Cowboy Caviar

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This cowboy caviar is a colorful and hearty dip that’s loaded with beans, avocado and veggies, all tossed in a zesty homemade sauce. It’s the perfect make-ahead dish for a potluck!

We are officially in back to school mode here, 2 weeks and counting. We’ve been stocking up on school supplies and are ready to go! I’ll be sad to see summer end, but I’m excited for a fresh start and to see where this school year takes us. I am very involved in my girls’ school and extracurricular activities, and as we prepare to go back to school, I’m also busy getting our classes and groups organized for the upcoming year! I often end up holding a potluck event to get things off on the right foot, and I always bring my go-to dish, cowboy caviar.

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Cowboy caviar is a fresh and colorful dish made with finely chopped veggies, black beans, avocado and black eyed peas. You can serve it as either a dip or a salad. If you choose to serve it as a dip, be sure to bring a bag of tortilla chips to your potluck to go along side it! Otherwise, you can chop the vegetables in a larger dice and serve this cowboy caviar on top of a bed of lettuce as a salad. I l love this cowboy caviar for potlucks because it’s eye catching, unique AND it can be made in advance.

When my twins entered elementary school last year, I got involved in the school community by participating in our bake sale committee and also stepping up to lead the kindergarten Girl Scout troop. I learned a LOT about managing groups of people that way, and found that organization is the key to encouraging people to participate in activities. I am so happy to have discovered SignUp.com, it makes life so much easier for me, it’s free, and it saves a ton of time. I use SignUp.com to organize all my events, from back to school potlucks to Girl Scout meetings to bake sale volunteer sign ups. I love that you can access the SignUp.com site from any device, and you can even sync it with your calendar and get reminders. SignUp.com is so incredibly easy to use too, there’s no password required, no long email threads to follow, and you can simply sign up for what you want without it requiring further discussion with the organizer!

While I primarily have been using SignUp.com to coordinate social activities, it’s also a great tool for teachers and room parents to use for classroom related activities. SignUp.com can be used for everything from coordinating help in the classroom to collecting monetary donations to school supply wish lists. The possibilities are endless! Are you a room parent? SignUp.com has a lot of great resources for parents to get involved, with tons of ideas for class parties and school activities.

I recently used SignUp.com to coordinate a potluck for our Girl Scout troop. These girls have not seen each other all summer long and we were due for a gathering! It took me just minutes to put together a sign up form on the SignUp.com site, where before I would have had to send out at least a dozen emails to coordinate everyone. Of course I brought my favorite cowboy caviar, and the moms all raved over it and requested the recipe, which is about the best compliment you can get!

Back to school time can sometimes be hectic, but I choose to embrace it by finding ways to simplify my life. SignUp.com is the best possible way to organize activities with minimal fuss and follow up. I’ll be using this service all school year long! Be sure to follow SignUp.com on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for more great ideas on how to make back to school time the best it can be!

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Cowboy Caviar

This cowboy caviar is a colorful and hearty dip that's loaded with beans, avocado and veggies, all tossed in a zesty homemade sauce. It's the perfect make-ahead dish for a potluck!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 minute

Total Time 21 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 195 kcal

Author Dinner at the Zoo

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
• 1 can black eyed peas rinsed and drained
• 1 cup tomatoes seeded and finely diced
• 1 jalapeno seeded and finely diced
• 1 cup corn can be fresh, canned or thawed from frozen
• 1 avocado chopped
• 3/4 cup red and/or orange bell pepper seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 cup red onion finely diced
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place the beans, black eyed peas, tomatoes, jalapeno, corn, avocado, bell pepper, onion and cilantro in a large bowl. 

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, honey, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper.

3. Pour the dressing over the bean mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve as a salad or with chips.

Recipe Notes

Make ahead instructions: Assemble according to instructions, except omit the avocado. Refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Add the avocado right before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Cowboy Caviar

Amount Per Serving

Calories 195 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 13g 20%

Saturated Fat 1g 5%

Sodium 8mg 0%

Potassium 337mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates 17g 6%

Dietary Fiber 5g 20%

Sugars 3g

Protein 4g 8%

Vitamin A 7.6%

Vitamin C 12.9%

Calcium 1.6%

Iron 6.6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.