Cowboy Caviar (or Cowboy Salsa) is a popular chip dip that originated out of Texas. It’s also sometimes called Texas Caviar and it’s made with simple, healthy ingredients including: beans, corn, bell pepper, avocado, and tomato. It is the perfect appetizer for parties, potlucks, or game day!
he name Cowboy Caviar — also known as Texas Caviar — actually has some Dallas history. It was created by Helen Corbitt, the legendary culinary director at Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas, in the 1940s. Since then it’s been a potluck staple for many Texans, and has even been fried at the State Fair of Texas.
Cowboy Caviar is a deliciously fresh bean salad with a colorful mix of beans and vegetables, plus a zesty lime dressing
It All Started With Mr. Cowboy Caviar. Cowboy caviar became the summer dish of 2022 when creator Bria Lemirande went viral on TikTok for her bell peppers, red onion, beans, corn and feta cheese mix
- Sugar: 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. It changes the flavor.
- Extra sweet “shoepeg” corn: Regular canned sweet corn or frozen corn may be substituted for the extra sweet corn. The closest measurement for either option is ¾ cup, but feel free to use the whole 15-ounce can of corn.
For the dressing:
- A 1/2 cup olive oil
- A 1/4 cup granulated sugar or to taste
- A 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- A 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Salt
For the vegetables:
- One Kg Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- One (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas drained and rinsed
- One (15 ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- One (11 ounce) can sweet corn drained
- One Red onion diced
- One Green bell pepper diced
- One Red bell pepper diced
- One cup fresh Cilantro or fresh Parsley, chopped, from 1 bunch
- 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.
