The Ultimate Gazpacho
This gazpacho recipe is the best! It's a refreshing chilled summer soup, perfect for your garden tomatoes and cucumber. Vegan and gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on May 5, 2025
Gazpacho! The chilled, raw tomato and vegetable soup from Andalusia, Spain. Ever had it? Love it? Hate it? I can’t say I’ve always loved it, but if you get it right, gazpacho can be so good.
At its best, gazpacho is super refreshing and bursting with fresh-from-the-garden summer flavors. At its worst, gazpacho tastes like chunky cold salsa or thin tomato juice, neither of which do I particularly enjoy. I wanted a texture somewhere in between the two, with far superior flavor.
Through trial and error, I discovered that the trick to making the best gazpacho is to blend half of the ingredients into creamy oblivion. Then, add the other half and blitz until they break into tiny pieces. You’ll end up with a delicious, rich base, with tiny pieces of tomatoes, cucumber and pepper adding intrigue.
Gazpacho Ingredients
This healthy recipe offers classic gazpacho flavor. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make it:
- Ripe red tomatoes: Tomatoes form the base of this raw soup—make sure they’re top summer quality. Because tomatoes contain so much moisture, we don’t need to add any liquid before we blend the ingredients together. We’ll even reserve some fresh tomato seeds to garnish the soup (they’re so pretty).
- Sweet yellow onion: Onions are both savory and sweet. Don’t worry if the onion flavor seems overwhelming straight out of the blender. It mellows considerably as the soup chills in the fridge.
- Cucumber: Juicy cucumber adds another layer of fresh flavor.
- Red bell pepper: Gazpacho wouldn’t be complete without crisp, sweet bell pepper. Feel free to substitute an orange or yellow bell pepper for the red.
- Fresh basil: Basil makes this soup taste even more summery and irresistible.
- Garlic: You’ll just need one large clove.
- Olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil is always the way to go.
- Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar: A small splash of vinegar makes this soup come alive.
Watch How to Make Gazpacho
My Best Gazpacho Tips
Don’t add bread
Traditional gazpacho blends in white bread for body, but I found that it diluted the flavor. I also didn’t enjoy straining the gazpacho through a fine sieve afterward. Blending up the produce with olive oil produces a rich, creamy emulsion that has plenty of body, no sieve required.
That means that this easy gazpacho recipe is gluten free and full of good-for-you fiber thanks to the unfiltered vegetables.
Blending options
If you’re in a hurry or want a totally smooth gazpacho, by all means, blend everything together at once (see the recipe notes for details on this shortcut).
I prefer my gazpacho with some texture. That’s why the recipe instructs you briefly blitz some of the ingredients into the soup instead of blending them all together at once.
If you love chunky gazpacho, you could just barely blend them into the soup.
Gazpacho needs time to chill
All good gazpacho needs time to rest before serving, so plan to make it at least two hours in advance. This gives the flavors time to fully develop, and the soup time to chill completely. Gazpacho should be served cold, or close to it.
Recommended garnishes
Chop and reserve some of the ingredients for garnishing the soup later (see steps 1 and 2). It’s an extra step, but it’s worth the trouble if you want the beautiful gazpacho you see here.
I was all googly-eyed over the food and plating in Madrid a couple of months ago, so I wanted to present Spanish gazpacho in its full glory.
Gazpacho Serving Suggestions
Make a light summer meal by serving your gazpacho with crusty bread, cheese, Marcona almonds, fancy olives like Castelvetranos, and veggies like sliced cucumber and bell pepper. Perhaps you’d like it with a cold glass of crisp rosé or white wine, like Albariño or Sauvignon Blanc.
The acidity of the gazpacho makes it a natural pairing with seafood, and it could also be lovely with grilled main dishes or vegetables. Add a green salad like my Super Simple Arugula Salad to round out your meal.
Please let me know how you like this gazpacho in the comments! Your feedback keeps me going, and I hope you love this gazpacho recipe as much as I do.
Ultimate Gazpacho
This gazpacho recipe is the best! It’s a refreshing chilled summer soup, perfect for your garden tomatoes and cucumber. Be sure to make it in advance so the soup can chill for at least 2 hours. Recipe yields 5 cups, enough for 4 servings.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds ripe red tomatoes (about 4 large or 9 small)
- 1 small Vidalia or sweet yellow onion (½ pound), peeled and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
- 1 small cucumber (½ pound), peeled and seeded
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cored and seeded
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- To prepare your veggies, place your blender bowl, a medium serving bowl, and a small bowl on the counter. Core the tomatoes and cut them into rough 1-inch chunks. Reserve about ¼ cup of the juicy tomato seeds and place them in your small bowl (we’ll use them as a garnish later). Add half of the tomato chunks to the blender, and the other half to your serving bowl. Add all of the onion chunks to the blender.
