Spanish Gazpacho Cold Tomato Soup
Gazpacho is a cold raw vegetable soup from Andalusia in southern Spain, and it is one of the most refreshing things you can eat in summer. The ingredients are simple – ripe tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic, bread, olive oil, and sherry vinegar – and the method is even simpler: blend everything together, season it well, and chill it until properly cold. No cooking at any point. The result depends almost entirely on the quality of the tomatoes and the quality of the olive oil, which means this is not a recipe for January. It is a recipe for the height of summer, when tomatoes are deeply red, fragrant, and sweet rather than pale and tasteless.
The bread is not an optional step that you can skip to make the recipe lighter. Soaking a small piece of stale bread and blending it into the soup is what gives gazpacho its characteristic body – slightly thick, smooth, and substantial enough to feel like a real dish rather than a cold tomato juice. Without it, the texture is thin and the soup separates quickly. You do not taste the bread in the finished soup; it disappears completely into the base.
Sherry vinegar is the authentic choice and has a rounder, slightly sweet acidity that suits this soup very well. If you cannot find it, red wine vinegar is the right substitute – not white wine vinegar or balsamic, which taste wrong here. Start with two tablespoons, blend, taste, and add more if needed. The acidity should be present but not sharp.
The olive oil is added last, poured in slowly with the blender running. This emulsifies it into the soup rather than leaving it floating on top, which creates a silky, cohesive texture. Use the best extra virgin olive oil you have. In a soup this simple, it matters.
Gazpacho must be served very cold – straight from the refrigerator after at least two hours of chilling, ideally overnight. Serve in chilled bowls if you want to be precise about it. If you enjoy chilled, blended soups, our Creamy Mushroom Soup uses the same approach with warm, earthy flavors – and for another classic European vegetable soup on the heartier end, our Classic Italian Minestrone is worth having in your recipe list.
Ingredients for Spanish Gazpacho Cold Tomato Soup
- 1.2 kg (about 6-7 medium) very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 1 medium cucumber (about 300g), peeled, deseeded, and roughly chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 100g (3.5 oz) stale white bread, crusts removed, torn into pieces
- 80ml (1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 2-3 tablespoons sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar), to taste
- 150ml (2/3 cup) very cold water
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- For garnish:
- Diced cucumber, tomato, or red pepper
- Fresh basil leaves
- A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- Cracked black pepper
How to Make Spanish Gazpacho Cold Tomato Soup
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1
Place the torn bread in a small bowl, cover with cold water, and let soak for 5 minutes until softened. Squeeze out most of the water and set aside.
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2
Combine the tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, red onion, garlic, and soaked bread in a blender. If your blender is small, work in two batches.
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3
Blend on high speed for 1-2 minutes until completely smooth.
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4
With the blender running on low, slowly pour in the olive oil in a thin, steady stream. This emulsifies the oil into the soup and gives it a silky texture.
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5
Add the sherry vinegar, salt, and cold water. Blend for another 30 seconds.
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6
Taste and adjust with more salt, vinegar, or water as needed. The soup should taste bright, savory, and well-seasoned - slightly more seasoned than feels right at room temperature, as cold temperatures dull flavors.
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7
For a perfectly smooth result, pass the soup through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the solids. This step is optional but gives a more refined texture.
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8
Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. The soup should be served very cold - below 8°C (46°F).
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9
Serve in chilled bowls with a drizzle of olive oil, small diced vegetables for garnish, fresh basil, and cracked black pepper. Crusty bread alongside is traditional.
Nutrition (per serving)
- Carbs 18g · 35%
- Protein 4g · 8%
- Fat 13g · 57%
Tips & FAQ
What tomatoes work best for gazpacho?
Do I need to peel the tomatoes first?
Can I make gazpacho without a blender?
How long does gazpacho keep in the fridge?
What can I serve with gazpacho?
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