An easy recipe for Gazpacho is something everyone needs in their collection! When the dog days of summer arrive, there is nothing better than a bowl of cold soup for beating the heat.
This gazpacho recipe is cool and tart, with just the right mix of salty, sour and spicy to keep your tongue busy! Juicy tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, chiles, and garlic are all you need! If you love salsa, you will love this Mexican gazpacho!!
The first time I had Gazpacho was in a Mexican restaurant when I was 13 - and I promptly fell in love with this soup. Since I had it in a Mexican restaurant I assumed it was Mexican.
Well, you know what they say about assuming. Ahem.
Although Gazpacho is part of Mexico's rich culinary tradition, it was introduced to Mexico by the Spanish. It's not hard to see why this cool and refreshing soup is such a favorite!
What is Gazpacho?
The term "gazpacho" doesn't refer to one specific recipe, but instead to a range of cold soups made from raw vegetables.
Served throughout all of Spain as well as a huge chunk of the world (including Mexican restaurants!) its origin is still shrouded in mystery.
Some culinary historians think this soup is based on an ancient Roman dish... and others swear it came to Spain with the Moors. Regardless, whoever brought this soup to sunny southern Spain was a genius!!
Gazpacho ingredients
A variety of ingredients are used to make different versions - tomatoes, onions, peppers, bread, almonds, and vinegar are some of the most common ingredients used.
For this recipe, you will need:
- Fresh tomatoes
- Tomatillos
- Onions - white or yellow
- Fresh garlic
- Olive oil
- Green chiles - I used Serrano's but you could use jalapenos as well.
- Red wine vinegar
- Fresh cilantro
- Avocados (optional)
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Gazpacho
- Roughly chop the tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, chiles and garlic.
- In a food processor, puree the onions, chiles, garlic, half the tomatillos and tomatoes with water.
- Add the remaining vegetables, vinegar and olive oil and pulse until the mixture is still a bit chunky.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings - adding more vinegar, salt and pepper if desired.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
How to Store Gazpacho
- This dish is BEST when it's made ahead of time to let the flavors blend.
- You can make this recipe up to two days ahead of time but beware! The longer the soup sits, the hotter the chiles will become! If that happens, you can try a few things to remedy the heat - add a bit more salt and/or vinegar or try a pinch or two of sugar!
- Although you can freeze Gazpacho, I don't recommend it since it loses the fresh flavor of the tomatoes.
- If you have extra gazpacho, you can use it as a sauce with grilled chicken or fish or use it as you would salsa!
How to Serve Gazpacho:
Gazpacho is a perfect appetizer that I love to serve as part of a tapas spread with:
Other Recipes to pair with this soup!
If you enjoyed this quick and easy Gazpacho recipe, I would love for you to leave me a comment and rate it! Cheers! Nancy
📖Recipe
Easy Gazpacho Recipe
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
½
cup water- 1 pound fresh tomatillos
- 1 ½ pounds fresh tomatoes
- 1 white onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 serrano chile peppers seeded if you like it less spicy
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 cup fresh avocado, diced optional
- 1 cup cilantro optional
- 1 bag tortilla chips optional
Instructions
- Roughly chop the tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles, onion and garlic.
- In a food processor, puree the water, garlic, chiles, half the onion, half the tomatillos, and half the tomatoes until smooth.
- Add the remaining tomatillos, tomatoes, oil, and vinegar, and pulse the processor briefly until all of the ingredients are combined. Stop while the mixture is still chunky, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Chill the soup for at least two hours in the refrigerator. As it chills longer, the flavors will combine, and the soup will taste even better.
- Remove from the fridge and place it individual bowls for serving. Garnish each bowl with avocado, cilantro and tortilla chips if desired.
Recipe Notes
- This dish is BEST when it's made ahead of time to let the flavors blend.
- You can make this recipe up to two days ahead of time but beware! The longer the soup sits, the hotter the chiles will become! If that happens, you can try a few things to remedy the heat - add a bit more salt and/or vinegar or try a pinch or two of sugar!
- Although you can freeze Gazpacho, I don't recommend it since it loses the fresh flavor of the tomatoes.
- If you have extra gazpacho, you can use it as a sauce with grilled chicken or fish or use it as you would salsa!
Cathy | Arkle says
My guess about the secret ingredient was wrong. I thought it would be Hatch Chiles! LOL. I like the lentil twist, I am going to try this as I think it is a much better option that bread.
Nancy says
Hi Cathy!! I hope you like it... but I'm thinking the hatch chiles would be a great addition!!!
Sera says
people eat waaaaayy too much meat these days, and I say that as soneome who loves it. I rarely eat meat at lunch and don't make it a lot at home mostly pasta and fish. but the weekends I definitely get my far share bacons, burgers, pepperoni pizza, etc. I definitely think its a good thing for people to think about their meat consumption and work on eating it less, if necessary.
Mark says
I am heading to Spain in a few weeks for a vacation. I've never tried gazpacho before but wanted to get in the mood for our trip so tried this recipe. It was a wonderful surprise. Now I am more excited than ever for my trip.
Valentina says
Oh my gosh, Nancy, I posted a Gazpacho recipe, too. Yesterday! Great culinary minds think alike. 😉 You have a few ingredients I didn't use and I love them. Tomatillos! Yum! Cheers to a Gazpacho filled summer. xo ~ Valentina
Nancy says
I totally laughed when I saw your post - definitely, great minds think alike!!! My version is the one made in Mexico and based on the Spanish recipe - one of the many things that Spain introduced to Mexico!! So happy that summer tomatoes are here - so many delish things to make!!
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Nancy, this gazpacho looks so delicious and refreshing! It must be wonderful with garden fresh tomatoes!
Nancy says
Hi Kelly!! Awww... thank you! Garden tomatoes definitely make a world of difference in this soup!! Thanks so much for visiting! Cheers, Nancy