Instant Pot Texas Caviar (or slow cooker) is a colorful tortilla chip dip that has black eyed peas, tomatoes, peppers, corn, red onion and a zesty dressing. This stuff is addicting so make sure you have enough chips on hand!
Instant Pot Texas Caviar
Every single potluck in the summertime involves a batch of Texas caviar. It is the quintessential summer dip recipe. Lots of colors and an addicting taste. If you haven’t tried Texas caviar this week is a great week to try it! Now you can use your Instant Pot to cook the dried black eyed peas quickly!
Why is it called Texas Caviar? Texas caviar also called cowboy caviar got its name because it was created by a woman named Helen Corbitt who lived in Texas, of course. She created the dish in an attempt to make New Years Eve black eyed peas more tasty. Many people eat black eyed peas in the new year for good luck and prosperity. It was given its name, “Texas caviar,” as a humorous comparison to true caviar, an expensive hors d’oeuvre.
How long does Texas Caviar stay good? Store leftover Texas caviar in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Do I have to soak? I like to soak my black eyed peas overnight for texture and digestive reasons but if you’re in a pinch I put the directions for non-soaked peas in the recipe card below.
Can I use canned beans? Sure! I put the directions for canned peas in the recipe card below. This makes it a very fast recipe!
Can I use frozen corn? Yes! Use a package of frozen corn instead of canned corn. No need to cook it. Just add it to the salad frozen and it will thaw quickly.
I don’t have any Italian dressing what can I substitute? You can make your own dressing! Combine all these ingredients in a jar and shake. Store excess in the refrigerator and shake each time before use:
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Where’s the black beans? When my sister in law makes Texas Caviar it’s always with a combination of black beans and black eyed peas. You can do this! Use ¼ pound of black beans and ¾ pound of black eyed peas. I like to soak them separately so the black inky water from the black beans doesn’t dye the black eyed peas.
The beauty of Instant Pot Texas Caviar is that you can add or subtract recipes as you please. I’ve seen so many different versions of this recipe with fun ingredients. So get creative and have fun!
More Healthy Recipes…
Cranberry Orange Wheatberry Salad
Instant Pot Colorful Wheat Berry Salad
Instant Pot Creamy Polenta With Roasted Tomatoes
15 Bean Salad (Instant Pot Or Slow Cooker)
Instant Pot Hummus (Without Tahini)
Texas Caviar
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: Makes about 8 cups (32 quarter cup servings) 1x
Description
Texas Caviar is a colorful tortilla chip dip that has black eyed peas, tomatoes, peppers, corn, red onion and a zesty dressing. This stuff is addicting so make sure you have enough chips on hand!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black eyed peas (see note for canned)
- 6 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 bell peppers (your choice of color), seeded and diced
- ½ cup finely diced red onion
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans of corn, drained
- ½ cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed
- ⅔ cup zesty Italian dressing (or you can make your own, refer to text above)
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste (I used almost a teaspoon of salt)
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
Instructions
- Soak: Soak your black eyed peas for 8-12 hours in a large bowl with lots of water and 1 Tbsp of salt (see note). Rinse and drain the peas. Add them to the Instant Pot or slow cooker. Add in 6 cups of water.
- Cook: For the Instant Pot cover the pot and lock the lid into place, set the valve to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 13 minutes on high pressure. When the time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid. For the Slow Cooker cover the crock and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until peas are tender.
- Drain: Drain and rinse the black eyed peas in a colander. Place the peas in a large bowl and let them chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Chop and combine: Prepare all other ingredients. Toss them all together with the black eyed peas. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve: Serve dip with tortilla chips, you can also eat it plain like a salad.
Notes
If you’d rather use canned black eyed peas instead of dried you totally can. Rinse and drain four cans of peas and then add all the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Some versions of Texas caviar have 3 cans of black eyed peas and 1 can of black beans.
I soaked my peas overnight. Alternately you can cook without soaking. Make sure there is plenty of water covering the peas and use a 20 minute pressure cooking time with a natural pressure release.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1. Keep the recipe the same if using an 8 quart pot. For a 3 quart pot, halve the recipe and keep the same cooking time.
This makes a huge batch! You can easily halve the recipe. Keep the same cooking time and halve all the ingredients.
- Category: Meatless
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I have pinto beans. (Substitution during stay-at-home) How long would you recommend cooking pintos?
25-30 for unsoaked and 10-25 for soaked
Thank you!
We’re used to semi-spicy salsa with onions, garlic, cilantro and a little jalapeño with chips, is it that good with Italian dressing? Just seems different to me. I guess I’ll have to try. I cannot find any dried beans in the grocery store for months now, not sure I’ve even seen black eyed peas and I’ve never eaten them.
You can always just used canned black eyed peas too. Lots of stuff is missing right now!!
If using can black eyed peas how long would you cook it in the slow cooker?
No need to cook if you are using canned beans!
This is great! We have a family friend who makes a simuliar recipe we have always enjoyed. So glad I can make my own now. Cooking the peas in the IP was a snap! Great flavor. My young adult sons are enjoying it. Thanks. Jolyne
Happy to hear that you and your sons are fans of it! We love it over here too 😊
Do you can this or have to eat it all in a certain amount of days. there’s only my wife and I.
I don’t can it. I usually bring it to a party or potluck and it gets all eaten. I would halve the recipe or even quarter it for you and your wife!
I added two large Serrano peppers, minced to my caviar, but we’re from central Texas and we’re quite used to spicy food.
Some finely chopped basil is also nice.
★★★★★
I like those ideas! If I have a jalapeno I usually add that in 😊
until I tried this stuff I would not have believed how good it is….wanted something that used black eye peas for new years and this was a hit
★★★★★
It’s so addicting!!