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Make the most of summer’s bounty with this easy Gazpacho Recipe, a chilled soup that requires no cooking whatsoever. Serve it in a bowl or a tall glass; you’ll love it more with every cool, savory sip you take.
Traditional gazpacho recipes are a spicy, cold vegetable soup primarily made with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and red bell pepper. The best Gazpacho has origins in Spanish and Andalusian cuisine, where it was made for thousands of years out of bread, garlic, olive oil, and water. It wasn’t until the 19th century, when tomatoes were introduced to gazpacho in Spain, that it became closer to the juicy red, tomato-based soup we know and love today.
Today, Gazpacho has broadened its definition to include other variations of chilled soup. Some versions incorporate avocados, grapes, and even fresh fruit such as watermelon gazpacho. All of them are delicious, especially as a refreshing summer soup. The biggest, most time-consuming thing you have to do is prep your vegetables. But don’t worry, nothing has to be precise!
Even though the blender or food processor does most of the work for you, chopping the ingredients into rough, 1-inch chunks helps the steel blades process evenly, without turning everything into one big mushy mess. That way, you can enjoy all the flavors and textures that the fresh veggies of gazpacho have to offer.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Tomatoes: The recipe calls for plum tomatoes, but if you have ripe tomatoes you’d rather use, including yellow tomatoes, go ahead and use them.
- Cucumbers: Hothouse, Persian, or whatever you’re growing.
- Garlic: This recipe calls for 6 cloves, but you can use less if you prefer.
- Tomato juice: Try to find good quality, low-sodium tomato juice. Tomato vegetable beverages (like V-8) might be too salty for use in Gazpacho.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a food processor fit with the steel blade, add the tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and red onions one at a time (chop them individually).
- Pulse until coarsely chopped (do not pulse to a mushy texture).
- Combine all vegetables in a very large bowl (at least 4 quarts). To the vegetable mixture, add the tomato juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and garlic.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and chill well. Garnish with fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 16 cups of Gazpacho soup, enough for 8 generous servings of 2 cups each or 16 appetizer-sized servings of 1 cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Thicker: Add a slice or two of bread to the blender to purée into the soup.
- Creamy: Add chunks of avocado for a creamier gazpacho.
- Spicy: Tweak your blend with your favorite spices such as cumin, Italian seasoning, or chili powder. For a spicy soup, use a pinch of Chipotle chili powder.
- Smoky: Roast your bell peppers (and consider peeling them, if you do), for rustic smokiness.
- Zucchini: Too much can get watery, but a small amount of zucchini, used sparingly, can be delicious in gazpacho.
- Garnishes: Serve your gazpacho topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, chopped hard-boiled egg, homemade croutons, or minced fresh herbs such as a chiffonade of basil or snipped chives. Some cooks love even more acid from red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar. Feel free to drizzle it onto your own bowl, to taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Owing their essence to fresh veggies, most Spanish gazpacho recipes are naturally vegan.
Many traditional Spanish gazpacho recipes have bread blended into the mix at high speed, as a thickener and to add body to the soup. For a gluten-free gazpacho, simply leave out the bread (or substitute your favorite gluten-free loaf).
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Gazpacho Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 plum tomatoes roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces (see note 1)
- 3 red bell peppers cored, seeded, and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2 thin-skinned cucumbers unpeeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces (see note 2)
- 2 medium red onions roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 46 ounces tomato juice (see note 3)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic minced (see note 4)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- fresh basil chiffonade or a sprig, for garnish
Instructions
- In a food processor fit with the steel blade, and working with one vegetable kind at a time, pulse the tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and red onions separately until coarsely chopped (do not pulse to mush).
- Combine all vegetables in a very large bowl (at least 4 quarts). Stir in tomato juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper and chill well. Garnish with fresh basil.
Notes
- Tomatoes: The recipe calls for plum tomatoes, but if you have ripe tomatoes you’d rather use, including yellow tomatoes, go ahead and use them.
- Cucumbers: Hothouse, Persian, or whatever you’re growing.
- Tomato juice: Try to find good quality, low-sodium tomato juice. Tomato vegetable beverages (like V-8) might be too salty for use in Gazpacho.
- Garlic: This recipe calls for 6 cloves, but you can use less if you prefer.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 16 cups of Gazpacho soup, enough for 8 generous servings of 2 cups each or 16 appetizer-sized servings of 1 cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
This is a great recipe.
This is a great gazpacho recipe! Very happy with the end result!