Easy Cowboy Caviar
The first batch I made for a cookout turned into soup by the second hour. I hadn’t drained the corn, and the bottom of the bowl was basically lemon water. Now I tip the canned corn and the beans into a sieve, rinse them, and let them sit there while I chop everything else. Boring, but it works.
My version skips the black-eyed peas. I just double the black beans, honestly because my store keeps running out, and nobody’s noticed. The dressing is olive oil and fresh lemon with a little cumin, and it needs an hour in the fridge before the onion stops tasting sharp. I serve it with tortilla chips, and leftovers keep three days in the fridge.
This easy cowboy caviar is a no-cook bean and corn dip you can chop in about twenty minutes. Crunchy and bright. It works as a party dip, but I like it just as much spooned next to grilled chicken or piled into tacos on a weeknight.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Tip the black beans and corn into a colander, rinse them under cold water, and leave them to drain well while you chop the vegetables.2 cans black beans, 1 1/2 cups corn kernels
- Dice the bell pepper and red onion into small pieces, about the size of a bean, and chop the cilantro.1 red bell pepper, 1/2 cup red onion, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sugar, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Combine the drained beans and corn with the pepper, onion and most of the cilantro in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss until everything is coated.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Stir, taste for salt and lemon, scatter the reserved cilantro on top, and serve with tortilla chips.
Nutrition
Notes
Add a can of drained black-eyed peas if you want the classic version. Stir in a diced avocado right before serving, not earlier, or it browns.
You might also like our Easy Smoked Salmon Dip.
made this for my sons graduation party and doubled it. the sieve tip is legit, last bean dip i made had a puddle at the bottom. used lime bc i was out of lemons and it was fine
good stuff. added a jalapeno for some heat and cut the salt to 1 tsp since my beans were already salty. onion was still kinda strong after an hour tho, way better the next day
honestly didnt miss the black eyed peas at all. ate the leftovers over rice for lunch two days in a row