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Gazpacho soup is a delicious summer favorite, made with garden-fresh tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, colorful bell peppers, and a touch of jalapeño for a subtle kick. Blended with olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic, and bread for thickening, then garnished with chopped veggies and fresh parsley, gazpacho is the perfect dish for those hot days when you crave something light yet filled with flavor.
Notes From the MGC Kitchen
We absolutely love gazpacho soup and started making it when we had a garden at our home in Rhode Island with more tomatoes than we knew what to do with. Decades later, we still make the same simple recipe. The only thing that’s changed over the years is that we’ve found a much easier way to peel the tomatoes, which we’ll share below.
Key Ingredients
This is an overview of the key ingredients for this recipe. Please see the printable recipe card below for the complete listing, including quantities.
- TOMATOES: The best tomatoes for making gazpacho are ripe, juicy, and flavorful. Look for heirloom, beefsteak, or other vine-ripened varieties that you know to have good flavor.
- CUCUMBER: English cucumbers have a slightly sweet flavor and smaller seeds than regular cucumbers making them a good choice for gazpacho.
- RED BELL PEPPER: Red bell pepper adds mellow sweetness to the soup and balances the acidity of other ingredients.
- GREEN BELL PEPPER: Green pepper has an herbaceous quality that adds to the overall fresh flavor of gazpacho.
- JALAPEÑO PEPPER: Jalapeño peppers have a unique flavor that combines moderate heat with a crisp freshness similar to that of green bell peppers.
- ONION: We recommend using mild sweet onion because it will add flavor without overwhelming other ingredients and help to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
- GARLIC: Garlic is a key flavor in gazpacho, but it’s important to be judicious with how much you use, even though the flavor will mellow some as the soup chills. We call for one clove with the option to add more to taste.
- OLIVE OIL: If you can, use Spanish olive oil in this recipe as it has a bolder, fruitier flavor than other varieties, but if not, any quality extra-virgin olive oil will suffice.
- SHERRY VINEGAR: Sherry vinegar is a traditional Spanish ingredient with a subtle sweetness and a hint of oakiness from the barrels it is aged in. If you don’t have it on hand, substitute either apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- BREAD: Italian bread, Cuban bread and French baguettes are all good choices for thickening gazpacho. It’s best to use stale bread, as it absorbs liquid more readily, but if you don’t have stale bread, you can simply dry it out a bit in a low oven (200°F for 15 minutes). Leave the crust on for added flavor.
- PARSLEY: A bit of fresh chopped parsley sprinkled over the soup before serving adds both color and a pop of bright flavor.
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How to Make Gazpacho Soup
This is an overview of how this recipe is prepared. Please see the printable recipe card below for detailed step-by-step instructions.
PUREE THE VEGETABLES: After peeling and seeding the tomatoes (see below), cut them into quarters and add them to a blender or work bowl of a food processor. Add the cucumber, red and green bell peppers, jalapeño, onion, garlic, olive oil and sherry vinegar. Season with salt and a few grinds of black pepper and purée the mixture until smooth.
ADD BREAD TO THICKEN THE GAZPACHO: With the blender or processor running, begin adding bread cubes and continue blending until the soup is thickened to your liking (see below for tips). Once you get the consistency the way you like it, taste the soup and adjust the flavor by adding more jalapeño, garlic or seasonings, if desired.
CHILL THE GAZPACHO: Transfer the gazpacho to individual serving bowls, cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (a minimum of 2 hours).
MAKE THE GARNISH: Dice some of the remaining cucumber and bell peppers to make a garnish. Combine with the chopped parsley and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips for Success
ABOUT THE BREAD: The quantity of bread cubes you add will depend on the density of the bread you’ve chosen and how thick you like your soup. Italian bread, Cuban bread and French baguettes are all good choices to use for thickening. Leave the crust on for added flavor.
THICKENING THE SOUP: The thickness of gazpacho soup is largely a matter of personal preference but generally should be pourable, yet have enough substance to it that the garnish will sit on the top without sinking.
