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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.
Would you consider this more of an appetizer or a side dish? Looking forward to trying this. Thank you!
Hi Staci, I consider this more of an appetizer (served with tortilla chips like salsa). However, if you wanted to be healthy, you could eat it as a side dish or a topping to grilled meats, something like that. However, traditionally it is an appetizer. I hope you love it! Thanks for your question. 🙂
Can’t wait to make this, thanks for sharing. Always looking for a new side for myself, or for impressing my guests! I love your blog! Keep up the good work!
Wow, really love this salad! (w 1T sugar, and a jalapeno!). Found this by accident when I was looking at your ancho chile powder technique (from poblano peppers, we have a bunch growing), and made it to surprise my wife. I bookmarked this site to find some more treasures! Thanks.
Hi Sam! Wow thank you so much! 🙂 Sounds like you made a pretty fantastic version of the Cowboy Caviar. So excited you have poblano peppers growing. That’s definitely my favorite pepper! Thank you so much and have a great day. 🙂
I have made your cowboy caviar (with less sugar) several times now. Everyone loves it! This is great for parties and potlucks because it won’t go bad (or taste bad) if you can’t keep it chilled the whole time. Thank you so much for giving me a delicious way to eat my veggies!
Hi Nadine, that is so great to hear! And you are right, it’s nice to have something that won’t spoil because of mayo or whatever. It is definitely the best way to eat vegetables and beans! 🙂 Thanks so much for trying the recipe and I’m glad you like it.
I tried this at a birthday party yesterday and it was amazing! And I don’t usually like beans! The version I had also had chick peas in it and they used Garlic Expressions dressing and marinade. I think there are a lot of variations you could do with this recipe.
Hey Karen! I will definitely have to seek out that dressing, it sounds fabulous. So glad someone made Cowboy Caviar! It’s so good and like you said, the sky is the limit! Have a great week!
Just made this Cowboy Caviar and it’s delicious. The sweetness reminds me of Three Bean Salad. Thank you!
Hi BB! Three Bean Salad is on my list to post next, it’s really good. 🙂 Thanks so much for trying my recipe and I’m glad you enjoyed it! Take care.
I make this all the time, love it! Side note: try substituting apple cider vinegar for white wine vinegar, gives it a nice tangy bite! I usually add the juice of 1 lime as well, it brightens up all of the flavors. Also makes an awesome topping for scrambled eggs or omelettes. This has been a family favorite for years!!!!
Hi Cindy! Your tweaks sound awesome, especially the part about eating the Cowboy Caviar with eggs omelettes, Hellloooo high-protein breakfast! In the best possible way! Thank you so much, have a lovely day. 🙂
Love this! But, here in New Mexico we add green chillis to everything. So, I added some chopped roasted mild green chillis and made a double batch hoping for leftovers (there are 4 of us). No such luck! Finished it in one day. The kids asked me to make more tomorrow….
Green chiles are great in this recipe! I’ve tried it myself. They are good in everything, like you said. 🙂 I cannot believe the four of you ate A DOUBLE BATCH in one day. Wait – I can believe it. So happy to hear that, thank you Pam!
Can I substitute cannelini beans for black eyed peas?
Hi Cassandra, yes absolutely! Sometimes canned black eyed peas are hard to find, so just substitute whatever you have on hand or can locate. Cannelinis are great. Thank you so much!
Hi Meggan I have yet to make this and looking forward to it. My question is,,if I were to use dry beans and soak them would you know the quantity? I have a big bin of 7 beans and would like to soak them and use them for your recipe but I am uncertain how much I should use. Any idea??? Would I have to cook them after I soaked them? Clearly I have not done this before…lol.
Hi Joanne! First, you will definitely need to cook the beans after you soak them. The package should tell you how to cook them (it’s probably something like, boil them for an hour, or faster if you use a pressure cooker although I’ve never used one myself). I looked up the conversion of dried beans to canned beans. You’re replacing 2 cans of beans (the black-eyed peas and the black beans), and it looks like 1/2 to 3/4 cup dried beans = 1 can of beans. So, it’s up to you if you want to use 1 cup total or 1 1/2 cups total. Depends on how many you’re feeding, I think! There will be MORE than enough dressing/sauce if you want to go with 1 1/2 cups of dried beans and cook those up. Good for you for putting your giant bag of beans to work! Good luck and thanks for your questions. I love to feel useful. 🙂 Take care!