Cowboy Caviar
This homemade cowboy caviar recipe is made with all-natural ingredients! Serve it as salad or dip—it'll be a hit at your next party. Vegan and gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
Y’all know I’m from Oklahoma, right? I grew up eating cowboy caviar, also called Texas caviar. It’s a classic bean salad recipe popular in the South. You can serve it as a side salad or as salsa. Either way, people go crazy for cowboy caviar at potlucks.
Cowboy caviar is made with black-eyed peas and black beans, chopped tomatoes, corn, bell pepper, onion and cilantro tossed in tangy Italian dressing. I typically think of cowboy caviar as a warm weather salad, but it’s made with ingredients that are readily available year-round.
Cowboy caviar is actually perfect for New Year’s if you’re craving something fresh yet hearty, and trying to hit your black-eyed pea quota!
I have one issue with most cowboy caviar recipes—they’re often swimming in store-bought Italian salad dressing. As such, they can be way too oily and contain some unnecessary preservatives. Instead, I whisked together a simple, homemade Italian dressing from scratch. It’s easy to do and tastes fantastic.
This recipe yields a big bowl of dip, but I don’t think you’ll have any trouble polishing it off. I hope you enjoy this cheekily titled delight!
Cowboy Caviar Ingredients
You’ll find the full recipe below. The Italian dressing is made with pantry ingredients. Here’s what you need to know about the fresh ingredients:
Black-Eyed Peas and Black Beans
Beans form the backbone of this healthy salad. Canned beans are fine to use, or you can cook your own if you’d like. One can is equivalent to one and a half cups cooked beans.
Tip: Drain your beans and corn very well before adding them to the bowl. If they’re watery, they’ll dilute the flavor of the vinaigrette.
Corn
Depending on the season and availability, you might prefer to shuck fresh corn, or use frozen corn (simply soak it in cool water until fully defrosted), or open a can of corn.
Tomatoes
Ripe red tomatoes are ideal. When tomatoes aren’t in season, I reach for Roma tomatoes (three to four of them) or cherry tomatoes (one pint would be perfect for this recipe). You could use canned tomatoes, but it will change the flavor and the vibe a bit. Fresh is best.
Bell Pepper and Jalapeño
Red, orange or yellow bell pepper will do. If you can tolerate a little heat, you’ll love the jalapeños. If you’re nervous about the jalapeño, you can reduce the spiciness by using just one of them, and being sure to remove the seeds and membranes before chopping.
Red Onion and Cilantro
I know these ingredients can be polarizing and I promise there’s not too much of either in them in this recipe. Don’t skip them!
Tip: Take care to chop your ingredients small to keep with the “caviar” textural theme.
Optional Avocado
While untraditional, ripe avocado is a welcome addition to this bean salad. Wait to add avocado just before serving so it doesn’t brown, or serve individual portions with a few strips of avocado on top.
Watch How to Make Cowboy Caviar
How to Serve Texas Caviar
Serve your cowboy caviar as a bean salad or as a dip with sturdy tortilla chips. This recipe happens to be vegan and gluten free, so it will please everyone at a party. It’s also a great healthy snack to keep in the fridge and keeps well for several days.
Cowboy caviar is lovely for lunch with a sandwich or quesadilla, or even for breakfast with scrambled or fried eggs and a warm tortilla.
You can also turn this dip into a green salad by serving it on lettuce. Add a squeeze of lime, some crumbled feta and a sprinkle of crushed corn chips or toasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds).
More Fresh Bean Salads to Make
Love this cowboy caviar? You’ll also enjoy these vibrant bean salads.
- Favorite Chickpea Salad
- Fresh Black Bean Salad
- Greek Lentil Salad
- Lemon-Parsley Bean Salad
- Lemony Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Radish and Herbs
Please let me know how your cowboy caviar turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Healthy Cowboy Caviar
This cowboy caviar recipe (also known as Texas caviar) is made from scratch with all-natural ingredients! Serve it as a dip, salsa or salad—it’ll be a hit at your next party. Recipe yields a lot of “caviar,” about 8 cups.