HOW TO PEEL TOMATOES: We used to peel tomatoes by plunging them first into boiling water, then into an ice bath, but the following technique is much easier, more reliable, and best of all, makes no dishes! Here’s how to do it in five easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 500°F and line a broiler pan or baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Cut a small, thin slice from the bottom of each tomato, then cut them in half lengthwise, remove the core, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
- Arrange the tomatoes cut side down on the foil. Using the tip of a sharp knife, score the skin of each tomato lengthwise.
- Place the tomatoes in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on their size. You’ll know they’re ready to be peeled when you see the gap where you scored the skin widen slightly.
- Remove the tomatoes from the oven and slide the foil off the hot broiler pan to prevent further cooking. As soon as the tomatoes are cool enough to touch, peel the skin off from the center out.
ALLOW PLENTY OF TIME TO CHILL: If you divide your gazpacho into serving bowls before refrigerating it, it should be thoroughly chilled in about 2 hours. If you decide not to divide it up, allow 4 to 6 hours for chilling.
MAKE AHEAD INFO: Gazpacho soup can be made a day in advance. Store in a tightly covered container, separate from the garnish. The soup may separate slightly so just give it a stir and ladle into serving dishes.
What to Serve With Gazpacho Soup
Gazpacho is a light, refreshing soup that is delicious served as a first course for light, simple entrées like broiled fish or grilled chicken. However, one of our favorite summer dinners pairs it with our version of Columbia Restaurant’s 1905 Salad. For those who aren’t familiar, this salad features crisp lettuce, chunks of ham, Swiss cheese, green olives, and a garlicky vinaigrette. The combination has a distinctly Spanish-Cuban flare and goes really well with a cup of gazpacho.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gazpacho Soup
The classic version of gazpacho we’re most familiar with originated in the city of Seville, Spain. It’s made with fresh tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers and blended with bread to give it body and creaminess. However, the bread, not the vegetables, is the foundation of gazpacho soup and regional versions from across Spain can include ingredients like strawberries, fennel, beets, cherries, nuts, and figs.
Gazpacho soup originated in the Andalusian region of Spain, much of which experiences hot, dry, sunny summers with temperatures that often top 100°F. The soup is cooling, and refreshing, with an appetizing crisp acidity.
Gazpacho Soup
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (4 to 5 medium) ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored, and seeded
- 3/4 English cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped (plus more for garnish)
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and roughly chopped (plus more for garnish)
- 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped (plus more for garnish)
- 1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and roughly chopped (or more to taste)
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1 clove garlic, quartered (or more to taste)
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, (see notes for substitutions)
- 1 to 2 cups 1/2-inch bread cubes, (see notes)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- After peeling and seeding the tomatoes, cut them into quarters and add them to a blender or work bowl of a food processor.
- Add the cucumber, red and green bell peppers, jalapeño, onion, garlic, olive oil and sherry vinegar. Season with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Purée the mixture until smooth, then, with the machine running, begin adding bread cubes and continue to purée until the soup is thickened to your liking (see notes for tips).
- Once you get the consistency the way you like it, taste the soup and adjust the heat by adding more jalapeño, garlic and seasonings, if desired.
- Transfer the soup to individual serving bowls, cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (a minimum of 2 hours).
- Dice some of the remaining cucumber and bell peppers to make about 6 tablespoons of garnish. Combine with the chopped parsley and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
How to Peel Tomatoes
- Preheat the oven to 500°F and line a broiler pan or baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Cut a small, thin slice from the bottom of each tomato, then cut them in half lengthwise, remove the core, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
- Arrange the tomatoes cut side down on the foil.
- Using the tip of a sharp knife, score the skin of each tomato lengthwise.
- Place the tomatoes in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on their size. You’ll know they’re ready to be peeled when you see the gap where you scored the skin widen slightly.
- Remove the tomatoes from the oven and slide the foil off the hot broiler pan to prevent further cooking.
- As soon as the tomatoes are cool enough to touch, peel the skin off from the center out.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This soup is so refreshingly delicious! In a pinch, I’ve even made it with canned fire-roasted tomatoes, and despite the tomatoes not being fresh, it’s still really good.
I’ve had gazpacho soup out at restaurants, but this is the first time I’ve tried making it myself. It was easy and delicious. Thank you.