Gazpacho is an easy, refreshing, chilled summer soup that's quick to make using fresh tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and (if you like) optional bread!

Gazpacho in bowls with cucumber and tomatoes in background.

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?

Enter your email below and we'll send it to your inbox. Plus get our best recipes every week!

Fresh summer produce is coming in hot right about now, and I'm guessing that lots of y'all are probably ~~drowning in~~ enjoying an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers. So today, I thought I'd share one of my favorite ways to use up some of those prolific garden goodies...this silky, delectable, easy Gazpacho recipe!

At its heart, Gazpacho is a chilled Spanish soup that starts with fresh veggies. There are as many variations as there are stars in the sky, and it took me quite a few tries to perfect my favorite. All of the different versions were delicious in their own ways, mind you. But I finally settled upon this recipe for a few reasons...

It boasts just a few ingredients.
It turns out creamy and silky and light and decadent, all at the same time.
It doesn't contain any bread!

Don't come after me on that last one. 😉

A Gazpacho Recipe Without Bread

In doing my Gazpacho research for this post, I found quite a few recipes that actually didn't include bread. One of my kiddos was required to eat gluten-free at the time I developed this recipe, so I decided to give the concept of bread-free, gluten-free Gazpacho a whirl to see if we would even miss the bread.

And spoiler alert! We didn't miss it at all. 🙂

Ingredients

Since I left out the bread, what did I include in my simple, yummy Gazpacho recipe?

Tomatoes. Red, plump, and flavorful. Whether they come from your garden or a farmer's market or the local grocery store, just be sure that they're deep in color and perfectly ripe. After all, the quality of your produce matters in a cold soup with so few ingredients!
Cucumber. Crisp and hydrating. If you're using an average-sized cucumber, you'll need about half of it. If you're using a long English cucumber, you'll need about a 4-inch section. Be sure to peel your cucumber to eliminate potential bitterness or texture.
Garlic. Fresh and pungent. To add flavor without overpowering the whole soup (which is my hesitation when it comes to adding onions).
Fine sea salt. I like to use my favorite kind. Just don't skimp on it, as the salt really does make all of the other flavors pop!
Sherry vinegar. For a punch of flavor. If you don't have sherry vinegar on hand, red wine vinegar will work instead.
Extra-virgin olive oil. To blend into the Gazpacho, plus extra to drizzle on top! Again, since it's a star ingredient that you will be clearly tasting, be sure to use a good-quality EVOO. I think you'll be amazed at what the addition of olive oil does to the color and texture of this Gazpacho as it's blended in. In fact, being generous with the olive oil is the primary reason you won't miss the bread!

That's it!

And you know what?

This easy chilled soup turns out absolutely amazing! Its smooth, silky texture and fresh, robust flavor are positively divine...no bread required.

Gazpacho recipe with spoons in background.

Additional Optional Ingredients

Of course, the beautiful thing about this easy Gazpacho recipe is that you can tweak it to your liking. Just be sure that any veggies you opt to include are nice and ripe. Here are a few potential add-ins:

Half of a cored/seeded pepper...either a bell pepper (red or green) or an Anaheim pepper.
Half of a small red or yellow onion.
A slice of white or sourdough bread (that's preferably stale), briefly soaked in cold water and squeezed out.

That's right! I told you not to add bread and now I'm telling you that you can choose to add it.

See? At the end of the day, it's totally up to you. If you're a purist and you think bread needs to go in there, toss some in.

But I do encourage you to try this Gazpacho at least once without it. 😉

How to Make Gazpacho

We've covered the ingredients, but how about the method? Well, on top of being delicious, making this Gazpacho recipe is ridiculously easy.

Cut any large tomatoes into halves or fourths. Peel and chop the cucumber. Peel the garlic. And throw it all in the blender.
Sprinkle the salt over the veggies and give them a little toss. I actually like to let everything sit for a bit at this point if I have the time. I feel like the soup ends up having even more depth of flavor if the salt is allowed to soak into the tomatoes and cucumbers for a while before pureeing everything together. But if you need to skip the wait time, that's okay, too.

Tomatoes, cucumber, and garlic in blender.

Gazpacho ingredients in blender with salt.

Blend everything together on high speed until perfectly smooth. This will probably take a couple of minutes if you're using a high-powered blender. I stop the blender as needed to scrape down the sides, ensuring that my final soup will be nice and smooth.

Once the veggies are pureed, turn down the blender just a tad. And then, while the blender runs, add the sherry vinegar and slowly stream in the extra-virgin olive oil. Watch with wonder as the color goes from deep red to bright orange!

If using a high-powered blender, I don't find it necessary to strain the soup at this point. But if your soup is anything but smooth, I recommend you pour it through a fine-mesh sieve before chilling.

And chilling is indeed a very important final step! This easy Gazpacho recipe should be very cold before serving. Plan on popping it in the fridge for a full 8 hours, but ideally overnight.

How to Store Gazpacho

I like to store my Gazpacho in a big glass bottle.

Then when we're ready to enjoy it, I simply shake and pour into a bowl or even a short drinking glass.

Leftover gazpacho is best enjoyed within 3 or 4 days. Just make sure whatever container you store it in is tightly sealed!

Optional Garnishes

I tend to keep things simple when serving Gazpacho, drizzling our bowls with a bit more olive oil.

But alternatively, you may garnish your soup with a some of your favorite things, traditional or not! A few ideas...

Fresh herbs, such as parlsey, cilantro, or mint.
Kalamata olives, diced.
Croutons, homemade or store-bought.
Ripe avocado, diced or cubed.

Can you think of any other yummy options to change things up? Use your imagination!

So who's ready to celebrate bountiful garden produce with a big batch of silky, refreshing, scrumptious Gazpacho?

It's easy, it's healthy, and it's a true taste of summer.

I hope y'all love it as much as we do!

More Tomato + Cucumber Recipes