- Cut off about one-fourth of the cucumber. Finely chop that piece and place it in the small bowl. Slice the rest of the cucumber into rough 1-inch chunks, and divide them between the blender and the serving bowl. Cut off about one-fourth of the bell pepper, finely chop that piece, and add it to the small bowl. Slice the rest of the bell pepper into rough 1-inch chunks and divide them between the blender and the serving bowl.
- To the blender, add the basil, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and about 10 twists of black pepper. Securely fasten the lid and blend, starting on low and increasing to high speed, until the mixture is completely smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Pour the contents of the serving bowl (the remaining chunks of tomato, cucumber and bell pepper) into the blender. Fasten the lid and blend for just 10 to 20 seconds, until the ingredients are broken up into small pieces. Stop there, or blend a little longer if you prefer smaller pieces.
- Add a small pinch of salt to the small bowl of garnishes, stir, and store it in the fridge. Chill the soup for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Before serving, taste, and add additional salt (I sometimes add another ¼ teaspoon) and/or black pepper if necessary. To serve, divide the soup into small bowls or cups, and top with the reserved cucumber and bell pepper. Top with a few tiny or torn basil leaves and a light sprinkle of pepper. Leftover servings keep well, covered and refrigerated, for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I’ve been looking for a good gazpacho recipe since I had some fabulous versions in Spain a few years ago. I look forward to trying this one! The recipes I’ve tried so far have tended to be a bit too acidic.
I hope you enjoy this one, Kristin! Report back. :)
Why is the soup yellow? Thanks for your recipe and thoughts.
Hi Debra, it’s actually reddish orange. :) I think that’s because the onion and cucumber lighten up the red color the tomatoes and bell pepper.
As a Spaniard I was a little hmmm at the title ultimate Gazpacho, but as usual you have it spot on! The reason some restaurants add bread is to make it cheaper and it detracts from the taste. The only thing not traditional is the basil but I think it makes quite a tasty variation. Incidentally, in some places of Andalucía they add cumin, due to the Moor influence and because it aids digestion, which raw cucumber and garlic could upset, and it tastes great too!
Hey, Carmen! Thanks so much for such a kind and informative comment. Yes, the basil is definitely a deviation from tradition, but I really enjoy it, too. I’ll have to try the cumin and see how I like it!
This soup looks like a breath of fresh air! When gazpacho is good its realllllly good. Can’t wait to try this!
YES I hope you do, Meredith! I think you’ll love it. It took some experimentation, but I think I made a good one. :)
Looks like a breath of fresh air? More like tastes like a breath of fresh air
This is stunning, friend! Never been a fan of gazpacho, but this may change things.
For the same reasons you cite, I have never tried Gazpacho. However, I may well do so now, after researching some European recipes so that I can find a suitable onion alternative. How my heart yearns to taste Vidalia onions once more, but living in the UK, I think it isn’t going to happen.
Oh, let me know what type of onion works well as a substitute! That’s good information for non-U.S. readers.
I used spring onion. My oh my it was good!
Terrible confession here, I’ve never made or even tried gazpacho. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Kate. I think you’ve definitely inspired me to try it. Yum!!!!
It can be intimidating! I hope mine is more straightforward. Let me know how it goes!
Looks amazing, what can I substitute for the garlic? Want to make this for a friend but she’s allergic to garlic. Thanks
I’ve never had Gazpacho. It sounds good! And onions that can be used in dessert? (I’m trying to process this.)
Haha! Apparently, yes.
First time making gazpacho, or as my chef husband refers to it “cold tomato soup.” Yes, it is intimidating cooking for a chef…but I made this recipe (the easy version, where you just blend everything up together), and served it up to RAVE reviews. Definitely going in my “keeper” file of recipes to make again. We live in the Caribbean, so every day is hot and this is the perfect light dinner. Thanks!
This is too kind, Liz! Thank you so much for commenting–I’m really glad this passed the chef’s muster, and passed the test for being straightforward and simple to put together.
