Cowboy Caviar (Quick and Easy Recipe!) - Lauren's Latest (2024)

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This Cowboy Caviar Recipe is a Tex-Mex inspired dip that has been around for years! Enjoy on its own, with chips or spooned onto tacos!It’s the ultimate crowd-pleasing appetizer (along with my 7 Layer Dip)!

Why You’ll Live This Cowboy Caviar Recipe

I cannot put into words just how much I love cowboy caviar. Like, it is beyond amazing in my books. Healthy, crunchy and fresh with all those Mexican flavors you love. Plus it’s the best excuse to eat all the chips you want. Not only is it delicious with chips, but it is also great on tacos, in burritos or piled high onto nachos. I even added a few spoonfuls over some scrambled eggs with a little avocado too. Talk about a party in my mouth.

Main Ingredients Needed for Cowboy Caviar

Lots of Cowboy Caviar recipes vary, but I really love the ease and versatility of this one. The main ingredients include:

• Canned Beans – I use black, white and kidney beans, but any bean will do, as long as you rinse them well before adding. If you hate kidney beans, then don’t use them! Replace them with a bean you do like like pinto beans.
• Corn –sweet corn to be exact. For an extra delicious twist on the recipe try grilling your corn and then cutting it off the cob. Or if you are looking to speed this recipe up, use canned corn.
• Fresh Tomatoes –you can use on the vine tomatoes, Roma tomatoes or your own homegrown tomatoes.
• Onion –the recipe calls for red onion which has a mild flavor but if you don’t like red onions you can replace it with a yellow onion.
• Jalapeño –control your spice levels by either leaving in the seeds or scraping them out.
• Cilantro –for taste and for presentation. If you absolutely can’t stand cilantro, just leave it out and add parsley, scallions, or chives instead.

The Dressing

The other part of Cowboy Caviar that is equally as important is the dressing. Maybe not so much a ‘dressing’ as a marinating liquid for all these ingredients. This is the sweet, spicy, smoky part that really amps up the flavor and takes this from good to great.

• Oil –the recipe calls for avocado oil but if you prefer vegetable oil or olive oil, then use it! This is your dip, people!
• White Balsamic Vinegar –this brings its signature sweet and sour taste to the dressing.
• Garlic –you can’t go wrong with garlic.
• Cumin –for an earthy, nutty, spicy flavor!
• Smoked Paprika –for a smoky taste!
• Honey –to balance out all the savory flavors with some sweetness.

Cowboy Caviar with Avocado

If you have it, feel free to add in a little diced avocado to your Cowboy Caviar. If you’re making this in advance, squeeze some lime juice over your avocado pieces BEFORE adding it into your dip ensure your avocado stays green! Ripe avocado has a tendency to mush easily the more you stir it (which doesn’t make super pretty dip) but still delicious. If this is a non-issue for you, feel free to add it in. I don’t include it in the recipe directions because I prefer avocado-free Cowboy Caviar but again, feel free to add it in as you like.

How to Make Cowboy Caviar

This is a super simple recipe that doesn’t take much time at all. For full details, including increments, see the recipe card down below. 🙂

1. Combine Whole Ingredients

Open cans ofbeans and corn.Drain using a colander and rinse well. Pour into a large bowl. Add intomatoes, onion, jalapeńo, and cilantro.Stir.

Be sure to chop all ingredients into bite-sized pieces, about the same size as the beans. Since you want this Cowboy Caviar to be scoop-able, the smaller the pieces the better.

2. For the Dressing

In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients for dressing together and pour over the bean mixture. Stir to coat.Taste and adjust seasonings.Serve with tortilla chips.

Storing Cowboy Caviar

The longer this sits the more delicious it becomes. Luckily for you (and me!) Cowboy Caviar can last up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Can I Make this Cowboy Caviar Recipe Ahead of Time?

Although this recipe tastes better with time, be wary about your vegetables getting soggy. I’d make this recipe a day ahead and then eat the leftovers as soon as possible. Which is pretty easy since it is SO tasty!

I would not recommend freezing this recipe especially because it is super quick to throw together anyways.

Is Cowboy Caviar Gluten-Free?

You bet it is! This recipe is all vegetables and beans, great sources of vitamins and protein so pick up some corn tortilla chips and enjoy Vegetarian and Gluten-Free Cowboy Caviar.

To make this item vegan omit the honey for regular sugar (just make sure to dissolve it well into the dressing).

More Dips to Try!

If you are looking for more dip recipes, look no further, I’ve got a ton of yummy ones to try!

• Creamy Cowboy Caviar
• Beef Enchilada Dip
• Classic Guacamole
• Pico de Gallo
• Jalapeño Queso Fundido
• Roasted Jalapeño Queso

Make sure you save this recipe because it is so delicious and super quick to throw together. It makes the perfect appetizer or snack. Printable recipe card below! Enjoy! 🙂

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you wouldgive it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.