Meet the best 7-layer dip I’ve ever had. I’ve sampled my fair share of them, and wow, this recipe is the winner! Every layer is delicious on its own and builds on the last. The end result is creamy and cheese, of course, but it’s also perfectly balanced. Fresh avocado, jalapeño, cilantro, green onion and salsa offer fresh and bright flavors that cut through the cheddar cheese, sour cream and refried beans.
Store-bought ingredients yield great results, so you don’t have to turn on the stove to make this one. Each layer contains a fun little surprise, like a splash of salsa in the refried beans to loosen the texture and a burst of freshness from jalapeño in the sour cream. All seven layers come together quickly, too, so you can enjoy your appetizer after about twenty minutes of assembly.
Bring this 7-layer dip to your next watch party. Football season is in full swing (go Chiefs!), and I’ll make this recipe again this weekend. I’ve enjoyed the leftovers for lunch, so you don’t need a big occasion to make this recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do.
I consider myself a pickle connoisseur, and I dare say that these pickled jalapeños are the best. These pickled jalapeños are fresh and lightly crisp, with the…
I consider myself a pickle connoisseur, and I dare say that these pickled jalapeños are the best. These pickled jalapeños are fresh and lightly crisp, with the perfect level of heat. They’re so much better than their store-bought counterparts, which have been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long.
To make this recipe, you’ll need fresh jalapeños, vinegar, water, an optional garlic clove, and salt. That’s it—the rest of the magic is due to the method.
These pickles will taste fully pickled after a four-hour rest in the refrigerator, so make them earlier in the day or the night before you need them. They retain their lovely flavor for about one month in the refrigerator.
These pickled jalapeños offer the perfect spicy pop to my meals! I hope you love them as much as I do.
When I lived in New York, the fresh dill at the grocery store usually came from Texas. More famous Texan offerings, such as peaches, pecans, or cantaloupes, were absent at…
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When I lived in New York, the fresh dill at the grocery store usually came from Texas. More famous Texan offerings, such as peaches, pecans, or cantaloupes, were absent at...
Shrimp ceviche is a vibrant dish with tender shrimp marinated in citrus juices, combined with crisp vegetables and fresh herbs. Serve with tortilla chips, tostadas, or lettuce cups for scooping!
Shrimp ceviche is a vibrant dish with tender shrimp marinated in citrus juices, combined with crisp vegetables and fresh herbs. Serve with tortilla chips, tostadas, or lettuce cups for scooping!
Step aside margaritas, the mockarita has ARRIVED! This passion fruit mocktail has all the tart, sweet, refreshing goodness of a traditional margarita thanks to passion fruit, lime, and agave. And, spicy charred jalapeños add booze-like complexity and h…
Step aside margaritas, the mockarita has ARRIVED! This passion fruit mocktail has all the tart, sweet, refreshinggoodness of a traditional margarita thanks to passion fruit, lime, and agave. And, spicy charred jalapeños add booze-like complexity and heat without the alcohol. Yep, it’s seriously good!
AND…it gets better! Just 4 ingredients and 25 minutes required, friends.
Guacamole is the perfect dip for a party or potluck. Or add it as a side to Mexican dishes, like fajitas, tacos, nachos, and more. It’s fresh, flavorful, and so easy to make.
Guacamole is the perfect dip for a party or potluck. Or add it as a side to Mexican dishes, like fajitas, tacos, nachos, and more. It's fresh, flavorful, and so easy to make.
Cowboy candy probably isn’t something you hand out at Halloween — unless your trick-or-treaters are fans of jalapeño peppers! These savory and sweet candied jalapeños are so freakin’ delicious, they just make everything better. It’s more than just a fun name. I’d say they might even top your favorite candy bar as a tasty treat, because you’ll want to put them on everything you grill from now until the end of summer.
I’ve got an easy cowboy candy recipe for you here, and we’re putting them on one of my favorite grill recipes: burgers! We round out the perfect combination of savory and sweet in this recipe with Bush’s Original Baked Beans, which are the perfect side for summer grilling. Nothing says backyard BBQ more than a spicy burger with Bush’s Baked Beans on the side!
The texture of cowboy candy is similar to bread and butter pickles, but with extra zip from the spicy pepper. When it comes your burger, cowboy candy is a spicy treat to kick things up a notch. Plus, if you have leftover syrup from making these savory and sweet peppers, one of my favorite ways to use it up is for glazes or on ribs and chicken. This stuff is liquid gold.
Cowboy candy: Start with fresh jalapeños, and then we’ll pickle our thin pepper slices in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, granulated white sugar, turmeric, celery seed, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper.
Burger: To make the cowboy candy the real star of the show, we’re going with a classic bacon smashburger with cheese. Ground beef, slices of bacon, cheese slices, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder and mayo are all we need.
Baked beans: Bush’s Original Baked Beans are perfect here! We dress them up a bit with cowboy candy and chopped bacon.
How to Cut a Jalapeño
Have you ever sliced spicy jalapeños, forgot and then rubbed your eyes? It’s brutal! The easiest way to prevent this experience is to wear disposable gloves while you slice peppers.
