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What’s a girl to do in the middle of August with a broken air conditioner, an abundance of fresh tomatoes and veggies hangin’ out in the fridge, a quick break in the middle of the day, and a craving for something wonderfully savory?
Why, make gazpacho! (Obvs.)
For some reason, I always forget about gazpacho in the middle of summer, probably usually because any surplus of tomatoes in my life usually go into making a big batch of salsa. (<– One of my primary food groups.) But if we’re honest, gazpacho basically salsa disguised in soup form. So it’s a win-win for salsa-lovers all around. :)
I hardly ever use an actual “recipe” for gazpacho, usually just tossing in whatever fresh veggies and herbs are laying around into a blender, reserving a few to use as pretty garnishes when serving. And this recipe was no exception. I happened to have an assortment of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions on hand. And since I also have managed to keep my fresh basil plant alive this month, I decided to go the Italian seasoning route, adding in lots of garlic and lemon juice and a pinch of crushed red pepper to give it a kick.
The result?
A perfectly refreshing end-of-summer gazpacho. (That’s also perfectly easy to customize with whatever ingredients you have on hand. Here I’ll show you…!)
The basic ingredients you need for gazpacho are pretty simple:
If you’re making a tomato-based gazpacho, just gather any kind of ripe tomatoes you enjoy. (I used a random mix of roma and cherry and grape tomatoes.)
Then toss them in a blender or food processor with whatever other fresh veggies you have on hand — ideally those that you can usually eat raw. For this recipe, I added a red bell pepper, an English cucumber, and some red onion. But carrots, celery, jicama, radishes, etc. would also be good in a red gazpacho.
Then add in whatever kinds of seasoning sounds good. I went the Italian route with this recipe, adding in lots of fresh basil, garlic, lemon juice, a pinch of crushed red pepper, etc. But you could just as easily go the Latin American route, adding in fresh cilantro, garlic, lime juice, a pinch of cumin and cayenne, etc. Or go the Indian route, or Thai, or seriously — whatever sounds good!
Then blend it all up, adding the veggies in batches if they don’t all fit in your blender or food processor at first. Give it a taste, and add extra seasonings if necessary.
Then you can either cover and chill the mixture in the fridge for a few hours, or serve it right away!
I always love reserving a few ingredients to use as garnishes for my gazpachos, which always make it look a little less like salsa, and a little more like soup. ;) But however you serve it will be lovely, I’m sure.
Definitely the perfect way to use up end-of-summer produce, and a delicious way to cool off too.
This easy 10-Minute Gazpacho recipe is overflowing with fresh summer veggies, it’s quick and easy to make, and it’s so light and refreshing.
Ingredients
Scale
2 pounds fresh tomatoes (I used a mixture of roma and cherry tomatoes)
1 English cucumber, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 small red bell pepper, cored and cut into large chunks
quarter of a red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup lightly-packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper (optional: and crushed red pepper flakes)
optional garnishes: extra chopped tomatoes, red onion, basil, olive oil, and/or salt and pepper
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a blender or large food processor, and puree until completely smooth. (If all of the ingredients don’t initially fit, you can puree the first half of the ingredients, then gradually add more in as there is more room available.)
Taste, and season with extra salt and pepper and/or lemon juice if needed.
Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to chill. Or serve immediately, topped with your desired garnishes.
I have recently recently made gazpacho for the first time. The recipe was slightly different. I loved it and decided to make it again. These pictures look so beautiful and I love the garnishing with the tomatoes on top. I will try this recipe next!!
Hayley, I am addicted to your blog and I love receiving your emails. All of your recipes so far have worked great! We get a farm share and as soon as I get a new ingredient I do a search to see what would Hayley do. :)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Amanda! We hope you enjoy the recipe! And we’re glad you’re a fan of the blog (but just so you know, this is Ali’s blog and all of the recipes on it are hers — I just work with her). :)
I wish I had found this sooner! It would have been perfect for our girls nights this summer! Bright tomatoes, cooling cucumber, and light basil… yum!! I am bookmarking this for next summer!
i really love these pictures, seriously. xD my kids don’t love tomatoes but i must try to make this, who knows if they could change their mind, right? :))
thanks for sharing.
