Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe (2024)

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This easy Cowboy Caviar dip is a colorful blend of fresh ingredients and mild spices with a touch of lime juice. It’s a wonderful appetizer to serve with your favorite tortilla chips and quick to make in less than 15 minutes.

Love easy Mexican dip recipes? This Rotel Dip and this Layered Taco Dip are both absolute favorites too!

Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe (1)

I was first introduced to cowboy caviar at dinner with my mother-in-law a few years ago. Some people refer to it as Texas Caviar or Mexican Caviar. It’s a very popular, simple dip that is to made up of fresh ingredients – black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado and more!

Some versions are made with added sugar for a sweeter taste. Add a little diced jalapeno peppers for a spicy version.

It can also be eaten as a salad or even as a fabulous Tex-Mex topping to fish, chicken and evenRice Bowls or this easy Salsa Verde Chicken.

How to Make this Easy Cowboy Caviar Dip

Cowboy Caviar is one of the easiest appetizer recipes to make. It’s perfect for larger gatherings.

In a large bowl, blend the olive oil, white wine vinegar, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, and salt together.

Add the tomatoes, black-eyed peas, beans, corn, red onion, bell peppers, and cilantro.

Cover and chill for at least an hour for flavors to blend.

Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe (2)

Since it is made with beans and vegetables, Cowboy Caviar is gluten-free. Be sure to choose a gluten-free chip, like tortillas chips to dip with. It is also vegan!

Variations

You can always change up the extra ingredients in Cowboy Caviar if you prefer.

Try adding minced garlic, green bell peppers instead of red, feta cheese and/or black olives too.

You can also substitute green onions for the red onions. If you would like to make it without cilantro, feel free to do that as well if you prefer.

Tips

Mix up the Cowboy Caviar aheadof time (at least 3-4 hours) to allow the flavors to blend well together.

Serve with your favorite chips and be ready to hand out the recipe when you make it for a crowd.

You can store Cowboy Caviar in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days.

Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe (3)

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Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe (4)

Cowboy Caviar

Cowboy Caviar is a colorful blend of fresh ingredients, beans, and mild spices with a touch of lime juice. Serve with your favorite chips for a fabulous, healthy appetizer.

5 from 235 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 182kcal

Author: Sherri Hagymas

Ingredients

  • cup olive oil
  • cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • Juice of ½ a lime
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
  • 15 ounces 15 ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
  • 15 ounces 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 11 ounces 11 ounce can super sweet corn, drained
  • 1 red onion diced
  • 1 cup red bell pepper diced
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sugar optional (up to ¼ cup if preferred)

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, blend the olive oil, white wine vinegar, chili powder, cumin, lime juice and salt together.

  • Add the tomatoes, black-eyed peas, beans, corn, red onion, bell peppers and cilantro.

  • Cover and chill for at least 1 hour for flavors to blend.

  • Serve with your favorite chips, as a side dish or as a topping for fish or chicken

  • ENJOY!!

Notes

If possible, make it 3-4 hours before serving to let the flavors blend together even more.

Substitute fresh corn off the cob, or frozen corn instead of the canned corn.

Substitute green onions for red onion if you prefer.

Use red wine vinegar or apple cidar vinegar is that’s what you have on hand.

Add up to ¼ cup of sugar if you prefer a sweeter variety. I wouls start with one Tablespoon and test your preference.

Nutrition

Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 423mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 915IU | Vitamin C: 23.7mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 2.2mg

Nutritional Disclosure

Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

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Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is cowboy caviar made of? ›

Cowboy Caviar (or Cowboy Salsa) is a popular chip dip that originated out of Texas. It's also sometimes called Texas Caviar and it's made with simple, healthy ingredients including: beans, corn, bell pepper, avocado, and tomato. It is the perfect appetizer for parties, potlucks, or game day!

How long will cowboy caviar last in the refrigerator? ›

How long can you keep Cowboy Caviar in the fridge? If stored in an airtight container this dip can be kept in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Keep in mind, the longer your dip sits in the fridge the more excess liquid that will accumulate. Just drain off excess juices and enjoy!