Make sure you wash your hands well afterward, along with your cutting board and the knife you used to cut the spicy pepper. If you do get some capsaicin — the compound in hot peppers like our jalapeños, banana peppers and serrano peppers that gives them that flavorful kick — on your hands and it causes a burning sensation, you can use dish soap, rubbing alcohol or even yogurt to cool things down.
Get stoked for life
This sauce is FYR!
an all-new line created for live fire cooking
Born from a deep passion for food and flavor. Whether you’re grilling in the backyard or live fire cooking around the world, we have what you need to transform every meal into an adventure.
Cowboy candy in summer > leftover Halloween candy in summer. Let’s put these candied jalapenos on a burger!
Making the Cowboy Candy
First up: those savory, sweet, spicy peppers. Start by thinly slicing 1 pound of fresh jalapeños. You can use your favorite chef’s knife or a mandoline cutter for this part! Put a cast-iron skillet on medium heat, and then add 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 3 cups of granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon of celery seed, 1.5 teaspoons of granulated garlic and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the skillet. Bring the vinegar mixture to a full rolling boil, then add the sliced jalapenos.
Let those jalapeños cook in the boiling syrup for 2-3 minutes, then take them out with a slotted spoon and set them aside in a mason jar.
Boil the sugar sauce for another five minutes, then remove it from heat and pour the boiling sweet syrup into the mason jar with the jalapeños. Finish up your cowboy candy by placing the jar of jalapeños in the fridge to cool.
Ideally, you’ll want them in there for three or four days, but you’ll get a nice flavor with two or three hours if you’re in a pinch.
Grilling the Burger
Heat your grill to high heat, about 400 degrees Fahrenheit, for direct cooking. Put a cast-iron skillet on the fire so it can preheat.
Grab a handful of ground beef and then gently roll it into a ball. Repeat this process until you’ve got six total burger balls.
When your skillet is smoking, add that ball of ground beef to the skillet. Place a piece of parchment over the ball, and then firmly press with the spatula until the burger is smashed on the skillet.
Season the patty with salt, pepper and garlic powder, then let it cook for another 1-1.5 minutes. Carefully flip the burger patty over and then season the new side. Top with a slice of cheese and let melt for 1-2 minutes.
Once the cheese has melted, pull the burger off and let it rest. Repeat this process for the rest of your patties.
Bacon and Beans
Add a cast iron skillet or plancha over the flames to heat, then place some sliced bacon in the cold skillet. Cook the bacon until it’s nice and crispy, then glaze the slices with a little of the cowboy candy sugar syrup. This is how we’ll incorporate even more of that cowboy candy goodness into our beans! Pull off and keep warm.
Add another skillet to the heat with a can of Bush’s Original Baked Beans. Bring the beans to a full simmer, then pull them off and top with chopped bacon and cowboy candy.
Assembling the Cowboy Candy Burger
Serve your burgers on toasted buns with mayonnaise, double stacked patties, candied bacon, cowboy candy and Bush’s Baked Beans on the side. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Cowboy Candy
Like I said, you can put cowboy candy on everything. Hot dogs are another great way to get your cowboy candy fix! The great thing about a hot dog is that Bush’s Baked Beans also pair perfectly with them. You could also add bits of hot dog to the beans for the ultimate meaty bean experience!
You can keep the cowboy candy in that mason jar of sweet brine in the fridge for up to two months. Wrap the cooled-down burger patties tightly in foil and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
OK, you got me hooked on cowboy candy. What other ways can I use it?
Awesome! Glad to hear you’re now a seasoned cowboy candy fan. These spicy jalapeno slices are great in so many things. Putting them on top of cocktails, cornbread, guacamole, Hawaiian pizza and eggs are just a few ideas!
Why smash the burger?
When you smash a beef patty, you supercharge the sear on that burger. The extreme heat and pressure seals in the juices and flavor, giving us a crispy crust on top of it all — a perfect landing spot for cowboy candy.
Where can I find Bush’s Original Baked Beans?
People love Bush’s Original Baked Beans so much, they’re everywhere. Check out the company’s store locator to find out which supermarkets carry them near you. While you’re on the website, you can also discover Bush’s other products, bean recipe ideas and more.
All the major tastes—salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami—are explored in depth, along with an investigation of other components you should consider when it comes to flavor, such as aroma, heat, and texture.
Cowboy candy is a freakin' delicious way to turn fresh jalapeño peppers into a savory, sweet treat that is perfect for topping burgers.
Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour15 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Servings 4people
Calories 1319kcal
Author Derek Wolf
Ingredients
Cowboy Candy:
1lbJalapeñosthinly sliced
1cupApple Cider Vinegar
3cupsGranulated Sugar
1/2tspTurmeric
1/2tspCelery Seed
1.5tspGranulated Garlic
1tspCayenne Powder
Burger:
1lbsGround Beef
½lbSliced Bacon
6-8Sliced Cheese
1/4cupSalt/Pepper/Garlic
Mayonnaiseas needed
Burger Buns
Baked Beans:
16ozcans Bush’s Original Baked Beans
1/2cupCowboy Candy
1/4cupChopped Bacon
Instructions
Cowboy Candy:
Add a cast iron skillet to medium heat.
