Cowboy caviar, or Texas caviar, is an easy fresh dip that takes less than 15 minutes to whip up.
It is an excellent side dish for a potluck, holiday, barbecue, party, or any time.
You can use your summer produce to make it the freshest summer dip.
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Cowboy Caviar Recipe
This recipe only requires chopping veggies, opening a few cans, and tossing the dressing over everything.
I found a recipe for Cowboy Caviar in a magazine years ago and have been perfecting it to make it the best ever.
Cowboy Caviar Ingredients
- Olive oil
- White or red wine vinegar
- Garlic powder or fresh garlic clove
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Fresh Lime juice
- Sugar
- Salt
- Roma Tomatoes (I used small tomatoes from my garden)
- Can of both black beans, black-eyed peas
- Canned, frozen, or fresh corn
- Red onion
- Green and red bell pepper
- Fresh cilantro
- Green onion
Special Tools:
Dressing
In a wide-mouth jar, add all the dressing ingredients, then screw on the lid and shake to incorporate.
Vegetable Preparation
Place the drained and rinsed black beans and black-eyed peas in a large bowl.
Next, add the drained corn.
Chop/dice the red onion and red and green peppers and place them in the bowl.
Seed and dice the Roma tomatoes, then add them to the bowl.
Rinse, then chop the cilantro and place in the bowl.
Tossing Vegetables with Dressing
Give the dressing jar a few good shakes, remove the lid, and pour over all the vegetables and cilantro. Toss.
Tip: Short on time? You can use a store-bought or homemade Italian dressing for a super-fast variation.
Cowboy Caviar
Equipment
- 1 Chef knife
- 1 Wide mouth jar
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Dressing
- ⅓ cup Olive oil (virgin)
- ⅓ cup White or red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder or one garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ Lime (Juice of ½ of a lime)
- 1 teaspoon grandulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Vegetables
- 5 each Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- *11-ounce can of corn drained
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 Red pepper diced
- ½ Green pepper diced
- 1 cup Fresh cilantro chopped
Garnish
- 1 bunch Green onions
Instructions
Dressing
- In a wide-mouth jar, add all the dressing ingredients, then screw on the lid and shake to incorporate.
Vegetable Preparation
- Place the drained and rinsed black beans and black-eyed peas in a large bowl.
- Next, add the drained corn.
- Chop/dice the red onion, red and green peppers and place in the bowl.
- Seed and dice the Roma tomatoes, and then add them to the bowl.
- Rinse, then chop the cilantro and place in the bowl.
Tossing Vegetables with Dressing
- Give the dressing jar a few good shakes, remove the lid, and pour over all the vegetables and cilantro. Toss.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Serve
I usually serve Cowboy Caviar with tortilla chips, but I also serve it as a topping for grilled chicken or on a bed of fresh salad greens. The possibilities are endless.
Tip: I bake tortillas instead of buying them ready-made for a lighter chip.
Optional: Just before serving garnish with chopped green onions.
More Summer Recipes To Enjoy:
Kippi
Ps. This post was shared on Between Naps on The Porch.
JM Gator fan
Wednesday 16th of April 2025
This is a fantastic appetizer or side dish for any Mexican meal. Tonight it’s a side dish with cornbread chili bake. Low calorie healthy and very satisfying! Refrigerate at least a couple of hours or can be made day before.
Donna
Friday 24th of January 2025
This looks so yummy! It is a great way to incorporate black-eyed peas. I wish I had this recipe on New Year’s Day. I can’t wait to try it!
Michelle
Friday 19th of July 2024
This looks amazing!
Jess
Sunday 7th of July 2024
So colorful! Great recipe and photos!
Tina Weaver
Saturday 6th of July 2024
Great instructions !!! Looking forward to trying this. Thank you !!
Kippi
Saturday 6th of July 2024
@Tina Weaver, Thank you so much for your visit. I hope you enjoy this recipe, too.