Cowboy Caviar Recipe- Balancing Motherhood (2024)

Food

This Cowboy Caviar recipe is colorful, bursting with flavor, and makes a perfect salsa for your upcoming party. It’s full of sweet corn, beans, peppers, and topped with a delicious oil vinaigrette.

Cowboy caviar is a great appetizer recipe. It’s a cross between bean salad and salsa. I love serving it with chips, but it’s so good that you might eat it by the forkful. As a bonus, it makes for a great recipe to take to any party. You might also like our Beer Cheese Dip recipe.

Cowboy Caviar Recipe

This simple cowboy caviar recipe is one of the go-to salsa that I make. It seems like no matter where we take it people rave about how good it is.

This salsa comes together so quickly and is not too hot and spicy which makes it perfect for a party of gathering.

What is Cowboy Caviar otherwise known as Texas Caviar?

Texas Caviar is a mash-up between a salsa, a dip, and a salad. Typically made either black beans or black-eyed peas (I love using both in my cowboy caviar recipe) it’s the perfect recipe to make because you probably have all the ingredients on hand.

On top of the bean, corn and tomato mixture is a delicious vinaigrette dressing that adds a punch of flavor to the dish.

Cowboy Caviar Recipe Ingredients

• Olive Oil – Olive oil is a great base for making this recipe and adds a robust flavor. Choose an Extra Virgin Olive Oil when making this Cowboy Caviar recipe.
• Sugar – Sugar adds just the tiniest bit of sweetness to this recipe so don’t forget to add it because it makes a big difference with the flavor.
• Lime Juice – Lime juice adds a punch of flavor, which in my opinion makes the flavor of all the ingredients come together amazingly well.
• White Wine Vinegar – White Wine Vinegar adds a nice acidic bite to Cowboy Caviar. Be sure you opt for a plain white vinegar.
• Garlic Powder – Garlic powder is a strong flavor to add to any Tex-Mex dish.
• Salt – Salt enhances the flavors of all the other ingredients. Salt is the number 1 under used spice, but it adds so much to every dish.
• Roma Tomatoes – Roma tomatoes have an egg-like shape and are longer than other tomatoes. You will find that they are less juicy and don’t add moisture to your dish like any other type of tomato would. They also stay firmer while seeding and dicing which makes the perfect tomato for this recipe.
• Black eyed peas – Interesting fact Black Eyed Peas are not peas but a variety of a bean related to the cowpea and can bring a nice earthy taste to a dish. If you are not a fan of black eyed peas you can use black beans only.
• Black Beans – Black beans bring a mild taste and creamy texture to Cowboy Caviar. Be sure when you are using canned black beans that you drain and rinse them until the water runs clear.
• Sweet Corn – Sweet Corn has many health benefits that include lowering blood sugar and cholesterol level. This makes it a perfect addition to Cowboy Caviar while it adds flavor and a nice crunchy texture it’s also providing your body with essential minerals.
• Red Onion – Red Onion brings a different taste than a yellow onion and helps add a pop of color when served raw in this Cowboy Caviar recipe.
• Green bell pepper – Green bell pepper are mainly composed of water. Like the red onion, they also bring color to this dish and a nice crunch to this salsa.
• Jalapeno – Jalapenos are a way to bring some heat to Cowboy Caviar. The more heat you like the more you want to add. If you aren’t looking for much heat you can always deseed the jalapeno first before adding it in.
• Cilantro – Cilantro adds the finishing touch to this recipe. If you are not a fan of cilantro you can leave it out without changing the flavor of the dish too much. Be sure to chop it well so you don’t get a big piece of cilantro.

Should I Use Fresh Corn or Canned Corn for Cowboy Caviar?

For this recipe, I typically use a can of sweet corn since it is prepped and ready to go. Just drain the corn and add it to the other ingredients. Be sure to get just regular corn in water, don’t use cream corn for this recipe.

Making the Best Cowboy Caviar

This is the best cowboy caviar recipe. Within 10 minutes, you have the perfect dish to take with you to your next potluck or to serve with dinner.

How to Make Cowboy Caviar

• In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, lime juice, white vinegar, garlic powder, and salt.
• Next, stir in the corn, red onion, green pepper, and jalapeno.
• Seed and dice your roma tomatoes.
• Rinse and drain your black beans and your black eyed peas.
• Gently stir in your beans and roma tomatoes.
• Finally, add in your cilantro if you desire.
• Cover and chill until you are ready to serve.

Tips and Notes for Making this Cowboy Caviar Recipe

• Don’t forget the lime! The lime juice gives this cowboy caviar delicious flavor.
• If you find jalapeno to be too spicy, go ahead and deseed it. This takes out a lot of the added spice that leaves your mouth burning.
• To increase the spiciness of this Texas Caviar you can always keep the seeds when dicing the jalapeno or increase the amount of jalapeno you add.

How Can I serve Texas Caviar?

Texas Caviar is normally served as a dip or salsa, but it can also be served as a salad.

• Tacos
• Burritos
• Topped on Salad
• With baked chicken
• On a white, mild fish

How Do I Store Cowboy Caviar Recipe?

This recipe makes for great leftovers. You’ll want to store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap to keep it fresh.

How Long Does Cowboy Caviar Last?

Cowboy Caviar is safe to eat for 4-5 days when stored in the refrigerator.

When you go to eat the leftovers you might notice that some of the vegetables have given off a bit of water, this is fine. Just give the dip a good stir to mix it back with the dressing before serving.

Can You Freeze this Cowboy Caviar Recipe?

Because of all the fresh vegetables and herbs, I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The herbs and vegetables will not have the texture they originally had.

What Should I Serve with Cowboy Caviar?

Cowboy Caviar is served best with tortilla chips. But you can also serve it with:

• Bed of lettuce
• Over rice
• In a burrito bowl
• As a salsa

Looking for Other Great Dips? Check out these recipes!

Beer Cheese Dip

Crack Dip Recipe

Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip