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There are endless ways to make Cowboy Caviar, but I’ve got the most popular recipe around. I grew up eating this tried-and-true version in the Midwest, and now I’m sharing the secret ingredients with you.
Meggan’s notes
In the Midwest, we make our Cowboy Caviar with a hint of sugar in the chili dressing, and in my opinion, that makes all the difference. That’s just how we like it! But for everyone else, feel free to omit the sugar and enjoy your Tex-Mex style fresh bean salsa with all the tortilla chips you can scoop.
With almost 600 5-star ratings and hundreds of comments on the post, Cowboy Caviar remains one of the most popular recipes on Culinary Hill. And with good reason! This version is easy to make, fully customizable, and ready fast. Make it today and thank me later.
Table of Contents
Cowboy Caviar ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Olive oil
- Sugar: The recipe reflects how we make it in my family. But YES, it has a lot of sugar. Please feel free to reduce it or omit it entirely. If you want to reduce it, mix the dressing with just a tablespoon of sugar to start, taste it, and go from there.
- White wine vinegar: Or substitute apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even lime juice.
- Chili powder: To set your face on fire, substitute Chipotle chili powder.
- Salt
- Tomatoes
- Black-eyed peas
- Black beans
- Corn: Regular canned sweet corn or frozen corn may be substituted for the extra sweet “shoepeg” corn. The closest measurement for either option is ¾ cup, but feel free to use the whole 15-ounce can of corn.
- Onion: I love the color of red onion, but any kind of onion works.
- Green and red bell peppers: You just need 2 peppers total, whatever color you want.
- Cilantro: Leave this out if you hate cilantro or substitute minced fresh parsley.
How to make Cowboy Caviar Dip
- To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, sugar, white wine vinegar, chili powder, and salt to taste (I like 1 teaspoon).
- In a large bowl, add tomatoes, black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, red onion, bell peppers, and cilantro.
- Drizzle with the dressing and stir to combine. Cover and chill until serving time.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 12 cups of Cowboy Caviar (more or less depending on the size of your bell peppers). It’s enough for 24 servings, ½ cup each.
- Make ahead: You can make the dressing up to 3 days in advance. You can assemble the full recipe a day in advance too, but the bell peppers might soften a bit in the dressing.
- Avocado: Avocado is good with everything. The avocados may darken over time, so the salad may not last as long in the refrigerator.
- Italian dressing: Many readers like to use a store-bought or homemade Italian dressing in Cowboy Caviar. Start with about 1 cup of dressing, taste it, and see if you want more.
How to serve this Recipe for Cowboy Caviar
The spicy-sweet dressing in Cowboy Caviar pairs perfectly with crunchy, salty tortilla chips. Or enjoy it as a salad on the side of your favorite grilled proteins like fish, chicken, pork, and shrimp. It’s also delicious stirred it into cooked rice for an impromptu side dish packed with color and flavor.
Storing Texas Caviar
This recipe keeps for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dried beans are extremely economical and much lower in sodium. Cook each bean variety separately, as cooking times may vary depending on size and age of the dried bean. How many dried beans makes a can? You need to cook ½ to ¾ cup of dried beans for every 15-ounce can of beans the recipe calls for.
Add a few chopped seeded jalapeños or serrano chiles to the salad for a little kick. Cayenne pepper or Chipotle chili powder will do the job, too!
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Cowboy Caviar Recipe
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar or to taste (see note 1)
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar (see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Salt
For the vegetables:
- 1 pound Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (11-ounce) can sweet corn drained (see note 3)
- 1 red onion peeled and diced
- 1 green bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and diced
- 1 red bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and diced
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro or fresh parsley, from 1 bunch
Instructions
- To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, sugar, white wine vinegar, chili powder, and salt to taste (I like 1 teaspoon).
- In a large bowl, add tomatoes, black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, red onion, bell peppers, and cilantro. Drizzle with the dressing and stir to combine. Cover and chill until serving time.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Sugar: The recipe reflects how we make it in my family. But YES, it has a lot of sugar. Please feel free to reduce it or omit it entirely. If you want to reduce it, mix the dressing with just a tablespoon of sugar to start, taste it, and go from there.
- White wine vinegar: Or substitute apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even lime juice.
- Corn: Regular canned sweet corn or frozen corn may be substituted for the extra sweet “shoepeg” corn. The closest measurement for either option is ¾ c., but feel free to use the whole 15-oz. can of corn.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 12 c. of Cowboy Caviar (more or less depending on the size of your bell peppers). It’s enough for 24 servings, ½ c. each.
- Storage: This recipe keeps for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Do you know how many calories are in a 1 cup serving?
Hi Rachele, I don’t know! I don’t really compute calorie information right now, although it’s clear to me that everyone wants this information. So, I’m trying to figure out the best way to go back and add it. Sorry about that!
Hi Rachele, I’ve now added a nutrition label for this recipe. It’s calculating 194 calories for a 1-cup serving (not including chips). It might be just *slightly* high because it assumes all of the dressing in the recipe is consumed, while in my experience a lot ends up at the bottom of the bowl. But, at least it gives you a pretty good idea of the calories. Thanks for your question!
Can’t wait to make tonight and serve at our fam jam tomorrow! I’m going to sub stevia in the raw (by half) for the sugar. Anyone ever try it with apple cider vinegar rather than white wine variety? Just curious. I’ll be slow cooking a BBQ pork roast and thought the flavor of apple cider would compliment the pulled pork sammies!
Hi Christy, I have made this with apple cider vinegar and it’s great! I’ve also made it with red wine vinegar and just plain white vinegar too. It’s always a hit no matter which kind of vinegar. I agree the apple cider vinegar is perfect to go with the BBQ pork! I’m crashing your fam jam for sure. 😉
I made this today with a few changes. First, I omitted the sugar altogether. Sugar takes this healthy dish and turns it into an unhealthy dish, IMO, and is completely unnecessary. It adds no nutritional value to the recipe yet feeds the sugar frenzy that most SAD’s are fueled by.
Next, I used red wine vinegar because that’s what I had on hand. I only used 1/3 cup olive oil because these ingredients are going to make their own liquid and I don’t want a drippy dish. I used red, yellow, and orange peppers to really give it a good visual. Lastly, I used cumin in place of the chili powder to give it a more southwest flavor. This turned out fabulous and I will make this again.
These are great changes! I have made Cowboy Caviar too with red wine vinegar and it’s one of my favorite changes. I completely understand on the no sugar front, that’s a wise choice although I aim to present the dish in its original form which is why I included the sugar. But it’s always good when people adapt to their own needs, that’s really what it’s all about. Just finding the inspiration for something and then making it exactly the way you might love it. And it sounds like it worked out for you so that’s great! Thanks for sharing all these ideas, I especially want to try to cumin. Take care.
We took this to old school cookout in Pittsburgh. Ribs, brats, and burgers. This was the vegan option. Inevitably, it was a big hit. Thanks, Aunt Tammy!
AWESOME! I love that this is accidentally vegan. LOL! Ribs, brats, and burgers… my stomach just growled. Thanks for sharing your story. 🙂 Glad it was a hit. Happy weekend!
Love it! I think this amount of sugar is perfect. I make my Cowboy Caviar different each time I make it, a lot depends on my mood. I’d never added sugar before but now that I’ve tried it this way, I can’t wait to do so again. As a Kentuckian, I tip my hat to you Midwesterners, you nailed it!
Joi, you’ve made my day! Thank you so much. 🙂 I appreciate that you tried the recipe and I’m so happy it worked out for you. Have a great weekend and thanks again!
Great recipe!!!!! Everyone’s tastes are different and l found this recipe way too oily!!! No worries, l rinsed the dressing off with water and started again. This time l added 1 tsp chilli powder, 3 tbls lemon juice and a table spoon of maple syrup. Amazing!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!! My son is a vegan and l’ve never tried black eyed peas until now. I will be adding them in more of my recipes.
Thank you, Carol! I’m so glad you were able to make it work for you. I do think it’d be easy to leave the oil out of this, and I’m glad you were smart enough to rinse it off and start over rather than just wasting it. Good job. 🙂 I will definitely try your variation; it’s a lot healthier! Especially for people who are vegan or not eating refined sugar. Many thanks. Take care!
I just made this tonight as a trial to see if it would be good for an engagement party I’m hosting for my daughter this summer. I’ve got to say it is yummy as is, I made it as directed. It is so fresh tasting! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Theresa, that is SO great to hear! Smart of you to test the recipe in advance, just in case. I’m glad it’s going to work out for you. Congratulations to your daughter, how exciting! :)) Take care and thank you!!
I made this for a cookout this evening and it was a HUGE hit! Friends of mine had made “cowboy caviar” but said they hadn’t had it as good as this recipe! The midwest version is a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Lindsey! That’s great news! 🙂 I’ve seen other versions of Cowboy Caviar too, usually more like regular bean salsa or sometimes with avocado. I love this sweet version and I appreciate that you gave it a try! Also happy to hear everyone liked it. That’s not always the case. 🙂 Take care and thank you so much!
This recipe is absolutely delicious. I ended up not adding the sugar at all and added a clove of minced garlic to the dressing. It was so good…it even tasted batter the next day!!! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Hi Catherine, I’m so glad you liked it! Yes, it’s pretty delicious even without the sugar. Like a fantastic bean salsa, I think. Especially with that garlic mixed in! Glad you made it work for you. 🙂 Take care!
I have never left a comment before, but here we go! My son tasted Cowboy Caviar at Costco a few years back and I was floored he went back for seconds. He’s not a huge veggie eater. Needless to say, they stopped carrying the product and life went back to normal. Last week I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought, “why not?”. Well, I will tell you that I’ve made it twice this week and it will be on our menu indefinitely. I took out the cilantro because I hate it. And my kiddo won’t touch a tomato to save his life, so those are gone too. But it didn’t alter the taste at all. BRAVO! I am uber thankful and impressed.
Hi Jill! This is all so wonderful. It is one of my favorite ways to eat veggies too, and also to convince others to do so. 🙂 I had no idea Costco ever carried Cowboy Caviar either, that’s so interesting. Yes, ditch the cilantro! I do the same thing for my mom. You made my day, maybe even my week, so thank you so much for sharing your story. 🙂 Take care!