Very excited to bring you this heirloom tomato gazpacho! The most vibrant, refreshing summer soup that’s creamy, tangy, and full of bright flavor. It’s the easiest recipe that highlights summer produce at its best. I like to serve it with grilled bread for dipping. Perfect way to start any meal or even makes for a wonderful lunch.
heirloom tomato gazpacho – the details
A summer never goes by without a big batch of gazpacho being made in my kitchen! I’d say it’s sort of a quintessential summer recipe…truly the best way to enjoy tomatoes while they’re at their peak.
I’ve kept this recipe pretty classic, with flavors of garlic, shallot, and vinegar at the forefront and garden cucumbers & peppers rounding out the base of the soup. Everything gets combined with juicy tomatoes and sits at room temperature for about 30 minutes before blending. The key to a really creamy gazpacho is using a high-powered blender and blending for at least 90 seconds.
After the soup is blended, you’ll want to chill it so it’s nice and cold for serving.
What makes this gazpacho really special, though? The cherry tomato topping and side of grilled bread. The topping is a simple mix of sweet heirloom cherry tomatoes, scallions, chives, another splash of vinegar, and lots of black pepper. It adds this second layer of tomato goodness with every spoonful of gazpacho.
And the grilled bread? Very necessary in my book. Gazpacho can be fairly strong since it’s all raw vegetables and slightly acidic from the vinegar. I love balancing it out with smoky bread for dipping.
I also love adding LOTS of fresh garden basil. I’ve been adding basil to everything these days because it’s been growing like crazy in our little herb garden. It adds such fresh flavor and what could be better than the combo of tomatoes + basil?
Summertime in a bowl! Serve this alongside a big summer salad for lunch or maybe follow it up with these seared scallops for dinner.
PrintHeirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Grilled Bread
the most refreshing heirloom tomato gazpacho with garden basil and grilled bread
servings: 4-6
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber, seeded + roughly chopped
- 1 red pepper, stemmed + seeded + roughly chopped
- 2 lbs heirloom tomatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 8 large basil leaves, plus more to garnish
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ lb heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp minced chives
- flaky sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 6 (½”) slices crusty bread
Instructions
- Combine the chopped cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes, shallot, garlic, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Toss well and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Add the tomato mixture and basil to a blender. Blend as you stream in a ¼ cup of the olive oil until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Chill the gazpacho for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the cherry tomatoes, scallions, chives, remaining 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, and remaining ¼ cup of olive oil. Toss well and season with a pinch of flaky sea salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Let sit until ready to serve.
- Heat the grill over high heat. Drizzle the bread with a generous coating of olive oil. Season each side with a pinch of salt. Grill the bread for a couple of minutes until charred and crisp on both sides.
- Serve the gazpacho with the cherry tomato topping spooned over top. Garnish with more fresh basil, a pinch of flaky sea salt, and black pepper. Serve the grilled bread alongside.
shop the dish: heirloom tomato gazpacho with grilled bread
Wow! This recipe is a keeper. I used what I had, so modified topping (no scallions/chives, so used more garden basil) and used avocado oil since my olive oil was low. My heirlooms are super sweet so needed just an extra pinch of salt after blending, but even my picky dad went back for seconds. The little bit that is left is even better on day 2.
Is there a way to make gazpacho WITHOUT cucumber? I HATE the taste and can always tell it’s there 🙁 But this looks so good! Could I swap zucchini for it?
Hi Libbi! I think you could absolutely just omit it. Maybe add a couple more tomatoes just to keep the volume similar so that the other flavors aren’t too overpowering. Let me know if you give it a try!