Kate–this recipe was fantastic and refreshing! Just what my husband and I needed after a week of eating and drinking on our honeymoon! Thank you for sharing such a healthy and seasonal dinner option right when we needed it the most. :)
Congrats on your marriage, Lauren! I’m so glad you both enjoyed the gazpacho.
This is deeeeelicious. I’ve made several recipes for gazpacho over the years, and this is the best. Your technique of separate blending to different textures is brilliant. I am citing your recipe on my blog, everysizenutrition.com.
High five! Thank you, Anita! Delighted to hear it.
I have been looking for a good gazpacho recipe lately, so I was very pleased when you posted this. I made it for dinner last night and it was super delicious!! I will definitely be making this all summer long.. Thanks!
Hooray! That’s so great to hear. Thank you, Michelle.
Great gazpacho!! Just made this with a few changes based on what I had available. I used a white candy onion instead of a Vidalia, and a yellow pepper instead of red. I didn’t have much basil and the flavor is still fabulous. I skipped the toppings and just used some avocado. Yum, so good! Thanks Kate!
Thank you, Racheljoy! I’m so glad you enjoyed this one!
Hi Kate,
I liked so much when I saw in Instagram you made Gazpacho! I am from Spain and I love gazpacho, there are some different ways to make it, it depends on the area in Spain, and all of them are good for sure. I just never saw it in Spain with fresh basil, not very usual here, but I am sure it tastes good! I love basil ;-) So I will try this recipe.
Also there is another kind of version called Salmorejo, this is very similar to Gazpacho and also from south Spain, and it is AMAZING :-) I love it so much!
Thank you! Gema
Yes, I’ve heard that the basil is not entirely authentic, but I really love the flavor combination. I’ll have to research the Salmorejo! Thank you so much for the kind comment, Gema.
I made this gazpacho recipe over the recent long 4th of July weekend using heirloom tomatoes. As Carmen comments below, I skipped the basil and added cumin plus Spanish paprika (a little goes a long way) to balance the acidity and give a hint earthiness. Also, I used Walla Walla, available in the Pacific Northwest, instead of the Vidalia onions for a mild sweetness.
We served it in ice cold bowls with finely diced cucumber, pinch of Spanish paprika, drizzled premium olive oil and rustic bread to soak up all the goodness of the soup.
It was heavenly delicious on a hot summer day! Mm’mm…thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
That sounds delicious, Curtis! Bonus points for the genius serving method.
I made this having never tried Gazpacho before, and it was so delicious! I used a large white Vidalia onion, and it was just a little too onion-y for me. I’ll probably use half or 3/4 of the onion next time! Still, so good. This is the first recipe I’ve tried of yours (and the first time I’ve rated a recipe) so I’m excited to try your other ones!
Hi Mallory,
One thing a lot of professional chefs and restaurants will do with onions is to soak them in cold water for about 10 minutes to take the astringent/oniony bite out of the onion. We do this for red onions used in salads at home.
A quick soak (1-2 minutes) in boiling water followed by an ice-cold bath to stop the cooking works too and it keeps them crisp. Another method is to use any citrus juice you enjoy or vinegar to add flavor to your onions as a soaking solution.
Bon Appetit!
Curtis
Easy, light, refreshing soup that is perfect for summer. My husband and I enjoyed this and one of our two children liked it too. Basil gave it a milder flavor compared to similar soups – which made it better for me. Will definitely keep this as a regular summer soup at our house.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the basil in this, J!
Can I sub apple cider vinegar instead of red wine?
Just made this and LOVE IT! The basil adds so much flavor. A fantastic recipe that is definitely going in the keeper file :)
Great! I’m so glad you love the basil, too.
Thank you for posting a “real” gazpacho recipe. There are so many doctored up versions floating around on the interwebs that are not authentic. Minus the basil, and with the addition of a piece of day old “barra” (Spanish baguette), your recipe is identical to our cooks’ and takes me back to my parent’s country house in Spain, sitting on the porch and enjoying this soup…now if I could find the same amazing, bursting with flavor tomatoes in the States… Thanks again for the trip down memory lane!
Oh, I’m so glad this is what you’ve been looking for, Chanel! I think you should look for some heirloom tomatoes– those are the tastiest ones we have available here!
Hi… I’m going to make this tomorrow and have an amateur question to ask. When you say “one inch chunk”, what does that mean? Like one inch long with any width, or a square inch, or a cubic inch?
Hey Sean, glad to help! I meant like an inch cubed. See the onion in the blender? Around 1″ chunks—they really don’t have to be precise.
