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
- 1 (15 ounce) can canned black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 ounce) can canned black eyed peas rinsed and drained
- 1½ 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
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
More Recipes You Will Love:
I love this! I have made this a bunch.
The Caviar Salad was very good. But I added a little more dressing and more yellow onions . I will make it
Many times more. Great!
OMG……this is the BEST I have ever made. This ROCKS. Everyone is addicted now. I’m being asked to make for other people.
Great God almighty! One of the best dips I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming! This will be a staple in our house from here on out.
Eating this with homemade zucchini and squash chips is great! Thanks for the recipe!
Yummy idea for a dipper!!
How long will this keep in the frig?
With the exception of the avocado this should keep just fine for about 4 days in the fridge.
Making this recipe tomorrow for the big game…
LETS GO PATRIOTS!!!
Enjoy!!
I made this recipe this morning. It is absolutely delicious and one that I will make again and again. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Any time you use diced avocados in a mixture, toss them in last or they will be mush.
Is there any reason why a can of sweet corn, drained, can’t be used instead of the frozen corn?
That would work just fine in this recipe!
Would using Mexicorn be ok
I think it would be delicious!
Just made It’s Awesome ! Will definitely will made it again.
Where does one find black eyed peas? My local shops in Gold Coast have never heard of them!!
I get them at Walmart.
you can buy them at any regular grocery store, canned or dry.
Our grocery even has black eyed peas in the freezer section of the store.
Omg, this recipe is easy and amazing. I tasted it as soon as it was finished and I’m sure it will be even better tomorrow when all the flavors combine. Exactly what I have been looking for!!! Thank you for sharing it with us!!!!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe!
How would this be without the avocado which I hate.
You can certainly leave the avocado out.
I didn’t make it yet, but I know it’s good because I love all those ingredients! And I learned a great way now to chop an avocado efficiently
I hope you enjoy it when you get to try it!
I don’t doubt bell peppers
OMG! I will certainly try this. It is a complete meal in itself.
Sent to me from a former colleague spendinng winter in Mexico.
My question: what can we replace the jalapeño with ?
It is not always available in my neck of the snowbanks (Montreal)
Thank you!
You can leave it out or add a little bit of another type of pepper if you’d like (even canned or pickled would be great).
cumin, replace it with cumin
This was a really good dish given to me by a co-woker/friend, called Texas Trash. Ummy dish and may want to serve it with a side of chips an salsa ! Yum!
Delicious!
I’ve made this and love it! Does anyone know how long these keeps? I’m thinking of putting in all of the ingredients outside of the avocados and dressing on a Sunday, then serving it combined on a Monday.
I read on a different post – 24 hours!
I have made this recipe twice; once for my Bunco group of 12 ladies and once for my family on College Game Day. It is a CROWD PLEASER! The Bunco Group ate every bite in 30 minutes and my family ate it until they could eat no more. Love! Love! Love!