Place all the ingredients (outside the jalapenos) to the skillet and bring to a small boil.
Add the jalapenos to the rolling boil for 2-3 minutes, then pull off and set aside.
Boil the sugar sauce for 5-6 more minutes, then pull off and add everything (boiled sugar sauce and jalapeños) to a mason jar.
Place in the fridge to cool for at least 2-3 hours but ideally 3-4 days.
Burger & Baked Beans:
Heat your grill at high heat (around 400F) for direct cooking. Add a cast iron to the fire to preheat.
Grab a handful of ground beef and gently roll it into a ball. Repeat this for 6-8 balls or until you’re out of meat.
Get your skillet ripping hot (so it's gently smoking).
Add a burger ball to the skillet. Place a piece of parchment over one ball and then firmly press with the spatula until the burger is “smashed” on the skillet.
Season the patty with salt, pepper and garlic. Let cook for another 1-1.5 minutes.
Carefully flip the burger patty over and then season the new side.
Top with a slice of cheese and let melt for 1-2 minutes. Once melted, pull off and rest.
Repeat for the rest of your patties.
Add a cast iron skillet or plancha over the flames to heat and add some sliced bacon to the cold skillet.
Cook them bacon till crispy, then glaze with a little of the cowboy candy sugar sauce. Pull off and keep warm.
Add another skillet with a can of Bush’s Baked Beans. Bring to a full simmer, then pull off and top with chopped bacon and cowboy candy.
Serve your burgers on toasted buns with mayonnaise, double stacked patties, candied bacon, cowboy candy and Bush’s Baked Beans on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
How to Cut a JalapeñoHave you ever sliced spicy jalapeños, forgot and then rubbed your eyes? It’s brutal! The easiest way to prevent this experience is to wear disposable gloves while you slice peppers. Make sure you wash your hands well afterward, along with your cutting board and the knife you used to cut the spicy pepper. If you do get some capsaicin — the compound in hot peppers like our jalapeños, banana peppers and serrano peppers that gives them that flavorful kick — on your hands and it causes a burning sensation, you can use dish soap, rubbing alcohol or even yogurt to cool things down.
Make this cilantro lime dressing recipe the next time you prepare a Mexican meal. It’s bright, sunny and fresh! This dressing is boldly flavored with fresh lime,…
Make this cilantro lime dressing recipe the next time you prepare a Mexican meal. It’s bright, sunny and fresh! This dressing is boldly flavored with fresh lime, olive oil, cilantro, garlic, honey, cumin and Dijon mustard. You can make it creamy or spicy if you wish.
Drizzle this dressing over crisp greens with sliced avocado and toasted pepitas for a perfectly simple side salad. You’ll find a longer list of salad toppings to choose from below.
I improvised this dressing to make a green salad with leftovers from my Fajita Veggie & Halloumi Bowls, and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you. It’s almost as versatile as my favorite Lemon Vinaigrette and suits some flavors even better.
This dressing comes together quickly in the food processor and keeps in the refrigerator for up to one week. Sometimes having a vibrant sauce on hand makes all the difference!
Have you tried shredded tofu yet, friends? We’re into it. Super firm tofu + a box grater are all you need to meet your new BFF that helps make this smoky, spicy shredded tofu taco “meat”!
Not only is it quick & easy to make, but it’s endlessly vers…
Have you tried shredded tofu yet, friends? We’re into it. Super firm tofu + a box grater are all you need to meet your new BFF that helps make this smoky, spicy shredded tofu taco “meat”!
Not only is it quick & easy to make, but it’s endlessly versatile! It’s perfect for everything from tacos to burritos, bowls, nachos, and beyond. Just 20 minutes required and perfect for making ahead for a quick protein throughout the week.
This fresh pomegranate salsa recipe is bursting with sweet-and-spicy flavor. It’s a fun holiday appetizer or wintertime snack. You can serve it with tortilla chips like any…
This fresh pomegranate salsa recipe is bursting with sweet-and-spicy flavor. It’s a fun holiday appetizer or wintertime snack. You can serve it with tortilla chips like any other salsa. Of course, a side of guacamole is always a good idea.
For a special Christmas salsa presentation, try it as shown here, with whipped goat cheese as a creamy base and the salsa arranged in a wreath-like shape on top. This variation goes well with sturdy crostini or crisp toasted pita. The whipped goat cheese component is included in the recipe below, and it’s so easy to whip up.
This year, I’m bringing pomegranate salsa to my friends’ annual Christmas party! Lighter and brighter options are always welcome amongst heavy and sweet holiday fare. Let’s start the pomegranate salsa trend together.
Here in the U.S., pomegranates are typically available from the end of September through January. I hope you have the chance to make this recipe while we can.
