This Super Easy Texas Caviar with Shoepeg Corn is the ultimate crowd-pleasing appetizer, side dish, or dip! Black eyed peas, sweet white shoepeg corn, juicy grape tomatoes, jalapeño, cilantro, and fresh garlic are tossed in a tangy apple cider vinaigrette with cumin and coriander. Ready in just 15 minutes and perfect for New Year's, game day, BBQs, or summer parties. Serve with tortilla chips or alongside your favorite mains — either way it's a guaranteed hit!
If you're looking for a fantastic and great recipe to use black eyed peas, then you've come to the right place!
This Texas Caviar recipe features black eyed peas, sweet shoepeg corn, and some fresh veggies in a refreshing vinaigrette.
You'll love this delicious dish which is a guaranteed crowd favorite and also perfect for your family dinner.
So first let me tell you a little about the history of this bean salad, which is also known as Cowboy Caviar!
Jump to:
What Is Texas Caviar?
Helen Corbitt created Texas Caviar in Texas around 1940. This dish was first served at the Houston Country Club on New Year's Eve. You may be familiar with black eyed peas being consumed at the beginning of the year for good luck, in dishes such as Hoppin' John. So this colorful salad from the Lone Star State was introduced at the perfect time!
It was later when this side salad was served at the Driskill Hotel in the state's capital city of Austin when the dish got its name of "Texas caviar." The name of this humble bean dip was intended as a humorous comparison to real caviar, the not so humble and expensive delicacy made out of fish roe.
This easy appetizer is also known as Cowboy Caviar, as previously mentioned. And it can be considered a salad, a colorful dip for chips, or a great vegan appetizer!
Why You Will LOVE This Recipe!
You will LOVE this versatile and easy recipe because:
- It features black eyed peas, so you will have good luck, especially when eaten at New Years!
- This dish is very adaptable. Feel free to add some colorful bell peppers or different beans if you like. And you can used canned beans or cook dried beans as is your preference.
- This is one of the easiest appetizers around!
- You will also get to enjoy some shoepeg corn, which is always fun!
Now allow me to show you what you will need for this best Cowboy Caviar recipe!
🥘 Ingredients
So here are the simple and fresh ingredients that you will need to make this easy recipe:
- Black-eyed peas - you can use black eyed peas from a can, or soak dried beans overnight and cook them until tender (my preferred way!)
- Shoepeg corn - feel free to sub regular corn if you prefer, but sweet white shoepeg is lovely to use in this recipe! Green Giant brand sells this in 11 oz cans
- Grape tomatoes - you could also use deseeded and diced roma tomatoes
- Green onions
- Fresh garlic
- Jalapeno
- Red onion
- Cilantro
And for the vinaigrette:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cumin
- Coriander
You'll love the tangy flavors in this dish so let's get our ingredients prepped and ready to go!
🔪 Instructions
Begin by making the flavorful vinaigrette by combining the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and spices in a small bowl. Whisk everything together until well combined and set aside.
Add the black eyed peas, shoepeg corn, grape tomatoes, green onions, garlic, jalapeno, red onion, and cilantro to a large bowl. Mix these ingredients gently.
Using a food processor makes mincing the jalapeno, red onions, and garlic a breeze.
Whisk the vinaigrette once more, and then pour it over the black eyed peas mixture. Stir to combine thoroughly.
And that's all there is to this!
Suggestions For Serving
Great news! You can eat this right away! Or refrigerate in an airtight container for a few hours to let the flavors combine and meld together.
I love to serve this either lightly chilled or at room temperature.
This dish is perfect served as a side dish or salad to accompany your favorite mains. Or try it as a dip for your favorite tortilla chips.
Either way, enjoy this wonderful Cowboy Caviar recipe with shoepeg corn!
FAQ
This dish is very versatile! You can consider adding some red peppers or green peppers, or even pinto beans or black beans. It's all good!
Sourced from Wikipedia.com, shoepeg corn is a type of white sweetcorn which is prized for its sweet taste. The kernels are narrow and small and are close and unevenly packed on the corncob. Its taste is mild and sweet.
Some Other Great Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other great recipes that you may enjoy:
- Cheesy Texas Potatoes Casserole
- Manwich Texas Toast Sloppy Joe Recipe
- Delish Texas Chicken Spaghetti
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Cheers!
Grace
Super Easy Texas Caviar Recipe With Shoepeg Corn
Equipment
- large bowl for combining all the ingredients
- Small bowl for making the vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2 cups black eyed peas this is about 1x 15 oz can. If using from a can then drain and rinse before use.
- 1 can shoepeg corn 11 oz can drained; of course you can use regular corn if you prefer!
- ½ cup grape tomatoes chopped
- 2 each green onions chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 each jalapeno minced
- ½ cup red onion minced
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
For The Vinaigrette
- 6 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ ts cumin
- ¼ ts coriander
- ½ ts salt
- ½ ts pepper
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette by combining the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and spices in a small bowl. Whisk everything together until well combined and set aside.
- Add the black eyed peas, shoepeg corn, grape tomatoes, green onions, garlic, jalapeno, red onion, and cilantro to a large bowl. Mix these ingredients gently. (Using a food processor makes mincing the jalapeno, red onions, and garlic a breeze.)
- Whisk the vinaigrette once more, and then pour it over the black eyed peas mixture. Stir to combine thoroughly.
- You can eat this right away or refrigerate in an airtight container for a few hours to let the flavors combine and meld together.
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