If caviar is not your thing, never fear. Texas Caviar is a far more casual affair and has nothing to do with fish eggs. Usually made up of black-eyed-peas, a few other goodies, a vinaigrette-style dressing, and served as a dip, it’s zesty and truly delicious. And it just so happens when you fold it into a creamy pasta salad, even more deliciousness ensues.
I mean, just look at all this flavor! Here we’ve got green and red bell peppers, red onion, bright tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, black beans, black-eyed peas, and sweet corn.
There’s also cumin and cilantro, and while some pasta salads might just rely on Italian dressing and others just mayo, here both are combined into a creamy and flavorful combo.
There’s chewy macaroni, plenty of crunch, some sweetness, and a whole lot of zestiness. What I’m trying to say is that it’s a pasta salad that has everything you could want. Still comfortingly creamy but chock full of zesty flavor too!
Texas Caviar Pasta Salad
Yield(s): Serves 6
5m prep time
10m cook time
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup Italian dressing
- 1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Preparation
- In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and Italian dressing until smooth.
- Add macaroni, bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, jalapeños, black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, cumin, and cilantro. Stir until well combined.
- Cover bowl, and chill at least 1 hour. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Spicy Southern Kitchen.