This Texas cowboy caviar with canned ingredients is made with canned black beans, black-eyed peas, sweet corn, and diced tomatoes with green chiles, tossed with fresh bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, and cilantro in a tangy lime vinaigrette.

It’s crunchy, bright, and comes together in about 15 minutes, mostly by opening cans.

Bring it to potlucks, cookouts, and game day, or keep a big container in the fridge for easy lunches all week. I serve it with tortilla chips as a dip or spoon it over grilled chicken, and it goes well with anything from these summer side dishes.

If you’re into easy make-ahead sides and bean dishes, these are worth bookmarking too:

Texas Cowboy Caviar with Canned Ingredients

Ingredients You’ll Need

Rinsing the canned beans and peas gets rid of that starchy, metallic liquid and keeps the salad looking bright. Canned diced tomatoes with green chiles (like Rotel) add heat and flavor in one step.

Ingredients

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) sweet corn, drained (or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed)
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, well drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green or yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 ripe avocado, diced (optional, add before serving)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Open the cans of black beans and black-eyed peas, pour them into a colander, and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear.
Shake the colander well and let them drain for a few minutes.
Extra liquid dilutes the dressing and turns the salad cloudy.
Drain the corn and the diced tomatoes with green chiles.
Press the tomatoes gently in a fine strainer to remove as much juice as you can.
This is the step most people skip, and it’s why their cowboy caviar ends up swimming in liquid by the next day.
Dice the bell peppers and red onion into small pieces, about the size of a black-eyed pea.
Seed and mince the jalapeno (keep the seeds if you like it spicy).
Small, even pieces make the cowboy caviar easier to scoop with a chip.
In a small jar or bowl, combine the olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, honey, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
Shake or whisk until the honey dissolves and the dressing looks slightly thick.
Taste it, since it should be punchy and a little sharp.
Add the beans, peas, corn, tomatoes, peppers, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro to a large bowl.
Pour the dressing over the top and toss gently with a large spoon until everything is coated.
Fold rather than stir hard, so the black-eyed peas stay whole.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
The beans soak up the dressing and the onion softens as it sits.
Give it a stir and taste again before serving, adding a squeeze of lime or pinch of salt if it needs it.
If you’re adding avocado, dice it and fold it in right before serving.
Avocado browns quickly and turns mushy if it sits in the dressing for hours.
Serve chilled with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Important Recipe Notes

Drain everything well. Canned ingredients hold a lot of liquid. Rinsing the beans and pressing the tomatoes keeps the salad bright and stops it from getting soupy.
Let it marinate. Cowboy caviar tastes better after a rest in the fridge. Thirty minutes is enough, but a few hours is even better.
Season after chilling. Cold mutes flavor. Always taste again before serving and add more lime juice or salt if it tastes flat.
Mellow the onion. If raw red onion is too sharp for you, soak the diced onion in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain.
Swap the beans. Pinto beans or kidney beans work in place of black-eyed peas. Use any combination of two 15-ounce cans.
Make it ahead. Mix everything except the avocado and cilantro up to 2 days in advance. Add those just before serving so they stay fresh.
Use fresh lime juice. Bottled lime juice tastes flat and slightly bitter in a raw dressing. Two fresh limes make a noticeable difference, and you can roll them on the counter first to get more juice out.
Make a bigger batch for a crowd. This recipe doubles easily for parties. Use a very large bowl and toss gently so the beans don’t break apart, and keep it chilled until it’s time to serve.
Storage. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days without avocado, or 1 day with it. Stir before serving, since the dressing settles.
Don’t freeze it. The peppers and onion go limp and watery when thawed, which ruins the crunch.

How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe

Serving:

Serve Texas cowboy caviar cold with sturdy tortilla chips or Fritos for scooping.

It also works as a side salad next to grilled meat, a topping for tacos and nachos, or a filling for lettuce wraps. A sprinkle of crumbled cotija on top adds a salty finish.

Storage:

Store it in a sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

The vegetables soften slightly over time, but the flavor gets better. Drain off any liquid that collects at the bottom before serving.

Customization:

Add diced mango or pineapple for sweetness, or a chopped chipotle in adobo for smoky heat.

Swap the honey for maple syrup to keep it vegan. For a heartier meal, stir in cooked quinoa or shredded chicken.