Ingredients
Cowboy caviar
- 2 cans (14 ounces each) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
- 1 can (14 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans
- 1 ½ cups fresh or defrosted frozen corn kernels (about 2 ears of corn), or 1 can (14 ounces) corn, drained
- 1 ½ cups chopped ripe tomatoes (about ¾ pound)
- 1 medium red, orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
- ¾ cup chopped red onion (about ½ small red onion)
- ½ cup chopped cilantro, leaves and stems
- 1 to 2 jalapeños, ribs removed, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 avocado (optional)
Italian dressing
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or lime juice
- 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large serving bowl, combine the drained black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, chopped tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, cilantro and jalapeño. If you’ll be including avocado, wait to dice it until you’re ready to serve the dip, so it doesn’t turn brown in the meantime.
- In a cup, whisk together the dressing ingredients until well blended. Drizzle the dressing over the serving bowl and toss until well mixed. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. If you’d like the salad to have more of a pickled flavor, add another tablespoon of vinegar, or for more richness, add another tablespoon or two of olive oil.
- For best flavor, let the mixture marinate for at least 20 minutes before serving. If you’re adding avocado, mix it in just before serving.
Notes
Serving suggestions: Don’t forget the chips! I also like to turn this dip into a green salad by serving it on lettuce with a squeeze of lime, some crumbled feta and a sprinkle of crushed corn chips or toasted pepitas.
Storage suggestions: This dip keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Well, I’m not really a cowboy being from Buffalo, NY…yes, the land of the Buffalo Bills and the Sabres. Bleh. But I know my wife will love this recipe, totally up her alley as to what she makes and yes, brings to all those potlucks and other summer festivities. We’d love some more salsa recipes! Never tire of those!!!!!
Ha, that’s ok, I’m not a cowboy, either. :) I have a few more salsa recipes planned for the summer!
YUM! That’s my kind of caviar ;) haha I would love with chips OR a spoon!
I hadn’t heard of cowboy caviar until like the past two years?! Especially being in the Midwest, I didn’t grow up with it, but I love the looks of it! My cat is always interested in jalapenos and I know that would be a rude awakening if he actually got a hold of it : )
Haha, jalapeños are one of the only foods that Cookie refuses to eat! So funny.
Yum! I cannot get enough corn this time of year, and I’m LOVING that dressing idea! Pinned!
I love cowboy caviar! I’m a Texas girl and we eat this stuff by the buckets. So spicy and delicious! Gotta have it with black-eyed peas, too!
Yes! Glad you know this salad, Heather!
whoa!!! Can’t wait to try this! and I Love your suggestion of turning it into a salad w/ the leftovers! …I have weekly girls nights in with fiends and a monthly book club so this will be making an appearance at one of those very soon!!! I’ll keep ya posted :)
Hey Autumn! :) Hope you all love it!
I’ve made Mexican Caviar (similar). I like this one, too…nice ingredients; yummy!
YES! I’m not from the south, but I have had this at a party or two (but it’s been years!) and I had the same thought that it could be vastly improved with a homemade vinaigrette. I can’t wait to try yours!
Yeahhh! Glad we’re on the same page here, Nicole! Hope you love it!
this looks delicious can’t wait to try, now that its summer kids are home and my husband has decided to loose a few pounds bringing his lunch to work I am looking for lunches that are easy to pack and that kids like, any ideas that you have would be greatly appreciated:)
Hi Mandy! Hope you enjoy this salad. Here are a couple of resources that might help you find some recipes that work for you: my recipes that pack well for lunch and readers’ favorite recipes.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for creating a healthy version of this! This is a pot-luck favorite (made by a family member) for the summer, but I recently found out the version I’ve been indulging in for the past 5 summers has an entire cup of sugar in the dressing! No way! I will be making this version as an option this year :)
Dang, that’s a lot of sugar! If you’re used to your “caviar” being super sweet, you might want to add some more maple syrup. Every time I add corn to a recipe, I feel like it makes the whole dish pretty sweet all by itself! Hope you enjoy my version.
This looks so good! I can’t wait to try it. I love that you mentioned topping lettuce with it- great use of the leftovers since it’s a big batch!
I would love to see a healthier potato salad recipe, maybe even cole slaw too!
Thanks, Jill! Hope you love it. I have been eating it on greens for the past couple of days. Love it. I added your requests to my list!
This recipe looks fantastic, I will definitely try it out. If you could create a healthier version of the 7 layer dip, I would be so excited. I love the ones you buy in the stores but know they are full of fat and preservatives.
Seven layer dip, coming up! I’ll post it either next week or the next. :)
Ok so I don’t know if there is a way to make this healthy but I actually (secretly) love those salads with mandarin oranges, marshmallows, pineapple, etc that are often found at potlucks. I don’t know the name but I’d be fascinated to see a healthier version if you can come up with one!!
