May 28, 2015
(last updated September 5, 2021) 
This Texas caviar is packed with healthful beans and sweet roasted corn and peppers. It’s a perfect, refreshing summer appetizer! The recipe is both vegan and gluten-free.
For the past few days, I’ve been posting lunch bowls on Instagram that feature Texas Caviar. If you have no idea what that is, rest assured that I had no idea until quite recently, when I spotted a recipe online. Traditional Texas caviar is essentially a cold black-eyed pea salad, often featuring corn, chilis, peppers, onions, and/or celery. It can be served on its own, or as a dip. The moment I read about the recipe, I imagined stuffing romaine leaves with Texas caviar, or serving it in easy breakfast tostadas, or piling it atop a bowl of rice. And I was intrigued.
Today, I’m presenting you with my version of Texas caviar. The twist I put on it was to roast the corn and peppers before tossing it all together. I really enjoy raw corn, but some time ago I tried a roasted corn salsa, and it. changed. everything.
It’s hard to beat the sweetness of roasted corn, just as it’s hard to beat the sweetness of roasted red bell peppers. Not roasting either ingredient for this Texas caviar would certainly save you time, but I love the depth of flavor that this step adds.
This is the sort of recipe you can return to all summer long, using it as a dip, tossing it into your salads, topping grain bowls, sprinkling over tostadas, or using it to garnish any dish with refried beans. After the roasting bit, it’s super quick and easy to prepare, and it’s full of bold flavor. If you don’t happen to have fresh corn–it is early right now–you can use frozen and thawed sweet corn. Here’s the recipe.
Simple Texas Caviar Recipe
Author –Yields: 4 -6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw corn kernels or frozen sweet corn kernels thawed till tender
- 2 red bell peppers chopped (I did squares that were between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 cups or 2 cans cooked black-eyed peas
- 1 4- ounce can green chilis I used Hatch green chilis, mild flavor
- 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the corn and red bell peppers with the two teaspoons of olive oil, plus a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast the pepper and corn for 20 minutes, or until the peppers and corn are tender and just starting to brown.
- Place the black-eyed peas, green chilis, and red onion in a large mixing bowl. Add the roasted corn and peppers.
- Whisk together the red wine vinegar, lime juice, maple syrup, salt, cumin, and a dash of black pepper together in a small mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well. Check for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and lime juice as needed. Fold in the cilantro and serve. Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, the caviar will keep for up to four days.
I love the brightness and the color of this recipe. It’s worth making just to add vibrancy to your lunches! Hope you’ll enjoy it.
It’s appropriate that I have Texas caviar recipe up on the blog today, because tomorrow I’m headed to Austin for the third Vida Vegan conference. It’s a little bittersweet, as this is the last VVC, but I’m excited and fortunate to be able to experience it, see friends, and give a presentation. My topic is vegan avenues into the healthcare world; I’ll be sharing my perspective on different healthcare options, the education and steps associated with each of them, and tips on how to create a successful and responsible counseling practice. Along the way, I’ll be sampling tons of vegan products and sharing my adventures on Instagram, of course.
On Saturday, I’ll be back here with a new cookbook giveaway, and on Sunday, I’ll be back for weekend reading. Till soon!
xo
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Categories: Recipes,
Side Dishes,
Vegan Basics
Method: Oven
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free, Vegan
Recipe Features: Meal Prep
Method: Oven
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free, Vegan
Recipe Features: Meal Prep
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I’m most excited about the herb mincer, I use lots of fresh herbs and this seems easier than with a knife.
This is my kind of caviar ;p Sounds like the perfect summer potluck dish. And that corn stripper would sure make easy work of de-kerneling corn!
this would be amazing for me, im living in my first appartment this fall! I think the fruit cutter/washer would be my favorite
and i love black eyed peas! corn, that depends on my mood..
The corn stripper looks awesome! I always struggle to cut the corn off the cob with my paring knife. Plus, I like the bit that would remove the silks. They’re tricky.
The herb mixer will be very useful!!
That corn stripper looks so wonderful! I admit that I often cave and use frozen corn in salsas and salads because I’m too lazy to hack kernels off of cobs. This handy little tool would make life so much easier!
I have a recipe for raw corn and avocado salad that I ADORE but I hate cutting the raw corn from the cob. I need a corn stripper!!!
the herb mincer! So neat!
I would use them all, but especially the herb mincer. I hate chopping herbs!
I’m most excited about the herb mincer. Thank you so much for the chance to win.
The corn stripper!
Def the herb mincer! That is always such a tedious process for me lol
Herb mincer! I always want to add more fresh herbs to my meals, but I’m lazy and don’t often do it!
the berry bowl! i love foraging for fresh berries and this would be perfect to clean and store them in!
The corn stripper!
Wow all of these tools look really useful, but I think I would find the herb mincer most handy, followed by the berry bowl!
