Nutrition facts · Vegetables
Calories in Nopales (cooked)
Cooked nopales (cactus pads) have 15 calories per 100 g, and a 1 cup serving (149 g) has 22 calories. Most of those calories come from carbohydrates, at 3.3 g per 100 g, with 2 g of that as fiber, while fat is almost zero at 0.1 g.
Calories come from: Carbs 67% · Fat 5% · Protein 28%
Common servings
| Serving | Weight | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 15 kcal | 1.4 g | 3.3 g | 0.1 g |
| 1 cup | 149 g | 22 kcal | 2 g | 4.9 g | 0.1 g |
| 1 pad | 29 g | 4 kcal | 0.4 g | 1 g | 0 g |
Full nutrition (Per 100 g)
| Calories | 15 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 1.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3.3 g |
| of which sugars | 1.1 g |
| Fiber | 2 g |
| Fat | 0.1 g |
| of which saturated | 0 g |
| Sodium | 20 mg |
What changes the calories
- Cooking fat makes the biggest difference, since nopales sautéed or grilled with oil or butter take on the calories of the fat used.
- Raw and cooked weights differ because nopales release water as they cook, so weigh them in the same state you log them.
- Boiled nopales are often drained and rinsed, which removes liquid but adds no calories, while dishes cooked with cheese, eggs or meat add the calories of those ingredients.
- Jarred or canned nopales may be packed in brine or vinegar, so check the label rather than assuming they match fresh cooked ones.
Tips for logging it accurately
- Weigh cooked nopales after draining for the most accurate entry, or use 1 pad (29 g) as a rough guide if you cook them whole.
- Log any oil, cheese, salsa or tortillas served with the nopales as separate items, since they usually add far more calories than the cactus itself.
- In BerryFit, snap a photo of your nopales dish and then adjust the portion and add any cooking fat so the total reflects what you ate.
Log Nopales (cooked) in seconds
Snap a photo of your meal or search for Nopales (cooked) in BerryFit to track calories and macros against your own daily target.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories are in one cooked nopal pad?
One cooked pad (29 g) has about 4 calories, with 0.4 g of protein and 1 g of carbs.
Are nopales low in carbs?
Cooked nopales have 3.3 g of carbs per 100 g, and 2 g of that is fiber. A 1 cup serving has 4.9 g of carbs.
How much protein do cooked nopales have?
Cooked nopales have 1.4 g of protein per 100 g, or 2 g per cup.
How do nopales compare to other vegetables in calories?
At 15 calories per 100 g, cooked nopales are in the same range as cucumber and kimchi (15), celery and lettuce (14), and napa cabbage and radish (16).
Similar foods
Calories in common foodsValues per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central (Nopales, cooked, without salt, FDC ID 169388); servings use USDA portion weights. Real foods vary by variety, ripeness and preparation.
The text on this page was written with the help of AI (Anthropic's Claude) and checked against the numbers in a separate review. The numbers themselves come only from USDA.
