Easy Cowboy Caviar
This cowboy caviar recipe (also known as Texas caviar) is what I make when I want a batch of something incredibly delicious, fun to eat, and super-nutritious. It’s vibrant, fresh, and always a crowd-pleaser. Made with colorful bell peppers, corn, tomatoes, black beans, black-eyed peas, and a tangy dressing, this no-cook dish is as easy as it is delicious. Serve with chips, as a taco topping, or even as a salad; you’ll love it for everything from summer cookouts to game day dips to healthy meal prep salads.
Cowboy caviar is the original dense bean salad!
If you’re on TikTok, you may have seen the popularity of the “dense bean salad” and while it’s having a moment right now, the original Texas caviar dip was introduced in 1940, almost 85 years ago!
I like to think of it as the original dense bean salad, and every day that I have it ready-to-eat in the fridge is a happy lunch day! I like to add some extra veggies and chop up cucumbers to mix into the bean and veggie salad, and I’ll eat with some tortilla chips on the side for scooping. It’s…
High in protein & fiber 🫘: Thanks to beans and veggies this dip salad has 13 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber per serving!
Totally customizable 🧑🍳: Swap in whatever you have, this is flexible and you can change it up depending on what you have or need to use.
Fresh & filling 🥗: You can serve this as a dip or as a salad, either way it’s absolutely delicious and always a crowd-pleaser.
Tastes even better later 🕒: Marinate in the fridge
Bold & zesty flavor 💥: The flavorful homemade dressing adds major flavor and brings everything together.
Perfect for potlucks 🧺: Feeds a crowd, travels well, and is always a hit!
Sweet crunch 🌽: Corn adds texture and pop that’s needed. Use fresh, frozen, or even canned.
You’ll also want to try my roasted corn salsa (chipotle copycat!), shrimp ceviche, black bean hummus, and smoked salmon dip.
This is absolutely delicious, and so easy to make.
I’ve made many of Emily’s recipes, never disappointed with any of them. Keep sharing Emily, it’s nice to have healthy, and delicious recipes. –Cathie
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need some fresh ingredients and pantry staples to make cowboy caviar: olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, honey, garlic powder, sea salt, black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, bell pepper, tomato, red onion, and cilantro.
Emily’s Tips & Tricks
- Pro tip: I love this delicious dip served with diced cucumber for extra veggies and with a handful of salty tortilla chips on the side. It makes a great lunch that comes together in minutes once the salad is made. Add rotisserie chicken salad on the side for extra protein.
- Shortcuts: While this homemade dressing takes just a minute or two, I know that sometimes you don’t have an extra minute or two! You can easily use a premade Italian salad dressing or an oil and vinegar dressing to make this easy recipe come together even quicker.
- Additions: If you want to add in some extra veggies or flavor, try some of these: jalapeno pepper, green onions, minced fresh garlic, avocado, or a splash of hot sauce.
Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This cowboy caviar recipe is simple, delicious, and nutritious! It’s easy (prep in just 15 minutes!), and can be eaten as a dip or salad.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 15 oz. can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups corn (canned, 12 oz. bag frozen – thaw if using frozen)
- 1 cup diced bell pepper (about 1 medium bell pepper)
- 1 cup diced tomato (~2 Roma tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup minced red onion
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together lime juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, garlic powder, and sea salt until emulsified.
- Add black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, bell pepper, diced tomato, red onion, and cilantro to the dressing. Stir until everything is coated with dressing.
Notes
- If you’re adding avocado, toss diced avocado in lime juice and add right before serving so it doesn’t brown.
- See the ingredient list above for ingredient substitutions or swaps, but this recipe is very flexible.
- Nutrition facts are calculated with a serving size of about 1 cup of the salad, not including any chips or other ingredients.
- Storage: Store the bean salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It will keep for a few days beyond that, but the texture is best within 3 days.
- Ingredient notes: Black beans aren’t a traditional addition to cowboy caviar recipes, but we love black beans in our house so much that we wanted to include them. You could use all black-eyed peas or a combination of beans; pinto beans would also be delicious.
- Prep ahead: This is a great salad and hearty dip to make ahead as it stores really well in the refrigerator. Mix up a day in advance if desired. You could also prep the dressing and chop fresh veggies and combine everything the day of.
- Special tools: This veggie chopper makes things easy (and uniform!).
- Serve with: Sturdy tortilla chips or diced cucumber (as a salad).
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this a few ways – as a flavorful dip and as a salad! Here are ideas for both:
- Tortilla chips
- Corn chips
- Pita crackers
- Mini bell peppers for scooping
- Cucumber slices for scooping
- Diced cucumbers
- Chopped romaine
- Shredded cabbage
- As a turkey taco topping
FAQs
This was so fun to learn, so I had to share! The Texas caviar dish was originally served on New Year’s Eve at the Houston Country Club by Helen Corbitt, as a nod to the good luck ingredient, black-eyed peas. In the South, black-eyed peas are traditionally eaten in on New Year’s Eve or Day to bring good luck and prosperity in the new year.
The dish must have been a hit as she later served it at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas and it was here that it was given the name Texas Caviar, as a funny comparison. Both the name and dish stuck as it’s still popular today, nearly 85 years later!
Absolutely! You can really add any additions that you think will be delicious. I skipped the avocado as I wanted to be able to store it in the refrigerator for a few days and I don’t love avocado if it isn’t fresh. Toss diced avocado in lime juice and add it right before serving if using it!
If you can’t find black-eyed peas or prefer to use something else, pinto beans are a pretty similar alternative. You can also use all black beans and turn this into a black bean salad – I’ve done this before and can confirm that it’s delicious.
Absolutely! To give this some spice, add jalapeños (including the seeds if you really want some spice), red pepper flakes, hot sauce, or a bit of cayenne pepper.
About the Author
Emily Dingmann is a recipe developer, nutrition expert, and founder of My Everyday Table. She specializes in creating easy, healthy recipes that help busy parents feed their families well every single day, without the stress. With a degree in Nutrition and over 20 years of experience, Emily shares family-friendly meals that are practical, nourishing, and full of flavor. Learn more about Emily’s approach to everyday cooking and nutrition here.
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Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
kind of a mix (pun intended) ratatouille and three bean salad with an attitude lol tongue in cheek
HA! YES!
This looks terrific Glad I found this website, always looking for non-fattening, healthful dishes, especially with summer and all the entertaining coming on.
This is absolutely delicious, and so easy to make.
I’ve made many of Emily’s recipes, never disappointed with any of them. Keep sharing Emily, it’s nice to have healthy, and delicious recipes.
Thank you, Cathie! So glad you enjoyed!