Gazpacho! The chilled, raw tomato and vegetable soup from Andalusia, Spain. Ever had it? Love it? Hate it? I can’t say I’ve always loved it, but if you get it right, gazpacho can be so good.
At its best, gazpacho is super refreshing and bursting with fresh-from-the-garden summer flavors. At its worst, gazpacho tastes like chunky cold salsa or thin tomato juice, neither of which do I particularly enjoy. I wanted a texture somewhere in between the two, with far superior flavor.
Through trial and error, I discovered that the trick to making the best gazpacho is to blend half of the ingredients into creamy oblivion. Then, add the other half and blitz until they break into tiny pieces. You’ll end up with a delicious, rich base, with tiny pieces of tomatoes, cucumber and pepper adding intrigue.
Gazpacho Ingredients
This healthy recipe offers classic gazpacho flavor. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make it:
- Ripe red tomatoes: Tomatoes form the base of this raw soup—make sure they’re top summer quality. Because tomatoes contain so much moisture, we don’t need to add any liquid before we blend the ingredients together. We’ll even reserve some fresh tomato seeds to garnish the soup (they’re so pretty).
- Sweet yellow onion: Onions are both savory and sweet. Don’t worry if the onion flavor seems overwhelming straight out of the blender. It mellows considerably as the soup chills in the fridge.
- Cucumber: Juicy cucumber adds another layer of fresh flavor.
- Red bell pepper: Gazpacho wouldn’t be complete without crisp, sweet bell pepper. Feel free to substitute an orange or yellow bell pepper for the red.
- Fresh basil: Basil makes this soup taste even more summery and irresistible.
- Garlic: You’ll just need one large clove.
- Olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil is always the way to go.
- Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar: A small splash of vinegar makes this soup come alive.
Watch How to Make Gazpacho
My Best Gazpacho Tips
Don’t add bread
Traditional gazpacho blends in white bread for body, but I found that it diluted the flavor. I also didn’t enjoy straining the gazpacho through a fine sieve afterward. Blending up the produce with olive oil produces a rich, creamy emulsion that has plenty of body, no sieve required.
That means that this easy gazpacho recipe is gluten free and full of good-for-you fiber thanks to the unfiltered vegetables.
Blending options
If you’re in a hurry or want a totally smooth gazpacho, by all means, blend everything together at once (see the recipe notes for details on this shortcut).
I prefer my gazpacho with some texture. That’s why the recipe instructs you briefly blitz some of the ingredients into the soup instead of blending them all together at once.
If you love chunky gazpacho, you could just barely blend them into the soup.
Gazpacho needs time to chill
All good gazpacho needs time to rest before serving, so plan to make it at least two hours in advance. This gives the flavors time to fully develop, and the soup time to chill completely. Gazpacho should be served cold, or close to it.
Recommended garnishes
Chop and reserve some of the ingredients for garnishing the soup later (see steps 1 and 2). It’s an extra step, but it’s worth the trouble if you want the beautiful gazpacho you see here.
I was all googly-eyed over the food and plating in Madrid a couple of months ago, so I wanted to present Spanish gazpacho in its full glory.
Gazpacho Serving Suggestions
Make a light summer meal by serving your gazpacho with crusty bread, cheese, Marcona almonds, fancy olives like Castelvetranos, and veggies like sliced cucumber and bell pepper. Perhaps you’d like it with a cold glass of crisp rosé or white wine, like Albariño or Sauvignon Blanc.
The acidity of the gazpacho makes it a natural pairing with seafood, and it could also be lovely with grilled main dishes or vegetables. Add a green salad like my Super Simple Arugula Salad to round out your meal.
Please let me know how you like this gazpacho in the comments! Your feedback keeps me going, and I hope you love this gazpacho recipe as much as I do.
Ultimate Gazpacho
This gazpacho recipe is the best! It’s a refreshing chilled summer soup, perfect for your garden tomatoes and cucumber. Be sure to make it in advance so the soup can chill for at least 2 hours. Recipe yields 5 cups, enough for 4 servings.
- To prepare your veggies, place your blender bowl, a medium serving bowl, and a small bowl on the counter. Core the tomatoes and cut them into rough 1-inch chunks. Reserve about ¼ cup of the juicy tomato seeds and place them in your small bowl (we’ll use them as a garnish later). Add half of the tomato chunks to the blender, and the other half to your serving bowl. Add all of the onion chunks to the blender.
- Cut off about one-fourth of the cucumber. Finely chop that piece and place it in the small bowl. Slice the rest of the cucumber into rough 1-inch chunks, and divide them between the blender and the serving bowl. Cut off about one-fourth of the bell pepper, finely chop that piece, and add it to the small bowl. Slice the rest of the bell pepper into rough 1-inch chunks and divide them between the blender and the serving bowl.
- To the blender, add the basil, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and about 10 twists of black pepper. Securely fasten the lid and blend, starting on low and increasing to high speed, until the mixture is completely smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Pour the contents of the serving bowl (the remaining chunks of tomato, cucumber and bell pepper) into the blender. Fasten the lid and blend for just 10 to 20 seconds, until the ingredients are broken up into small pieces. Stop there, or blend a little longer if you prefer smaller pieces.
- Add a small pinch of salt to the small bowl of garnishes, stir, and store it in the fridge. Chill the soup for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Before serving, taste, and add additional salt (I sometimes add another ¼ teaspoon) and/or black pepper if necessary. To serve, divide the soup into small bowls or cups, and top with the reserved cucumber and bell pepper. Top with a few tiny or torn basil leaves and a light sprinkle of pepper. Leftover servings keep well, covered and refrigerated, for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
Make it quick (shortcut/smooth soup method): You can just cut the tomato, onion, cucumber and bell pepper into 1-inch chunks, place them in the blender with the remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth. Chill for at least 2 hours, add more salt or pepper if necessary, and garnish your soup with black pepper and a few tiny or torn basil leaves.
Nutrition
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