Delicious Gazpacho Is The Cold Soup You Need This Summer!
Searching for great summer time dish? Spanish gazpacho is definitely for you.
Made from blended fresh raw vegetables, a little oil, some vinegar, and a few spices, this soup served cold – similar to Bulgarian Tarator Soup– is light and refreshing.
Our gazpacho recipe is packed with tomato and green pepper – and don’t forget the bread!
Gazpacho comes to us from the south of Spain. With very warm weather in Andalusia during the summer months, gazpacho is a great fresh and light meal that helps you to cool off.
Lisa lived in Spain for a while and was a big fan of gazpacho – it definitely did what it was supposed to do! Now – living in North America – we still like to make it during the warm summer months.
Recipe Tips & Substitutions
Before you make this gazpacho soup, here are a few tips and substitutions to consider:
- We make our recipe with a slice of stale white bread that is soaked in water since this is how we learned it in Spain. It helps thicken the soup and adds a little more sustenance to the soup. However, if you are not a fan of bread, feel free to skip it – but then also don’t add the two tablespoons of water to the soup.
- Cutting the vegetables into small pieces will make it easier to blend the soup – but don’t worry about cutting everything even. Just chop it up.
- It’s important to pour/scrape the soup through a strainer with small holes after your blend it. This way you can capture any leftover skins or seeds and are left with a soup that is smooth.
How to Make Gazpacho – Step by Step Instructions
If you want to make this gazpacho soup recipe, you can find the recipe card at the bottom of this post with exact ingredients and measurements.
For those wanting to see visuals for each step, you can follow the recipe process photos in this section.
This way, you can see how we make our gazpacho and follow along at home!
First, get all the ingredients that you’ll need for making this cold Spanish soup.
These include: Roma tomatoes, half a green bell pepper, a third of a cucumber, a slice of stale white bread, a large garlic clove, salt, extra virgin olive oil, and white wine vinegar. The bowl with water is for soaking the bread.
Soak the stale bread in a bowl with water. Once soft, squeeze out the liquid and set it aside.
Wash all the vegetables. Peel the cucumber and remove the tomato stems as well as the bell pepper seeds.
Then cut everything into small pieces. Also, peel the garlic clove and chop it small or press it through a garlic press.
Add the cut-up vegetable pieces and crushed garlic to a large blender. Also, add the soaked bread, olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and water.
Blend everything together for around 2-3 minutes until the mixture has a very smooth consistency with no major lumps.
Pour the soup through a sifter into a bowl to capture any extra seeds or skin.
Make sure that it is a sifter with small holes to capture any small seeds or pieces of skin.
Cover the bowl of gazpacho with a lid or cling film and place it in the fridge to chill for at least two hours.
Don’t add any ice cubes as this will make the soup too watery – just give it enough time to sit in the fridge.
You can garnish the chilled soup with chopped up parsley, pieces of vegetables, pepper and/or a drizzle of olive oil before serving.
Storage Tips
Store leftover gazpacho in the fridge in a sealed container or bowl. It might separate so be sure to give it a quick stir before placing it into serving bowls. Consume it within 4-5 days.
FAQ
Gazpacho is a cold soup that is made from blended raw vegetables, oil, and a few spices.
Gazpacho as we know it today is from the south of Spain – specifically Andalusia. However, before it was made famous by Spain, gazpacho has been mentioned in earlier Greek and Roman history.
Because of the fresh tomato, bread, and vinegar, gazpacho almost tastes like Italian bruschetta in a bowl. It’s very light and refreshing on the palate.
Gazpacho is served cold as a reflection of the hot region it originated from. The coolness of the soup is designed to cool you down on a hot Spanish day. Gazpacho can be served warm, but it is definitely made to be served cool.
Related Recipes
For more awesome Spanish recipes, try out these classic dishes and see which ones you enjoy:
- Patatas Bravas
- Lentil, Chorizo & Pork Stew (Lentejas con Chorizo y Costillas)
- Pisto (Spanish Vegetable Stew)
- Sopa de Ajo (Garlic Soup)
- Potaje de vigilia (Spanish Cod & Chickpea Stew)
- Spanish Omelette
Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 1 pound tomatoes
- 1/2 green bell pepper
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1/3 English cucumber
- 1 slice of white bread, stale
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water, cold
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Instructions
- Soak the stale bread in a bowl with water. Once soft, squeeze out the liquid and set it aside.
- Wash all the vegetables. Peel the cucumber and remove the tomato stems as well as the bell pepper seeds. Then cut everything into small pieces. Also, peel the garlic clove and chop it small or press it through a garlic press.
- Add the cut-up vegetable pieces and crushed garlic to a large blender. Also, add the soaked bread, olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and water.
- Blend everything together for around 2-3 minutes until the mixture has a very smooth consistency with no major lumps.
- Pour the soup through a sifter into a bowl to capture any extra seeds or skin.
- Cover the bowl of gazpacho with a lid or cling film and place it in the fridge to chill for at least two hours. DO NOT add any ice cubes as this will make the soup too watery – just give it enough time to sit in the fridge.
Notes
- We like using Roma tomatoes for making gazpacho due to their low water content but other tomatoes on the vine will also work.
- Again, we recommend not adding any ice cubes to cool the gazpacho because this will add water to it and skew the flavor to the bland side of things. It’s better to just put the soup in the fridge for a couple of hours.
- Some people like adding red or yellow onion to their gazpacho – but there is a debate whether it is still "traditional gazpacho" if you add onion. We don’t usually add onion to ours, but feel free to add approximately 1/4 peeled onion to yours if you like the taste.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
Hi, wrong peppers
It is used pimento Italiano
Thanks for your comment! You’re right, traditionally Gazpacho is made with Italian green peppers (pimiento italiano)… unfortunately they are not always available where we live, so we often substitute green bell peppers. But this recipe is due for an update anyway, and I’ll make it clearer in the update for people who have Italian green peppers available that those are the traditional choice.
How can it be a recipe from Roman times if tomatoes are involved.
Gazpacho in Roman times was not the same as the gazpacho we make today (it didn’t include tomatoes or green peppers). Like many recipes, it has changed over the centuries. You can read a bit more about it here if you are interested: https://www.britannica.com/topic/gazpacho
Try using sour dough bread. It’s a healthy addition.
Thanks for sharing your tip, Liz!