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!
Ingredients
- 3 Roma tomatoes seeds removed, diced
- 2 avocados diced
- ⅓ cup diced red onion
- 15 ounces canned black beans 1 can, rinsed and drained
- 15 ounces canned black eyed peas 1 can, rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels thawed
- 1 bell pepper diced, any color
- 1 jalapeño seeds removed, finely diced
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Tortilla chips for serving
DRESSING
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
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
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I am obsessed with Holly on Spend with Pennies recipes. She is my go to for anything I want to make. Easy and spot on! Every recipe I have tried turns out fabulous. Thank you Holly. Keep up the good work. Love your website.
Looks great! How long will this last in the fridge?
You can make it 24 hours ahead, but I wouldn’t add the avocado until ready to serve!
can’t wait try your recipes.
Thanks, Teresa! I can’t wait to hear which ones ends up being your favorite.
This recipe has made it into our rotation of lunch each week.
If I wanted to freeze portions for ease of making lunch for my kids, what parts would you mix to freeze, and what would you only add fresh? I know tomatoes are not to be frozen! What about the peppers and onions and dressing?!
The dressing will freeze just fine. The vegetables will soften after freezing. So definitely I would add the tomatoes fresh, for the peppers and onion it depends on how you prefer the texture! I think the onion would be okay softened, but you may want to add the pepper fresh for some crunch.
I have used this recipe so many times and have been asked for this recipe so many times. It is scrumptious! I like a little sweeter so I doubled the sugar to 2 tsp. You will get many raves on this one guaranteed. I usually don’t leave reviews but this baby deserves it. I honor you spendwithpennies.
This is my go to recipe- for new years good luck and every day in between. Well done!
I tripled the lime (so 3 limes total) and doubled the salt. It was bland without it, especially after marinating in the fridge for a few hours. Other than that, good recipe.
A little bland as is. I added two or three times the salt plus 1.5 limes juices instead of 2 tablespoons (we’re in a Spanish household lol). Overall genius use of sweet, tangy, salty, and refreshing. Thank you for sharing!!
this is a great recipe! thank you!!! so refreshing! a tip for the avocado… score it when its cut in half and rub lime on it. keeps it fresh longer.
love this recipe
can you make 1 day ahead – how does the avocado hold?
If making ahead, I would recommend leaving the avocado out and adding it just before serving.
Great recipe. Delicious. I made it for Christmas because the colors in it looks like Christmas.
Love your recipes. Where I leave are tomatoes are flavorless. Could can tomatoes be used? If so what quantity? Thank you.
I haven’t tried canned tomatoes in this recipe, but I think it should work just fine. Some readers have also left out the tomatoes or replaced them with additional bell peppers. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Tastes great and super easy. I served this with tomato rice for a simple, complete protein vegetarian meal.
follow the recipe it was okay I added more salt and more lime for flavor but I found it to be somewhat bland.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe as much as we do. Thanks for trying it.
this is a great recipe! thank you!!! so refreshing! a tip for the avocado… score it when its cut in half and rub lime on it. keeps it fresh longer. not bland at all to me. I did add chili powder and cumin and used alot of garlic powder w parsley. I thought it was so delious and will make again!
I agree, the dressing was quite bland and there wasn’t enough of it. Adding cumin and chili powder like traditional cowboy caviar has helps, you can even add some smoked paprika!
I’ve made it about 20 times. A family favorite!
Absolutely divine! I left out the corn to make it keto
So easy to make and absolutely delicious. I serve it as a side instead of a dip. It always is gone if I bring it anywhere.
heard about this recipe and I need to try it.
Easy recipe and tasty.