This Texas Caviar (a.k.a. Cowboy Caviar) is loaded with black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, tomatoes, jalapeno, avocado, and more. We put a twist on it by adding cooked shrimp! Toss it with a tangy lime dressing for a healthy and easy dip, salad, or side dish that everyone will love. You can make it in advance in just 30 minutes!
Howdy from Texas, y’all! Mosey on up for one of the best dips or appetizers that you’ll ever taste — a family fave: Texas caviar or Cowboy caviar.
If you haven’t heard, this is a Texan black-eyed pea salad tossed with black beans, fresh or canned corn, fresh veggies, and a lime vinaigrette dressing.
But as you see, I put a spin on the traditional Cowboy Caviar recipe by adding shrimp and avocado. Yeehaw!
That made it even more delish. Trust me! Although our Texas caviar salad serves 12, it wasn’t enough for my family of four.
I ain’t kidding folks! Once you put that first mound in your mouth, you’ll want to eat it non-stop.
Ready for the comforting flavors of this gluten-free Cowboy Caviar Salad?
Table of Contents
What’s Texas Caviar?
Texas Caviar is an easy recipe created by Helen Corbitt, a native New Yorker, who became the director of foodservice at Neiman Marcus around 1940 in Dallas, Texas.
She first served the dish on New Year’s Eve because black-eyed peas are its main ingredient and are said to bring prosperity or good luck according to a Southern tradition just like Hoppin’ John.
Later on, her salad was given the name “Texas caviar," as a witty comparison to true caviar.
Made with a combination of either canned or cooked beans (such as red, black, or pinto), black-eyed peas, peppers(jalapeño and green and red bell peppers), tomatoes, and fresh corn tossed in a tangy dressing, it became a Southern classic.
Here in Texas, we serve this healthy appetizer with tortilla chips - as a dip!
But this dish is also known under other names such as Texas caviar salad, Cowboy caviar, Southern caviar, Hillbilly caviar, Lone Star caviar, Texas Bean caviar, and Tex-Mex caviar.
Because the original recipe made with pantry staples is a versatile dish, you may find it under Texas Salsa Dip, Black-Eyed Pea Caviar, and Texas Corn Salad.
Over time, the easy cowboy caviar recipe gained some variations based on the region in which it is served and added local ingredients. Some of them are Tennessee Caviar, Oklahoma Caviar, and Carolina Caviar.
It makes the best dip or salad for summer BBQ, tailgating, potlucks, and more.
Ingredients
This quick and easy Texas Caviar recipe has 2 main components:
Texas Caviar Dressing
The first component is the dressing! Some combine Texas Caviar with Italian Dressing while others toss it with a lime juice-olive oil-honey-based salad dressing. You can add chili powder to give a touch of spiciness.
Salad Ingredients
The second component is the salad ingredients: Cooked or canned beans (red, pinto, or black beans), black-eyed peas, onions (a combination of green and red onion), fresh or fire-roasted tomatoes, corn kernels, and peppers like spicy jalapeños or sweet bell peppers.
Avocado is often included in some versions of the simple dip recipe. We added cooked shrimp to ours for a complete salad but you can skip it!
How to Make Texas Caviar
- For the dip/salad: In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Texas caviar dip, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Chill the avocado (whole and unpeeled) for at least one hour. Take off the pit and slice to add to the salad right before serving to prevent turning brown! SEE PIC. 1
- If you want, add cooked shrimp. Or heat a dash of oil in a no-stick skillet over medium heat, season the shrimp with salt and pepper, and sauté until just becomes pinkish. Let it cool before adding to the salad!
- For the cowboy caviar dressing: In another bowl or Mason jar, whisk in/shake well all the ingredients for the dressing. SEE PIC. 2 Refrigerate covered.
- Right before serving or about 30 minutes prior, pour the dressing over the Texas caviar and toss until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. SEE PIC. 3
- Serve with corn tortilla chips as a dip or by itself as a salad or side dish for meats. SEE PIC. 4
Pro Tips for Texas Caviar Recipe
- Preferably toss the avocado into the Texas caviar right before serving to prevent it from turning brown. Refrigerate the fruit whole and unpeeled, and then remove the pit and slice before adding to the salad.
- Make sure to chill the Texas caviar dip in the fridge for at least one hour.
- The shrimp and avocado are not ingredients in the traditional cowboy caviar dip — you can skip them if you prefer.
- You can serve it as a salad or side dish, as a dip with corn chips, as a condiment/topping for meats (grilled flank steak and skirt steak ) and chicken enchiladas, in sandwiches, wraps, quesadillas, and these carne asada tacos and spicy shrimp tacos, and with pork fajitas. Did you know you can top your Texas chicken nachos with it?
