Prickly pear
Prickly pear
Prickly pear commonly means the edible fruit of Opuntia cacti, with juicy seeded flesh eaten fresh or processed into juice, pulp, syrup or preserves.
About Prickly pear
Prickly pear commonly refers to the edible fruit of prickly pear cacti, especially Opuntia species. The oval fruit has a thick skin that may be green, yellow, orange, red or purple, with small spines or hairlike glochids that require careful removal. Its juicy flesh contains many hard seeds and is usually mildly sweet, with a flavour reminiscent of melon or pear.
The fruit is eaten fresh after peeling and is also sold as juice, pulp, syrup or preserves. Colour, sweetness and seediness vary among types and maturity stages. Nutrition comparisons should distinguish the fresh edible flesh from strained juice, concentrated products and sweetened preserves, which may contain different proportions of fruit solids and added ingredients.
- Ingredient type
- whole food
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Local names for prickly pear
Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.
Cactus pear
Tuna
Prickly pear, peeled, raw
Search alias · Not a confirmed translation
Prickly pears, broiled (Northern Plains Indians)
Search alias · Not a confirmed translation
Prickly pears, flesh and seeds
Search alias · Not a confirmed translation
Prickly pears, raw
Search alias · Not a confirmed translation
Prickly pears, raw (Northern Plains Indians)
Search alias · Not a confirmed translation
Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.
Name not available yet.
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Prickly pear nutrition & diet
Prickly pear nutritional value
Prickly pears, raw
Per 100 g of the edible portion in the recorded USDA food form.
- Calories
- 41kcal
- Protein
- 0.7g
- Carbs
- 9.6g
- Fat
- 0.5g
Reference values for the displayed USDA form. Varieties, brands and preparation can differ.
Fresh peeled flesh, strained juice, concentrates and sweetened preserves differ in water, retained solids and added ingredients; comparisons should use the same form.
Dietary compatibility
- VeganNot established
- VegetarianNot established
- PescatarianNot established
- KetoNot established
- PaleoNot established
- Low-carbNot established
- HalalNot established
- KosherNot established
What these diet assessments mean
- Vegan · Not established
- The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
- Vegetarian · Not established
- The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
- Pescatarian · Not established
- The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
- Keto · Not established
- A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
- Paleo · Not established
- The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
- Low-carb · Not established
- A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
- Halal · Not established
- Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
- Kosher · Not established
- Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.
For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.
AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.
Sources & review
Nutrition reference: USDA FoodData Central — Prickly pears, raw ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.
Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.
The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.
Last recorded verification: .