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Authentic Gazpacho

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Everything I’ve learned living in Spain about how to make the best authentic, delicious, fresh tomato gazpacho recipe — in just 15 minutes!

Gazpacho Recipe

Fresh tomato season has finally returned again, which means that it’s time to start making allllll the gazpacho. ♡

I’ve been a fan of this refreshing, chilled, Spanish tomato soup for years. But ever since we moved to Barcelona, we have become next-level obsessed with it in the summertime, especially after having had the chance to spend time in Andalucía, the region where gazpacho originated. Down in that part of the country, gazpacho is available just about everywhere you turn — from restaurants, to bars, to coffee shops, to every little supermercado that you pass by. Even here in Barcelona, our nearest grocery store offers no less than seven different types of grab-and-go bottled gazpacho! It’s everyone’s favorite light and refreshing meal here to beat the summertime heat. And when made with the season’s best ripe produce — oh boy — there’s nothing better.

That said, if you have the chance to visit Spain, you will find that gazpacho here varies slightly from region to region. And of course, there are a million non-traditional ingredients and twists that modern cooks love to try too. But that said, Andaluz-style tomato gazpacho is probably the version that comes to mind when most people think of this blended soup. So if you happen to be craving a bowl (or a glass with a straw, see below!), here is my go-to gazpacho recipe that I absolutely love. It’s quick and easy to make in just 15 minutes or so, and I consider it lo mejor — just the best!

The BEST Gazpacho Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Tomato Gazpacho Ingredients In Blender

Spanish Gazpacho Ingredients:

Gazpacho is the quintessential summer soup because all of the fresh ingredients are deliciously in season this time of year, and there’s no need to heat up your stove or oven! Just prep your ingredients on a cutting board. Then your blender or food processor will take it from there. To make this homemade gazpacho recipe, you will need:

  • Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes or what we call “branch tomatoes” here in Spain (medium, round, soft-skinned tomatoes on the vine) are standard for traditional gazpacho. But really, any ripe, juicy, fresh tomatoes will do. There is no need to peel your tomatoes for gazpacho, but I do recommend coring them (scoop out the white flesh and seeds).
  • Cucumber: 6-inch Persian or Kirby cucumbers are most often used in Spain, peeled and seeded. But I usually just toss in half of an English cucumber instead. Whichever works for you!
  • Green bell pepper: Some of my Spanish friends are firm believers that green bell peppers, specifically, are a must for authentic Spanish gazpacho. But I’d say that any color of bell pepper you have on hand will do. :)
  • Bread: Leftover white bread is the key to the texture of authentic gazpacho, helping to thicken it slightly and round out the flavors. Our friends here taught us to discard the crusts for optimal texture. Then to help the bread blend well, you can either:
    • blend up the gazpacho, then poke the slice of bread into the center of the soup and let it sit there for 10 minutes to soften before blending it into the soup, or
    • just run it under the faucet and soak completely with water, ring it out completely with your hands, then add the bread to the soup ingredients and puree
  • Red onion: Just half of a small red onion, peeled.
  • Garlic: I use two small garlic cloves, or one large clove.
  • Olive oil: Many traditional gazpacho recipes are loaded with lots of olive oil. But nowadays in Spain, they often cut down the amount of oil to make the soup a bit healthier. This recipe just uses 3 tablespoons.
  • Sherry vinegar: Andalucía is known for its sherry. And of course, it’s sherry vinegar (vinagre de Jerez), which is always used to make gazpacho here in Spain. That said, though, if you can’t find sherry vinegar at your grocery store, you can sub in some red wine vinegar.
  • Ground cumin: One of our friends in Andalucía taught me the secret of adding cumin to your gazpacho, which is actually a popular ingredient in the south of Spain due to the region’s proximity to Morocco. I love the subtle, earthy note that it adds to this recipe.
  • Sea salt and black pepper: Essentials!

