Best Gazpacho Recipe

I’ve been making this gazpacho for years, and it’s the one recipe I come back to every summer. Some Spanish friends with very strong opinions on Spanish food have told me it’s the best gazpacho they’ve ever eaten, which is still the highest compliment I’ve received for any recipe on this site. The technique is a little different from most, and that difference is everything.

The technique that makes this gazpacho different

Most gazpacho recipes ask you to blend raw vegetables and call it done. This one is adapted from J. Kenji López-Alt’s Andalusian gazpacho, with a couple of changes I landed on through my own testing. It adds two steps that completely change the result. First, you toss the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, garlic, and jalapeño with salt and let them sit for 45 minutes. The salt draws out the vegetables’ liquid, concentrating their flavor before you blend anything. Then you freeze the vegetables briefly, just until partially frozen, and let them thaw completely.

Here’s what that freeze-thaw cycle actually does: ice crystals form inside the vegetable cells and rupture them from the inside out. When they thaw, they release far more liquid than salting alone would produce, and that liquid is intensely flavourful. The final soup is smoother, more vibrant, and tastes more like a distillation of ripe summer vegetables than anything you’d get from just blending them raw. It’s worth the extra time.

Why I skip the bread

Traditional Andalusian gazpacho typically includes soaked bread, which adds body and a slightly creamy texture. I skip it entirely and use extra-virgin olive oil instead. I’ve made both versions side by side, and the bread version is marginally creamier, but the olive oil version tastes noticeably brighter and fresher. The olive oil also creates a different kind of richness, silkier and more flavourful than the slightly starchy creaminess bread produces. If you want to try the traditional version, soak a slice of white bread in the reserved vegetable liquid before blending.

The halloumi

Serving cold gazpacho with hot, golden fried halloumi is one of my favorite combinations in this recipe. The temperature contrast alone makes it feel special, and the salty, squeaky halloumi is the perfect counterpoint to the bright, acidic soup. If you’re serving this as a starter, skip the halloumi and finish with a good drizzle of olive oil and some chives. If it’s the main event, make the halloumi.

Two more summer soups you might also enjoy are my watermelon gazpacho and my sweet corn gazpacho.

Make ahead and freeze

Gazpacho is one of the best make-ahead recipes I know. It keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days, and I find it tastes even better the next day, once everything has had time to settle and meld. I store it in mason jars and give them a good shake before pouring. It also freezes beautifully for up to 6 months.

A note on vinegar: Sherry vinegar is what gives this gazpacho its distinctive depth. It’s earthier and more complex than red or white wine vinegar, and it’s what most Andalusian versions use. If you can’t find it, champagne vinegar is the closest substitute for brightness and acidity. Red wine vinegar works in a pinch but adds a slightly sharper flavor.

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Best Gazpacho Recipe

Prep: 1 hour hr

Freeze Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 0 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

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This is the gazpacho I make every summer, built around a salt-and-freeze technique that draws out every bit of flavour from ripe tomatoes and garden vegetables before they ever hit the blender. No bread in the base, just olive oil for richness, which keeps it tasting bright and fresh rather than starchy. Some Spanish friends with strong opinions on Spanish food have told me it's the best gazpacho they've ever eaten.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 3 lbs ripe tomatoes (cored and cut into chunks)
• ▢ 8 ounces English cucumber (about 1, cut into chunks)
• ▢ 5 ounces red bell pepper (about 1, cut into chunks)
• ▢ 5 ounces red onion (about ½, cut into chunks)
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic (peeled and smashed)
• ▢ 1 jalapeño pepper (cored, seeded, and cut into chunks)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for serving)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (plus more for serving)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons finely minced chives

Fried Halloumi

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 8 ounces halloumi cheese (cut into large cubes)

Instructions 

• Put the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, garlic, and jalapeño into a large bowl. Toss the veggies with the salt then let them sit on your counter for 45 minutes. This step releases the liquid from the vegetables.
  3 lbs ripe tomatoes, 8 ounces English cucumber, 5 ounces red bell pepper, 5 ounces red onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 jalapeño pepper, 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  
• Separate the vegetables from the liquid, reserving the liquid. Place the vegetables on a parchment paper-lined tray and place them into your freezer for at least 30 minutes, or until they are partially frozen. This step may take longer depending on your freezer.
  
• Remove the tray from the freezer and let the vegetables thaw completely.
  
• Combine the thawed veggies and any juice that accumulated on the tray, the reserved juice, olive oil, sherry vinegar, and black pepper into your blender. (If you have a smaller blender, combine everything into a large bowl then work in batches to blend the soup. Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately or chill for up to 3 days.
  1 ¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, 1 teaspoon black pepper
  
• Serve with extra olive oil and a sprinkle of chives, black pepper, and fried halloumi (see below) over top.
  2 tablespoons finely minced chives
  

Fried Halloumi

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the halloumi and cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes. Once it's golden on the bottom, turn the pieces over and cook for 2 minutes more.
  1 tablespoon olive oil, 8 ounces halloumi cheese
  
• Top the gazpacho with the fried halloumi and serve immediately.
  

Video

Notes

You can make this up to step 2 in advance. Just allow more time for the veggies to thaw as they will be quite frozen. Also, if you are going to freeze this for more than a day you will also want to freeze the juice separately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cup, Calories: 453kcal (23%), Carbohydrates: 11g (4%), Protein: 8g (16%), Fat: 43g (66%), Saturated Fat: 10g (63%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 28g, Sodium: 933mg (41%), Potassium: 516mg (15%), Fiber: 3g (13%), Sugar: 7g (8%), Vitamin A: 2003IU (40%), Vitamin C: 48mg (58%), Calcium: 314mg (31%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

© Author Kristen Stevens

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.

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