Thanks!
I just returned from a mother/daughter trip to Spain and fell in love with Gazpacho. I came home determined to make it myself. Your recipe most closely mirrors what I had there. I am now making it at every entertaining opportunity to share a bit of Spain with my friends. Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re welcome, Mary! I’m so glad it could bring a little bit of Spain home to you. A mother/daughter trip sounds so lovely, too!
Do you think if you were making the smooth version, that you could freeze it?
And I just made this. Oh, my! Best. Gazpacho. Ever!!
Yes! I can finally make gazpacho at home. And it’s better than many versions I’ve tried in Spain where they add cream/milk to thicken it. Made it last weekend for my and my boyfriend (who has never liked gazpacho before!) and we both loved it.
Thanks for sharing another delicious and easy to make recipe.
I’m glad it turned out creamy and delicious, Veronica! Thanks so much.
Just made this for friends and family today. It was a hot afternoon watching part of the eclipse from our driveway. Everyone loved this refreshing gazpacho! I made a small batch without the red pepper for my mother and she still raved about it. Can’t wait to make this again! Thank you Kate!
Perfect! Thanks, Jessie! I hope you were able to see a great show.
As always, when I look for a recipe the one I land on is by you guys. We have a heat wave and I’d like to make this but my husband also needs a protein. What would you suggest to go into the soup or to accompany it?
This has the potential to be a 5 star recipe if I can figure out why it tasted so flat and maybe slightly bitter when I made it. Used heirloom tomatoes as recommended and followed the recipe exactly. Adding salt didn’t help. Could it have been the quality of the olive oil? It definitely needed more oomph.
Be sure to peel the cucumber! It’s always too bitter if I forget that step.
You are the best. I had a zillion tomatoes to use from my garden and I was worried that they weren’t good enough to eat alone. But whipped up into this gazpacho and oh. my. It’s chilling in my fridge right now and I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait until tomorrow night to eat it. (But if I wait, I can grab a baguette and a bottle of wine and do it right…)
Kate,
My soon to be bride, Nola, and I will be having a private wedding ceremony with family (25) in a month. After reading several recipes yours caught our attention with the addition of basil. To me that is just an extra touch of refreshing flavor. I will report back from what I know will be a bunch of ohhhh’s and ahhhhh’s
Made this for a friend’s birthday who is a gazpacho fan. She loved it, it is a great recipe – we topped with creme fresh and the set aside cucumbers and peppers. Everyone else loved it too…enough to ask for the recipe. Took your recommendation to serve with your herbed quinoa and chickpea salad also a huge success! Thank you!!!
Great toppings and paring! Thanks for the review, Katherine.
Hi Katie, I plan on making your gazpacho tomorrow but can’t find any recipe called “herbed quinoa and chickpea salad,” that someone mentioned. Is there another name for it?? THANKS!
Hi Sita! I hope you love it. Here is the link to the herbed quinoa salad.
Hi Kate! I love your site. (Particularly your recipe for falafel – to die for.) Regarding this gazpacho – serving size is 4. Any idea how many cups / fl.oz it yields? I’m hoping to make some for a party (but want to make mini shooters) – so would like to size up the recipe accordingly. Thank you !
Hi Jessica, thank you for your note! I just checked my recipe notes and I believe this recipe yields about 5 cups (maybe a little more, but this will depend on your produce). Hope this helps!
can i make this a night ahead? worried about the fresh basil doing something funky.
Leftover servings keep well, covered and refrigerated, for 3 to 4 days.Top with the fresh basil when you are ready to serve. I hope this helps!
Hi I have been making gazpacho for years. I use V8 and a bottle of bloody Mary mix, as the base. Then I add some cucumber, onion, green peppers, celery.
I pour some of both juices in my Vitamix, then add the cut up veg,s and pour into a glass bottle and repeat the process til all juice is used. It is soon good.
Thanks for sharing!
I’ll be trying your Gazpacho recipe for company as a first course, followed by homemade chive, basil, and parsley pesto risotto and double roasted balsamic beets with French feta. I just wanted to say, as a vegetarian, I love your recipes. I recently made your version of baba ganoush and it was devine. I’ll rate this Gazpacho recipe after I make it of course. BTW, I have a stellar recipe for Imam Bayilde I’d be willing to share anytime. Thanks!
Harry
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Harry! I appreciate it.
My CSA gave me a large box of beautiful canning tomatoes and I made gazpacho with some of them using this recipe. I love it! Another batch is coming up.