Wow, I must say that my first impression of this recipe is its color combination. Colors of this recipe are greatly mixed and chosen. Really like it. Thanks for sharing, Ali.
nice recipe, even this time of year, why not? since these ingredient are still available and looks like the perfect mix of healthy-tasty-quick!, thank you for this
Hey Ali,
I was searching for a Mojito recipe and Your mojito Snap at first look get me here at Your blog through Pinterest( I’m an addict of Pinterest ?, fantastic photos, all are mouthwatering dishes. I’ll definitely try Mojito, Gazpacho and Salads, I love cocktails and whenever I made ,never came up really good, My English is not good anyways any mistakes pardon me.
All the Best Wishes for Your Future..?♂️
Thank You for your fantastic recipes , can’t try all recipes because some of the ingredients not available here but I’ll try it in Indian or Kerala style. Please Visit our country too?
Thank You
Jijesh Bhaskaran
From Kerala
Residing in Mumbai
Ali, this might be the best batch of photos you’ve ever had on your blog! They are gorgeous!
I don’t eat a lot of tomatoes and I’m been trying to convince myself to. I think this will be a great way to trick myself into eating more. Thanks!
Kiersten
Thanks for your sweet words, Kiersten — we appreciate the feedback and we hope you can give this gazpacho a try soon! :)
Trying this over the holiday weekend. Don’t know if Dad will eat it….
Yum! I love gazpacho! Beautiful photos!!! :)
Thanks, Emily — we hope you enjoy the recipe! :)
Love how easy this is! So quick and a delicious light lunch!
Thanks, Lindsay — we hope you can give it a try soon!
Love your photography, as always! And I love the idea of gazpacho as salsa’s twin! Hope your air conditioner is on the fix. Happy Labor Day!
I have recently recently made gazpacho for the first time. The recipe was slightly different. I loved it and decided to make it again. These pictures look so beautiful and I love the garnishing with the tomatoes on top. I will try this recipe next!!
Hayley, I am addicted to your blog and I love receiving your emails. All of your recipes so far have worked great! We get a farm share and as soon as I get a new ingredient I do a search to see what would Hayley do. :)
Hi Amanda! We hope you enjoy the recipe! And we’re glad you’re a fan of the blog (but just so you know, this is Ali’s blog and all of the recipes on it are hers — I just work with her). :)
I wish I had found this sooner! It would have been perfect for our girls nights this summer! Bright tomatoes, cooling cucumber, and light basil… yum!! I am bookmarking this for next summer!
This is just gorgeous! I love how easy this is to make!
Thanks, Sommer — we hope you enjoy it!
I went crazy for Gazpacho when I used to live in Spain – never tried to make it myself though but this recipe looks even doable for me!!
It’s so easy, Jean — we hope you love it! :)
i really love these pictures, seriously. xD my kids don’t love tomatoes but i must try to make this, who knows if they could change their mind, right? :))
thanks for sharing.
Yes, hopefully this will change their minds! :)
Wow, I must say that my first impression of this recipe is its color combination. Colors of this recipe are greatly mixed and chosen. Really like it. Thanks for sharing, Ali.
nice recipe, even this time of year, why not? since these ingredient are still available and looks like the perfect mix of healthy-tasty-quick!, thank you for this
i love it very much
Hey Ali,
I was searching for a Mojito recipe and Your mojito Snap at first look get me here at Your blog through Pinterest( I’m an addict of Pinterest ?, fantastic photos, all are mouthwatering dishes. I’ll definitely try Mojito, Gazpacho and Salads, I love cocktails and whenever I made ,never came up really good, My English is not good anyways any mistakes pardon me.
All the Best Wishes for Your Future..?♂️
Thank You for your fantastic recipes , can’t try all recipes because some of the ingredients not available here but I’ll try it in Indian or Kerala style. Please Visit our country too?
Thank You
Jijesh Bhaskaran
From Kerala
Residing in Mumbai
Very refreshing!!! Glad I tried it! Put a lot of extra garnish in mine for the umphhh!