Never heard of Cowboy Caviar? TikTok may have made it popular, but I made it oil-free! Come see what all the fuss is about!
Texas Caviar, a deliciously addicting dip of chopped veggies & beans marinated in a zesty vinaigrette, was created in the '50s by Neiman Marcus food director, Helen Corbitt. it was first served on New Year's Eve at the Houston Country Club as "pickled black-eyed peas".
Over the years, it has become more affectionately known as Cowboy Caviar. It's sort of like a Southwestern Salad (only disguised as a dip, so don't tell anyone it's actually healthy)!
The basic recipe for cowboy caviar includes diced bell pepper, tomatoes, red onion, and jalapeño along with corn, black-eyed peas, and black beans. It's then dressed with either a citrusy vinaigrette or Italian dressing.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of black-eyed peas - so I used chickpeas instead. That way I could also use some of that delicious bean juice called aquafaba to replace the oil in the dressing, making it completely oil-free.
It's an easy recipe to make, there's no cooking involved whatsoever, and it tastes amazing. Hope you give it a try.
Cowboy Caviar Ingredients
- 15oz can of chickpeas
- 15oz can of black beans
- ½ red onion
- 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 or 2 jalapenos (depending on how much heat you like)
- 1 avocado (completely optional)
- 8 oz frozen (or fresh) corn
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
For the dressing, you'll need the juice from the can of chickpeas, some lime juice, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, minced garlic, and a few common spices like salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin.
Drain and rinse the black beans and add them to a large mixing bowl. Drain the chickpeas, reserving ⅓ cup of the liquid, and add them as well.
Finely dice the red onion, jalapeno, tomatoes, avocado, and any color bell pepper you want (I used orange).
Note: If you're watching your fat levels, you can leave the avocado out. In fact, you can pretty much customize the ingredients and the amounts any way you like.
Add the diced veggies to the bowl along with 8oz of corn and a small handful of chopped cilantro and mix well. You can use fresh corn, frozen, or canned. If using canned, drain and rinse before adding.
Tip: I used my 7-1 chopper I reviewed in this video - and it made chopping the veggies a breeze!
Cowboy Caviar Dressing
Take that ⅓ cup of chickpea liquid you saved earlier and add another ¼ cup of red wine vinegar. Then add 2 Tbs lime juice, 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder.
Whisk well and taste - it will be pretty tart. Mix in 1 teaspoon maple syrup to balance all that tartness and re-taste. Adjust to your liking.
Pour over your salad and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hr to let all those flavors meld together.
Serve with your favorite chips. I use my Cuisinart Air Fryer/Toaster Oven to make my own tortilla chips, completely oil-free.
And that, my friends, is Cowboy Caviar.
Hope you like it and y'all come back now, ya hear? 😁
Oil-Free Cowboy Caviar
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Dips
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Never heard of Cowboy Caviar? TikTok may have made it popular, but I made it oil-free! Come see what all the fuss is about!
Ingredients
- 15 oz can black beans
- 15 oz can chickpeas
- 5 oz chopped tomatoes
- ½ red onion
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 8 oz corn
- 1 or 2 jalapenos
- 1 avocado (optional)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Dressing
- ⅓ cup chickpea bean juice (aquafaba)
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbs lime juice
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the black beans and add them to a large mixing bowl
- Drain the chickpeas, reserving the liquid, and add them as well.
- Dice all the veggies and add them too - then mix well.
- Take ⅓ cup of that chickpea liquid and add another ¼ cup vinegar.
- Add the remaining ingredients for the dressing and whisk to combine.
- Pour dressing over the salad and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, then serve.
Joolz
SO GOOD!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!
ALICE VEGA
I add a can of white shoepeg corn drained. This is such a great recipe. Thank you again Chuck! You're my plant-based hero!
Ken
This is very good. I made it this evening for my lunches this week, and it tasted pretty good right out of the bowl. I haven't tried it yet after it finishes chilling. But it will probably be even better. Thanks, Chuck. It's a keeper.
Richard
I added this to some Brown rice and had it as a salad
Kevin
I prep this for my lunch at work. I make 4 servings, place them in 4 containers, and throw it in the fridge at work. I eat it all week long for lunch. I'll change each one up a bit by one day placing mixed greens under it, the next day a bit of elbow pasta mixed in, then use it as a baked potato topping, and enjoy it with sliced apples. yum yum yum
K Golden
Made it tonight to put over sweet potatoes. Very good!
Judy
Just what we needed. Many thanks for the oil-free dressing which tastes really good. Love it.
in2insight
The dressing is divine.
The whole thing comes together with ease and is super tasty to boot!
Thank you for sharing.
(Note: as there was plenty of dressing added a bit of cooked bow pasta and some diced baked tofu to round it out into a complete meal for us)
Dianne
Love this recipe! I made it with canned diced tomatoes - just drained the liquid off a small can, and it's so good! I've been eating it from a bowl as is. In my opinion it doesn't need anything else. The different colours are a feast for the eyes, and then the explosion of taste in my mouth as all the different flavours come together. Definitely something I'll be making again and again. Thanks for another great recipe, Chuck!
Sandy
I love this Chuck. And I can't have oil so it's perfect.I make something similar and add avocado and other vegies.
Tha k you this is refreshing.
Sandy
cms
Cowboy Caviar has been 'popular' long before TikTok picked up on it.
Chuck Underwood
I'm sure it was, especially in Texas. But TikTok did open it up to a whole new generation.
Ron
I love this stuff
Jessica
Made it tonight and served it over mashed, roasted Japanese sweet potatoes. Very good, and hubby loved it! Thanks!
Mia
So excited to try this recipe! The ingredients I usually always have in my pantry so thank you for that!