This Spicy Tomato Gazpacho recipe is made in a blender, with simple ingredients and ready in 10 minutes. Cool, refreshing and perfect for hot summer days!
Soup + summer don't really go hand in hand, but today we're shaking things up and making it happen with this spicy tomato gazpacho recipe!
It's my new go-to recipe for lunch and dinner because it's a cinch to make (hello blender meals!), it's super flavorful, it checks all my soup boxes and it keeps well for at least a few days so I can come back to it over and over and over and over again.
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What is Gazpacho?
Gazpacho is a traditional Spanish dish that comes from the region called Andalusia in southern Spain. It's simply defined as a chilled soup made from blended vegetables, but most commonly it has a tomato base.
It's a really popular dish in both Spain and Portugal, especially during the summer months because both countries can be very hot and this soup is the perfect meal – it's cool, refreshing and requires no cooking.
My First Experience with Gazpacho
I've shared about my semester abroad here and there on the blog, but if you aren't familiar with the story, I'll just give you a quick overview. In the spring semester of my junior year at college, I moved to Alicante, Spain, which is a small(ish) city on the southeastern coast.
I lived with a host family who spoke no English and my “madre” (host mother) cooked all of our meals. That meant, we ate lots of traditional Spanish food!
She actually never made us gazpacho because it never got that hot while I was there, but towards the end of my stay my parents came and visited me and we traveled all across the southern part of the country.
That is when I had my first gazpacho and I was instantly hooked!
What Makes the Perfect Gazpacho
I'm sure there are varying opinions on this, but to me, the perfect gazpacho comes down to a few different things:
- Texture
- Flavor
- Ingredients
I want my gazpacho to have a smooth and creamy texture, I want the flavor to be bright and slightly acidic and I want the ingredients to be super fresh (which helps bring more flavor) and balanced.
How to Make Gazpacho
With that in mind, let's talk about how to actually make gazpacho!
Luckily, this is probably one of the easiest recipes on my entire website. If you've made a smoothie before, you can make gazpacho because everything is made in the blender!
You basically just cut up your veggies, toss them into a blender with some tomato sauce, vinegar, and herbs and blend it up until it's creamy. So simple and so tasty!
Our Spicy Twist on Tomato Gazpacho
I'm personally a BIG fan of spice, so I wanted to amp up the flavor with this recipe a bit by adding in some serrano pepper. Serrano peppers are the small, long green peppers and they're definitely hotter than jalapenos.
If you're not a fan of heat, which I know not everyone is, you can either leave out the serrano completely or swap it with a jalapeno or even just a green bell pepper.
Either way, your tomato gazpacho will still be delicious!
Now before I let you go whip this spicy gazpacho up, I gotta quickly tell you about the garnish!
Typically I'm a fan of totally creamy soups, but I felt like I wanted to give you the option to make it not creamy if you're more of a chunky soup person.
SO…here's what we did:
- Reserve part of your veggies before blending
- Chop them up into tiny little pieces (like a fresh salsa)
- Toss them all together with fresh herbs
Spicy Tomato Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 3 roma tomatoes
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 serrano pepper or jalapeño for less spice
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 2 cups canned tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup olive oil divided
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Juice of 1 lemon about 2 tablespoons
- 2 garlic cloves
Instructions
Quarter the tomatoes, peel and slice the cucumber, de-seed and quarter the pepper and cut the onion in half. Reserve 1 tomato, 2 slices of cucumber and 1/4 of the pepper.
Add the veggies that you have not set aside into a blender. Add the remaining ingredients, using just 3 tablespoons of the oil, and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Place in the fridge to chill.
Finely chop the rest of the ingredients and add them to a bowl. Toss in a few extra herbs (if you have them), the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
When ready to serve, pour the soup into bowls. Top with the "chopped" salad, a crack of fresh pepper and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Cut the tomatoes into quarters, setting 1 whole tomato aside. Add the rest to a blender. Peel the cucumber and cut into thick slices, setting 1 or two slices aside. Add the rest to the blender with the tomato. Remove the seeds from the pepper and cut into quarters, setting one quarter aside. Again, add the remainder to the blender. Chop the red onion into four pieces, setting one piece aside, and tossing the rest in the blender! Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender, reserving a bit of the fresh herbs and using just 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend on high until smooth, adding more water as needed. Place in the fridge while we make the garnish. Dice the reserved vegetables into small pieces and place in a bowl. Add the reserved herbs (or chop a few more if you forgot!) and the remaining olive oil. Stir together. When ready to serve the gazpacho, pour into four bowls. Top with the garnish, a bit of fresh pepper and chili flakes (if you want extra heat) and enjoy!
Alyssa is the quinoa-obsessed girl behind Simply Quinoa. She's passionate about helping you find health, happiness and balance with wholesome recipes and lifestyle tips.
Lupe says
Alyssa!-
I made this but first i roasted the tomatoes, chiles onion and added garlic and dude it turned out soo good! and since i wanted it cold i made it in the morning put in fridge and had it for dinner after work with some quinoa crackers! OMG it was delicious! And i’ve always wondered what gaspazo was hehehe.
Thank you! Keep up the great work girly!