This Chunky Gazpacho - cold tomato and vegetable soup - is quick, easy, light, refreshing, and so full of flavor. It's the perfect summer soup!
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When the days are hot and the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and onions are at their finest, this delicious Spanish-inspired chilled soup is exactly what you want to make to beat the heat!
In fact, you don't even turn on the stove...at all!
Just chop up your fresh tomatoes and veggies, add some garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, vegetable juice, a couple of spices and a pinch or two of sugar, and mix it all up.
Purée some of this mixture in a food processor or blender so that you'll have a slightly thicker base but still lots of chunks of crunchy veggies.
Then just mix everything together and let it (literally) chill out in the refrigerator for a few hours to allow all those amazing flavors to blend together.
You could even make it the day before - which is usually what I do - because homemade gazpacho is one of those dishes that just gets better as it sits.
Serve it as an appetizer (this is how I like to enjoy it) or as a light lunch or supper. One spoonful, and your taste buds will instantly wake up, say an enthusiastic hello there!, and ask for more.
Plus, you get the bonus of lots of vitamins, minerals and other good-for-you things from all the veggies!
If you think you won't like cold soup, just give it a try. Up until last summer, I wasn't sure I would enjoy it either, but making some vichyssoise changed all that (I absolutely loved it!).
And now this gazpacho has become another instant favorite. I'll be making it many, many more times before the summer ends!
Ingredients You Need
Note: Ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Tomatoes (I like to use plum/Roma tomatoes, but any kind will do)
- Cucumber
- Bell peppers (any color; I do a combination of green and yellow)
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Celery salt
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
- Sugar
- Vegetable juice (such as V8)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Croutons (optional, for topping; try my easy baked Homemade Croutons to make it extra-special)
- Fresh basil (optional, for topping)
Special Equipment Needed
- Food processor or blender
How to Make Chunky Gazpacho
Note: This is just a brief overview of the steps. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe with detailed instructions.
Tips & Tidbits
- The quality of your tomatoes and vegetables will determine the quality of your gazpacho. Make sure you get the best ones you can!
- There's no need to waste time peeling the tomatoes. Just be sure to scoop out the seeds and all of the liquid.
- I like to use green and yellow bell pepper for a variety of colors, but you can you just one or any combination of colors you'd like.
- Sherry vinegar is often used in gazpacho. If you have some, try it in place of the red wine vinegar. Balsamic vinegar would also be delicious!
- The small amount of cayenne pepper doesn't make the soup very hot; it just adds a nice little kick of heat in the background. Adjust the amount (or omit it) depending on how spicy you want it.
- Instead of cayenne, you could add some finely diced jalapenos.
- I love the flavor of vegetable juice, but you can use tomato juice instead.
- If you'd rather a smooth soup, go ahead and purée all of the vegetable mixture (this might need to be done in batches depending on the size of your food processor/blender).
- I love to chop up a few extra veggies for topping the soup for a prettier presentation, but this is optional.
- This recipe makes a small batch of gazpacho. If you have a bigger crowd to feed, you can easily scale it up.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
My suggestion? Don't skip the croutons (especially if they're homemade) and fresh basil. Although this soup is very delicious on its own, they really take it to the next level!
I hope you try this Chunky Gazpacho recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
More Summer Tomato Recipes to Try
If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how it went. Please leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
📋Recipe
Chunky Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 2 cups seeded and diced plum (Roma) tomatoes, or any kind of tomato, about ¼-inch dice
- ½ cup peeled and seeded diced cucumbers, about ¼-inch dice
- ¼ cup seeded and diced green bell pepper, about ¼-inch dice
- ¼ cup seeded and diced yellow bell pepper, about ⅛ to ¼-inch dice
- ¼ cup peeled and diced red onion, about ⅛ to ¼-inch dice
- 1 small to medium clove garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional (add more or less to taste depending on the heat level you want)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup vegetable juice, such as V8
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup croutons, optional, for topping (homemade croutons preferred)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, optional, for topping
Special Equipment
- food processor or blender
Instructions
- Place the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, celery salt, cayenne pepper (if using), sugar, and vegetable juice in a large bowl; stir until well-combined.
- Remove 2 cups of the vegetable mixture and place in a food processor or blender; purée until mostly smooth.
- Return the puréed vegetable mixture back to the bowl with the other ingredients; stir to combine.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend (overnight is even better).
- Top with croutons and chopped fresh basil (optional but highly recommended) and enjoy!
Notes
- The quality of your tomatoes and vegetables will determine the quality of your gazpacho. Make sure you get the best ones you can!
- I like to use green and yellow bell pepper for a variety of colors, but you can you just one or any combination of colors you'd like.
- Sherry vinegar is often used in gazpacho. If you have some, try it in place of the red wine vinegar. Balsamic vinegar would also be delicious!
- I love the flavor of vegetable juice, but you can use tomato juice instead.
- If you'd rather a smooth soup, go ahead and purée all of the vegetable mixture (this might need to be done in batches depending on the size of your food processor/blender).
- I love to chop up a few extra veggies for topping the soup for a prettier presentation, but this is optional.
- Try my easy Homemade Croutons; they're an excellent a topper for this soup.
- This recipe makes a small batch of gazpacho. If you have a bigger crowd to feed, you can easily scale it up.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
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