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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.
I accidentally used balsamic white vinegar instead of white wine vinegar. Is this going to taste ok? :/
Thank you!!
Hi Courtney! Sorry I was gone all day and couldn’t reply to you until now. You should be JUST FINE with white balsamic! Honestly, any kind of vinegar is good in this recipe. It doesn’t really matter. No sweat! I hope you think so too when you try it. 🙂 Thank you! Sorry again for the delay.
I made this with balsamic white vinegar instead of white wine vinegar? Do you think it will taste ok? :/ Just realized this mistake. Thank you!!
Can’t wait to make this for our work “BBQ Challenge”. I am a Cheesehead also and totally off the sugar! Yay for me and them too! As I am sure they will enjoy this delectable dish as much as I will making it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Go Packers!
Cheeseheads 4Ever! And yes to no sugar, I mean, I eat sugar but I strive to eat less. Or none. It’s hard! But you inspire me to keep trying! As long as you don’t swear off cheese, we can be friends. 🙂 GO PACKERS!!!!!!!
No, no, no. I’m from Wisconsin too and would never dream of using so much sugar!
Obviously Wisconsin has people who watch their sugar intake! 🙂 I just happen to not be related to A-N-Y of them, I guess, ha ha!
Hi Meggan,
This turned out deeelish!! It’s so fresh and healthy!! I changed the dressing a bit by reducing the sugar to 1 Tbs, reducing the oil to 1/4 cup, adding fresh garlic, cumin, paprika, dried jalapeno flakes, lime juice, and a dash of Tequila [hope you don’t mind….I’m a TexAZ girl]. I’m taking it to a dinner party tonight as an appetizer (served with tortilla chips).
I think the original dressing is great, too. Just depends on what you’re hankerin’ for at the time! 🙂
I hope there’s leftovers….mmmm lunch!!
Can’t wait to try it. Got hooked on the one Costco carries. Theirs is sweet too.
Thank you Linda, I hope you love it! I will have to look for it at Costco. 🙂
This is a great recipe! I reduced the sugar and added some fresh ginger and cubed avacado……..yummy and so healthy.
Such nice additions, Tricia! Glad you loved it. 🙂
Thanks! I used about 2 tsb sugar & added Xtra chili powder, jalapenos and garlic (sorry, just us Texas essentials ) My only suggestion would be adding dressing to taste instead of first, was way too much liquid for me, saved mine with 8 sheets of Bounty. Couldn’t get the stars to work but a 4 or 5 for sure.
Yes to all of this! You’re right, the dressing should be to taste. I love Texans. 🙂 Thanks Donald!
I made this the other night and it was literally gone in 10 minutes! I did read some of the reviews and only added 1/4 cup of sugar. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I will be making it all summer!
Disappointed with the last “Texas Caviar” recipe I tried, I’m going to give this one a whirl because the ingredients look more in line with what I expect. Although, most recipes I have eaten or have made use Tiger Sauce for the seasoning. Have you ever tried it in this recipe as a substitute?
Hi Marcia, I have never heard of Tiger Sauce! But I looked it up and it looks AWESOME. I was curious where you are from and if that is a regional condiment. The only thing I noticed is (at the least the recipe I saw) it has no sugar. My Cowboy Caviar is quite sweet, so please tread lightly if you are worried about sugar! Anyway, I am definitely going to experiment with tiger sauce and see where it leads me. I appreciate the info and I hope you aren’t disappointed in my cowboy caviar! Take care.