Easy Gazpacho
Here's our most basic, simple gazpacho recipe to get you started — plus plenty of ideas for how to amp it up.
Serves4 to 6
Gazpacho was invented for days like these. The hot, humid days of summer when the very idea of setting a pot over a burner has us reaching for another glass of lemonade. There are a million and one versions of gazpacho out there, all equally easy to whip up in a blender and all equally perfect for a hazy summer night. Here’s our most basic, simple recipe to get you started.
Here’s how this works: a basic gazpacho is made of ripe summer tomatoes blended with cucumber, shallots, and garlic, and seasoned with sherry vinegar and good olive oil. In many traditional versions of gazpacho, a few slices of day-old bread are blended with the vegetables for a thicker and more substantial soup. I really like this addition, but feel free to leave the bread out if you’d prefer a thinner soup. That’s your gazpacho base.
Why You’ll Love It
- It’s a speedy no-cook meal. Gazpacho is the perfect warm weather weeknight meal. Toss some peak-of-summer produce into a blender or food processor…and that’s it! No oven, no stove, no hour plus in a hot kitchen.
- It’s customizable. This recipe is a simple baseline. A place for you to start from and riff on. Add your favorite spices, fresh herbs, or a splash of hot sauce to the soup base. Get creative with toppings, try grilled corn, chopped avocado, or shaved fennel. The possibilities are endless.
Key Ingredients in Gazpacho
- Tomatoes. Tomatoes are the backbone of this recipe, so find the freshest, ripest, juiciest ones you can, and you don’t even need to peel them — simply quarter the tomatoes and remove the stem, then pop ’em right into the food processor.
- Bread. Bread gives the soup body and thickness. If you’d prefer a thinner soup, you can just skip it.
- Cucumber. If using an American cucumber, peel it first as the thick skin can taste bitter. English cucumbers have a thin, sweet skin that you can leave on.
- Shallot and garlic. These aromatics add allium flavor to the soup base.
- Sherry vinegar. Vinegar adds brightness and tang to the soup. You can substitute red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or lemon or lime juice of you’d like.
- Olive oil. Opt for extra-virgin olive oil here, look for something fruity and smooth that you wouldn’t mind dipping some bread into, and yes, you can find good olive oil at the grocery store.
Helpful Swaps
The fun really starts when you bring other vegetables and seasonings into the mix. Let yourself get creative with whatever your farmers market or CSA brings you each week. With vegetables coming in so fresh and flavorful this time of year, it’s nearly impossible to go wrong. Here are some of my favorites:
- Red bell pepper adds sweet notes
- Fennel gives gazpacho a really nice licorice-y flavor, especially when paired with some fresh basil on top.
- Chopped avocado is always welcome scattered across my bowl
- Raw corn kernels are great when they’re very fresh
You can also swap some of the base ingredients to make the overall flavor profile of the soup your own.
- You can swap the bread for a handful of almonds or your favorite nut.
- You can swap in red wine vinegar, citrus juice, or balsamic vinegar for the sherry vinegar.
- For a little more texture in your soup, use a food processor instead of a blender.
What to Serve with Gazpacho
Easy Gazpacho Recipe
Here's our most basic, simple gazpacho recipe to get you started — plus plenty of ideas for how to amp it up.
Serves 4 to 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Basic Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
ripe tomatoes
- 2
thick slices day-old bread
- 1
medium cucumber
- 1
medium shallot
- 1 to 2 cloves
garlic
- 2 tablespoons
sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup
extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Optional ingredients:
Whiz these into the soup or chop them up for garnishing the top: 1 red or green bell pepper, 1 fennel bulb, 3 to 4 tomatillos, 1 avocado, 1 cup corn kernels
Instead of Bread: handful of almonds or other nut
Instead of Sherry Vinegar: 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, juice from 1 orange, juice from 1 to 2 lemons, juice from 2 to 3 limes
Spices & Herbs (2 to 3 teaspoons): cumin, smoked paprika, basil, marjoram, tarragon, chile powder
Other Flavoring Extras: splash red wine, splash white wine, splash hot sauce
Equipment
Knife and cutting board
Blender, food processor, or immersion blender
Instructions
Quarter 1 1/2 to 2 pounds tomatoes and remove the stems. Tear 2 thick slices day-old bread into large chunks. Peel and coarsely chop 1 medium cucumber, 1 medium shallot, and 1 to 2 cloves garlic. Coarsely chop or measure any extra ingredients being added. Set aside some of these vegetables for garnishing the finished gazpacho if desired.
Place the bread into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment or blender. Squeeze the tomato quarters over the bread then add them to the bowl. Let sit for about 20 minutes to give the bread time to absorb the tomato juices and soften. If you prefer a thinner gazpacho, omit the bread and continue to the next step.
Pulse the tomatoes and bread until they form a rough porridge. Add the cucumber, shallots, garlic, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. If you are using any other extra ingredients, add them in this step. Process continuously until the ingredients are liquified. A food processor will make gazpacho with more texture; a blender or immersion blender will make the gazpacho smoother.
With the blender running, stream in 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. This helps it emulsify more evenly into the soup.
Taste the soup. Add more salt or vinegar to taste. If you'd like it thinner, blend in a little water.
Transfer the soup to a storage container and refrigerate until chilled. This soup often tastes better the second day after the flavors have had time to settle with each other. Serve the soup garnished with the reserved vegetables.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.