I am most excited about the berry bowls! 2nd place would be the herb mincer ๐
the herb mincer! Thank you for the giveaway!
I’m most excited about the corn stripper. What a great idea.
The berry baskets – I would use them all the time
That corn stripper looks awesome!! I know I would use that frequently all summer.
The corn stripper, for sure!
The berry baskets look awesome!
I love their line of cooking tools on the Crisp Cooking website! I can’t wait to make the Texas Caviar, especially with trying the roasted corn. Thanks for the contest!
I’m most excited about the berry baskets. I love berries and would like to be able to keep them fresher so they last longer.
Wonderful summer dish!
The berry baskets would help my berries last longer and would look so cute for storage!
I love so many of your recipes and this one looks great. Would love to win one of this cool kitchen tools.
The herb mincer for sure! I hate trying to cut or slice up herbs!
I think I will get a lot of use out of the herb mincer.
Definitely the corn stripper!
I am most excited about the berry baskets. You can never have too many of these as fresh berries are always great to have on hand for a quick snack or in a smoothie.
I love adding herbs to dishes, but I hate chopping them up! So the herb mincer would be awesome.
I’d love to try the herb mincer!
The corn stripper would be so useful to put up sweet corn once my grandparents’ garden comes in.
I need that corn stripper! I’ve tried to cut corn off the cob before, and every time I make a huge mess and waste a lot of the corn. So ingenious!
Love all the products in the give-away, but especially appealing to me is the herb mincer! Thanks for the opportunity to win these!
I am most excited about the corn stripper because I get more corn than I can handle in my CSA so I end up freezing a lot. If I don’t win, I am definitely buying it!
I would love that corn stripper. I usually use a knife but it also cuts kernels into smaller pieces which isn’t very cool.
I would love, love, love the berry baskets!
I am super excited about the corn stripper! Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
I am most excited about the berry baskets. All of these tools would be great to have in the kitchen.
I usually use a knife to strip corn kernels from the cob, but the Corn Stripper may be much safer. I want to try it.
The herb mincer would be a welcome addition to my set of handy kitchen tools…
The herb mincer because it’s all about cilantro this summer!
I definitely need these tools. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
The herb chopper – never knew such a thing existed!!
The corn stripper looks amazing. I put up dozens of ears of corn each summer. This tool would really help speed up the process. Great looking recipe.
I want the herb mincer! Herbs add so much flavor and they can do so much for your mind and body.
The herb mincer would be great!
I am most excited for the herb chopper because I use fresh herbs as often as possible and this tool seems easier and faster than a knife. Then again, my knives aren’t that great and have become dull over time, so that doesn’t help!
I really like the paring knife gift bundle set – always looking for a good knife in the kitchen and the zester is really interesting and would love to be able to sample that. I also like the colour options and the shape of the handles. Really cool give-away, thanks.
I am excited about this recipe and the giveaway. I’ve never been a fan of black-eyed peas even though I am a born and raised Texan. This recipe is inviting enough for me to give them another chance. ๐ As for the giveaway, you are right, food prep can be tedious. I’m stoked about the herb mincer. I grow fresh herbs in my garden and I incorporate them in my meals whenever possible and with arthritis in my hands, this tool is a blessing in my book.
The peeler set. But the cocktail set looks great too!
The herb mincer! I’d get a lot of use out of it!
I’d really enjoy having the herb mincer.
THE HERB MINCER! i use herbs every single day this would save so much time!
I’d be most excited about the herb mincer – I’d probably use that the most.
berry basket!!
I would like to get the berry baskets! Thank you for the giveaway!
I’d love the corn stripper!
I could definitely use an herb mincer!
All of these gadgets look great! The herb mincer would be so handy!
I’m always adding fresh herbs to dishes so the herb mincer interests me the most!
I use herbs all the time so the herb mincer would be used a lot.
The herb mincer! That would get tons of use!
The corn stripper looks so cool! One of the main reasons I don’t eat corn everyday in the summer is because I sort of dread getting all the silk off and cutting from the cob. This tool looks like it would make this task so simple. Thank you for the chance to win!
Thanks for sharing, being waiting for it to try it on my lunch bowls!
I make something a lot like that. I like how you roasted the peppers and corn. I bet that makes it sweet. I make Cowboy Caviar, and I have the recipe on my blog. http://askmelissaanything.blogspot.com/2015/04/lissas-cowboy-caviar-salsa.html
Love that corn stripper! Anything that make the prep easier, I’m all for it!
The corn stripper looks great! It would sure help when you want to can up 40 ears at once.
love this!! it’s so colourful and nutritious yumm
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
This recipe looks delicious! Will definitely try it!
Thank you for sharing it!
The corn stripper would be great for black bean and corn salsa.
The corn stripper looks awesome! Thanks for the giveaway!