How to Make Cowboy Caviar
This recipe for Cowboy Caviar is a bight and flavorful twist on a Taco Tuesday side dish that your family will love. With just a few simple ingredients you will be on your way to a delicious and simple meal.
Potlucks always bring a bit of stress for me. What in the world do you bring?! What if no one likes what you bring, or worse they love it, but you didn’t make enough! Then you have to decide do you make a desert, a main dish, a side. The possibilities are endless and quite frankly it is overwhelming to me. So to get over my potluck anxiety I have come up with a few items that are easy to make, store well, and are always winners. Better yet, my family loves them so if there are leftovers, we are totally okay with eating them. One of these is our Cream Cheese Pound Cake and the other is Cowboy Caviar, which is what we will be talking about today.
What is Cowboy Caviar?
Cowboy caviar is a simple and delicious side dish/ appetizer that is easy to travel and brightens up any potluck or Taco Tuesday table or Potluck Party. The combination of corn, beans, and tomatoes is highlighted with a punch of bright lime juice to bring it all together in one refreshingly delicious dish.
The best thing is that this dish is made with items you likely have right in your pantry or fridge which makes it a great go to for that last minute party invite.
Ingredients list
This simple dish is made with just five ingredients.
- Canned corn
- Fresh tomatoes
- Canned beans
- Cilantro
- Lime Juice
That’s it! That is all you need to make this dish! There are also some optional additions that will kick it up a notch and take it to the next level if you are feeling frisky or you just have these items on hand.
- Peppers (we usually go with jalapeños)
- Onions (very fine diced, I typically skip this because the onion can easily overpower the rest of the dish)
- Garlic (again, this is a very strong flavor, so go sparingly)
How to Make Cowboy Caviar
Start by chopping the tomatoes. I usually leave these in sizable chunks, but you can do a nice fine dice if you would like. I just like the texture and little burst of sweetness that comes from leaving them a bit bigger.
Next you want to drain off the liquid from the corn and beans. Make sure to give the beans a good rinse as well to get off all of the canning liquid.
Now you can use fresh corn, frozen corn, or canned corn. All will be tasty, I just like to use what is on hand. If you use fresh corn, you can kick this dish up another notch by grilling or roasting the corn, letting it cool, then separating it from the cob to give your Cowboy Caviar a nice smokey flavor.
Add all three of these ingredients into a large bowl and mix gently. Make sure to be gentle on those tomatoes so they don’t fall apart on you! This would also be when you would add in any extras like peppers.
Finally top it off with the lime juice and cilantro and a sprinkle of salt to taste. Give the mixture one final stir and you are ready to go. The longer this sets the better it gets. I prefer to serve it at room temperature, but the Cowboy Caviar should be stored in the fridge or cooler until close to time to serve.
We serve ours with tortilla chips as a dip, but it can be used as a topping or eaten just as a stand alone side!
Go Forth and Potluck Confidently
Armed with this recipe I hope you feel more confident the next time a friend throws a last minute potluck on your calendar.
Do you have any Potluck go too’s? We would love to hear from you in the comments below. You can also follow us on Instagram and Pinterest to stay up to date with all of our other recipes. We hope to see you there!
Cowboy Caviar
Ingredients
- 1 15oz can pinto beans rinsed
- 1 15oz can black beans rinsed
- 1 15 oz can sweet corn drained
- 2 cups tomatoes diced
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ¼ cup cilantro diced
Instructions
- Mix beans and corn in a large bowl
- Gently stir in tomatoes.
- Add in lime juice, cilantro, and salt to taste. mix gently.
- Serve or store in fridge