Pureed Tomato Gazpacho In Blender

How To Make Gazpacho:

To make homemade gazpacho soup, simply:

  1. Puree the soup: Combine all of your gazpacho ingredients in a blender or food processor, and puree for 1 minute or until the gazpacho reaches your desired consistency. (I love mine super-smooth.)
  2. Chill: Transfer the soup to a sealed container and refrigerate for 4 hours or until completely chilled.
  3. Serve: Then serve the soup nice and cold, garnished with your favorite toppings.

Gazpacho In A Jar

Gazpacho Soup Toppings:

With such a simple pureed soup, toppings are a must in my book! I like to add any combination of the following to gazpacho:

  • Homemade croutonsEasy to make with any leftover bread that you happen to have on hand.
  • Fresh herbs: Basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary and/or chives are some of our faves.
  • Fresh-cracked black pepper: Always a must, in my book.
  • Olive oil: An extra drizzle on top is traditional in Spain.
  • Cream: A drizzle of cream (or sour cream) can be nice, if you would like a creamier soup.
  • Spanish ham and chopped hard-boiled eggs: These toppings are traditional with salmorejo, but they are also popular with gazpacho in the south of Spain.

Or, of course, it’s probably most common to just sprinkle a few of the leftover chopped gazpacho veggies on top (such as tomato, green pepper, onion or cucumber). Whatever sounds good to you!

Bowl of Spanish gazpacho, topped with tomato, green pepper and red onion

How To Serve Gazpacho:

You can either serve gazpacho soup in a bowl or mug, garnished with your desired toppings. Or to keep things super simple, many places in Spain just serve gazpacho over ice in glasses with a straw, which I really love! (See photos below.)

The one thing to note when serving gazpacho is that it needs to be thoroughly chilled. So plan to blend up the recipe a few hours before serving, so that it has ample time to cool off in the fridge before your meal.

Glass of gazpacho, topped with basil and cucumber

Possible Variations:

While the recipe below is for authentic tomato gazpacho, there are of course zillions of ways that you could customize your gazpacho. You could:

  • Add fruit: Watermelon, cantaloupe, and strawberries are the common additions to red gazpacho here in Spain. (Here is my recipe for watermelon gazpacho.)
  • Add veggies: Beets, zucchini and corn are also popular additions.
  • Add extra herbs: Feel free to also add in any fresh herbs that sound good, such as basil, rosemary, thyme, or chives.
  • Add spice: This is definitely not a common addition to gazpacho in Spain, since the country almost always avoids heat in its food. But I sometimes love adding in a few slices of jalapeño or serrano to this recipe to give it an extra kick.
Gimme Some Oven food blogger Ali Martin | Glass of gazpacho in Sevilla

Late-night gazpacho with a straw while visiting Sevilla.

Buen provecho, everyone!

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Authentic Gazpacho

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 151 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x

Description

My favorite recipe for how to make authentic, fresh, delicious Spanish gazpacho.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 pounds ripe Roma tomatoes, halved and cored*
  • 1 small (1/2 lb) cucumber, peeled and seeded*
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, cored
  • 1/2 small red onion, peeled
  • 2 small garlic cloves (or 1 large clove), peeled
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 thick slice of white bread, soaked, crusts removed*
  • optional garnishes: homemade croutons, chopped fresh herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, or any leftover chopped gazpacho ingredients

Instructions

  1. Purée. Combine all ingredients together in a blender or food processor.  Puree for 1 minute, or until the soup reaches your desired consistency.
  2. Season. Taste and season with extra salt, pepper and/or cumin if needed.
  3. Chill. Refrigerate in a sealed container for 3 to 4 hours, or until completely chilled.
  4. Serve. Serve cold, topped with your desired garnishes.


Notes

Tomatoes: To core the tomatoes, simply scoop out and discard the seeds, plus any of the tough white cores.

Cucumber: Or you can just add in half of an English cucumber, which does not need to be seeded.

Bread: We typically just use a baguette.  To soak your bread, I recommend simply running it under the sink for few seconds to soak it with water.  Then ring our the extra water and add the bread to the blender or food processor.

Storage instructions: Leftover soup can be transferred to a food storage container and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

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230 comments on “Authentic Gazpacho”

  1. Delicious!!! Thank you!?

  2. Sooooo good!! My first time making gazpacho. Not sure what took me so long! Easy and delicious! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!






  3. Looks like a tasty recipe. Can’t wait to try it.

    • Beautiful simple ingredients quick easy preparation and execution makes for a delicious easy meals on hot days and nights. I didn’t change anything in this recipe






  4. I made this recipe without the bread and croutons, and it was fabulous! So easy, so delicious. We loved and I did not change a thing Which rarely happens! Thanks so much! Loved it!






  5. Wonderful recipes and dishes. Instructions were easy to follow. Simply delish. Thank you. You made my summer !






  6. Everyone make this recipe!!! It’s seriously SO good.






  7. Loved this recipe which gives both basic structure and implies variations. I don’t peel or seed any of it since these parts frequently are the umami sources as well as the intense nutrition. And since blending thoroughly, no rough textures remain. Especially loved the geographic/historical cumin, delicious.






  8. Thank you for an excellent, authentic Andalusian Gazpacho recipe! I used to live in Cadiz, Spain and wonderful gazpacho was so easy to come by, I never bothered to learn how to make it! I knew what was in it but couldn’t get the proportions right. Other recipes I tried were too often Americanized with additions like balsamic vinegar (too sweet) no bread, or some weird ingredient like Worcestershire sauce or jalapeños!In my opinion, baguette bread, good olive oil, and sherry vinegar are crucial to capturing the right taste and texture. I only used 2 Tbs of olive oil and skipped the cumin, but I got the gazpacho I was craving!






    • Had a craving for this on returning from my holuday in Spain – SO delicious! I’ll never buy it from the shop in a carton again. I left out the cumin and used 2tbsp oil rather than 3.
      I will be stocking up my freezer while the tomatoes are in season.
      Thank you!






  9. By far my favorite gazpacho soup recipe! My goodness it is full of flavor! YUMMMM






  10. Oh my gosh. I’ve had gazpacho before but with this recipe, it just became my new favorite dish. Used yellow and orange cherry tomatoes for the last half lb of tomatoes. Loved it. I put a serving in the freezer for a bit so it will chill faster for dinner and it was perfect ❤️






  11. As this was my first time using cumin, I found the amount overwhelming and the next time would use less. Otherwise great, and super easy and quick to make. Perfect for hot days when you can’t even think about cooking something.

  12. Hi, great recipe. I have made your version quite a few times and it tasted great. I done a version the other day where I just blended left over garden salad with day old bread and topped with olive oil, croutons and fresh parsley and it tasted nice too. Not sure if it’s traditional but was an awesome way to use leftovers.
    Thanks.






  13. Hello just wondering the calories per serving?

    • I’ve adored Gazpacho in Spain for years, this recipe is so authentic, I’ve taken some to my mum to try and I’m hoping to convert others!
      I love it, it’s delicious and all of the vegetable chopping was therapeutic. I can wait to make more!






  14. Make it all summer long. I add some cooked shrimp or jumbo lump crab meat and some fresh basil on top. It’s a great summer meal!






  15. So easy and delicious. I didn’t bother to seed the tomatoes or cucumber and it’s not an issue. Makes it even easier.






  16. Followed as is, although I had a mix of Roma and regular tomatoes. Served with homemade garlic Parmesan croutons that I toasted on the bbq (so I didn’t have to turn my oven on), and chopped fresh basil. Blended with a handheld blender no problem. Super yum.






  17. Curious about not blanching and peeling the tomatoes. The skin blends up okay? —Can’t wait to try this. My Roma tomatoes are just ripening.

    • I just made in a Vitamix without peeling or blanching, and it turned out great. If your blender spins fast enough the skins essentially dissolve.

