If you’ve never had gazpacho before, it’s basically a soup for people who, like me, would like nothing more than to eat salsa with a spoon. Okay, maybe that’s just my definition of it, but you get the idea. Lots of yummy vegetables puréed into a deliciously fresh soup.
There are red gazpachos and green gazpachos and about a million ways to make each one. This is my second go at green gazpacho this week and I think I hit the nail on the head this time. My first attempt used bread to add body and a little buttermilk to brighten things up. It was just “meh.” This version uses avocado to add body and a little lemon juice to brighten things up, and it’s much better (gluten free and vegan, too!). This cold soup is fresh, light, and 100% summer. Love it!
The other reason I love this soup is because it takes advantage of the fresh, inexpensive produce of summer. People who have gardens often have an abundance of cucumber and bell pepper in particular, so try to befriend someone with a green thumb. Promise to make them some of this yummy soup in exchange for some of their extra produce! ;D If you can’t find any freebies, all of these ingredients are usually fairly inexpensive in the summertime, so you can eat this gazpacho to your heart’s content.
Let it chill in the fridge and then serve it along side your favorite grilled meats or vegetables and add a big chunk of crusty bread for dipping. That right there, my friends, is what I call a meal!
Have I mentioned how much I love summer?
Green Gazpacho
Green Gazpacho
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 medium cucumbers ($1.00)
- 1 medium white onion ($0.81)
- 1 medium green bell pepper ($0.50)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1 medium avocado ($1.19)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley ($0.19)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.19)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.06)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
Instructions
- Remove the ends from the cucumber and slice it in half lengthwise. Scrape the seeds out with a spoon and then chop the cucumber into chunks. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and also cut it into chunks. Dice the onion. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and garlic (peeled) to a food processor. Process until the vegetables are minced.
- Pull the leaves from about 1/4 of the parsley and cilantro bunches. Add the leaves to the food processor along with the olive oil and the flesh from the avocado. Purée until smooth.
- Add the water, one tablespoon of lemon juice, and one teaspoon of salt. Purée until smooth again. Taste the soup and adjust the salt or lemon juice if desired.
- Serve immediately or chill until ready to eat.
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Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
This is the fresh produce that I used… I got a great deal on everything because just about all of it is in season right now. Cucumbers and bell peppers were both 2/$1. Parsley and cilantro are pretty inexpensive year round – they were $0.75/bunch today. Vidalia onions would also be great in place of the white onion.
You’ll want to remove the cucumber seeds as they won’t blend up well in the soup. Just slice the cucumber in half and then scrape them out with a spoon. I did not remove the skin of the cucumbers. Chop the cucumbers into small chunks before adding to the food processor.
Also chop the bell pepper and onion. You can add the garlic whole (but peeled). The processor was pretty much full at this point, so I processed until the vegetables were minced, just to make room for more ingredients.
Just a preliminary mincing of the veggies…
Next, add a handful (or about 1/4 bunch) of each parsley and cilantro. Scoop the avocado flesh from the skin and add it as well. I also added the olive oil at this point. The avocado makes it creamy and adds body. If you don’t add it the soup will just be a bunch of vegetable fiber floating around in juice… not nearly as cohesive (or appetizing).
The soup is almost done at this point, but it definitely needs a little sprucing up. I added a little lemon juice for brightness and just a little salt to help the flavors pop. I also added a cup of water to help it blend into a smoother texture and make it more soup-like.
See? Much smoother now… and DELICIOUS! Make sure to taste it and give it some adjustments. The amount of salt and lemon juice you will need will depend greatly on the size and flavor of your vegetables. They’re quite variable, so each batch will probably need some tweaking.
Yesss… dip some sour dough or focaccia bread in there. Mmmm.
Gorgeous!
Hi Beth,
This recipe looks delicious. For those of us that really dislike cilantro, would there be another herb that you’d recommend? Basil, maybe?
Thanks!
A.
Yep, you’re spot on! I think basil would be the best option.
Beth,
I made this last night and it was delicious! I absolutely LOVE your blog and make recipes from it regularly!
Planning on having the Green Gazpacho leftovers with your Lemony Couscous tonight for dinner!
Thanks again,
Jessica
just made today…..my summer soup for sure!
