Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe
Create a delicious and colorful snack by throwing together an easy bowl of Cowboy Caviar – a black bean and corn salad perfectly flavored with cilantro and lime!
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Have you heard of Cowboy Caviar? It seems to me that it goes by a ton of different names: Black Bean & Corn Salad, Texas Caviar, Cowboy Salsa, Black Bean Salsa, the list goes on! No matter what you call it, this delicious dish of black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, and other goodies is always a crowd pleaser!
Why I love this recipe
I love keeping some yummy Cowboy Caviar at the ready in my fridge all summer long. It’s easy to make and it is a filling, tasty, and healthy no-guilt snack and easy way to get your veggies in!
I mostly eat it as a snack but it is a delicious addition to Mexican dishes like spicy slow cooker chicken tacos, Instant Pot carnitas, or oven baked soft tacos.
Ingredients
- canned, frozen, or fresh corn
- black beans
- cherry tomatoes
- red onion
- green onion
- bottled or fresh lime juice
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper
- cilantro
- avocado
- jalapeño pepper
Step by step
This recipe is a breeze!
- Drain and rinse your beans. If you are using freshly cooked beans instead of canned you can skip this step.
- Combine beans, corn, onions, and jalapeño in a large bowl and mix.
- Add the lime juice, olive oil, salt & pepper, and cilantro and stir to make sure the vegetables are coated.
- Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Stir in avocado and serve!
Tips for best results
- Experiment with the recipe to make it your own! Fell free to substitute the black beans for another kind-kidney beans, pinto beans, and lima beans all work in this recipe!
- Leftovers are delicious in eggs, on salad, or served over baked chicken or steak.
Variations
- Dried black beans – if using dried beans, soak and cook in advance
- Onion – substitute yellow onion if needed
- Bell Pepper – add in chopped bell peppers for a little sweetness and crunch
- Black Eyed Peas – many versions of cowboy caviar include a can of black eyed peas
- Meat – Stir in cubed chicken breast or chopped bacon to amp up the protein
- Cheese – stir in crumbled cotija cheese
Serving suggestions
You can eat it as a side dish, by itself, on top of salad, as a quesadilla or taco topping, or with crackers or tortilla chips, and it’s great as a potluck or party appetizer too!
Storage
Store cowboy caviar in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It is best to store it without the avocado, as it will brown over time.
I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
If you try this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
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Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe
- Total Time: 10 min
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
Create a delicious and colorful snack by throwing together an easy bowl of Cowboy Caviar – a black bean and corn salad perfectly flavored with cilantro and lime!
Ingredients
- 15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup red onion, diced
- 1 green onion, diced
- juice of two limes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- 1 tablespoon diced jalapeño
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine all ingredients except avocado.
- Stir to coat and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Add avocado just before serving.
Notes
- Can be kept in the refrigerator up to three days
- Experiment with the recipe to make it your own! Fell free to substitute the black beans for another kind-kidney, pinto, and lima beans all work in this recipe!
- Do not make this more than one day in advance to avoid the vegetables getting too soft.
- Do not freeze this recipe.
- Leftovers are delicious in eggs, on salad, or served over baked chicken or steak.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: none
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 88
- Sugar: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 122.1 mg
- Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.3 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
You might also like these appetizer recipes:
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I used this recipe as printed. Took it to a family gathering that includes a lot of our “extended” family yoo. My Latino family brought her families traditional version..
They were ALMOST the same..they added olives, sliced, both black and green, and some capers, (omit the salt until after these additions, taste, then add at if needed. The salt in the olives & capers are salty.She lso added cayenne pepper in place of the jalapeno pepper, due to family members dietary preferences.She did have a side a of pickled jalapenos too.
This was absolutely delicious! Put it on top of some Carnitas with homemade sourdough tortillas. I added a little bit of lime zest and went heavy on the cilantro. This will be on regular rotation in our house.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This is a great recipe, I’ve made it so many times, thanks!
Thanks so much for sharing, we’ve made this a few times now and it’s a must for entertaining in the summer!!
YUM! Wasa Crackers have been a staple in our household (since I was quite young) for as long as I can remember! Always so crispy and very flavorful. Your recipe looks great and is on my ‘must try’ list for this summer. Thanks for the great recipe and the fabulous giveaway!
I stumbled upon your recipe here googling cowboy caviar for July 4th! I wanted something heartier that could also double as a quasi-meal for vegetarian guests. This fits This fits the bill PERFECTLY thanks to the crispbread addition. I have found a winner and new blog to add to my list. Thank you!!!!
I would love to try these. Your recipes looks so good.
Yum, I love Wasa! The cowboy caviar looks delicious, I can’t wait to try them together.
I have tried Wasa Crackers and like them. I bought some around Christmas time and set them out during our festivities with hummus spread. Thank you!
I cannot remember if I have ever tried these, but I do know of them and they seem like they would be great with the Cowboy caviar too! Thanks so much for the chances to win.
I have not tried them yet but they sound delicious and would love to share with my whole family
My version is called Texas Cavier but doesn’t have avocado or lime juice in it. I am interested in trying your version. I usually serve it with corn chips but will try some Wasa crackers the next time I go to the store. They look like they might be good with cottage cheese as well.
These crackers look so good and our family is always looking for good crackers.
Sounds so yummy! Thanks
I look forward to trying the Wasa crackers.
We eat Wasa crackers almost every day. This recipe looks great!
Looks delicious!
Yum! This recipe reminds me of a black bean, corn and avocado salad that I make. I need to make this, the name alone is super cute. Thanks for sharing.