Loaded with beans, vegetables, and herbs, and seasoned with fresh lime juice, vinegar, and olive oil, Cowboy Caviar, also known as Texas Caviar, is a cross between a salsa and a salad. Many recipes call for heaps of sugar — this one does not! It is healthy, hearty, and crowd-pleasing!

A bowl of Texas Caviar aside tortilla chips.

Cowboy Caviar, also known as Texas Caviar, is traditionally very sweet, with many recipes calling for heaps of sugar. But it doesn’t need to be! The vegetables — peppers, onions, and corn — lend a sweetness on their own, rendering additional sugar hardly necessary. This recipe calls for a mere two teaspoons (cut back from 1/2 cup), but you could omit it altogether if you prefer.

Cowboy Caviar calls for a mix of black beans and black-eyed peas, both of which are easy to cook from scratch because neither requires soaking, and each cooks up quickly, especially in a pressure cooker. But for ease, you can simply use canned beans — they work beautifully here.

I find this beany salsa addictive. Spoon it over scrambled eggs, tuck it into a burrito, pile it atop tortilla chips, or simply eat it by the spoonful!

How to Make Cowboy Caviar/Texas Caviar, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients:

Ingredients for Texas caviar on the counter.

You can cook the beans from scratch, or you can simply use canned: see recipe box for details.

A bowl of black eyed peas.

I love using my pressure cooker for black beans and black-eyed peas, because they cook up so quickly.

Cooked black eyed peas in stovetop pressure cooker.

Regardless if you are cooking the beans from scratch or using canned, be sure to drain, rinse, and dry the beans before tossing them with the other ingredients.

A colander filled with black eyed peas.

Transfer the beans to a large bowl.

A bowl with cooked black beans and black eyed peas.

Chop up your vegetables and herbs.

A board of chopped vegetables for Texas caviar.

Add them to the bowl.

A bowl with all of the ingredients for Texas Caviar.

Add dressing, a mix of olive oil, vinegar, salt, and sugar.

A bowl with Texas caviar ingredients plus olive oil, vinegar, salt, and fresh lime juice.

Add fresh lime.

A bowl with freshly tossed Texas caviar.

Grab some chips.

A bowl of Texas caviar aside a bag of Xochitl chips.

Serve immediately.

A large bowl filled with Texas caviar aside tortilla chips.
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A bowl of Texas Caviar.

Healthy Cowboy Caviar (Low Sugar)

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Description

Loaded with beans, vegetables, and herbs, and seasoned with fresh lime juice, vinegar, and olive oil, Cowboy Caviar, also known as Texas Caviar, is a cross between a salsa and a salad. Many recipes call for heaps of sugar — this one does not! It is healthy, hearty, and crowd-pleasing!

Notes:

  • Texas Caviar traditionally is very sweet. I’ve cut the sugar back from 1/2 cup to 2 teaspoons, but honestly I think I’d like it just as well with no sugar at all. I’ve offered starting measurements for the oil, vinegar, and sugar, but dress these beans to taste: add more sugar if you like; add more vinegar and fresh lime, too, if you like acidity (beans do!); and more oil if necessary.
  • Beans: You need 4 to 5 cups of cooked beans here. If you prefer to use from-scratch cooked beans, here’s what I do:
    • For the black beans: Place 1 cup of beans along with 4 cups water and a teaspoon of kosher salt into a stovetop pressure cooker. Close the lid. Turn the heat to high. When the two red lines of the valve are visible, reduce heat to low—the valve should drop to reveal only 1 line but it’s OK if it does not—and cook for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let valve release naturally, which should take between 15-20 minutes. Remove lid. Taste a bean to ensure it is cooked through. If it is not, simmer until it is. If using the beans immediately, drain and set aside; if not, store the beans in their cooking liquid.
    • For the black-eyed peas: Place 1 cup of beans along with 4 cups water and a teaspoon of kosher salt into the your stovetop pressure cooker. Close the lid. Turn the heat to high. When the two red lines of the valve are visible, reduce heat to low—the valve should drop to reveal only 1 line but it’s OK if it does not—and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let valve release naturally, which should take between 15 minutes. Remove lid. Taste a bean to ensure it is cooked through. If it is not, simmer until it is cooked. If using the beans immediately, drain and set aside; if not, store the beans in their cooking liquid.

Ingredients

  • one 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed, see notes above
  • two 15-ounce cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 large red onion, finely diced to yield roughly 2 cups 
  • 2 ears of corn, shucked, kernels removed
  • 2 to 3 red (or other) bell peppers, finely diced
  • 6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts
  • 1 –2 jalapeños, finely chopped
  • 1 large bunch cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 cup vinegar, such as apple cider, white balsamic or rice, plus more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons sugar, optional, plus more or less to taste
  • juice of one lime, plus more to taste
  • tortilla chips, for serving, I love the Xochitl brand

Instructions

  1. Dry the beans in a large clean dish towel, then transfer them to a large bowl. 
  2. To the bowl, add the remaining ingredients (except the tortillas chips). Toss to combine. Taste. Add more salt by the half or full teaspoon to taste (I often add 2 more teaspoons of salt). For more freshness, acidity, and brightness, add more vinegar or more fresh lime juice to taste. Once you have your seasonings right, transfer the mixture to a serving bowl.
  3. Serve with chips. 
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Category: Salsa
  • Method: Toss
  • Cuisine: Tex-Mex