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.
Great recipe! Used red pepper instead of a Fresno, would be even better with a little heat!
What a beautiful dish!! Looks so pretty topped with tomatoes, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs, and fresh herbs. The Fresno chili gives it a nice spicy kick!! Thanks for the recipe and the fun contest.
Super easy and tasty! My red onion was a bit potent so I’ll probably use less of that next time. That’s just a personal preference. Tastes great with sourdough and a cold beverage on the patio!
Full of flavor! Great way to use veggies from the garden!
Delicious! So fresh and easy; great for the hot summer. Definitely will be a go to when I get a plethora of tomatoes!
This soup is so easy and delicious! Great for a busy summer dinner.
I made this lovely and delicious gazpacho for my friend’s birthday party and they loved it! I served the gazpacho in little jars and added edible flowers. It was such a hit! The ladies loved it! Thank you so much for the inspiration and the opportunity to enter the Cooking Club Contest! All my fingers and toes are crossed! 🙂
Delicious and refreshing! I don’t have a blender, but I was able to use my food processor and just had a slightly chunkier version, which I actually liked. Perfect for a hot night in the summer.
I was excited last night to finally have enough ripe tomatoes to make this for dinner. It was very refreshing on a hot day. Thanks for the great recipe!
I love how simple this recipe is and that it can be made the day before. The flavors are great and I loved the topping suggestions. I will definitely make this again!
The Gazpacho was simple and easy to make. We let it chill over night and it was great. We added basil, hot peppers and lemon zest.
Refreshing & Delicious!
I love how creamy and zesty this gazpacho is even though it’s just straightforward vegetables! I’ve lived in Spain for 5 years and somehow this recipe is better than any gazpacho I’ve ever had there. I like to add garnishes like avocado and hard-boiled egg slices for protein (something I learned from Andalucía!)
Soooo refreshing, easy & delicious!! I always miss eating soup during the summer. This was a cool, clean way to fill the gap! I paired it with avocado toast on Ezekiel bread; my son enjoyed a yummy grilled cheese with it! A definite keeper!
I stole a taste before chilling, and now I can’t wait to try it after it’s fully chilled!
Was honestly bummed this months recipe was Gazpacho at first. But this recipe is definitely one of those don’t knock it till ya try it things! Had fun getting tomatoes from the farmers market and whipping this up on an 80 degree day – delicious, flavorful lite lunch .. to my surprise will definitely be on the rotation! Thanks for getting me to try something new ☺️
I’m so mad at myself because 3 times I served it and 3 times I managed to forget to take a pic. SMH!!
Nonetheless, this was by far the simplest yet most flavorful gazpacho recipe I’ve ever made. What a great way to use local, fresh ingredients.
Thanks for a terrific recipe!
This receipe is full of flavor and easy to make in a Vitamix! The garlic and onions gives the soup a bit of a bite and the vinegar rounds out all of the flavors. It was tastier than any gazpacho I have had in a restaurant! I paired it will avocado toast for an easy and healthy lunch.
This was my first time making Gazpacho at home and it was a great success! I enjoyed Gazpacho on a trip to Spain several summers ago and this recipe brought back good memories of that trip. It’s bright, zesty, and a perfect meal for hot summer days. I served mine in chilled glasses alongside a build-your-own avocado toast bar — such a fun dinner!
This is the best tomato gazpacho recipe! A great way to utilize fresh, local tomatoes. Perfect for a hot summer night and could not have been easier to make!
Love a recipe that doesn’t require the grill or oven in these HOT Atlanta summer days! Delicious with crusty bread and a big salad!
Hi Kim, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!