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Finished cowboy caviar in a ceramic bowl served on bamboo board

Cowboy Caviar 

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5 from 1 review

Looking for a fast and refreshing dish that utilizes commonly stocked pantry items? Cowboy caviar is the answer! This delectable treat can be prepared in mere minutes and only gets better as it sits in the fridge. It’s the ideal make-ahead option for any gathering, be it a picnic, party, or potluck.

  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 8 cups

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 [15 oz] can black-eyed peas (See notes 1)
  • 1 [14 oz] can black beans (See notes 2)
  • 1 [10 oz bag] frozen corn kernels (See notes 3)
  • 12 oz cherry tomatoes (See notes 4)
  • ½ medium bell pepper (See notes 5)
  • ½ small red onion (See notes 6)
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro (See notes 7)
  • 1 to 2 Serrano pepper (See notes 8)
  • 1 avocado (See notes 9)

Dressing

  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice (see notes ¹⁰)
  • 2 medium garlic cloves (pressed or minced)
  • 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
  • Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add the drained black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, chopped tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño.
  2. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a measuring up, then add to the salad ingredients (conversely, you can mix the ingredients directly in the same large mixing bowl as the salad ingredients).
  3. Toss everything together. See NOTES #11 for adding avocado.
  4. Season to taste with additional kosher salt and black pepper if needed
  5. For best flavor, let the mixture marinate for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Equipment

Notes

Substitutes

  1. canned black-eyed peas: If you would rather cook them, you need 1 ½ cups
  2. canned black beans: If you would rather cook them, you need 1 ½ cups
  3. frozen corn kernels: 1 [15 oz] can whole kernel corn or 2 cups of freshly cooked can be used instead
  4. tomatoes: you can use: 1 [12 oz] can of diced tomatoes OR dice up 2 ripe beef steak tomatoes, 4 plum tomatoes, or 12oz of cherry tomatoes.
  5. bell pepper: 1 medium bell pepper of any color; green, red, orange, or yellow. You could also do 1 [15oz can] of diced bell pepper
  6. red onion: Red onion is sweeter, but if you wanted to sub, white onion or 1 entire bunch of green onion would be the best choices.
  7. cilantro: if you have the soap gene use fresh parsley. If you don’t have either, just skip it.
  8. serrano pepper: jalapeno, jarred pepper, or just skip.
  9. avocado: I don’t generally tend to do this because it browns quickly, and I tend to make it ahead of time. But when you can add it, it adds a nice creaminess to it.
  10. Lime juice: lemon juice can be used instead.
  11. If you’ll decide to include avocado, wait to dice it until you’re ready to serve the dip, so it doesn’t turn brown in the meantime.

Other Notes

STORAGE: This dip keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 6 days.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: This is incredibly versatile and can be a dip, a side, topping, or eating on it’s own. I personally LOVE it with Tortilla Chips.

  • Author: Jenn Giam Smith
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Cuisine: Southwestern

Find it online: https://www.jenn-smith.com/cowboy-caviar/