Cowboy Caviar

Cowboy Caviar (also known as Texas Caviar) is a flavorful and colorful salad made of corn, black eyed peas, black beans, and a variety of veggies. It can also be served with tortilla chips and eaten as a dip. This refreshing Cowboy Caviar Recipe is perfect for warm days and weekend lounging.

What Is Cowboy Caviar?

Though Cowboy Caviar (also called Texas Caviar) is technically a salad, it’s made with finely chopped veggies as well as beans and corn, making it also suitable as a dip.

This Texas Caviar Recipe is tossed in a lime vinaigrette which adds a nice tang to the overall flavor composition. Additionally, one of the main ingredients in this recipe, which makes it stand out, are the black eyed peas; they add a nice earthy flavor and are also an excellent source of protein.

Similar to corn salsa and pico de Gallo, Cowboy Caviar can be used in a variety of ways. It can be stuffed into a taco shell to make Cowboy Caviar Tacos. It can also be tucked into burritos or quesadillas. You can also add a heaping scoop of it to your Spanish rice! Or, my favorite, add it as a topping to nachos.

Cowboy Caviar Ingredients

For full recipe details, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. What follows is just a brief summary of the ingredients and instructions for making Cowboy Caviar.

1. Roma tomatoes
2. Avocados
3. Red onion
4. Black beans
5. Black eyed peas
6. Sweet corn
7. Bell pepper
8. Jalapeno
9. Cilantro

Cowboy Caviar Dressing Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Lime juice
• Red wine vinegar
• Garlic powder

How To Make Cowboy Caviar

1. Chop up veggies – Finely chop tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, and cilantro.
2. Cut avocado – Cut avocado into small cubes.
3. Combine all salad ingredients into a bowl – Add black beans, corn, black eyed peas, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, avocado, and cilantro to a large mixing bowl.
4. Make dressing – In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, and garlic powder.
5. Add dressing to salad – Pour the dressing onto the salad and toss to combine.
6. Garnish and serve – Garnish with extra cilantro and avocado; serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe Tips and Variations

• Cutting the avocado – Slice the avocado in half, remove the seed, and then score it into small pieces using a knife. Finally, using a spoon, scoop out the avocado and it should fall apart into small cubes.
• Substitutes – You can substitute red onion for green onion, black beans for pinto beans, and (if you want to add a little more heat) jalapeño can be substituted for Serrano pepper.
• Sweet corn options – You can use either canned or frozen. Additionally, you can use fresh corn; see my How To Boil Corn On The Cob recipe.

Serving Suggestions

As previously mentioned, this Cowboy Caviar Recipe is extremely versatile and can be eaten as a salad, a dip, a side, or a garnish. Also, can also be stuffed into tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. Here are a couple quick ideas to get you started.

• Serve with my Homemade Tortilla Chips.
• Make a Cowboy Caviar Salad by tossing in arugula, quinoa, and broken pieces of tortilla chips.
• Use as a garnish for Lentil Tacos or Vegan Chimichangas.
• Add a nice heaping spoonful on top of Spanish rice.
• Use as a garnish for my Healthy Vegan Nachos.

Is Cowboy Caviar Healthy?

Yes, this wonderful Texas Caviar recipe contains a variety of healthy ingredients like black beans, olive oil, avocado, and black eyed peas. The black beans and black eyed peas in this recipe are a wonderful source of protein. Additionally, both olive oil and avocado or excellent sources of healthy fats.

More Vegan Dip Recipes

• Black Bean And Corn Salsa
• Pico De Gallo With Avocado
• Mango Black Bean Salsa
• Chipotle Corn Salsa
• Vegan Ceviche
• Escabeche
• Lemon Dill Hummus
• Beet Hummus