Craving soup but don't feel like cooking? This tomato watermelon gazpacho makes a refreshing chilled soup to serve with all your favorite summer meals! It's a little bit sweet, spicy, and savory in every single bite!
Updated: This post was originally published in August 2021 and has been updated with new photos and additional content.
Gazpacho is a summer favorite for many, especially me! I agree that the traditional version with tomatoes is delicious but add in some watermelon to Spicy Watermelon Gazpacho and ooh mama, now that's delicious!
I love the blend of flavors in this refreshing, cold summer soup. And you can control the "spicy heat" of the soup with the type of peppers you use and the amount. My family tends to like things spicy so I always "bring on the heat" with lots of jalapeño!
Looking for other ways to use watermelon? I think you'll love this yellow watermelon salsa or a watermelon cosmo!
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💚 Why You Will Love Watermelon Gazpacho
- Perfect summer flavors. This gazpacho has a unique flavor from the blend of mint and basil.
- A delicious "make ahead" cold summer soup to enjoy as a summer appetizer or to bring along to a barbecue.
- A great way to cook in season using fresh summer produce.
- No cooking! If it's simply too hot to cook, this cold soup recipe makes a terrific alternative to add to meals reducing the amount of time you spend in a hot kitchen.
🛒 Ingredients
This watermelon tomato gazpacho recipe is prepared using mostly fresh ingredients along with a few pantry staples.
- Watermelon: Use a small seedless watermelon for less work but you can easily use a regular watermelon if that's all that is available.
- Garlic: Use fresh garlic for the best flavor.
- Red bell pepper: A bit sweeter than the green bell pepper which works better in this recipe. You could also use an orange or yellow pepper which have a similar flavor profile as the red.
- Cucumber: I prefer using a seedless cucumber to keep things simple but you can use a regular cucumber as well and scoop out the seeds with spoon.
- Shallot: Gives a mild onion flavor that works really well in making gazpacho where you really don't want a strong onion flavor.
- Tomato: A traditional component of gazpacho. It naturally has acidic components which work well to balance the sweetness of the watermelon.
- Herbs: Use fresh basil and mint. The combination of these two herbs gives the soup a fresh, bright, summery flavor.
- Jalapeño: For just a bit of spice in the topping which works great with the sweetness of the watermelon.
- Avocado: Diced for the topping. It adds a creaminess to the soup that works really well.
- Acid: Fresh lime juice and apple cider vinegar work to give the soup a delicious balance of flavor.
- Olive oil: Use high-quality olive oil for the best flavor.
PRO TIP: Use your leftover watermelon to make some homemade watermelon juice!
🌿 Substitutions and Variations
- Don't like it spicy? To reduce the heat a bit make sure to remove all the seeds and trim out the membrane on the jalapeno. If it's still too much you can leave it out or replace it with a bit of green bell pepper.
- Experiment with different kinds of vinegar. I like the mild flavor of apple cider vinegar, but you could also use champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Change up the color. Use yellow watermelon or yellow tomatoes in place of the traditional red!
✅ How to Make Watermelon Gazpacho
Making gazpacho is easy and a recipe any level cook will be able to prepare! It requires no cooking and simply a bit of chopping and blending. Let's get started!
- Prep all your ingredients. Peel and cube the watermelon. Roughly mince the garlic. Dice the red pepper, cucumber, and tomato. Chop the basil and mint. Place each of these ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Make the topping. Reserve about a tablespoon of the watermelon, red pepper, and tomato chopping them up into smaller pieces. Combine these with the jalapeno, avocado, green onions, and a half teaspoon of basil and mint.
- Place the watermelon, bell pepper, tomato, and shallots in a food processor and pulse a few times.
- Add the cucumber, garlic, salt, and pepper, along with the remaining basil, mint, and jalapeño. Pulse again until the veggies are blended but still chunky. Squeeze in half a lime and pulse once to blend.
- Pour the gazpacho mixture into a large measuring cup. Stir in the olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
- Adjust the salt and pepper to taste then refrigerate the soup for at least an hour before serving.
