This easy Cowboy Caviar recipe is a colorful take on salsa, made with black beans and black-eyed peas, plus crunchy fresh vegetables – all folded into a bright, tangy dressing. Enjoy this cowboy salsa with tortilla chips or as a hearty relish or side salad!
While you’re waiting for those summer tomatoes to ripen so you can enjoy the best pico de gallo, make this Cowboy Caviar recipe instead! You might know this easy salsa by another name, Texas caviar? Either way, this simple recipe is fresh and colorful with veggies, and packed with a huge amount of flavor. Black beans add heartiness and I adore its tangy dressing. Grab some salty tortilla chips and dig in!
Why I Love This Recipe
Mom introduced this recipe to me many years ago, passed down from her girlfriend Phyllis. I was instantly smitten. Here’s why I think you’ll love it, too!
- A different kind of salsa. For me, variety is truly the spice of life. So this recipe is a delicious way to keep ‘chips & salsa’ interesting!
- So easy. With easy pantry items and a few things from the vegetable drawer, it’s so easy to make this flavorful dish.
- Hearty. I’m being very honest with you here…I often just eat this salsa like a salad! With two kinds of beans and fresh veggies, all folded together in an amazingly delicious dressing – why not?!
Why Is It Called Cowboy Caviar?
This cowboy caviar recipe has many names – also known as cowboy salsa, Texas Caviar, or Mexican caviar. It got the name caviar in a playful nod to traditional caviar (or, fish roe). While this dish is often described and served as a dip, you might think it’s a bean salad from the ingredients list. Besides the beans, there’s plenty of crisp celery, green pepper, green onions, and herby cilantro – all in a sweet-tangy vinagirette that gives it a lightly pickled flavor.
Ingredient Notes
Here’s what you’ll need to make this cowboy salsa – see the photo above and the list below. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.
FOR THE SALSA
- Beans – Canned black beans and black-eyed peas give delicious, easy heartiness to this salsa. Just rinse and drain, then dump them in!
- Shoepeg corn – This variety of corn is small and sweet. You can substitute 2 cups (or more!) of raw sweet corn kernels if you wish – and I highly recommend this when you have sweet summer corn!!
- Pimentos – Pimentos are a sweet and very mild red pepper. Just drain a jar of pimentos and add them to the bowl.
- Green bell pepper – I like to make cowboy caviar very “green”. If you want to use a different color bell pepper, go right ahead.
- Green onion – This is the only onion included in this salsa.
- Celery – Adds a delightfully crisp, crunchy texture.
- Cilantro – Add more or less, as desired. If you don’t like cilantro, try adding some parsley.
- Jalapeno – While I usually make cowboy caviar on the mild side, you can definitely add more heat with more jalapenos.
- Garlic – This adds a savory, pungent bite. Feel free to up the amount of garlic called for if you love garlic.
FOR THE DRESSING
- Vegetable oil – The dressing is vinaigrette-style, with a base of oil and vinegar.
- Rice vinegar – I love the light, bright tanginess this adds!
- Sugar – For sweetness.
- Lime juice – Use freshly-squeezed lime juice for the best flavor. This adds great flavor.
- Cumin – Adds delicious earthy, smoky flavor. It’s fitting for the word “cowboy”!
- Salt & pepper
How to Make Cowboy Caviar
I love how simple it is to make this recipe. See my method below. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.
- Make the salsa. Place all of the salsa ingredients in a bowl and fold to combine.
- Prepare the dressing. Add all the dressing ingredients to a jar. Then twist on the lid and shake the jar vigorously for 30 seconds to combine really well.
- Finish. Pour the dressing over the caviar ingredients and fold a few times to combine. Then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Tips & Variation Ideas
Follow a couple simple tips to make this turn out perfectly. I also include a few easy ways to change this up!
- Make everything the same size. I aim to keep all the ingredients in this cowboy caviar recipe about the same size. I like the uniform look, plus it’s easier to scoop up with chips. So that means, simply dice the green pepper and celery so it’s roughly the same size as the beans and corn. The one exception to this is the jalapeno, where I like to mince it nice and small for better heat distribution throughout the salsa (our kids do NOT like big bites of jalapeno!).
- Make it ahead. This cowboy caviar benefits from being made ahead of time, to allow the flavors to mingle and soak into the beans. You can make it up to 24 hours in advance and stash it in the fridge.
- Use fresh sweet corn. I love to do this during summer sweet corn season! Simply leave out the canned corn and add 2 cups of fresh sweet corn kernels instead.
- Fold in tomatoes. Another summertime addition that I love. When I have sweet summer tomatoes, I like to throw some of those in, too. I just dice them the same size as the rest of the ingredients.
- Try different beans. Change it up with white beans or even chickpeas.
- Use a different onion. Swap out the green onion for some diced yellow onion or red onion.
- Add avocado. Add chunks of creamy texture with some diced avocado.
- Increase the heat. If you like heat, add more jalapeno. Or add a hotter pepper, such as a habanero.
- Trade the vinegar. If you don’t have rice vinegar, or don’t like rice vinegar, try white vinegar, red vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
Ways to Use Your Cowboy Salsa
There are so many ways to enjoy cowboy salsa. Here goes!
- Chips – A big bowl of crunchy, salty tortilla chips or Fritos is exactly what you want to scoop up cowboy caviar!
- Add to a burrito bowl – Spoon cowboy salsa onto burrito bowls for extra flavor and texture. It’s really good with a carnitas burrito bowl.
- Top tacos – Try my mole pork tacos or grilled pork and pineapple tacos with a little cowboy caviar, or add it to dorito taco salad. It would also be great with blackened shrimp tacos!
- With other dips – Make a dips buffet featuring cowboy caviar along with queso fundido, warm salsa, juicy pineapple salsa, and ceviche!
How to Store
Place any leftover cowboy caviar in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can serve the salsa cold or at room temperature.
More SALSA & DIP RECIPES
Cowboy Caviar
Ingredients
Salsa
- 1 can (15-16 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15-16 ounces) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 2 cans (11 ounces each) white shoepeg corn (or substitute 2 cups fresh, raw sweet corn kernels)
- 1 jar (4 ounces) chopped pimentos, drained
- 1½ cups diced green pepper
- 1½ cups thinly sliced green onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno (more or less to taste, depending on the heat of your jalapenos)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (use more if desired)
Dressing
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (use more if desired)
- 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- In a large bowl, fold together all salsa ingredients.
- Add all dressing ingredients to a jar or bowl, then add a tight-fitting lid. Shake the jar vigorously for 30 seconds to combine.
- Pour dressing over salsa ingredients and fold a few times to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 1 day in advance. Before serving, fold the salsa a few times to combine. If desired, drain off some of the excess dressing and accumulated juices. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips or Fritos corn chips. You can also serve this as a relish or side salad.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in 2010 and updated in 2024.
I’m sure that it can be, but I haven’t tried it. Please let me know if you do!
Love this! My sister in-law works at Blacks for a fun job to get plants! Great flowers too!
A bowl full of flavor, and bursting with color!