! My mouth is watering now!!!
Does this drink aid in lowering A1C numbers for diabetic?
Wow. Your food looks just amazing. What a creative drink! We’d love to see your stuff posted at dishfolio.com!
Hi Lacy: Thanks for the compliment! We will definitely look into dishfolio.com. Gracias!
I have a shake that I drink almost every morning with lots of “good for you” stuff in it that tastes amazing (http://cookmarked.com/recipe.aspx?eID=kHGwP6ADYslIwuhVxc9Zj4A2yEpUG9r7p7cjqGkW158e). I might try adding the cactus to it. Thanks for the great info!
Sounds yummy!!! My hubby is a fan of smoothies and loves drinking fruit ones. I’m more of a warm breakfast kinda girl in the winter so this has been challenging for me 😉
This is a really cool concept. It just seems so fresh and natural! I’ve been attempting to eat healthier, but as you could probably see from my blog I’m not exactly succeeding yet..
Jess : )
http://www.livininthekitchen.wordpress.com
I’ve never eaten or drunk cactus before! I wonder if I can get it in Paris?
Jessica: I’ve never been to Paris (sigh). Let me know if you find it — so curious 😉
I was just going to ask 2 questions and noticed they were already answered. Thanks.
OK for better skin and a few pounds, I’m willing to give it a try. Did I read it correctly, you said it doesn’t taste bad- do you pinky swear?! Smile…
I’m not sure if our local store carries them, but we do have a mexican store in town. I will give this a try- I have never tried cactus before.
Just curious besides the smoothie, does one eat them as carrots with skin and all?
XO
Joyce: I totally pinky swear!!! I have grown to actually like them. I love fresh juices and love wheatgrass and stuff like that. So if you are not into fresh earthy tastes then you might not like it. And yes, skin and all 😉
Ok, this is a stupid question but please don’t laugh 🙂 Do the thorns in the cactus dissapear when you blend it to make tthe smoothie?
Angie: Not a dumb question at all. Buy the pads from the store with thorns off, then you want to be sure to remove any little thorns/spines left over by running the knife up and down the pad or rubbing them off with a kitchen sponge. They even sell fresh nopales sometimes pre-cut, but do not buy the ones that are in a jar.
I need to begin drinking this NOW!! lol, yes the tortilla and salsa are addicting, the color is amainz, thanks for not lying about the taste..lol
sweetlife
The taste is really not that bad. It tastes very fresh with the cucumber. I actually like it, but others might not like the fresh pulp texture 😉