Cowboy Caviar is one recipe everyone raves about!
A fresh, simple dip that can be thrown together in under 15 minutes!
This Cowboy Caviar makes a great side dish for any picnic, potluck, or party, and is a great way to use up your summer produce!
I tried cowboy caviar for the first time at a potluck last summer and was instantly obsessed
I didn’t expect it from this unassuming, summery dip that at first glance I confused with chunky salsa or pico de gallo, but one bite and I knew that I was hooked for life.
The saltiness of the chips combined with the freshness of the tomatoes, the crispness of the pepper, the subtle heat of the jalapeno, the faint hint of lime and garlic…. It was heaven.
A replication of the highest order was necessary, and since that first fateful bite last year, I have perfected my own recipe for cowboy caviar and I am so excited to share it with you today.
I made this cowboy caviar for my family last weekend for Easter, and after baking both my signature carrot cake and coffee cake for brunch, I wanted something a little less sweet, and definitely something that wouldn’t require turning on the oven.
This cowboy caviar is easy to make, just a matter of chopping your veggies and tossing everything together.
If you ask me, the trick to the best possible cowboy caviar is to dice the ingredients that need dicing (the tomatoes, onion, pepper, etc — not the beans!) very small, the smaller the better. Try to keep your tomato and avocado pieces petite rather than big and chunky (about bean-sized works great!). An easy way to do this is with my favorite chopper, including for the tomatoes!
To easily cut my avocado, I like to slice it in half and then score it into small pieces using my knife, then just scoop everything out into the bowl with a large spoon!
Everyone who tried this cowboy caviar loved it and the bowl was scraped clean in record time.
P.S. As you can see in the pictures, I love serving these with tortilla chips, but cowboy caviar also tastes amazing eaten straight by the spoon!
Cowboy Caviar
Ingredients
- 3 Roma tomatoes seeds removed, diced
- 2 ripe avocados diced
- ⅓ cup red onion diced
- 15 oz black beans rinsed and drained
- 15 oz black eyed peas rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ cups frozen sweet corn thawed (I just usually toss it in the salad frozen unless I plan on eating it immediately, it thaws quite quickly)
- 1 bell pepper diced (I used half a green and half a red, but color doesn’t matter)
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeds removed, diced into very small pieces
- ⅓ cup Cilantro finely chopped
DRESSING
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice fresh preferred
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- Combine tomatoes, avocado, onion, black beans, black eyed peas, corn, pepper, jalapeno pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl. Toss/stir well so that ingredients are well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Pour dressing over other ingredients and stir/toss very well.
- Keep refrigerated. If not serving immediately, be sure to toss/stir well before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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How big is one serving? I’m trying to figure out how much to make for a group.
For this recipe that would be approximately 1/2 – ⅔ of a cup.
Is there anyway to preserve this longer. Like canning it somehow?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Kat. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Taste galore! I’ve been making this recipe for a couple years now and everybody loves it! My variation has fresh cut corn off the cob, a trio of bell peppers and sometimes I put cucumber. Also, I used to make the dressing as indicated in this recipe until my local stores started selling the Ken’s steakhouse red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. I also add a little dash of apple cider vinegar and season with lawrys garlic salt instead of salt, a little onion powder, and black pepper. Talking about a gorgeous delicious goodness…OMG!
Your version sounds wonderful Keisha!
Amazing!!! This also goes great in fish tacos!!!
Fantastic! I added Avacado and the ones I had were a little riper than I wanted so I used my emulsion blender and mixed with the dressing. Came out so creamy and beautiful in color. Can’t wait to share with my guests.
Fresh and tasty. Perfect for a potluck. I added a little cumin too.
This was a hit at the potluck luncheon.
Everyone wanted the recipe, which I was glad to share.
Absolutely delicious! I am trying to add more vegan recipes to my diet and this one is so versatile. Not only a great dip but addition to salads and would make a great taco/burrito filling. Next time I make it, I might add fresh garlic instead and add cumin to give it up more Latin flair. By the way, it gets better overnight. Thanks so much!
You’re so very welcome Gale! We sure love this cowboy caviar too!
I love adding feta & cucumber!
This is one of my favorite recipes to take to a potluck to share with others. I don’t like cilantro, so I don’t add it. I get rave reviews every time I bring it.
best summer salad or dip!!
Awesome recipe and one I’ve made before!! Pulled this up to make on a family beach trip towards the end of the week with our leftovers. Surprisingly close to the original despite having to make some alterations and subs! Cut corn from the cob leftover from boil, had apple cider vinegar and upped the lime juice a squeeze to make it more like red wine vinegar taste, didn’t have black beans, and used jarred roasted red bell pepper instead of fresh, not as crisp and crunchy but the flavor is there!! Thanks for the awesome recipe!!
Thanks again, Holly, for another great recipe. I made this today for my cousins 25th Wedding Anniversary party and everyone loved it! I will be adding this to my “recipe box” along with so many other winners from your website! This is so tasty I’m thinking of making an extra batch to keep in the fridge to spoon over lettuce for an addition to a rather plain salad – I think this would be just the ticket for a yummy lunch.
I love that idea as a salad topper! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
I love this it’s not only healthy it’s yummy
I made this for a club meeting, and everyone raved about it! I used pickled jalapenos instead of fresh because I did not want it too spicy for a group. But if making it for my family, I would definitely go with fresh!
Another great recipe. I didn’t have any tortilla chips on hand. I was also too lazy to make any so I made street tacos. I added smoked paprika and creole seasoning to the dip and topped with cheese and parsley. Very versatile recipe. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve made this recipe twice and wonder why I haven’t made it more often! It is so good and refreshing! I’m not a huge fan of avocados but in this recipe I can eat them. I love the taste and texture of this salad. I’ve added it to some GF macaroni noodles, served it on homemade chips or just eaten it out of the container by itself. Good stuff.
Delicious and refreshing! I didn’t add any avocado just to save WW points, but I’m sure it only adds to it! A+
Love this recipe.
Refreshing!