Chunky Gazpacho
This Chunky Gazpacho - cold tomato and vegetable soup - is quick, easy, light, refreshing, and so full of flavor. It's the perfect summer soup!
Servings: 4 as an appetizer (about ¾ cup each) or 2 as a main dish (about 1½ cups each)
Estimated Calories: 131
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!
Recipe 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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