🍽️ How to Serve Gazpacho
- It makes the perfect summer hostess gift! Just fill a mason jar and wrap it with a bow.
- Top it with some croutons or a swirl of vegan cashew cream or sour cream.
- Serve it up as a starter or side dish for a summer meal with a black bean quinoa burger or vegan Italian sausage pasta.
- For a light lunch I love to enjoy it with a vegan Caesar salad or a vegan tuna salad sandwich.
🔪 Helpful Kitchen Gadgets and Tools
Since this recipe requires zero cooking you don't need much but here are a few tools I think make this recipe much easier.
You're definitely going to want to use a food processor in order to achieve the right texture for your watermelon gazpacho. You'll also want to have a sharp knife and cutting board for the initial chopping.
I also love using these glass mixing bowls and prep bowls for all the chopped vegetables and fruit. They are handy to use in the kitchen and since they stack easily they don't take up tons of room in the kitchen.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips and ❓FAQs
- Pulse in small bursts rather than running the food processor. The goal is to chop the veggies but you want to retain some of the texture and not process it until smooth.
- Let the gazpacho sit. Giving it at least an hour in the fridge lowers the temperature but also gives it time for all the flavors to come together.
- Make with seasonal veggies. This soup is really best when prepared using fresh, ripe, and in-season fruits and veggies.
- Watermelon gazpacho is best enjoyed within the first 24 hours but you can store leftovers for up to two days in the fridge.
Yes, you can! But really I find it much more difficult to keep it chunky. You will likely need to stop and start a bit to get the blender moving and make sure you also pulse the blender just like I've mentioned in the recipe when using a food processor.
It's traditionally served as a cold soup. It's made from blending fresh veggies together and isn't meant to be heated.
No, unfortunately you can't. The fresh veggies will take on quite a different texture after freezing that isn't that great. Gazpacho is meant to be served fresh.
🌎 Sustainability Suggestions
I strive to be zero-waste in my kitchen! Learning ways to waste less is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and may have the added benefit of lowering your grocery bill!
When making watermelon gazpacho or other watermelon recipes, don't throw away your watermelon rinds. There are actually ways to use them! Make a batch of pickled watermelon rinds for a tasty treat and great tasting addition to meals.
Composting is another way to turn your waste into something valuable! It's easier than you would think to get started composting at home. You can find lots more eco-friendly at TMF Resources -Zero Waste!
➕ More Soup Recipes
If you made this recipe, please leave a star 🌟 rating on the recipe card right below! You can also drop a review in the comment section. Your feedback is appreciated! And don’t forget to tag @themindfulfork so we can see your creations.
📖 Recipe
Spicy Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ small seedless watermelon (5-6 lbs) or ½ large watermelon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 red pepper
- 1 seedless cucumber
- 1 shallot
- 1 large tomato
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 1 handful fresh mint
- ½ - 1 jalapeño minced
- 1 avocado cubed
- 2 green onions chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ lime
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Gather the recipe ingredients. Prep each, starting with the watermelon: wash first, peel the outer skin, and cut into cubes. Place in a large measuring cup. Roughly mince the garlic.
- Dice the red pepper, cube the cucumber, and chop the tomato, basil, and mint. Place ingredients in separate bowls.
- For the topping: reserve approximately 1 tablespoon each (chopped a little finer): watermelon, red pepper, and tomato. Blend these together in a bowl with diced jalapeño, cubed avocado, diced green onions, and ½ teaspoon of chopped basil and mint.
- Place the watermelon cubes, peppers, tomato, and shallots in a food processor and pulse a few times.
- Add cucumber, garlic, salt & pepper, basil, mint and jalapeño.
- Pulse until blended but still chunky. Squeeze in ½ lime and pulse once to blend.
- Pour into a large measuring cup. Stir in olive oil & apple cider vinegar. Adjust salt & pepper to taste. Refrigerate until chilled for 1 hour or more.
- Serve in separate bowls and each served with toppings added. Enjoy!
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