Lunch
Nopales salad with black beans and queso fresco
Each serving has 373 kcal, 21.5 g of protein, and 16.9 g of fiber, or 5.8 g of protein per 100 kcal. Ready in 15 minutes; makes 2 servings.
Per serving
- 373 kcalCalories
- 21.5 gProtein
- 16.9 gFiber
Calculated ingredient by ingredient from USDA FoodData Central. 5.8 g of protein per 100 kcal.
- Prepared by
- Alex Gonzalez
- Published
- Sources
- 7 primary
No clinical review. No advertising from drug companies and no affiliate links.How we work
Ingredients
- 300 g11 ozjarred cooked nopales (nopalitos), drained and rinsed (about 2 cups)
- 240 g8.5 ozcanned black beans, drained and rinsed (one 15-ounce can, about 1 1/2 cups)
- 200 g7 oztomatoes, chopped (2 medium)
- 30 g1 ozwhite onion, finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
- 80 g3 ozqueso fresco, crumbled (about 2/3 cup)
- 60 g2 ozavocado, diced (1/2 small)
- Juice of 1 lime
- Chopped cilantro, dried oregano, and salt to taste
- Chopped serrano chile, seeded (optional)
Directions
- Put the nopales in a colander and rinse them under running water until they stop feeling slimy; drain well.
- Drain and rinse the black beans too.
- In a bowl, combine the nopales, beans, tomatoes, onion, and the chile if using.
- Dress with the lime juice, oregano, cilantro, and salt, and let it sit for 5 minutes so the flavors come together.
- Right before serving, scatter the crumbled queso fresco and the avocado on top.
Why it is filling
This is a classic Mexican salad that needs no cooking, because jarred nopales come already cooked. The nopales and beans bring plenty of fiber and volume for few calories, and the beans and queso fresco add the protein. Lime and cilantro brighten the flavor when your appetite is low. Beans give some people gas: rinsing them well and starting with small servings usually helps.
In numbers, each serving has 21.5 g of protein and 16.9 g of fiber, with an energy density of 82 kcal per 100 g of the dish. In the satiety index by Holt and colleagues (1995), the foods that were most filling per calorie were those with more protein, fiber, and water and less fat.
If your appetite is small
- Without the avocado and cheese, the salad keeps for 2 days in the fridge: add them as you serve each portion.
- If you fill up quickly, serve it on a small plate or folded into a corn tortilla as a taco, and save the rest.
Nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per serving | Whole recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 373 kcal | 745 kcal |
| Protein | 21.5 g | 43.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 42.4 g | 84.8 g |
| Fiber | 16.9 g | 33.8 g |
| Fat | 14.9 g | 29.7 g |
| Approximate weight | 455 g (16 oz) | 910 g (32 oz) |
How it is calculated
Each ingredient contributes its per-100 g values from the site’s food database, multiplied by the amount in the recipe. Seasonings, water, and lemon or lime juice are not counted. It is an approximation: the actual size of the foods and how you cook them shift the result a little.
| Ingredient | Amount | Calories | Protein | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooked nopales | 300 g | 45 kcal | 4.1 g | 6 g |
| Cooked black beans | 240 g | 317 kcal | 21.3 g | 20.9 g |
| Tomato | 200 g | 36 kcal | 1.8 g | 2.4 g |
| Onion | 30 g | 12 kcal | 0.3 g | 0.5 g |
| Queso fresco | 80 g | 239 kcal | 14.5 g | 0 g |
| Avocado | 60 g | 96 kcal | 1.2 g | 4 g |
To plan your meals
- Daily protein calculator: an indicative protein range per day and per meal, to see how much of it this recipe covers.
- Weekly menu for small appetites: seven days of small portions with the protein spread across meals, ready to print.
More recipes
432 kcal30.6 grams of protein30 min
324 kcal32.8 grams of protein35 min
269 kcal33.5 grams of protein10 min
Sources
Nutrition values for each ingredient (USDA FoodData Central) and the satiety reference, with the access date.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Nopales, cooked, without salt (FDC ID 169388).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC ID 173735).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC ID 170457).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Onions, raw (FDC ID 170000).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Cheese, fresh, queso fresco (FDC ID 172223).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Avocados, raw, all commercial varieties (FDC ID 171705).accessed .
- European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (PubMed).Holt SH, Miller JC, Petocz P, Farmakalidis E. A satiety index of common foods. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995;49(9):675-90.accessed .