Best Gazpacho We’ve Ever Made

I’ve tried a lot of gazpacho recipes, but this one is hands-down my favorite! In this (almost) authentic gazpacho recipe, we lightly roast the tomatoes with onions and garlic, making it super delicious and full of flavor!

Gazpacho, a chilled soup (sometimes called a salad in Spanish cookbooks) originating from Andalusia, Spain, is traditionally made with tomatoes, garlic, onion, and cucumber and often thickened with bread.

While authentic gazpacho recipes often use raw ingredients, our favorite recipe takes a slightly different approach. We worked on this with Chef Richard and found that lightly roasting the tomatoes with onions and garlic enhances the tomato flavor and mellows the harshness of the raw garlic and onion, making one of the best bowls of gazpacho I’ve made.

Key Ingredients

• Tomatoes: For the best gazpacho, I use ripe, juicy tomatoes. Summertime is ideal for finding them, but if you’re craving gazpacho out of season, don’t worry! While fresh garden-grown tomatoes usually have way more flavor, since this recipe roasts the tomatoes before blending, store-bought tomatoes work fine.
• Bell Pepper: I add one roasted red bell pepper to the blender. You can buy jarred roasted peppers or roast your own (I’ve included instructions in the recipe).
• Onion and Garlic: Roasting the tomatoes with olive oil, onion, and garlic mellows their flavors, making the soup extra delicious.
• Croutons: Authentic Spanish gazpacho often includes bread blended into the soup for creaminess and thickness. Rustic bread works well, but try my garlic croutons for extra flavor! They’re made with garlic, shallot, and herbs and are also amazing on top of the soup for a nice crunch.
• Sherry Vinegar: This aged vinegar is traditionally used in Spanish gazpacho (called Vinagre de Jerez in Spain). I love it as an all-purpose vinegar for salad dressings, too.
• Cucumber: Another classic gazpacho ingredient, I peel and use seedless cucumbers. If your cucumber has seeds, remove them before blending.

How to Make Gazpacho

While it’s not 100% necessary, when I make gazpacho, I peel and remove the cores of my tomatoes. After making this recipe a few times, I’ve found that it makes a big difference in the soup’s texture (especially if you don’t have a super high-powered blender).

It’s easy to do. Make a shallow “X” on the bottom of each tomato and then boil them for 30 seconds. After that, place them in an ice bath, and the peels will come off quickly. It sounds like a hassle, but it’s not that bad.

Then, I roast the tomatoes alongside garlic and onion. They are only in the oven for 20 minutes, but this roasting time helps to deepen their flavors and takes a bit of the bite away from the garlic and onion. Sometimes, raw gazpacho is slightly overpowering, so roasting tones things down a bit.

While the oven’s hot, throw in a red bell pepper. Roasting softens the pepper and makes it easy to remove its peel.

Now everything is roasted, we can blend the soup. Throw the tomatoes, garlic, onion, and roasted pepper into a blender. Then follow up with peeled and sliced cucumber and some croutons that have sat in a mixture of water and vinegar to soften. Season with salt and pepper, then blend until your desired consistency.

Gazpacho is best when chilled for a few hours to let the flavors bloom. I typically make it a day before and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. To serve, add it to a bowl or glass (yep, you can drink it, too). Then, top with some chopped cucumber, tomato, and more croutons.