  18. Hi, I just now made your gazpacho recipe and tasted it before refrigerating: “WOW!” it has the perfect flavor that I’ve been hunting for. After years of making my old recipe and finally deciding to try this version, I am hooked! It is going to be my go to Gazpacho recipe from now on! AND, thank you for the way you set up the recipe so clearly. I’m very grateful! I followed it exactly as given.
    Now: Looking forward to having it cold! -Ann K.






  19. Avoid pureeing this wonderful treat! Otherwise, you shall have then made spiced cold tomato soup(which may be what you desire;”salmorejo” by most latino’s accounts).
    Use fresh vegetables and PULSE blender/food processor till solids & bread are still visible as very small chunks. Use small-med.chunks of the hardest or stale bread available to optimize texture. Gazpacho is not a soup!






    • Sorry to disappoint you but gazpacho is most certainly a soup. Spanish cuisine dictates this fact and so it is thus.

  20. Can this be frozen, please?

  21. Hi Ali, my hubby is vegan and I love tomatoes, which are in season at the moment in Greece.
    I tried your gazpacho recipe and it was a healthy burst of flavours in our mouths.
    Definitely saving for hot summer days.
    Keep it up with the blog, greetings from Greece!

  22. Pretty sure I’ve made this recipe a few times, but just made a batch this morning using some fresh garden tomatoes and red wine vinegar. I have traveled in Spain and this is as close to an authentic recipe as I’ve seen. Can’t wait to eat this — thanks so much!






  23. As a Spanish person I am very concerned that this is what comes first when you search for gazpacho recipe. So not original or traditional, never in my life I’ve seen cumin on a gazpacho nor sherry vinegar but at least I heard of some people putting it in.

    3 tbsp of extra virgnin olive oil is very little, the gazpacho should be kind of emulsified with it.

    I understand that British people have their own taste but I very often feel like there’s no respect for tradition or originality in a vast amount of recipes that you guys take from different countries and yet you believe you’re doing it right or following a real recipe.

    This is for me ( a Spanish Chef) a real Gazpacho Andaluz recipe, which is the right name because in Spain we call gazpacho to several dishes.

    1/5 English Cucumber or 1 Spanish Cucumber if you can find them
    1 Italian Green Pepper
    1 kg of ripe Plum Tomatoes
    5-10g of Sea Salt
    50g of from the day before Pre Soaked Bread (Sourdough if you have it is delicious otherwise baguette or ciabatta)
    60g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    50g White Wine Vinegar
    150-350g of Very Cold Water, the amount depends on how much water your vegetables contain and how thick you like it.






    • greetings from Australia!!
      In the blitzer I add the following:
      1 can of tinned tomatoes
      1 garlic clove
      1 half a red onion
      1 red chilli
      3 small Lebanese cucumbers
      Couple of teaspoons chopped fresh coriander or any fresh herb to taste
      Salt and pepper
      Don’t blitz until smooth just until small chopped pieces
      Then i add vegetable juice or tomato juice until a good consistency
      Serve icey cold with maybe a squeeze of lemon or lime , some chilli flakes for extra flavour and you could even add a nip of vodka






    • A thought on this review:

      Sherry vinegar is in Chef Jose Andres’ (a James Beard awarded and internationally acclaimed Spanish chef) gazpacho recipe.

      60g of extra virgin olive oil called for in your recipe is 4 Tablespoons so 1 T of a difference in quantity. Minimal difference.

      The writer in her bio expresses from being from Kansas. Not sure why you thought she was British? The measurements are in empirical not metric

  24. while researching about lowering blood pressure, i came across gazpacho (which is rated highly), and then searched and found your recipe. this sounds very intriguing. what can i do if i cannot ‘eat’ onions raw or too much ‘garlic’, as I get a gut reaction to them. i could try a teeny portion of onion and hope it doesn’t react, and i could use a little garlic powder instead, as i do when making soups. do you think it would alter the blood lowering effect?

