Beat the heat with this easy gazpacho recipe! Made with summer veggies, vinegar, and olive oil, this cool soup is rich, tangy, and refreshing.
It’s no secret that I love gazpacho. Over the years, I’ve shared a gazpacho recipe with watermelon, one with corn, another with carrots, and still another with tangy tomatillos. What can I say? On a hot summer day, there’s no better way to cool off than with cold soup.
If you’re not familiar with gazpacho, it’s a chilled soup that originated in Andalucía, Spain. Traditional recipes call for tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and bread, which thickens the soup.
This recipe isn’t entirely authentic, but it has a lot in common with Spanish gazpacho. Tomatoes, cucumber, and olive oil make up its vibrant red base, garlic adds bite, and red wine vinegar gives it a delicious tang. Even Jack, who normally passes on gazpacho, devoured a bowl for lunch last week. Complex, refreshing, and bursting with summer produce, it’s the perfect thing to make right now, when the days are hot and fresh tomatoes are at their peak.
Gazpacho Ingredients
As I mentioned above, bread is often used as a thickener in Andalusian gazpacho. I like the lightly creamy texture of the soup without it, so I make my gazpacho with these simple ingredients:
- Tomatoes – Any variety of tomatoes will work well here. Choose the best ones you can find at your farmers market or grocery store!
- Cucumber – Dice some cucumber and reserve it for garnish. Then, peel the rest and blend it into the soup!
- Fresno chiles – Traditional gazpacho is made with bell peppers. But earlier this summer, I was making gazpacho at home, and fresno chiles were the only peppers I had in the fridge. I tossed them in, and I fell in love with the heat they added to the soup. I highly recommend using them, but you could swap in half a red bell pepper if you prefer.
- Garlic – For bite!
- Red onion – Rinse it under cold water before you add it to the blender to tame its sharp flavor.
- Red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar – It adds delicious tang.
- Cilantro – It’s not traditional, but I love the herby fresh flavor.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – 1/2 cup might seem like a lot, but trust me, you’re going to want every drop in this cool summer soup. It’s essential for creating a rich, creamy, and balanced gazpacho.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Best Gazpacho Recipe Tips
- Good tomatoes are gold. This gazpacho recipe calls for a whole lotta tomatoes: 2 1/2 pounds! Fresh tomato juice makes up the body of the soup, so the quality of your tomatoes will really affect the final dish. If you can, look for local tomatoes at your farmers market. But no matter what, make this recipe in summer, when any tomato is sweeter and juicier than it would be at other times of year.
- Work in batches if necessary. This recipe makes a lot of soup, so you might need to work in batches depending on the size of your blender or food processor. Of course, you could also halve the recipe, but I like having leftovers in the fridge. The soup becomes more complex and flavorful the longer it chills, so it tastes even better on days 2 and 3!
- Chill the soup for at least 2 hours before you eat. It might be tempting to cut the chilling time short, but trust me, the wait is worth it! After the flavors meld and develop in the fridge, the soup becomes more balanced, complex, and refreshing.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this gazpacho recipe two ways: in a glass or in a bowl. Drink it for a light lunch or appetizer, or load up your bowl with toppings to make it a meal on its own! I like to garnish my bowl with diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil. Roasted chickpeas, croutons, chopped hard boiled eggs, and avocado would be delicious toppings too.
Round out the meal with good crusty bread or socca. For a heartier meal, serve this easy gazpacho with grilled vegetables and romesco sauce, your favorite protein, or a veggie frittata. Enjoy!
More Favorite Tomato Recipes
If you love this gazpacho recipe, try one of these summer tomato recipes next:
- Pico de Gallo
- Homemade Salsa
- Classic Caprese Salad
- Panzanella
- Greek Salad
- Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad
- Tomato Soup
- Or any of these 50 Fresh Tomato Recipes!
Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber
- 2½ pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 2 fresno chiles, or ½ red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded
- ¼ small red onion, rinsed
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1¼ teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Cherry tomatoes, for garnish
- Fresh herbs, for garnish
Instructions
- Finely chop ¼ of the cucumber and reserve for garnish.
- Peel the remaining cucumber, cut into chunks, and transfer to a blender. Add the tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, cilantro, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Season to taste and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Serve the soup garnished with the reserved diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, drizzles of olive oil, and freshly ground black pepper.
Honestly the best gazpacho recipe I’ve ever made. I love the tang of the sherry vinegar!
This recipe is super nice for a hot day. It’s been pretty hot and humid in Michigan lately, and this is a fantastic relief from the heat!!
This is a great way to use the best of the summer veggies without using the oven! Refreshing!
Easy, fresh, and delicious! Perfect timing too because I have so many ripe tomatoes and cucumbers from my garden. Will definitely make again!
This was so tasty and refreshing! I’ve always wanted to make gazpacho and the cooking club finally gave me the impetus to try it out. Perfect for the hot summer weather in Miami right now.
Great choice for the July cooking club. This was perfect for a hot night..
Very very good! My 8 year old made this with me but now if we win the challenge, I have to split the gift card!! Lol
This is my first time making the recipe and did it as part of the cooking club challenge. We are moving towards a plant based diet and I really enjoyed it.
I couldn’t find Fresno peppers at my grocery store so I used one habanero and one jalapeño and it turned out very tasty! Pairs well with bread for dipping!
So good!!! Thank you!!! I garnished individual servings in small jars with edible flowers – Madame Butterfly Bronze Snapdragons and flowers of basil, oregano and parsley. So delish and pretty!
This gazpacho is delicious and so easy! I bought most of the ingredients at the farmers market and whipped this up in minutes. Thanks for the tasty summer soup.
I never liked gazpacho when I was younger. But now I think it’s so refreshing. This is a great recipe for the hot summer days here in NC.
It’s my second summer making this delicious soup. It’s so simple and so good!
This was so easy and worked really well! What a perfect healthy summer lunch!
This recipe is amazing!! So refreshing on a hot summer day. Thanks so much!
This is absolutely delicious. I took it one step further and roasted the whole sweet tomatoes, chilies (seeded), red onion and garlic on a sheet pan with olive oil and sea salt and fresh ground black pepper at 400 degrees in the oven for 25-35 minutes to bring in even more sweetness and roasted flavor. It also messages the soup less fibrous without having to strain it and keeping in the nutrition in the skin. Cooled it to room temp and then blended with the red wine vinegar, olive oil and fresh cucumber and cilantro. Chilled at least 3 hours. It’s amazing! I’ll keep this recipe forever. My hubby who hates veggies gobbled it up.
This was so simple and fast and healthy! I think it will become a staple for summer dinners!
This is the second recipe of yours that I’ve tried (and loved) this week. The first was your amazing watermelon salad. The gazpacho was just as delicious! Thank you.
I’m so glad you loved the salad and the gazpacho!
So freaking good!
I used mint and basil instead of cilantro.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I used 2 jalepenos instead of fresno peppers. This recipe was so good. My mom tried it and said it was the best gazpacho she’s ever had! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Hi Emily, I’m so glad you both loved the soup!