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
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A crowd pleaser. I used fresh minced garlic and upped the acid (more vinegar and lime juice to my taste). Used it as an accompaniment to grilled pollo and carne asada wrapped in a lightly grilled flour tortilla – yum!
That sounds so delicious Karen! I’m happy to hear you love this cowboy caviar recipe!
I just made this dish for a cookout this weekend. The hostess prefers vegetables to meat. I wanted a dish that she would like. When I removed the cover her eyes lit up at how beautiful this dish looks. I strayed a little from the basic recipe by added a zucchini and chopping that, a can if Rotel, and red and yellow peppers as well as the green. The avocado was great and I’m not a fan of this but it was delicious. Even the meat eaters loved this dish and put it on their burgers and ate it with their steak tips. I love this dish because if the versatility and how it pleased everyone that ate it. I am going to make this my signature dish at events I’m invited to this summer. Thank you so much for giving this recipe to us all.
Yay! That is great Jo-Ann. So happy to hear that everyone loved this recipe. It is really is delicious!
Sound like so good to make this
It’s so delicious Diane! Let us know what you think of it.
A hit at this years barbecue as in years past.
Added a mango, and wow what a difference!,
Mmmmm, great addition Robyn! That would be tasty.
Like this recipe
Thanks Natasha!
Thanks
I would like to have the recipe for Cowboy caviar
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I can’t digest onion well, I used scallions as an alternative.
Great idea Shirley!
Wow. Must be an incredible recipe. My family devoured the entire bowl before the brats came off the grill. I never had a chance to even try what I made, but everyone raved about how great it was! I’m told I must bring it to every family event, now.
Thanks!
You will have to double the recipe next time John, or we highly encourage quality control (aka. sampling while cooking)!
The recipe is great but saying it takes 10 minutes to prepare is absurd! Block out a couple hours if you have no chopper and have to do the job by hand. I’ve made it before and the addition of avocado was a nice addition to my version.
A chopper does definitely help speed up the process Sharon! But so happy to hear you loved the addition of avocados!
Incredible appy! The crowd loved it and EVERYONE asked for the recipe! (Even the guys!)
Ok…so here are my changes….(PS…I never reply to these but I just LOVED this one so much that I thought I would jump in!)…
I switched out Diced Hatch Green Chili’s for Jalapenos (because I crave green chili’s!), and I added Garbanzo beans in instead of bell pepper (yuk!), I also added sliced black olives into it.
The dressing is the BOMB and you should stick to it exactly written!
I have also made it into a light meal by adding ground sausage and some rotini pasta (colored…for more of a visual punch!)
No matter how you make this….you will be a hit at any party! Awesome Dish!!
Thank you Bee! And thank you for sharing your substitutions. This recipe is so easy to change up, and I agree, always awesome!
This looks maxing, I can’t wait to try it!
Did you use a fresh jalapeño or from a jar?
How long would it last in the fridge? Like could I make it and have it for lunch for 3 days is it an eat on the day kind of thing?
I use fresh jalapeno, but canned or pickled jalapenos will work great for this recipe Micha. With the exception of the avocado, this should keep just fine for about 4 days in the fridge.
Great recipes
Thanks Claudine!
I have made this recipe twice before and it is delightful! However I have also made adjustments from time to time based on what I have on hand. I added garbanzo beans and Great Northern beans (canned, drained, both) to the original because my family loves beans. Took a lazy shortcut with a bottle of Wishbone red wine vinaigrette dressing. Used cherry tomatoes, quartered, because the Romas I had on hand were getting a bit soft. While I LOVE the addition of the frozen corn I could also recommend the BirdsEye (or equivalent) bag called “Fiesta Mix”.
I love your suggestions Lori, thank you for sharing!! I’ll have to look for the Fiesta Mix, sounds like a perfect fit.
I cant wait to try this.
Someone shared this on FB yesterday 02/12/19 and I made it today 02/13/19. The recipe and proportions are perfect, nothing needs to be changed. Thank you, now I’m hooked for life.
So glad you loved it Brandon, it’s one of my favorite appetizers too!
My grown kids call this cowboy crack. It is so delicious it is addictive. Excellent and healthy.
It’s one of our favorites, enjoy!
Would highly suggest using dry black eyed peas and black beans. Make them a little al dente. The canned ones tend to be too soft in my opinion. A decent Italian dressing will work great as well.
Thank you for sharing your tips!
This is the shit. My go to dish to bring. Everyone loves it and asks for the recipe.
Make it. You won’t regret it.
Side note: I double the dressing but sub the sugar for a dash of maple syrup. And I’m obsessed with avocados so I add 4. I also over do the cilantro and lime juice, I throw some lime zest in there too.
So glad you loved it and thank you for the tips on the dressing! I bet lime zest is perfect in this recipe!
That was an understatement that the Cowboy Caviar a party favorite! It was literally devoured! We ran out of tortilla chips and the hostess scraped what little was left in the bowl to save until later! The only thing I beg to differ on is the 10-minute prep time! While I may not have made this before, it took me almost 45 minutes until I was done cleaning and dicing all of the ingredients. I’m sure it won’t take that long the second time around but it was well worth every minute spent!