  25. I’m sure that it’s delicious but this is not gazpacho.

  26. Had to substitute with regular small tomatoes and red bell pepper. Turned out great, garnished with cilantro.






  27. Thanks 😊 so much for the recipe!

    My gazpacho was delicious 😋

    Simple & easy to read instructions






  28. I think some nice vodka could turn this glass of gazpacho into a bloody mary variation…

  29. Love this❣️






  30. Tried with what’s on my summer garden right now, different types of tomatoes at various ripeness, cucumbers, yellow bell pepper and onions and garlic, didn’t have sherry vinegar but rice vinegar is a perfect substitute. Great flavor, waiting for it to get super cold in the fridge now because it’s a super hot day in Florida USA Today.

  31. It was good, but I think I would have enjoyed it more without the bread. It dulled the flavor as well as the color.






  32. Add a pinch of curry powder and two pinches of turmeric to jazz it up…

  33. I had so add some additional water for it to be not so thick but otherwise sooo easy and excellent, thanks for the recipe!






  34. Can you also add cabbage?

  35. Awesome recipe! I substituted balsamic vinegar just because I didn’t have the sherry vinegar on hand. Also, no cumin. Must note to restock spices. lol Anyhow, the taste is still incredible!! Thank you so much for sharing!

  36. I’ve made this gazpacho a couple of times and it is absolutely amazing! My husband did not want to try it because “eww, it’s cold soup” but completely changed his mind once he tried one bite. He ended up eating two bowls! The only changes I made was I used balsamic vinegar instead of sherry vinegar because that’s what I had on hand and I used an olive oil infused with garlic and chilis. I topped it with croutons made from your recipe and they turned out wonderful. I absolutely be making this again soon! Thank you so much for the delicious recipes!






  37. Fantastic! I made mine with fresh Juliet/Romas and Beit Alpha cucumbers from my garden. The taste is perfect!!

  38. I haven’t tried this yet, nor any other gazpacho but want to. The reviews here make me more interested. No cooking at all? Not even frying onions and garlic?

  39. Refreshingly a MUST in summer👍






  40. Easy and delicious.






  41. Is the 2 pound weight of tomatoes before or after they are cored and deseeded?

  42. Great gazpacho. I pealed my roma tomatoes. Used an immersion blender – came out with small chunks. The way I remember it at a good restaurant in Sarasota FL.
    Thanks






  43. THE BEST summertime dinner!! I whipped it up this afternoon in record time and served it with cubed ham and hard boiled eggs, and bread on the side. SO GOOD! Thanks Ali for a fantastic recipe, it really makes you feel good.






  44. Hello! What is the serving size (approximate ounces) indicated in this recipe? Thank you.

  45. I made this today, and it was fantastic

  46. I love this recipe and have made it many times this year. It is so simple! 😊






  47. This was a quick and easy recipe. I would definitely decrease the red onion next time. I love onions, but I thought the onion was overpowering. Overall, I really like this recipe. Thanks for sharing.






  48. Delicious! The first time I made exactly as recipe states and it was fantastic. Today with what I had on hand Red pepper instead of green – shallot instead of red onion- more cucumber because I love it. Cant wait to experiment further. This is definitely going to be on any summer brunch menu I have going forward: it fits all the boxes- easy- make ahead – and something most people don’t eat all the time.

    Also I know the Vitamix in link is pricey but definitely the top of the line product and totally worth it. I have had mine for years (not the model that fits under cabinets) and use it constantly.






  49. I made without bread to save carbs, but it was still so delicious! Served with shaved Parmesan and boiled shrimp!

  50. EXCELLENT!…I added a jalapeno (I could’ve sworn I saw that on the ingredients list!). I added the cucumber after blending to give it some texture that I like. And instead of adding the bread, I served it with garlic bread. Wow, what a lovely light supper for a hot day. Going into regular rotation for the summer.