Cowboy Caviar (AKA Texas Caviar) is a delicious side dish or dip with black beans, black-eyed peas, veggies, and a chili-lime vinaigrette. Perfect as a side salad, appetizer, or potluck dish.
Try some of my other bean salads next — this garbanzo bean salad, quinoa black bean salad, or chickpea salad.
The Best Cowboy Caviar
Growing up, my aunt’s signature dish was Cowboy Caviar. I always asked my mom if my aunt would be at family get-togethers, hoping that meant her Cowboy Caviar would be there too. I was (and still am) totally obsessed.
Cowboy Caviar, also known as Texas Caviar or Mexican Caviar, is a mix between a salad and a dip. It’s made with fresh veggies, black-eyed peas, black beans, and tossed in a light and tangy dressing.
It’s one of my all-time favorite sides, and today I’m sharing a twist on the original Cowboy Caviar with the absolute best dressing plus a few unconventional (but delicious) additions!
Quick Tip
Why is it called cowboy caviar? This salad was made in the 1940s in Austin, Texas, and got the name “Texas Caviar” as a joke since the black-eyed peas look like fancy caviar. It’s also called “Cowboy Caviar” because Texans and cowboys love beans.
Ingredients In Cowboy Caviar
- Veggies: One of the “secrets” to really good Cowboy Caviar is cutting veggies small so they mix well with beans and fit nicely on chips!
- Beans: Black beans and black eyed peas are the star of the show. Used canned beans or cook up your own. One can of beans is equivalent to one and a half cups cooked beans.
- Dressing: The dressing is light and simple, but packs a punch! It ties all the flavors together and brings out the fresh flavors of our veggies and heartiness of the beans. Make sure to shake it thoroughly before using.
How To Make Cowboy Caviar
There’s nothing tricky about making this dip or salad, but it does take some chopping.
- Start by prepping the veggies and draining the beans. Add everything into a large serving bowl.
- Next prepare the dressing by adding the ingredients to a Mason jar and shaking to combine.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine.
- Serve it as is or (how we like it best) with some good tortilla chips!
Quick Tip
Cut all the tomatoes at once: Place cherry tomatoes between two plates with lips. Hold the top plate securely and use a sharp serrated knife to slice through all the tomatoes in one go!
Tips For Success
- The longer red onions sit in the salad, the stronger their flavor gets. If you’re sensitive, add them right before serving or just to the portion you’ll eat if you plan to have leftovers.
- Dice the avocado last, right before serving, to keep it fresh. Avocados brown quickly, so avoid chopping them too early. Don’t add avocado to any Cowboy Caviar you plan to save for leftovers.
- Control the heat: For extra spice, leave some seeds and ribs in the jalapeño or add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the dressing. For less heat, use mild McCormick® chili powder and remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeño before dicing.
Serving Suggestions
- As a side salad or appetizer
- With tortilla chips as a dip
- As a salad, spooned over romaine lettuce
- Serve Cowboy Caviar into lettuce wraps or a burrito
- Layer over cilantro–lime rice for a vegetarian entree, sprinkled with some crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese
- Add in 1 to 1-1/2 cups cooked diced chicken or shrimp for additional protein.
Storage
How long Does Cowboy Caviar Last?
Without the avocado and dressing added, this dip sits fairly well and will last 2-3 days refrigerated in an airtight container.
Add dressing only to the portions that will be enjoyed immediately; for leftovers, store dip, avocado, and dressing separately. Or simply leave out the avocado.
More Easy Recipes
- Mango Salsa with avocado and red onion
- Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with a lemon dressing
- Cucumber Salad with a balsamic dressing
- Chicken Salad creamy chicken salad with pecans and dried cranberries
- Costco Kale Salad with a creamy poppy seed dressing
Cowboy Caviar
Equipment
- Jar or other sealable container
Ingredients
Salad/Dip
- 1-3/4 cups sweet corn fresh or frozen
- 1-3/4 cups cherry tomatoes quartered, 1 (10-ounce) container
- 1 cup diced bell peppers I use 1/2 red and 1/2 green pepper
- 1/3 cup diced red onion see note 1
- 2 tablespoons finely diced jalapeño see note 2
- 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro measured after chopping; 1 bunch
- 1 (15.25-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black-eyed peas drained and rinsed
- 2 ripe avocados 1 cup, optional
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 large lime
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- Aim to dice the vegetables to roughly the same size as the beans for the best results. If using fresh corn, cut it off the cob. Sauté fresh or frozen corn in a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat, about 5–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked. Let cool completely before adding. Quarter cherry tomatoes, dice bell peppers, and finely dice jalapeño and cilantro.
- Add all the prepped vegetables to a large bowl with the drained and rinsed black beans and black-eyed peas.
- Zest and juice lime to get 1/4 teaspoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice. Add zest and juice along with all other dressing ingredients to a mason jar. Seal the jar and shake until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I add 1/2 teaspoon each).
- Right before serving, dice the optional avocados and gently stir them into the caviar. Drizzle with dressing. (Feel free to use less dressing if desired.) Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt if needed (I add up to 1/2 teaspoon more salt).
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is probably a weird question but how do you eat this? Do you eat it as is with a spoon, or do you eat it like a dip with crackers? I only ask because of the word caviar.
We love using it as a dip with chips or just as a side dish! 🙂
Absolutely addictive!! Should be called Cowboy Crack! I could eat a whole huge bowl of it!
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Chelsea! This is a home run. I made it this morning and brought it to work and it’s gone. Slight changes: 3 jalapenos, seeded, is still mild. 2 tsp Dijon to dressing to emulsify. Out of this world. Thank you, Chelsea.
So glad you enjoyed this Swen!!
{With Video}
I don’t see a video. Do you put this on all your pages to get people to click? Shameful if so.
Try a different browser, it must not be loading for you. There’s definitely a video on this post 🙂
I make cowboy caviar all the time. My family loves it! I also add black olives and orzo pasta. Sometimes I even add bite sized pieces of uncooked broccoli.
Love this! I agree avocado is key. If you really want to kick it up a notch then sauté the onions, jalapeño and corn in butter before adding.
Ooohhh that sounds awesome! I hope you enjoy! 🙂
My sister and I made this for my birthday brisket dinner. It was delicious!!!! It was a perfect side and everyone ate it up. My sis worked at a restaurant in Tx that serves this as a side so she had an idea of how it’s made. Thanks so much. I think it’s another addition for family dinners. I did want to ask: Since this serves 10, how would this measure in cup size? A 1/2 cup or 1/3 cup?
So happy to hear this was a hit! 🙂 Thank you for the comment! I’m not sure for cup size; maybe 1/2 cup (you can divide the whole into 10 equal parts and measure 1 part for an exact amount).
I love all of these ingredients too, I guess I’ve seen this before but don’t remember, anyway, thank you for sharing this recipe and your avocado addition, that’s one of mine too
hey girl- this looks amazing! yummy!
This looks delicious ?. Putting it on my list to try. Maybe I can get my kiddos to try it?.
Thank you Amy! 🙂