Summer Gazpacho
Summer Gazpacho is a cold soup filled with all of the most delicious summer produce including tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and basil! This easy gazpacho recipe isn't complete without some homemade croutons made with French bread.
Quick Look: Summer Gazpacho
Ready In: 25 minutes
Serves: 6
Calories: Calories Goes Here
Main Ingredients: tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar
Why You'll Love It: this cold summer gazpacho is so easy and fresh, and is the perfect soup on a hot summer day!
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When the temperatures climb, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. That's exactly why this easy Summer Gazpacho is one of my favorite warm-weather recipes. It's cool, refreshing, packed with fresh vegetables, and comes together with just a few minutes of prep. All you need is a blender or food processor, and dinner (or lunch!) is practically done.
Gazpacho is a chilled Spanish soup made with ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and a handful of pantry staples. Blending everything together creates a smooth, flavorful soup that's light enough for hot summer days but still satisfying. It's also a great way to use up all of those garden tomatoes and fresh produce from the farmers market.
While I have my favorite green gazpacho on the blog, today I'm sharing my tomato based summer gazpacho recipe!
Key Ingredients
Tomatoes - this time I used Roma tomatoes but honestly, any kind will work! Obviously they are best with ripe summer tomatoes, so I'd definitely recommend going that route.
Bell Peppers - this recipe uses a green bell pepper and an orange bell pepper but, again, if you only have a red and a yellow - use those!
Cucumbers - one peeled cucumber adds a bunch of flavor and water to this recipe.
Garlic - you know I love my garlic!
Red or White Wine Vinegar - this adds a little acidity to the gazpacho, and both work well so I use whatever I have on hand.
Avocado Oil or Olive Oil - you can use either in this recipe and I usually just use whichever one I have on hand.
Butter - butter makes the croutons buttery (duh!) and extra delicious! I use more olive oil if I don't have butter.
French Bread - my favorite bread for making croutons.
How to Make Summer Gazpacho
Step 1.
First add the water and tomatoes to a large blender.
Step 2.
Top with the chopped cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.
Step 3.
Puree until well combined and creamy.
Step 4.
Make the croutons. Either toss with olive oil/melted butter and bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes or melt butter in a large skillet and add the cubed croutons until golden brown.
Expert Tips
Use the ripest tomatoes you can find - since tomatoes are the star of this recipe, ripe, in-season tomatoes will give your gazpacho the best flavor. If your tomatoes aren't quite at their peak, adding a pinch of sugar can help balance the acidity.
Let it chill before serving - while you can enjoy gazpacho right after blending, it tastes even better after chilling in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. This gives the flavors time to meld together.
Adjust the texture to your liking - for a chunkier gazpacho, pulse the vegetables instead of blending until completely smooth. If you prefer a silky texture, blend thoroughly and strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve.
Taste and season before serving - chilling can mellow the flavors, so give the gazpacho one final taste before serving and adjust the salt, pepper, vinegar, or lemon juice as needed.
The thing that I love about summer gazpacho is how incredibly fast and easy it is to make. It is just a matter of putting all of the ingredients into a blender, and letting the blender do the work. I do love serving gazpacho topped with homemade croutons, which require a little bit of cooking.
To make the croutons, simply melt butter in a skillet, add cubed French bread, and cook until golden brown. The croutons are so buttery and delicious!
This easy summer gazpacho recipe is perfect for a weekend lunch, a light dinner along with a salad, or a picnic any time of the day. Gazpacho can be packaged and brought along on a picnic so easily. I once brought it to a friends house and served it in cups, making it drinkable!
Summer Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 lbs tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper seeds removed, roughly chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper seeds removed, roughly chopped
- 1 large cucumber diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar vinegar
- 6 tablespoon butter
- ~5 cup cubed french bread
Instructions
- Add everything except the bread and butter to a high powered blender.
- Blend until well pureed. This may take a little while and you'll want to eventually put it on the highest power to get everything well pureed.
- Chill until ready to serve.
- To make the croutons, place the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Once melted, add the cubed bread and cook until golden brown on most sides. Serve and enjoy!