Why is Cowboy Caviar so good? ›

WELL, the Cowboy Caviar is full of different colorful plants such as peppers, jalapeno, tomatoes, onion, corn, cilantro, and more which means a large variety of nutrients in every bite! The punch of nutrition packed with the fiber rich beans is a great gut-friendly combo to enjoy!

What is the real name for cowboy caviar? ›

What Is Cowboy Caviar? Cowboy caviar, also called Texas caviar, is a refreshing salad of black-eyed peas and other ingredients tossed in a vinaigrette dressing. It was invented in 1940 by Helen Corbitt in Texas.

How do you make caviar? ›

The traditional way of making Caviar is by capturing the sturgeon even when it is alive. It gives it a blow so that it is stunned; then, the ovarian sacks are extracted. The roe is passed through a sieve to loosen the eggs and separate them from the membrane.

What are the three main types of caviar? ›

It is the smallest among the three most luxurious types of caviar, namely Beluga, Ossetra, and Sevruga. Despite its petite size, Sevruga caviar is known for its full-bodied flavor and smooth, velvety texture.

What is the best way to eat black beans? ›

Best Black Bean Recipes

Season them with lime juice and zest, chili powder, oregano, and/or cilantro, and serve them as a side dish with Mexican or Latin American-inspired dishes like tacos or taquitos. Paired with some cilantro lime rice, they could also pass as a meal on their own!

How can you tell if caviar has gone bad? ›

A strong, fishy odor indicates spoilage. Color and Appearance: Any significant changes in color or appearance can be a sign of deterioration. Texture: The eggs should be firm yet delicate. If they become mushy or overly hard, the caviar is likely spoiled.

What is the controversy with cowboy caviar? ›

After Bria's recipe got popular on TikTok, several people called her out for cultural appropriation, claiming that cowboy caviar was a white-washed version of the popular Mexican salsa, pico de gallo, which is traditionally made with chopped tomato, onion, serrano peppers, and cilantro.

What is Cowboy Caviar from Trader Joe's? ›

Instead of black- eyed peas, however, our “caviar” of choice is black beans that are mixed together with corn, onions and red bell peppers. Pickled in a blend of chipotle peppers, adobo sauce and lime juice, this crunchy, savory salsation carries southwestern character and enough heat to take note.

Why was caviar cheap? ›

Historically, Caviar was always wild and from the Caspian Sea. Some time ago ALL wild Caviar fishing was banned. This means that all Caviar for sale currently is farmed, this is obviously a less expensive method of obtaining Caviar.

When did cowboy caviar come out? ›

First served at the Houston Country Club on New Year's Eve in the early 1940s, this bean salad was dubbed “Texas Caviar” in a humorous comparison to true caviar. Today it's more commonly known as Cowboy Caviar and it's a popular dish to serve as at picnics and tailgate parties, often with tortilla chips.

What is cowboy caviar salsa? ›

Cowboy Caviar, also known as “Texas Caviar,” is a beefed-up Pico De Gallo type salsa, but unique because it's loaded with beans, avocado, and corn and is dressed with our special ingredient, Italian dressing. It's so colorful with all of the fresh vegetables and those black beans add a great source of protein.

What is the nickname of caviar? ›

Black gold”, or “white gold” are names given to caviar; the exquisitely delicious eggs sometimes to be found behind the base of the gills of certain species are actually gold in colour; a 24 carat gold tin contains Almas caviar, the most expensive in the world: 25,000 Euro per kilo. And that's not all...

Is caviar sturgeon sperm? ›

No. Caviar is eggs from wild sturgeon, Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga, from the Caspian Sea and Black Sea .

Is caviar just sturgeon eggs? ›

No, while traditional caviar does come from sturgeon, the term can also apply to the roe of other fish like salmon, trout, carp, lumpfish, and whitefish. Only roe from the Acipenseriformes order (containing sturgeons) can officially be called caviar. The eggs of other fish are considered caviar substitutes.

What type of meat is caviar? ›

Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea (beluga, ossetra and sevruga caviars). The term caviar can also describe the roe of other species of sturgeon or other fish such as paddlefish, salmon, steelhead, trout, lumpfish, whitefish, or carp.

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