Texas Caviar [Avocado Corn and Bean Salad]

Fresh, vibrant, zingy, and flavor-packed Texas Caviar is a fully loaded Southwest/Mexican corn and bean salad with tomatoes, avocado, and red onion. It’s perfect for eating with chips or as a side at potlucks, picnics, BBQs, and as a quick last-minute side for any meal as it’s ready in just 10 minutes!

Fresh, Vibrant, and Delicious Texas Caviar/ Cowboy Salsa

Texas caviar (also called cowboy caviar, cowboy salsa, and Southern caviar) is the crowd-pleasing dip/salsa/salad everyone needs to know. It’s one of our go-to recipes for impressing company. It’s fresh, vibrant, nutritious, delicious, made with just a few simple, inexpensive pantry staples and fresh veggies, and comes together in just a few stress-free minutes!

In fact, aside from a small amount of chopping, this cowboy caviar recipe (originally called ‘Everyone’s Favorite Bean Salad’ from the Plant-Based on a Budget Cookbook) basically consists of draining and rinsing the beans and corn, then mixing everything together in a big bowl. Leave it to sit for at least 10 minutes, then dig in.

If you’re not entirely sure what ‘cowboy salsa’ is, if you’ve tried a Southwest corn and black bean salad or Mexican bean salad, cowboy salsa is very similar but traditionally made with black-eyed peas. This time, though, we’re using three types of beans and avocado for extra texture and flavor.

The combination of beans, sweet corn, red onion, tomato, and avocado, mixed with cilantro and fresh lemon or lime juice makes for a wonderfully zingy, fresh mixed bean salad loaded with fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and plant-based protein. Overall, it’s a wonderfully well-balanced dish.

It’s super versatile too! Along with enjoying it alongside vegan tacos, burritos, and vegan quesadillas, it’s also a great dish to enjoy with all your favorite picnic/ BBQ sides like potato salad, slaw, and more!

The Ingredients

One of the best things about this easy cowboy caviar recipe is that it’s made of just a few inexpensive, simple pantry and kitchen basics.

• Beans: Use any three cans of beans, regular or low-sodium. I.e., black-eyed peas, black beans, pinto beans, red kidney beans, Great Northern, chickpeas, mixed beans, etc. We used pinto, black beans, and chickpeas this time, but black-eyed peas will make a more traditional cowboy caviar.

Alternatively, you could cook the beans yourself. You’ll need around 1 ½ cups of dried beans (4 ½ cups cooked beans).

• Corn: It’s best to use a can of unsalted sweetcorn. However, you can also use frozen corn (thawed).

If you’re making this corn bean salad on a grill day, you could even use grilled corn, which will add a lovely smoky flavor to the salad.

• Red onion: For small bursts of sharp, acidic bite. A yellow onion would work in a pinch. For a milder flavor, use green onions.
• Tomato: During tomato season, larger tomatoes will work great. The rest of the year, we turn to inexpensive cherry tomatoes/baby plum tomatoes. Canned tomatoes, like RO-TEL will work in a pinch, too.
• Avocado: You’ll need one large avocado that’s ripe but still slightly firm (so it won’t become mush in the salad).
• Cilantro: If you aren’t a fan, flat-leaf parsley or scallions/ green onion could work instead (or alongside it).
• Salt: Season the corn and bean salad to taste.
• Lemon/Lime: Instead of a complicated dressing, all this corn and bean salad needs is some fresh lemon or lime juice (1 small fruit should be enough).

For more of a traditional Texas caviar dressing, add a tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar/apple cider vinegar, garlic (or garlic powder), and a bit of sugar or maple/agave. Alternatively, you could use Italian dressing OR, for a creamy salsa dressing, blend vegan sour cream, salsa, cumin, and a pinch of salt together. Tweak the amounts to taste.

What Else Could I Add To Cowboy Salsa?

We’ve kept things simple (and low budget) for this version of cowboy caviar. However, depending on what you have in your kitchen, feel free to add:

• Bell pepper: Diced orange/red bell peppers will add fresh crunch and color.
• Garlic: Just one clove, minced, to add to the ‘dressing.’
• Seasonings: There are several options you could add to corn bean avocado salad. I.e., cumin, ground coriander, cayenne pepper/red pepper flakes, etc.
• Lettuce: To make a lighter green-based salad, add shredded lettuce. Start with a 1:1 ratio of lettuce to beans and increase to your desired ratio.
• Other Vegetables: You might enjoy several other veggies in this cowboy caviar recipe, like:
  • Cucumber (Persian or English cucumbers contain fewer seeds)
  • Shredded purple cabbage
  • Grated carrots
  • Diced celery
  • Black olives
• Jalapeño: Diced, sliced, or pickled for extra heat.
• Nuts/Seeds: Lightly toasted pepitas, sunflower seeds, cashews, etc., for crunch, protein, and heart-healthy fats.
• Mango/Pineapple: This will add a juicy, fresh, sweet flavor.
• Vegan feta: To sprinkle over the top of the cowboy salsa when serving.

How to Make Texas Caviar (Corn Bean Avocado Salad)?

• 1) First, drain and rinse the cans of beans. Then, finely dice the red onion and tomato, chop the avocado and cilantro, and juice the lemon/lime.

• 2) Transfer all the ingredients to a large bowl and toss well, giving it a taste and increasing the salt if preferred. Finally, let it sit and ‘marinate’ for a minimum of 10 minutes (though 30-45 minutes is even better). Enjoy!

FAQs

Recipe Tips

• Leave it to marinate: As it sits, the flavors of the cowboy caviar will meld, and the onion will lose some of the harsh ‘raw’ flavor.
• For mellow onion: Leaving the onion to soak in ice water for 10 minutes will help it mellow without needing a long marination period.
• Low-budget tip: Buying and preparing the beans from dry (rather than canned) can save you money in the long run. We recommend cooking big batches and storing extra in the freezer to use over multiple meals.
• Add avocado when serving: Otherwise, it will brown as it sits.

Storage Instructions

As long as you only add the avocado before serving, you can prepare this corn bean salad up to four days in advance, storing it in an airtight container in the fridge.

While we don’t recommend freezing the compiled salad, the beans and corn could be frozen for up to three months.

Serving Suggestions

To say Texas caviar is versatile is a massive understatement. You can enjoy it as a dip with chips or as a side alongside:

• Tacos, burritos, and vegan quesadillas
• Vegan nachos
• Scoop some onto lettuce leaves for simple lettuce wraps
• Cornbread
• Over quinoa or brown rice for a complete meal (and even more protein!)
• Tofu scramble or a tofu omelette
• Or you can use it as it’s shown on the cover of the Plant-Based on a Budget cookbook and serve it atop a cooked sweet potato.

It’s also pretty much the perfect crowd-pleasing dish to bring along to potlucks, picnics, and BBQs, to enjoy alongside burgers, grilled proteins, etc. However, you can enjoy it year-round as a last-minute, quick, and simple meal-prep dish for parties and events!

More Easy Vegan Bean Recipes

• Mango black bean salad
• Vegan Black Bean Tacos [2 Ways]
• Quick Brown Rice and Bean Burritos
• Southwest stuffed bell peppers
• Instant Pot pinto beans
• Black Bean and Onion Pilaf
• Vegan bean quesadilla

Also, check out our collection of 59 Ways to Use a Can of Beans.

Photos by Alfonso Revilla