Ambrosia! I have just the recipe for you. Check your inbox soon. :)
Just was reading through the comments and saw Maggie’s question. I would love, love a healthier version of what I know as “frog eye salad” Thank you for such wonderful recipes! Love Real Food sits on my kitchen counter ☺️
I have definitely never heard of cowboy cavier, but now I have and it sounds delicious!
Now that is my kind of caviar! Perfect for BBQs too
sounds super delicious :)
I think I could eat this for an entire meal…
This looks wonderful! I’ve got cilantro on the porch that needs to be eaten.
Perfect! Hope you enjoy this salsa/salad, Ellen!
Oooh, looks amazing! I’ve got a potluck this week, and you just solved my problem of what to make. Thanks, Kate!
Awesome! Hope this one goes over great at your potluck!
I like to add avocado to mine! :)
Looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it :)
Jillian
I’m making this tonight as a salad since the temp has hit the 80s, maybe 90s tomorrow. Love recipes where you don’t have to turn on the stove or oven in the summer. Any big difference between using the red wine vinegar versus the lime juice in the dressing? I always wonder if the first ingredient listed is the “preferred” one in various recipes. Thanks!
Hey Beth! Hope you loved the salad. That’s a great question. I always list the ingredients I used/prefer first, and offer substitutions when I am confident they will be pretty close. It’s always hard to decide if extra information will be helpful or confusing, but I offer options for the accessibility’s sake.
Yes I would love healthy versions. Got to try cowboy caviar love everything in it.
Ok, I’ll have more for you soon! Hope you love the cowboy caviar, Dolores.
I’d love a healthier macaroni salad recipe that still has that tang and creaminess!
Noted! I’ll see what I can do. :)
Looks like such a yummy and perfect summer recipe!
Trader Joe’s Cowboy Caviar is great. Not greasy at all. I’m looking for a similar recipe to keep the cost down. Lucky’s is the only store in Santa Rosa, CA that carries canned Black Eyed Peas so I make my own.
This looks delicious, I’ve made salads very similar to this and it’s really nice serving in a little gem leaf as a side salad to grilled/BBQ meats.
I will definitely be making this salad, I love corn, I’m not sure I can get canned black eyed beans. I shall have to do some research.
I’d like to see some bulghar wheat or large cous cous salads. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks, Angela! I found canned black-eyed peas at Whole Foods, but I don’t know where/if they might be available in the UK. You could cook dried beans or substitute more black beans or pinto beans. The salad won’t be as traditional but it will be delicious regardless.
We have Whole Foods in the UK actually and their prices are really reasonable. That means a trip to London though, where I usally shop till I drop, so I only try to buy light things from Whole Foods :-)
I will check out the supermarkets here, I’m sure they have them. Thanks for the pinto beans recommendation, I love them so much.
This sounds like the perfect thing to eat when it’s too hot to turn on the oven. And just look at that gorgeous fresh corn! I need to get my hands on some ASAP.
I make something similar with black beans and it’s so delicious! I think the sweet corn is my favorite part! I’ll have to try this version with black-eyed peas sometime soon.
This looks incredible! I love everything about it!
Yes my daughter made this and it was really good, I think she used black beans and I had to pick them out as I don’t like them :) other than that it was great….
Now I am trying to get her to make the cauliflower hamburgers….LOL…… will let you know if she does…..she cooks healthy too and she loves your recipes……
I’m so glad to hear it! Thank you! I hope you both enjoy the burgers!
I’m always looking for a healthier version of green bean casserole.
Made the Cowboy Caviar today and it is Delish!
I used frozen, shoepeg corn from Trader Joe’s.
I could eat this every day for lunch over fresh lettuce from my garden.
Thanks for ALL the wonderful recipes!
Thank you so much, Cindy! Glad you enjoyed this one!
I’ve HEARD of cowboy caviar, but I can’t say I’ve ever had a version that’s even somewhat authentic. You make it look so good I’m definitely going to have to try it at home!
If you had a kid they would have the best lunches for school EVER!!!
Ha, one would hope so! :)
I just made this for a friend’s housewarming party last night and it was a HUGE hit! I couldn’t find black beans, so used all black-eyed peas for this round, and added an extra red pepper just because. Will definitely be making again!
Awesome! Thank you, Becky!
I’ve made this twice in the past week! My husband loves it, I love it! I’m 8 months pregnant and am craving fresh, bright flavors so this is perfect. We’ve had it as a side salad, once with chips, once without. We also put it in quesadillas which was fantastic. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hooray! Thank you, Ali!
