Cowboy Caviar is an easy-to-make colorful, healthy dip that is deliciously nutritious. Filled with fresh ingredients and tossed in a homemade sauce, it's perfect for a party or potluck!
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This easy recipe for Cowboy Caviar (a.k.a. Texas Caviar or Mexican Caviar) is healthy and hearty and filled with a simple but flavorful blend of wholesome ingredients.
It takes mere minutes to combine beans with a colorful medley of fresh vegetables and avocado, toss it in a tangy dressing, and then serve it as a party dip, a fun side, or a salad topper.
Table of Contents
- What is Cowboy Caviar?
- Why We Love Cowboy Caviar Dip
- Cowboy Caviar INgredients
- Substitutions and Additions
- Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- How to Make Cowboy Caviar
- Tips for Making Cowboy Caviar
- How To Serve Cowboy Caviar
- How to Store Cowboy Caviar
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Delicious Recipes
- Cowboy Caviar Recipe
What is Cowboy Caviar?
Cowboy Caviar, a.k.a Texas Caviar, is a vibrant, fresh dip that’s made in minutes with canned beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers and onions. It’s a delicious topping for fish, chicken or as a flavor-packed salsa.
Cowboy Caviar has been around for generations. It’s a zesty blend of beans, tomatoes, onions, peppers and corn that can be served as an appetizer, side dish or even a main course. It’s great to feed a crowd at parties or just to have on hand in the fridge.
Why We Love Cowboy Caviar Dip
- Quick and easy to make simply by dicing, mixing and tossing.
- Uses wholesome, healthy ingredients that are nutrient-rich.
- Gluten-free, vegetarian, dairy-free recipe to meet many dietary restrictions.
- Colorful, full of fresh flavor and texture, and easy to customize.
- Perfect side dish for a picnic, potluck, or party, and is a great way to use up your summer produce.
Cowboy Caviar INgredients
- Roma tomatoes
- Canned yellow corn
- Canned black beans
- Avocados
- Red bell pepper
- Orange bell pepper
- Jalapeno
- Red onion
- Sweet yellow onion
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh minced garlic
- Lime juice
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked pepper
Substitutions and Additions
- Pick Your Pepper: You can make your Cowboy Caviar with red, orange, yellow, and even green bell pepper. Or use a combination!
- Add Some Spice: Cumin and cayenne can add complexity and extra heat to your Cowboy Caviar.
- Beans: Feel free to substitute other types of beans instead of black beans, like pinto beans and black eyed peas.
- Make It A Meal: While I typically serve my Cowboy Caviar as a dip, it’s always fun to add more ingredients and turn it into a meal! There are so many different ways to customize your caviar. Add a protein, like cooked chicken or small shrimp, and then serve it as salad. You can even stir in some bacon before serving.
- Best Dressed: Your caviar tastes best when you like the dressing. You can substitute rice wine vinegar for red wine vinegar or use zesty Italian dressing instead of red wine vinegar dressing.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
- Measuring tools
- Sharp knife for dicing and chopping
- Whisk
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Jump to RecipeHow to Make Cowboy Caviar
- Combine tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocados, bell peppers, jalapeno, onions, cilantro, garlic, and lime juice in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and cracked pepper until well incorporated.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and stir just until well incorporated.
- Enjoy!
Tips for Making Cowboy Caviar
- You can easily mix up the Cowboy Caviar ahead of time to allow the flavors to combine.
- If making this dish in advance, leave out the avocado until you are ready to serve.
- You can use any color of bell peppers you prefer.
- If you enjoy very spicy salsa, you can use 2 finely diced jalapenos.
- You can serve the salsa with tortilla chips, pita chips, potato chips or even stuffed in a burrito.
How To Serve Cowboy Caviar
Serve it as a side dish, a dip for chips, as a topper for Taco Pie, stuffed inside a Breakfast Burrito or as part of a Burrito Bowl, or spooned over a salad. No matter how you eat it, it’s a delicious make-ahead dish for potlucks and parties.
How to Store Cowboy Caviar
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
More Easy Dip Recipe
More Delicious Recipes
- Taco Spaghetti
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie
- Easy Fried Rice Recipe (Better than Takeout)
- Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
- Mexican Corn Salad
Cowboy Caviar
Serves — 12
Cowboy Caviar is an easy-to-make colorful, healthy dip that is deliciously nutritious. Filled with fresh ingredients and tossed in a homemade sauce, it's perfect for a party or potluck!
Prep Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
Salad
- 6 roma tomatoes seeded and diced (3 ½ cups)
- 14.5 ounce canned yellow corn drained
- 15.25 ounce canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 avocados peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced (1 ½ cups)
- 1 orange bell pepper seeded and diced (1 ½ cups)
- 1 jalapeno seeded and finely diced
- ½ cup red onion finely diced (½ medium sized red onion)
- ½ cup sweet yellow onion finely diced (½ medium sized onion)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons lime juice
Dressing
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
Salad
- Using a large mixing bowl, add the diced tomatoes, canned corn, canned black beans, diced avocados, bell peppers, jalapeno, finely diced onions, chopped fresh cilantro, fresh minced garlic and lime juice. Stir just until all the ingredients are evenly combined.
Dressing
- Using a small mixing bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, until well incorporated.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Stir just until well incorporated.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Tips:
- You can easily mix up the Cowboy Caviar ahead of time to allow the flavors to combine.
- If making this dish in advance, leave out the avocado until you are ready to serve.
You can use any color of bell peppers you prefer. - If you enjoy very spicy salsa, you can use 2 finely diced jalapenos.
- You can serve the salsa with tortilla chips, pita chips, potato chips or even stuffed in a burrito.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 344mg | Potassium: 515mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1014IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg
oh my word!!! This is so good! Made even better that it is so healthy!