Hi Beth! Long time follower/fan but first time commenter here. I have never had gazpacho but I’m dying to give this a try since I’ve got a lot of cucumbers hanging around right now. My problem is I don’t own a food processor. I do have a blender though, do you have any tips on how I could adapt the recipe to suit that? Any help would be great. Thanks!
Sure! The only change you’ll need to make is adding the water in with the vegetables in the first step. If there isn’t any liquid in there, the blender won’t go (whereas a food processor would). You might have a little trouble fitting it all in the blender at first, so you can add the vegetables in stages, if needed. I hope it works out for you!
p.s. I’ve made red gazpacho in a blender, so it should work!
Thank you so much for the advice Beth! I’m going to buy the rest of the ingredients this weekend and give it a try. I’ll come back and rate the recipe as I’m sure I’ll have great results. :D
I just made this tonight in a blender using Beth’s advice. Water was the very first thing I put in there and then I added the vegetables in stages. The content at the bottom wasn’t pureed enough when I poured it out. Depending how big your blender is, I would recommend doing it in two batches.
Love the suggestion in the comments about adding a jalapeno for heat. Going to try that next time!
Before switching to a higher end blender, I always had to do soups in two batches to get equal consistency. Even if all the ingredients do fit, it might be a good idea to split it in two unless you have something like a Breville, Blendtec, or Vita (which I will say are worth investing in IF you blend regularly…or daily like me)!
I made this last night and it turned out great! I added a jalapeno for some heat and a little more lemon juice and olive oil. It really is a great warm weather recipe. I will definitely be making it again.
Made this twice since you posted it…yum! Thank you!
I made this just today and it is fantastic!! I’ve never made gazpacho before, and was a little skeptical tasting it along the way (although the vegetables were very refreshing on their own).. however, when adding the salt and lemon juice in the end to tie everything together it turned out perfectly!! Thank you so much for the recipe.. I feel so healthy eating it yet it is soo good! I didn’t think the two could exist! haha
MANY recipes use bell pepper however my husband can’t / won’t eat it and can tell when I try to “hide” it :) Is there anything to substitute for the peppers?
You don’t necessarily have to replace it. I’ve seen green gazpacho recipes with a whole host of different vegetables. You can add spinach, lettuce, jalapenos, any old thing you’d like, or just leave the bell pepper out :)
This looks delicious, can’t wait to make it
Oh wait, I think the wagon Wheel pasta was used in your grilled vegetable pasta salad… My question is, do you have a ranch pasta salad or I’ve imagined it hehehe? :)
I think the wagon wheel pasta was in a ranch pasta salad… I might be able to re-up load that today. I just have to find it :)
*sigh* well, I found the folder for that recipe with all of the files and it looks like I just happened to forget to save an HTML file for that post :( So, I won’t be able to restore it. I might remake the recipe in the future, though.
No biggy, I just saw your breakfast bowls and I’m dancing in my kitchen ’cause I’m gonna make these!!!!
Looks yum, I have never tried a green gazpacho!
Say Beth, I have been looking for your ranch pasta salad (I think you were using wagon wheel pastas), and I can’t find it anywhere with your new website… was it lost during the process?
I’ve actually never made gazpacho, but I think I’m going to have to try it now. My dad’s not the most adventurous eater, so I’ll probably have to make it for lunch one day. Dinners always have to appease the meat-eater. -:P This sounds really refreshing, though.
If I may ask, what kind of food processor do you own? I’m in the market for one and could use advice. The Magic Bullet just isn’t cutting it anymore … literally. -;P
Man, you always have the prettiest dishes. Love those bowls.
This is the food processor that I have: Hamilton Beach 70760 10 Cup Food Processor. It’s very inexpensive compared to most, but it works great! I use it for hummus all the time (and now gazpacho!). The bowls are my fav – they’re from World Market.
Thanks for responding. I know you must have answered that question a ton of times in the past. I appreciate it. -:)
World Market? Ah, now there’s a place I could spend a fortune at. Very nice.
This looks super yummy. It’s winter here in Australia though so will have to wait til summer to enjoy it :)
This looks awesome!! I just updated my grocery list. The perfect soup for hot West Texas weather (we hit 108 degrees earlier this week). Gazpacho is a summer staple. :)
Fresh! Sounds like a good way to detox.