Cowboy Caviar Recipe | Tangy Black-Eyed Pea Salad (2024)

Delicious Cowboy Caviar recipe has the right combination of southern ingredients to make your taste buds sing. This black-eyed pea-based Texas Caviar is quick and easy to make thanks to a little help from your Instant Pot.

Why Is It Called Cowboy Caviar?

You've never heard of Cowboy Caviar? Clearly, you don't live in Texas! Texas Caviar is a staple fresh salad, with the right combination of southern ingredients like black-eyed peas and Mexican ingredients like jalapeños and ground cumin, to make your taste buds sing.

Don't worry, there is no actual caviar to be found in this dish. Just delightfully delicious black-eyed peas, onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, and some other tasty vegan ingredients mixed together in what is truly a Texas delicacy.

It's one of those dishes that youreallymust try to fully understand and appreciate.

What Makes This Texas Caviar Recipe So Great?

• Time. I make this recipe using my pressure cooker to cut down on soaking and cooking the black-eyed peas. This is such a quick recipe now, that I make Cowboy Caviar often!
• Simple. You don't need a lot of fancy spices or ingredients to make this recipe for Texas caviar awesome. Simple, fresh ingredients make it delicious.
• Flavor. If you love Tex-Mex food and spices, you are going to love this Texas Caviar recipe! It's everything you love about Mexican food in a bowl.

What Is Cowboy Caviar Made Of?

The Base

• dried black-eyed peas
• Water

Diced vegetables

• Onion
• Tomatoes
• chopped cilantro
• Jalapeño Peppers

For Dressing

• olive oil
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Ground Cumin
• Lemon Juice
• Kosher Salt
• Ancho Chile Powder(optional)

I know this seems like a lot of ingredients for a side dish or appetizer, but most of them are items you already have in your pantry. Plus, the flavors in this dish are absolutely worth the extra effort of gathering up a few more ingredients than usual.

How Do You Make Cowboy Caviar?

• Beans. Cook the black-eyed peas in your Instant Pot with 2 cups of water at high pressure for 10 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally and drain the excess water.
• Vegetables. Dice the tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and cilantro into even shapes.
• Dressing. Whisk together the dressing ingredients.
• Mix. Once the beans have cooled some, add the vegetables and dressing and mix well and taste.
• Salt. Adjust lemon juice, vinegar, and salt accordingly. Resist the urge to over-salt at this point, as the salad will get saltier as it melds.
• Serving. Allow to rest for an hour or so and serve at room temperature!

Tips and Tricks for Making Cowboy Caviar

• Tools. I use a Kuhn Rikon Pull String chopper to make this easy for me because of my rheumatoid arthritis, but also because it dicesvery evenly and I like how it makes the salad look.
• Beans. The beans need to be cooked butnot mushy,so make sure after you cook them for the 10 minutes that you drain the excess water off of them so they don't continue to cook.
• Canned Beans. You can certainly also use canned, drained, and rinsed black eyes peas for this black-eyed pea salad recipe.
• Corn. Some fire-roastd or steamed corn kernels provide a nice pop of color and sweetness to this recipe.
• Black Beans. Cooked black beans can be added to this salad.
• Pico De Gallo. Though I certainly prefer using fresh ingredients for my Cowboy Caviar, you could simply use store-bought pico de gallo to make the recipe go faster.
• Fruit. You can also add small diced mango and pineapple to add a little sweetness to the dish.
• Marinate. If you're in a hurry, you can get away with only letting it rest for 20 minutes. However, it's much better if you allow it to marinate for 1-2 hours.
• Parsley. You can opt to use parsley instead of cilantro if cilantro isn't really your thing.
• Storage. This Cowboy Caviar recipe keeps for up to a week in the fridge, so it makes a great make-ahead dish for when you have company coming over!
• Picnics. This salad recipe uses no mayonnaise, which makes it safe to place on a picnic table for a few hours with no worries.

How Long Will Cowboy Caviar Keep?

I haven't had this Texas Caviar recipe last more than a day or two in my fridge because it pairs wonderfully with so many of my other favorite meals.

I would try to eat this three to four days after preparing it to keep it from getting too soggy in the dressing mixture. Remember to stir or shake well each time before serving for the best flavors.

Want Some More Texan-Inspired Recipes?

• Tex-Mex Chili - this recipe has one multiple chili cook-offs!
• Tex-Mex Corn Side Dish - this southwestern corn side dish is one you're going to LOVE!
• Delicious Enchilada Casserole - this is such an easy chicken dinner idea and cooks quickly!
• Mexican Stuffed Poblano Peppers - this dish is even low carb so it is perfect for the whole family!
• Mexican Appetizer - These Taco Meatballs will be your new favorite go-to for appetizers!

So whether you're from Texas or not, you're sure to love this Cowboy Caviar recipe! It's a quick and easy dish that makes a great appetizer, side dish or vegan/vegetarian meal!

Originally Published June 13, 2020

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