Real Spanish Gazpacho is refreshing, slightly acidic, and a tangy blend of delicious vegetables with an IMPORTANT ingredient.
This recipe was inspired by a trip I took to Spain in which I tasted the absolute BEST Gazpacho I’ve ever had in my life. The trip was to Southern Spain in the Andalusian region, and the town was Ronda. If you are venturing to this part of the World, you must visit Ronda. Out of the hundreds of European cities I’ve visited, this was by far the cleanest (I must also mention charming, picturesque, beautiful, and full of great restaurants). Here is a picture of me so flippin happy after tasting this gazpacho on a 100 degree + kind of day:
Of course the mojito in my hand also made me very happy, but that’s beside the point. This gazpacho. I wanted to bathe in it. We went back to the resort we were staying at, and I learned that real Spanish Gazpacho actually contains bread. Kind of weird, but this explained the slightly creamy texture. I watched a cooking demonstration, and learned the tricks to making this a delicious bowl of summer soup. Of course it took me a few tries to get it exactly right, and pretty darn close to that perfect day in Ronda. I am happy to share this recipe with the world in hopes that you all stop looking for the perfect Gazpacho recipe!
This is the perfect summer dinner my friends!! It includes these lovely vegetables:
It also includes some vinegar to give it a tangy kick. The soup is made in a blender, chilled to let the flavors meld, and served cold on a HOT HOT day. Which is exactly the kind of day I am sure you are experiencing right now. So what are you waiting for?!?!
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Real Spanish Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 2 lbs vine ripe tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 6 inch cucumber peeled and chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar or balsamic cream
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- Salt to taste
- Chunk of french bread about 3-4 inches, cut into pieces
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables by ensuring they are chopped into small pieces (the garlic can be minced) Add the to the blender.
- Begin to pulse. Slowly add oil and vinegars. Keep blending until smooth.
- Add cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper (if using).
- Finally, mix in small bread pieces.
- Keep blending until the soup no longer has chunks and is pretty smooth. It will look a little creamy like the in the picture above.
- Pour into a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours. The flavor gets better with time.
Recipe Notes
The soup will keep for about 5 days in the fridge, but is best within the first 48 hours.
Meg @ Noming thru Life says
July 10, 2015 at 6:25 amI love gazpacho! I am always excited to see other people’s renditions, and try different takes on it. So I’m definitely excited to have come across yous 🙂
amy@wholesomelicious.com says
July 10, 2015 at 3:22 pmThanks Meg! I love trying different Gazpachos too, but this one…… Oh my, it’s my favorite!
Patty says
June 2, 2016 at 1:29 pmHI. I just found your post and it looks fantastic, but I have never heard of balsamic cream. It sounds fascinating, how do you make it? Thank you, patty
amy@wholesomelicious.com says
June 2, 2016 at 5:10 pmHi Patty, balsamic cream is delicious. Not sure how to make it, but it can be found near the vinegar in many grocery stores. It’s a thicker version of balsamic vinegar, with a syrup quality. I buy mine from Trader Joe’s, hope that helps!
Patty store to make this recipe. Thanks again. Patty says
June 2, 2016 at 10:20 pmThank you for the quick reply. I will definitely look for balsamic cream at the store to make this recipe. Thank you again. Patty
NormaJean says
June 14, 2016 at 5:38 pmIs that really 1 cucumber or 6. When I imported into MyFitnessPal it came up as 6 cucumbers.
amy@wholesomelicious.com says
June 14, 2016 at 7:17 pm1 cucumber that is 6 inches long! A bit confusing 🙂
Joanne says
August 31, 2016 at 4:01 amLooking forward to making this soup. Can the recipe be doubled without a problem by just doubling all the ingredients?
amy@wholesomelicious.com says
August 31, 2016 at 4:11 amYes, no problem!
Rob Parr says
September 23, 2016 at 1:38 amYour recipe is awesome! My parents honeymooned in Spain in 1965 and Andalusian Gazpacho has been a cherished family favorite for 3 generations now. We are a family of gazpacho snobs and I shake my head at nearly every recipe I come across. My wife wanted to make gazpacho for me as a nice surprise but couldn’t put her hands to our family recipe and found yours. I must say yours is the only one I’ve ever seen that was even close and you nailed it!
*Note: As a recipe hack we will sometimes substitute onion and garlic croutons. Also on especially hot days we sometimes cut in small amounts of chicken broth.
amy@wholesomelicious.com says
September 23, 2016 at 2:51 amOh my goodness, totally made my night Rob!! Thank you!
Connie says
May 17, 2017 at 4:11 pmThis has become my go-to gazpacho recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it!
amy@wholesomelicious.com says
May 17, 2017 at 6:08 pmGreat Connie! So glad you like it!
robin says
May 31, 2017 at 1:28 amThis recipe looks amazing!!!!I was a bit concerned about the amount of olive oil it calls for since I’m dieting…..
amy@wholesomelicious.com says
May 31, 2017 at 3:42 amPlease don’t be concerned! I use avocado oil in most of my cooking and dressings, that can also be used in this recipe. Both avocado oil and olive oil should be a part of your healthy diet!!!!
Kelly says
June 25, 2017 at 3:58 pmWhat type of shrimp would be best served with this soup? Would it be chilled shrimp as well?
amy@wholesomelicious.com says
June 25, 2017 at 10:48 pmCocktail shrimp, baby shrimp, tiger shrimp all cold. You could also serve grilled shrimp along side. Hope that helps!
jennie says
July 16, 2017 at 6:02 pmI made this today and while it tasted ok, it was WAY too acidic – next time I would add far less vinegar. It looked nothing like the picture, it came out a muddy brownish colour. Also, I have a pretty large blender but the soup still would’nt all fit so I had to blend it in stages and combine at the end.
Anne says
October 1, 2017 at 11:27 amMy summer go to soup. Incredibly easy to make and very delicious
brienna says
June 18, 2018 at 1:37 pmHow do you get it to be dark red like the photo? Followed the recipe exactly with ripe tomatoes and it’s light pink…
Bonnie Girton says
August 17, 2018 at 3:02 pmDo you freeze this?
Amy says
August 17, 2018 at 10:12 pmI have not, but it could work!
Alison Hutchins says
August 5, 2019 at 10:44 amHello;(This is not all negative, please read all.) Your recipe looks good; I’m sure it i s. I lived in Spain and had gazpacho frequently. No one ever used balsamic vinegar or balsamic cream. True gazpacho is the insides of a loaf of French bread–day old, the vegetables, red vinegar and water. No cumin, no cayenne in true gazpacho, in my experience, ever.It is obvious you have a tremendous gift for creating recipes so I am sure I will find several to try. There are many recipes for gazpacho, many of them good. I only object to your recipe being called “real”, because it would not be made this way in Spain. I wish you even greater success!
Arantxa from Madrid says
January 26, 2020 at 5:00 amHello everybody! Greetings from Spain. Just a little advise if you want to make this spanish recipe properly…no cayene and no balsamic vinegar. This is not a spicy soup, so no cayene. And balsamic vinegar is italian, not spanish…
And one more thing, the bread must be two days old or so and it is better soaked in water or soaked in the tomato juices before hand. And the last advise is to put the soup through a strainer. Besides that, the recipe is really accurate. Congrats!