Cowboy Caviar
Cowboy Caviar is a deliciously fresh bean salad with a colorful mix of beans and vegetables, plus a zesty lime dressing. The post Cowboy Caviar appeared first on Budget Bytes.
This fresh and colorful Cowboy Caviar recipe combines two types of beans, delicious summer vegetables, and a sweet and tangy lime vinaigrette dressing to make a bold and versatile dish that I always make all summer long. It’s a great chip dip, party appetizer, taco topper, salad add-on, or just a simple side dish. Plus, cowboy caviar holds up great in the fridge, so it has become my go-to healthy meal prep. I literally never get tired of it!
“This stuff is fantastic. Make it the day before you intend to serve it to let the flavors mingle. It’s great on burritos, scrambled eggs, over rice, on a chip…This is a staple recipe in my house.” Austin
What is Cowboy Caviar?
Cowboy caviar, sometimes called Texas Caviar or Mexican Caviar, is a cross between a bean salad and a fresh salsa. It combines two types of beans, black beans and black-eyed peas, with a colorful medley of fresh vegetables and a tangy balsamic-lime vinaigrette. I serve it as a side dish, or a garnish for any number of foods like tacos, salads, grilled meats, and more. It’s absolutely delicious, and I know you’re going to love it!
Cowboy Caviar
Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Ingredients
DRESSING*
- 2 Tbsp olive oil $0.22
- 1 fresh lime (2 Tbsp juice) $0.25
- 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar $0.10
- 1/2 tsp chili powder** $0.05
- 1 tsp ground cumin $0.10
- 1/2 tsp salt $0.02
- 1/2 tsp sugar $0.02
Salad
- 1 15oz. can black beans $0.94
- 1 15oz. can black eyed peas*** $1.24
- 1 bell pepper (any color) $1.48
- 2 Roma tomatoes $0.48
- 1 jalapeño $0.33
- 1/4 red onion $0.11
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro $0.20
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, 2 Tbsp of juice from the lime, balsamic vinegar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and sugar.
- Rinse and drain both cans of beans in a colander. Once well drained, transfer them to a large bowl.
- Finely dice the bell pepper, tomatoes, jalapeño, and red onion. Try to dice the vegetables into pieces that are roughly the same size as the beans. For a less spicy salad, scrape the seeds out of the jalapeño before dicing. Roughly chop the cilantro.
- Add the chopped vegetables to the bowl with the beans.
- Pour the dressing over the salad, then stir until everything is well coated. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Video
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Cowboy Caviar Step-by-Step Photos
Make the dressing: I always make the dressing first so the flavors have a few minutes to blend. Whisk together 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp lime juice, ½ Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp chili powder, ½ tsp sugar, and ½ tsp salt.
Prep the ingredients: Rinse and drain one 15oz. can of black beans and one 15oz. can of black-eyed peas in a colander.
Gather one bell pepper (any color), two Roma tomatoes, one jalapeño, 1/4 of a red onion, and 1/4 bunch of cilantro. While any color bell pepper can be used, I like the colorful pop of yellow or orange bell pepper.
Finely dice the bell pepper, tomatoes, jalapeño, and red onion. The idea is to get the pieces close in size to the beans so that you have a “caviar” type appearance in the end. Roughly chop the cilantro leaves. Place the chopped vegetables in the bowl with the rinsed beans.
Assemble the salad: Pour the prepared dressing over the salad.
Serve: Stir the salad until everything is coated in the dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat. This is one of those salads that tastes even better after it has time to chill in the fridge, so it’s great to eat over the course of a few days!
Cowboy Caviar Variations
This cowboy caviar recipe is extremely versatile and there are tons of other ingredients you can add to make it your own. Here are some other ingredients you can add:
- Avocado for a creamy finish
- A dash or two of hot sauce to make it extra spicy
- Skip the jalapeño to make a mild cowboy caviar
- Use green onion in place of the red onion to make it more mild, or in place of the cilantro if cilantro isn’t your thing!
- Sweet corn adds more color and texture to the mix and can be a great low-cost substitution for yellow bell pepper
- I used a mix, but you can use any color bell peppers you like!
- Fresh garlic adds a savory-spicy kick!
- Add canned hominy (drained) for more color and texture
- Use garbanzo beans in place of any of the beans
Serving Suggestions
There are SO many ways to eat cowboy caviar. Honestly, you’ll probably find yourself adding it to everything you eat. But here are a few ideas anyway:
- Serve it as a side dish with just about any dinner
- Use as a chunky dip for tortilla chips
- Use it as a topping for tacos or ground beef fajitas
- Use it as a quesadilla filling
- Stuff it into a burrito or as part of a burrito bowl
- Sprinkle a spoonful or two over a taco salad
- Add it on top of scrambled eggs
…and so much more. If you have a favorite way to eat this recipe, feel free to share it with me in the comments below!
How Long Does it Last?
Well, if you don’t eat it all in one sitting (it can happen!), this cowboy caviar recipe holds up extremely well in the refrigerator and will stay good in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days. While the vegetables will let off a little water, most of the ingredients are very sturdy. Just be sure to stir the salad before serving to redistribute the dressing. This salad will probably not freeze well, due to the fresh herbs and vegetables.
More Bean Salad Recipes
Our Cowboy Caviar recipe was originally published on 7/9/16. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 5/11/25.
The post Cowboy Caviar appeared first on Budget Bytes.
