Ultimate Cowboy Caviar

Making cowboy caviar is simple. Not only that its easy, healthy, and delicious. What is cowboy caviar? Well its not like that other wild west “seafood” option the ol’ Rocky Mountain oyster. Cowboy caviar is a dip, its a salad, its a fast way to fill a burrito, and its a topping for burgers or hotdogs. Its as useful and versatile as its namesake. Not only that, its simple, its easy and its delicious.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases I only recommend products I trust, and using these links helps support my blog. You’re under no obligation to use them, but if you do, thank you for your support.

What you need for the Ultimate Cowboy Caviar

For cowboy caviar you’ll need to round up just a few items. We’re gonna focus on quality not quantity here and that’s all gonna show in the final product.

• Corn on the cob (or canned if its all you can get)
• Black Beans (canned if you want an easy life)
• Red Onion
• Lime
• Jalapeno
• Roma tomato
• Cilantro (unless you think it tastes like soap)
• Neutral oil like grapeseed, avocado, or vegetable oil if that’s what you’ve got.

What you do:

• Before I have to say “add to the bowl” a hundred times, you should know all this is going in the mixing bowl
• Roast the corn in the fire. If you don’t have a fire, the broil setting on an oven or toaster oven works just fine. If you’re gonna use the broiler, cut the kernels off the cob and give them a quick toss to lightly coat with oil or spray them with pan spray. (don’t worry, its just oil). Spread them out over a good sheet tray (like this one!)Once they start to brown and pop, you’re good to go. If you’re cooking whole corn in the fire, wrap the ears in foil and toss them in the coals until the kernels start to darken. Trim the kernels off the cob once they are cool and toss them in the bowl
• Black Beans: If you’re using dry beans, kudos. You’ve got time to spare and a life worth living where you can devote it to soaking and boiling beans. Soak the beans over night with a tablespoon or so of baking soda. In the morning (or whenever you get to it the next day) drain, rinse, and toss the beans back in a pot of salted water. Add a bay leaf, bring to a boil for a minute then turn down to a simmer. Cover and cook for about an hour or until you taste a bean and its perfectly cooked. Soft but firm.
• Dice your onion and your jalapeno into pieces about the size of the corn kernels and beans
• Cut your tomato into quarters and using your blade, trim the seeds and all that clear weirdness out of the tomato leaving behind the bright firm flesh. Now dice that up about the same size as the onion and jalapeno
• Dice up your cucumber the same way. I prefer to leave the skin on a cucumber but it won’t hurt anything to peel it away. I also like to trim the seeds out but many don’t mind them. You do you.
• Zest your lime, scraping just to the white pith and getting all the lovely oils from the lime skin. Cut the lime in quarters and squeeze all the juice in.
• Drizzle a tablespoon or two of oil on top
• Chop however much cilantro (if you don’t think it tastes like soap) you like and throw it in
• Mix it all up real well and taste it.
• Taste it again.
• Did you taste it? Good. Does it need salt and pepper? If it does, go ahead and season it to taste

Conclusion

Grab bag of tortilla chips and dig in. Cowboy caviar is a great way to make an instant version of my Southwest Salad by just adding it to lettuce and cheese and your favorite protein.

Try out my chili recipe and my strawberry summer salmon salad