This easy gazpacho recipe is the perfect cold summer vegetable soup to refresh and hydrate! On a blazing hot summer day, the chill is completely irresistible.
Why you’ll love it
Gazpacho (or gaspacho) is a gorgeous chilled soup with a very long history, and it’s consumed widely in Spain and Portugal to beat the heat. It’s a tomato-based soup that’s loaded with fresh vegetables like cucumbers, bell peppers, and it has a light broth.
This cold soup brings me back to my childhood. I don’t have Spanish roots, but it was ubiquitous throughout hot summers since my mom would always make it for me and my sister. Her special twist was adding in kalamata olives, which I highly recommend!
What you’ll need
- Cucumber – we’re using long English
- Onion – Spanish, sweet, or red all are great raw and not too sharp
- Bell pepper – green is standard here
- Tomatoes – Roma are typical, but use whatever looks tastiest, e.g. heirloom
- Tomato juice – for the base of the broth
- Olive oil – use a good-quality one!
- Lemon juice – for brightness and depth of flavor
- Garlic – lots of savory goodness
- Toppings – croutons are a necessity! Kalamata olives and a drizzle of olive oil are great additions too.
Helpful tips
- There are many regional versions of this Spanish soup. This recipe stays fairly close to the classic while being simplified for home cooks.
- Gazpacho typically has a bread component, and we’re using croutons. The texture the croutons get as they absorb the broth is my sister’s favorite part!
- Ingredient quality matters here. Aim for the freshest, most in-season produce you can find.
How to make gazpacho
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Mix the cucumbers, onions, and bell peppers in a prep bowl. Reserve a third of the mixture, and put the rest in a blender. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes as well as the tomato juice, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Blend until smooth, then transfer to a pot or bowl.
Stir the reserved chopped vegetables into the soup for a nice rustic texture. Taste, then season generously with salt & pepper. Refrigerate until very cold — even overnight — to let the flavors meld. Serve chilled and garnish with croutons and toppings as desired.
Substitutions and variations
- Add 1/4–1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin for more nuanced flavor.
- A chopped jalapeño pepper gives it a fantastic kick.
- Garnish with fresh basil or cilantro to make it more herb forward. This recipe is quite flexible!
What to serve with gazpacho
- Top it with Homemade Croutons to give it more body. You could also fry up small bites of rye bread. Chopped kalamata olives make a great garnish as well, even if they aren’t traditional.
- If you blend it completely smooth, it’s great served in a glass with a straw and an ice cube — typical at street vendors in southern Europe.
- It pairs well with a fresh salad, such as a Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover gazpacho in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days.
- You can freeze it for 3–6 months, but keep in mind that it may separate when thawed and lose some of its fresh flavor.
Gazpacho is best enjoyed ice cold and made with the ripest summer produce you can find — the better the ingredients, the better the soup.