Made it and it is delicious! Used red beans instead of black eye beans and we cannot stop eating it! Thanks
Thank you, Debbie!
Oh my gosh. This salad/dish they call Texas Caviar is amazing! I’ve made this recipe (to a tee) twice in the past week, and my boyfriend and I cannot stop eating it…
So I figured it was time I thanked you for this recipe :) Recently came across your blog and can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thanks, Kirsti! glad you found this one!
I’m about to try and make this. Was wondering if canned corn ruins the flavor?
Hey Matt, I would use fresh if you can find it. Canned corn should be ok, just be sure to drain it well!
I LOVE this recipe, and it has become a staple for potlucks- it only takes about 20 minutes to whip together, and it stores easily in the cooler for a day or two if we are going camping or to a music festival. I have made it already 3 times this summer for potlucks and every time I come home with an empty bowl! I also live in Northern California, land of the crazy picky fad diet eaters, and this recipe pretty much works for any dietary restrictions- gluten free, soy free, vegan, dairy free… don’t think it’s paleo because of the beans but you can’t please everyone!
I buy a strawberry balsamic vinegar from our local farmer’s market and use half strawberry vinegar, half lime juice. I hardly need any maple syrup that way. People FLIP out for this recipe. THANK YOU!!
Hooray! Thank you, Alli! Great point on the special diets issue. I really want to try your strawberry balsamic version!
Hi, my name is Katie and I’m 10. I like the recipe a lot.
Hi Katie! Thank you for letting me know! I’m glad to hear that you liked this one. :)
If you add 1-2 tbsp (to taste) of cashew butter to this dressing you get a Vegan Creamy Italian dressing that is out-of-this-world! For my husband and I, it is the go-to dressing for kale. People use their fingers to wipe the bottom of the salad bowl when we serve it! Ha. Give it a try!
And thanks for all of the cooking inspiration Kate. Whenever we have company we serve at LEAST one of your dishes and inevitably someone says “I never knew vegetarians ate so well.” Our response is always “Check out Cookie and Kate.”
We can’t wait to buy your book and give you our support.
Rocky, thank you so much for your note! I can’t wait to try your dressing idea. Sounds so good! Delighted to hear that you’re enjoying my recipes. Thank you for sharing my blog with your friends! :)
I used black beans, kidney beans and
Black eyed peas, frozen corn, cherry tomatoes-halved, green pepper diced and bottled zesty italian dressing. Tossed it and was a winner! Next time we will use cilantro. Maybe a lil lime juice. A winner
Thanks for the easy recipe! Made this last night and it was a hit! Very simple to follow and it was so delicious! I did not add the jalapeno, I only had black & white beans on hand, did not add basil nor pepper flakes to dressing but it came out amazing! My 9 yr old daughter even packed herself some for lunch this morning! Thanks again!!!
Thank you, Vicky! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cowboy caviar.
Hi, Kate! I loved the cowboy caviar itself, but for whatever reason, I wasn’t super crazy about the accompanying vinaigrette. I ended up putting a healthy dollop of guacamole on the caviar instead. :-)
Thank you for sharing this recipe idea, though! I’ll be making it again in the future.
Amazing salad! For carnivores as well.
Thank you!
Made this today with kidney beans instead of black eyed peas, and put frozen seasoned corn in it (which helped cool the whole salad down by the time I had everything else chopped). Delicious flavor, added avocado separately so it didn’t brown.
I may be projecting, but I think people posting recipes must be driven crazy by people always making modifications. That being said… I made so much HCC recently that I needed to deal with a huge bowl of leftovers (no avo, I knew it wouldn’t all be eaten the first day.) I sauté white mushrooms (heart healthy) then add a few scoops of HCC to warm up for a minute. Warm a tortilla, add the magic potion and slices of fresh avo and salsa/sriracha/hot peppers and set myself FREE!!!
I’ve made this a number of times from different recipes for different occasions. You’re right that people go crazy for it. I have to say that your recipe is the best so far. The proportions are right, it’s beautiful in the bowl and your dressing is over the top. I made it for my daughter’s birthday party in Phoenix last month and it was gone in a heartbeat. Thanks for publishing, this one is a keeper!
Want to make cowboy caviar as Christmas gifts. Like your ingredients. Can it be canned and stored for future use?
Kim and Bella (my dog) in Texas