How to Make Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe

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This easy Cowboy Caviar recipe is savory with a hint of sweetness, crunchy and soft, a bit tangy and it had a touch of heat.

Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe

The avocado and lime are the key elements in this recipe, also known as Texas Caviar.  The avocado brings a smooth texture that’s wonderful to sink your teeth into and the lime gives it an awesome zing!

Serve it as a side dish, over lettuce as a chunky salad, or put it in a bowl with tortilla chips around it as a simple dip.

Ingredients

• 1 can of blackeyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed and drained
• 2 avocados, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 cup red onion, diced (optional)
• 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half (diced Roma tomatoes also work well)
• 1 jalapeno, minced with veins and seeds removed
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix together black-eyed peas (drained & rinsed), corn, avocado, cilantro, 1/3 cup chopped onion, and tomatoes.
2. Take the veins and seeds out of a jalapeño and mince it until you have 1 tablespoon.
3. Add the finely diced jalapeño to the black-eye peas mixture.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the juice of 2 limes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon ground cumin.
5. Pour the lime mixture over the other ingredients and mix well. 

Cowboy Caviar Short Cut and Tips

Short Cut: Instead of making your own dressing, dress your Cowboy Caviar with your favorite Italian salad dressing and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Instead of frozen corn, use a can of sweet corn. Make sure you drain it well before adding it. Black beans are also a good substitute for black-eyed peas.

Jalapeño Tips

I love the flavor of jalapeños and I really like their fiery kick.  I don’t like how they burn my hands and make it nearly impossible to breathe when I’m working with them.  The first time I cut them up to take the seeds and veins out, my hands burned fiercely for nearly 2 hours.  This is how to avoid that happening to you.

Jalapeño Rule #1: Wear gloves

Most grocery stores carry food-safe gloves for cooking.  If you’re sensitive to latex, look for the latex-free variety.  If you happen to forget and your hands start to burn try soaking them in milk or rubbing them with sour cream or yogurt.

Jalapeño Rule #2: Submerge the peppers in water while deveining them

This keeps the capsaicin (the active heat-inducing component of peppers) out of the air.

Jalapeño Rule #3: Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and veins

Even if you’re using gloves, they can tear if you’re using your fingernails to scrape the jalapeños.

How to Serve Up Cowboy Caviar

I’m old school.  I like my Cowboy Caviar in a bowl with a bag of chips near by.  But why stop there?

Cowboy Caviar has got a lot going for it.  It’s colorful, healthy, easy, and very versatile.  The first time I had it, Sharon brought it in a bowl with a side of tortilla chips.  Here are some other ways to serve it up:

1. Salsa – In a bowl with a bag of tortilla chips or slip it into tacos
2. Side dish – Serve it up just as it is!
3. Salad – Finely chop up a head of romaine and mix it in with the Cowboy Caviar.  Add a little ranch dressing if you’d like.
4. Shrimp cups – Fill phyllo dough cups with Cowboy Caviar, top with grilled shrimp and fresh cilantro
5. Boats – Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the Cowboy Caviar into endive leaves.  Top with grilled shrimp or crawfish.
6. Relish – spoon it over hotdogs or over a couple fried eggs

Any way you decide to dish it up, you’ll be happy you did.  This one’s a real winner!

Where did Cowboy Caviar (aka Texas Caviar) get its name?

This bean salad has been around since the 1940s.  Apparently, it was first served at a New Year’s Eve party in Houston, Texas.  Texas Caviar was given the name as a humorous comparison to costly real caviar.  Plus, it sounds way better than Bean Salad.

Why New Year’s?  Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck has been a long-time tradition in the South.  My family hails from both deep Texas (I was born in Brownsville) and rural Georgia. 

So growing up we always ate black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck.  If this is part of your tradition, I highly recommend trying it out!

Ultimate Party Food

Whether you’re hosting a Super Bowl Party or going to an Oscars party, I highly recommend making this Cowboy Caviar recipe. 

Not only is it easy to make, but if you make it a day or two ahead, it’s even better.  Most of the ingredients you can keep in the pantry or freezer, so it comes together fast!

Bright colorful dishes that are packed with flavor always go over well at any gathering.  It’s so good no one will notice how healthy it is, not to mention gluten-free.

Variations of Cowboy Caviar

• Use black beans instead of black-eyed peas
• Switch out the jalapeño for 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or chili powder
• Instead of making your own dressing, use 1/4 cup of Italian dressing
• Switch out the lime juice for a splash of red wine vinegar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
• Add 1/3 cup of each bell pepper: yellow, red, and orange; or 1/2 cup of 2 of them. (I shy away from using raw green bell peppers since they can cause stomach issues).

Enjoy! 😊

More Party Food Recipes

Parmesan Breadsticks

Artichoke Dip

Charcuterie Board

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Things to do if you’re bored:

Put those boxes of loose pictures into photo albums. 😁