How to Serve Cowboy Caviar
Here are a few ways to serve this Cowboy Caviar Recipe:
- As a topping or condiment: Top your grilled salmon, baked salmon, air fryer salmon, or white fish like this air fryer tilapia, or a variety of cooked beef cuts with a few tablespoons.
- As a Salad or Side Dish: It also goes well with baked chicken breast, baked chicken thighs, air fryer chicken thighs, fried chicken, and some meat-substitute vegetarian dishes such as grilled portabella mushrooms.
- Treat your guests with it as a Dip or Fresh Salsa: This Texas caviar dip makes the best budget-friendly entertaining or party food. Tortilla chips are a must to serve with!
Texas Caviar Dip with Italian Dressing
We used a lime dressing, common in Tex-Mex cuisine. However, if you want more of a classic Texas Caviar, use a zesty Italian dressing as follows:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (apple cider or red wine vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Whisk or shake in a jar all the ingredients together until combined.
FREQUENT ASKED QUESTIONS
Should I use Canned or Cooked Beans?
I used canned beans to save me time but if you prefer to cook your own beans, you can replace the canned beans with 2 cups of home-cooked, drained beans.
Feel free to mix and match beans such as black, pinto, or red beans.
Can I multiply this recipe to serve a larger crowd?
Yes! As in most bean salads, you can multiply it as you please. Just taste it and adjust the seasonings if needed.
How Can I Make this Cowboy Caviar Dip Vegan Friendly?
To make this easy Cowboy Caviar vegan, simply swap honey with maple syrup. Of course, skip the shrimp!
What Can I Use Instead of Cilantro?
if you are not a fan of fresh cilantro you can either swap it with fresh Italian parsley or simply omit it.
Can I make this cowboy caviar recipe in advance?
Yes, you can make this recipe 24 hours in advance. Just make sure to keep the dressing and salad ingredients separate from each other.
Mix them preferably right before eating to not become soggy, or about 30 minutes in advance to allow the citrusy flavors of the dressing to infuse into the salad ingredients.
Is Texas Caviar Gluten-Free?
Yes, it is gluten-free. But if serving as a dip with tortilla chips, make sure yours are gluten-free as well!
Can I use Canned Fire-Roasted Tomatoes instead of Fresh Tomatoes?
Although fresh tomatoes add extra freshness to this salad, you can use canned fire-roasted tomatoes as long as you drain them well.
Storage
Consume Texas caviar salad within 24 hours if it contains avocado. Or up to 3-4 days if it contains shrimp and no avocado.
If it doesn’t contain either shrimp or avocado, keep it in the fridge for up to one week in an airtight container.
Freeze for up to 2 months. Make sure to thaw in the fridge and stir well before serving.
Other bean recipes
- Black bean salad recipe
- Pinto bean salad
- Feijoada Recipe
- Vegetarian feijoada
- How to Make Black Beans
- Instant Pot Black Beans
- Easy Black Beans and Rice
- Black Bean Pasta
- Black Bean Soup
Other Dip Recipes
PIN & ENJOY!
Texas Caviar (Cowboy Caviar)
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 Mason jar
Ingredients
For the Texas Caviar:
- 2 15 oz cans black eye peas drained and rinsed (800 grams)
- 1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed (400 grams)
- 1 15 oz can yellow corn drained and rinsed (400 grams)
- ½ red onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 jalapeno chopped
- 2 bell peppers chopped (any color of choice)
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 1 avocado chopped
- 8 oz cooked large shrimp cleaned and tail-off (optional) or 227 grams
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt or more if desired
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon honey or sugar
- 3 tablespoon chopped cilantro or parsley
- corn tortilla chips to serve with
Instructions
- For the dip/salad: In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Texas caviar dip, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Chill the avocado (whole and unpeeled) for at least one hour. Take off the pit and slice to add to the salad right before serving to prevent turning brown!
- If you want, add cooked shrimp. Or heat a dash of oil in a no-stick skillet over medium heat, season the shrimp with salt and pepper, and sauté until just becomes pinkish. Let it cool before adding to the salad!
- For the cowboy caviar dressing: In another bowl or Mason jar, whisk in/shake well all the ingredients for the dressing. Refrigerate covered.
- Right before serving or about 30 minutes prior, pour the dressing over the Texas caviar and toss until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
- Serve with corn tortilla chips as a dip or by itself as a salad or side dish for meats.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.
Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.
Post first published on July 23, 2019.
John / Kitchen Riffs says
Love this dish! Haven't made it for a couple of years, but it used to be a staple at every party we gave. Come to think of it, haven't given a big party in a couple of years either. 🙂 Good post -- thanks.
Raymund says
I would love to munch on this endlessly 🙂
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
This look incredible... and I love the addition of shrimp!