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 237 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 controversy? ›

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 made of? ›

Mix black beans, black-eyed peas, diced tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño peppers together in a large bowl. Season with garlic salt, then pour in Italian salad dressing and add cilantro. Mix until well coated. Refrigerate until flavors have melded, at least 20 minutes or up to 3 days, before serving.

How long does cowboy caviar keep 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!

Why is caviar banned in us? ›

Harvesting. The beluga sturgeon is currently considered to be critically endangered, causing the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to ban in 2005 the importation of beluga caviar which originated in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea basin.

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, salsa sensation carries southwestern character and enough heat to take note.

What is the real name for Cowboy Caviar? ›

Texas caviar, also called cowboy caviar, is a bean salad consisting of black-eyed peas lightly pickled in a vinaigrette-style dressing, often eaten as a dip accompaniment to tortilla chips.

What is New Orleans caviar? ›

What is Cajun Caviar®? CAJUN CAVIAR® is a Louisiana seafood delicacy hand harvested from the Choupique fish of the fresh waters of the Atchafalaya Basin. The natural black color and delicate taste of the roe is not compromised by artificial additives, colorings or preservatives.

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.

Can you eat Cowboy Caviar by itself? ›

How to Serve Cowboy Caviar. A great thing about this dish is that you can serve it different ways. It's packed full of tasty vegetables, so it can be enjoyed by itself. With sweet corn, rich beans, and some peppers for flavor and heat, it really does work on its own as a side or salad.

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!

What is the most delicious caviar in the world? ›

If you ask chefs and other authorities in the culinary industry about the best caviar in the world, you'll probably hear Beluga caviar repeatedly. It comes from Beluga sturgeons that swim in the pollution-free waters of the Caspian Sea.

Why is caviar for rich people? ›

The eggs from these fish are carefully extracted and cured with salt to develop their signature texture and complex flavor. Caviar is considered a luxury due to its scarcity, labor-intensive production, and exorbitant pricing.

What is caviar cowboy called? ›

I grew up eating cowboy caviar, also called Texas caviar. It's a classic bean salad recipe popular in the South. You can serve it as a side salad or as salsa.

Why is caviar controversial? ›

Caviar has been criticized and even banned in some jurisdictions for its extreme impact on wild sturgeons, which are the most endangered species group on earth. Sturgeons are intelligent and complex fishes who have lived on this planet for over 200 million years.

Why is wild caviar illegal? ›

Summary: Wild caviar, a pricey delicacy made from sturgeon eggs, has been illegal for decades since poaching brought the fish to the brink of extinction. Today, legal, internationally tradeable caviar can only come from farmed sturgeon, and there are strict regulations in place to help protect the species.

What's the big deal about caviar? ›

Critics call caviar a multi-sensory experience, with savory umami bursts and indulgent texture contrasts. In addition, no two caviars taste identical, as subtle flavors vary by species. These complex characteristics can't be replicated, making caviar's exquisite profile a true luxury.

Is caviar farming ethical? ›

Caviar farming is rife with overfishing and questionable operations. Fishers extract the females from families and inhumanely scrape the ovaries of roe. Most of the time, the mother sturgeon dies while her eggs are obtained.

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