You'll Find Beans, Cheese, And Spices In Our Cowboy Caviar Pasta Salad Recipe

Cowboy caviar has been around for a while, but as is often the case these days, it reached center stage on the back of viral social media posts. For a while, food-focused feeds were filled with various renditions of the simple bean salad, as influencers and home cooks alike gave us their unique renditions. But here's a whole new take on that recent favorite dish: cowboy caviar pasta salad.

Cowboy caviar originated as something more along the lines of pickled black eyed peas, with the signature beans marinated in oil and vinegar with garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. As the dish has evolved, it has veered closer and closer to a corn and bean salsa, full of plenty of beans and fresh veggies. Here, of course, we switch things up, making the base of the salad ditalini, a small noodle that fits in perfectly with the beans, corn kernels, and diced veggies, maintaining the texture while also letting the dish stand on its own as a meal — no chips required.

With tender pasta, plenty of crisp veggies, and a tangy, smoky vinaigrette, this cowboy caviar pasta salad is already pretty wonderful. But when you cap it off with fresh cilantro, creamy avocado, and salty cotija, it is really something else. Whether you're just eating a big bowl for lunch, or you're serving this as a side dish alongside that brisket that's been in the smoker all day, this cowboy caviar doesn't miss.

For this recipe you will need ditalini pasta, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, and cotija cheese. For the dressing, you will also need apple cider vinegar, honey, smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and olive oil. Once you have all of those ingredients together, you are ready to begin cooking.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until tender.

While the pasta is cooking, make the dressing by combining the vinegar, honey, and spices in a bowl, and whisking as you slowly pour in the olive oil.

When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and toss it with ¼ cup of the dressing. Then place the pasta in the fridge for around 20 minutes to cool.

Once the pasta has cooled to room temperature, mix in the corn, beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and red onion.

Pour over the remaining dressing and toss well.

When you are ready to serve, mix in the avocado, cotija, and cilantro, and add salt to taste.

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Smoked paprika is a unique ingredient that can really transform a dish. As you might expect, the difference between smoked paprika and regular paprika is that the mild red peppers used to produce the former are dried over a wood fire, lending it a strong smoky character. In dishes like this cowboy caviar pasta salad, that flavor of smoke can add a rich, almost meaty element to an otherwise mostly raw dish. But there are a few suitable substitutes for smoked paprika out there.

The number one substitute for smoked paprika is chipotle powder. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeños, so they're a perfect fit anywhere you might use smoked paprika. The difference here is that jalapeños are spicier than the peppers typically used for paprika, so you need to be prepared for an increase in the heat level of the dish. Ancho powder is another good substitute. Ancho chiles are dried poblano peppers, and while they are not smoked, the drying process does lend them a light smokiness. Poblanos are typically mild, falling well below jalapeños in Scoville units.

Finally, if these chile powders are too tough to find, any standard chile powder will work. It won't have the desired smokiness, but it will impart some nice chile flavor. There is a difference between chile powder and chili powder, however, and you want the former. Chile powder is just ground chiles, whereas chili powder contains other ingredients. A little bit of garlic and other spices wouldn't mess you up too much here, but sticking to pure spices gives you the highest degree of flavor control.

One of the best things about cowboy caviar is how easy it is to customize, and this recipe is no different. When it comes to making this pasta salad your own, there are plenty of cowboy caviar recipes on the internet that you can draw inspiration from in your customization, or you can simply let your imagination run wild. Just about anything that you might like in either a salsa or a Southwest-style pasta salad fits the bill here. If black beans aren't your thing, feel free to sub them out for black-eyed peas, kidney beans, or whatever you like. Fresh, crunchy diced vegetables are a key component, but the varieties are up to you — celery, scallions, chayote squash, it's all down to your palate. Each time you make it, try adding something new, and see how you like it.

Given that this pasta salad is based on a Texas recipe, another area you might want to experiment with is adding a little heat. Mixing in some diced fresh or roasted chiles is a simple method for adding some spice, or you could go for a sweet and spicy combo by adding candied jalapeños, also known as cowboy candy. For an even simpler method, a few glugs from your favorite bottle of hot sauce will effortlessly make this pasta salad un poco picante.

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