This easy cowboy caviar dip comes together in 15 minutes with black beans, black eyed peas, veggies and avocado with a homemade dressing. It’s a crowd-pleasing appetizer!
We love to serve this appetizer dip recipe with tortilla chips! Other favorites include Rotel sausage dip and this 7 layer dip recipe.
Table of Contents
Easy Cowboy Caviar Dip Recipe
If there’s one thing I could eat for the rest of my life, it would be chips and dip. And this cowboy caviar is high on my favorites list! It’s similar to black bean and corn salsa but with more beans and a delicious homemade dressing. S
I make this cowboy caviar dip (also known as Texas caviar or Mexican caviar) as a Super Bowl appetizer, for holidays, BBQs, game nights, and everything in between. It’s so easy to make in 15 minutes and is as simple as chopping and mixing!
Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Black beans: Rinse and dry the black beans before adding them to the large bowl.
- Blackeyed peas: Open cans of black beans and rinse them and let the black-eyed peas dry a bit before adding to the bowl.
- White shoepeg: This is a white sweetcorn that has a delicious flavor.
- Tomatoes: Slice Roma tomatoes into small slices and chunks that are easy to eat. Cherry tomatoes will also work sliced into fourths or smaller.
- Bell pepper: Wash and chop the bell peppers. Use red, green, and yellow bell peppers for different flavors each time.
- Avocados: Peel and slice the avocados into small pieces. Find a ripe avocado that is easy to slice but not too soft that it is mushy.
- Green onion: Slice into small pieces. You can even slice a red onion instead!
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is citrusy and nutty flavor.
- Lime juice: A fresh squeeze of juice is delicious and refreshing to add to the dip.
How to Make Cowboy Caviar
- Combine beans and chopped veggies. Mix together drained corn and beans in a medium bowl. Then add in finely chopped onion, bell pepper, tomato, and avocado. Stir in the chopped cilantro and add salt and lime juice to taste. Gently mix everything together.
- Make the homemade dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour about half of the mixture on top of the cowboy caviar and gently stir together. Add more dressing as needed.
- Serve and enjoy. Serve cowboy caviar with tortilla chips or over a salad or in a tortilla. Enjoy!
Tips and Variations
- Chill in the fridge. Cowboy caviar is a great make ahead dish for a potluck as it gets even more flavorful after chilling for a few hours in the refrigerator.
- Use Italian dressing for convenience. To make this recipe easier, you could even use Italian dressing. Just make sure to start with less and add more as you go.
- Use fresh grilled corn. If fresh corn is in season, I love to grill the corn and then add it in. Grilling corn kernels adds fresh and delicious flavor.
- Add-ins. Make it spicy by adding a chopped jalapeños or dash of Tabasco sauce. Crumbled feta would be delicious as well as other veggies like green bell pepper.
- Make it a meal. Make it into a wrap, serve over rice or with a burrito bowl. Serve it with grilled chicken in a salad over lettuce leaves or top some salmon!
More easy dips we love include this ceviche recipe, cream cheese bean dip and avocado salsa!
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Cowboy Caviar Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 15 ounce can black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 15 ounce can blackeyed peas or white beans (rinsed and drained)
- 15 ounce can white shoepeg or sweet corn (drained)
- 3-4 diced tomatoes (about 1 cup)
- 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
- 2 avocados (seeded and diced)
- ½ cup chopped green onion
- ¾ cup cilantro
- lime juice , to taste
Dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar , optional
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Combine beans in a bowl. Combine drained canned corn, black beans and black eyed peas into a medium-sized bowl.
- Dice veggies and herbs. Dice 1/2 cup green onion, 1 red bell pepper, 2 avocados and 3-4 tomatoes, then mix them in the bowl. Then chop 3/4 cup cilantro finely and mix that in.
- Taste and add lime. Add salt and lime to taste and gently stir together.
- Dressing. Whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon garlic, 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Then pour about half of the dressing over the bean salad. Stir gently and add more as needed.
- Serve. Serve with tortilla chips, over a salad with grilled chicken or rolled up in a tortilla. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up 2-3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
This dish was introduced by Helen Corbitt who was the Neiman Marcus food director at the time. She brought it to a party as a simple salad but it turned into so much more! The guests at the party named it cowboy caviar because it is filled with humble ingredients.
Yes! Simply make the dip as instructed, however, wait to add the chopped avocado until right before serving. Cover Texas caviar with an airtight lid and store it in the fridge until serving. I’ll usually make it the day before or the morning of if making in advance. That way the flavors have time to marinate together, but still taste super fresh and delicious.
Unfortunately not! The fresh tomato and avocado would drastically change in texture upon thawing and you would have a very watery mess.
Categorized as: American, Appetizers, Dips, Super Bowl, Vegan
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
this is one of the best snack or appetizer recipes, my friends ate this up! thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I am so glad that you love this recipe! It is always a fun dish to make!
this is the perfect game day app! Love it every time!
Oh man, I love this dip soooo much! It tastes so fresh and is pretty healthy! It’s a great snack!
This is one of my favorites. It’s all the flavors of a yummy dip but without the guilt because of all the veggies. Even my kids love it.
I’ve made this for years. Only thing I add is sliced black olives.
Soooooo good!
I use it as a side dish with grilled meat. Vegan bowl , burrito. And as a snack.
I make this ALL the time! One of my favorites!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for your comment Jenn. :)
Cowboy caviar is my favourite as well and this recipe is absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!