Delicious!
Hi!
Can I replace the sherry vinegar with marsala?
I want to make this delicious looking recipe tonight. Heat wave in Boston.
I haven’t tried it, sorry! I don’t typically use marsala. If you don’t have sherry vinegar, maybe try red wine vinegar or an apple vinegar.
Hi Kate, it looks and tastes lovely. It’s for xmas day tomorrow. We are a plant-based family and raw is a cherry (tomato) on the top. I added a glug of vodka. Just for fun.Your book looks lovely. Take care , Carly
Thanks for sharing! I’m happy to hear you got the book, Carly!
Just made this…it’s delicious! I added some lemon and lime juice at the end. And a dash of tabasco. I could eat the whole thing myself though…so I think ‘to serve 4’ is underestimating how easily devoured this soup will be…it’s boiling hot here in Cape Town today and I can’t wait to share this with my son, a big gazpacho fan. Thanks!
My husband and I love gazpacho, but find that nobody ever really makes it right and it does seem like eating salsa. I decided to give this recipe a shot. I tripled it, making it for a big group camping trip. It was the most amazing gazpacho we have ever eaten! It was such a hit with everyone. It was super refreshing and received so many compliments. Mine was a little more red in color but that was because I mixed the orange and red bell peppers. Anyhow, loved it so much. Thanks for the recipe!
I love it, Rebeca! Thanks for your review.
I only had this soup 1 time but my who made it passed away at a young age and I have not had it again so I look forward to trying this. Although I know she did not blend the vegetables together. At the time we only had hand held mixers. I will try your way. I really liked her version but have no idea how she made it.
I’m sorry to hear that! I hope you do enjoy this soup, Joanne.
Do I need to skin the tomatoes? Recipe looks great!
you dont mention the onion in the directions?
Hi Brittany, see step 1 right at the end Hope this helps!
omg. I swear I read it 10 times and never saw that. I assumed it just went in the blender anyway HAHA Thank you!!
This is out of this world! I didn’t have the full 2lbs of tomatoes so I added organic tomato juice to equal. I am a gazpacho lover from way back and will only use this recipe from now on❤️
Thank you for sharing, Barbara!
This soup is amazing! I’ve been trying different recipe’s as I want one for a wedding in August. This beats them all!
Very refreshing , full of summer flavours , lovely fresh colour and looks so attractive with the garnish and basil.
I did puree it all then added garnish, which I think I will do again, as time will be short! It was also still beautiful 24hrs later so I will be able to make the day before the wedding,and garnish just before serving
Thanks Kate!
Thank you for sharing! I hope this works well for your wedding, Jo.
The recipe is unclear about whether to seed the tomatoes. Can you please clarify?
Hi Matt, You need to core the tomatoes – this will remove most of the center/seeds. Does that help?
Yup, thanks!
Absolutely delicious! Such a fresh version-thank you.
You’re welcome, Meredith!
I LOVE this gazpacho!! I totally agree with you on leaving the bread out – so much better this way. I did add my ‘secret’ ingredient which is just 3 or 4 small strawberries! It adds another depth of flavor and just a *hint* of sweetness that is so perfect, it instantly transports you to Spain :)
Thank you for sharing your take, Lindsay!
I made this soup exactly as you wrote it here. Being in the Mojave Desert, it gets pretty warm in the summer and sometimes, downright hot! My parents came over for dinner tonight and I served this gazpacho with deviled eggs (I have chickens so they were farm-fresh eggs!) and a simple veggie tray and olives. Strawberries, blueberries and cream for dessert. My folks loved everything and it was the first time they had ever had gazpacho (only the second time for me.) This recipe is definitely a keeper! And it was so refreshing, too.
I’m happy you loved it, Elizabeth!
Hey Kate! I had gazpacho for the first time in France and it was super yummy. I love it so so much. Can’t wait to try your recipe today. I think it will rock my socks off.
Let me know what you think of this! It might be a little different then what you tried in France, but still delicious!
Hey Kate! I just made this recipe for gazpacho but chopped the veggies into small chunks and kept them that way. It’s absolutely divine. Everybody loved it so much.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Clara! Thank you for your review.
Great Gazpacho recipe. I made it with a bit more vinegar, (but it was a fairly smooth sherry vinegar) and substituted some of the tomatoes for tinned chopped Italian tomatoes as fresh are a bit pricey. Tastes delicious! thanks
Caroline (UK)
Thank you for sharing, Caroline!