09/18/2026
🌵 This Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re highlighting a produce staple with thousands of years of history: nopales.
Native to Mexico, the nopal has deep roots in Indigenous history. Long before the arrival of the Spanish, Indigenous peoples cultivated and relied on this resilient cactus. Its ability to thrive in dry landscapes made it a valuable resource its tender pads, known as nopales, and its fruit, called tunas, provided food, while the plant also had medicinal and practical uses.
Even the name carries its Indigenous heritage. The Spanish word nopal comes from the Nahuatl word nohpalli.
For the Mexica, the nopal also became a powerful cultural symbol. According to their founding tradition, an eagle perched upon a nopal marked the place where Tenochtitlán would be established. That imagery has endured for centuries and can still be seen at the center of Mexico’s flag today. 🇲🇽
But the story of the nopal isn’t only found in history.
Today, nopales remain part of everyday Mexican food and culture. They can be found growing in home gardens, sold fresh at markets and grocery stores, and prepared in family kitchens in everything from huevos con nopales and ensaladas to tacos and countless traditional recipes.
From an Indigenous source of nourishment to an enduring symbol of Mexican identity, nopales have connected generations through food, history and tradition.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, Superior Grocers celebrates the foods that carry our heritage forward. Find fresh nopales in our Produce Department. 🌵
