Summer Gazpacho Salad
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A chunkier version of gazpacho, this summery salad is filled with juicy tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, and crunchy cucumbers.
Part soup, part salad—I honestly wasn’t sure what to call this dish! It has all the refreshing flavors of gazpacho, but it’s much chunkier than the classic soup. You’ll still need a bowl and spoon, though, because the dressing is so fresh and plentiful, you’ll want to drink it! Just be sure to make it at least an hour and a half ahead of time to let the flavors meld together. A big thanks to my friend Stacy Wilson for sharing this delicious recipe with me.
“I would give this more stars if I could…it was perfect.”
What You’ll Need to Make Gazpacho Salad
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by placing the diced onions in a small bowl and covering with cold water. Let the onions soak for 10 minutes, and then drain. This takes away their sharp edge and makes them much more palatable.
While the onions soak, cut the tomatoes in half through their “equator.” Holding each tomato half over a large mixing bowl, use a finger to scoop out the seeds and juices (those will make up part of the dressing). You can also gently squeeze the tomato half to push out the seeds.
Note: It may seem odd to juice and seed the tomatoes when you add them back to the salad anyway. The reason behind that is to preserve both. Otherwise, they tend to spill off the cutting board and make a mess (especially if you have very juicy tomatoes).
Remove the cores and dice the tomatoes.
Add to the bowl along with the remaining salad ingredients.
Toss well.
Chill the salad in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours to allow the flavors to marry. During this time, the vegetables will exude more juice so you’ll need to taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and more Tabasco before serving. Spoon the vegetables and dressing into bowls and serve with spoons.
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Summer Gazpacho Salad
A chunkier version of gazpacho, this summery salad is filled with juicy tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, and crunchy cucumbers.
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced red onion, from 1 small red onion
- 3 lbs tomatoes
- 1 English (or hothouse) cucumber, seeded and diced (no need to peel)
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, best quality
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, best quality
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (okay to substitute flat-leaf parsley)
Instructions
- Place the diced onions in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 10 minutes, then drain.
- Using a serrated knife, cut the tomatoes in half through their “equator.” Holding each tomato half over a large mixing bowl, use a finger to scoop out the seeds and juices (those will make up part of the dressing). You can also gently squeeze the tomato half to push out the seeds. Remove the cores and dice the tomatoes, then add it to the bowl with the tomato juices/seeds along with the drained onions and remaining salad ingredients. Toss well.
- Chill the salad the refrigerator for at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours to allow the flavors to marry. During this time, the vegetables will exude more juice so you'll need to taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and more Tabasco before serving, if necessary. Spoon the vegetables and dressing into bowls and serve cold with soup spoons.
- Note: It may seem odd to juice and seed the tomatoes when they end up as part of the salad anyway. The reason behind that is to preserve both. Otherwise, they tend to spill off the cutting board and make a mess (especially if you have very juicy tomatoes).
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: about 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 120
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 13 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 307 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Hi Jenn! Love your recipes! Can this recipe be made and served as a regular salad and not Gazpacho? Perhaps not chopping the veggies into such small pieces and not worrying about saving the tomato juices but using the same dressing?
Sure, that will work, but I would save the tomato juice for the dressing.
Hi Jenn,
I would like to try making this, but our local grocery store barely ever has any heirloom tomatoes…so I’m wondering if it’s possible to use any other tomatoes? Maybe cherry tomatoes cut in half? Or maybe Campari? Thanks Jenn!
Hi Turtle, Yes either will work well. Enjoy!
I made this with the cherry tomatoes I had (red & yellow) and it came out really good! I didn’t have the patience to cut up a million little tomatoes by hand so I ran them lightly through the food processor and it seemed to work well. Thanks for this delicious recipe!
I absolutely love this recipe, and have made it many times! Quick question, could I freeze this Gazpacho/salad/soup? I’m having a small dinner party, and would love to serve it, but if I could make it in advance, it would help a lot! Your thoughts???
Hi Susan, so glad you like it! Unfortunately, I don’t think it will freeze well – sorry!
I would give this more stars if I could. We had fresh heirloom tomatoes that were very very ripe. I made this salad and it was perfect. The flavors melded together so well, the balsamic vinegar gave it the tang in sweetness, The Tabasco sauce gave it a pop of heat, and all of vegetables Gave a burst of freshness in your mouth.
Only one word applies: Excellent!!! Thank you!!
Another delicious recipe! Since I discovered your website and cookbook, I find myself only using your recipes in my cooking. I served this gazpacho at my book club meeting and offered shrimp and diced avocado as a topping. It was delicious and looked beautiful. One lady wanted to know if I was a caterer. Had to tell her no, and then let her in on my best discovery ever: your website. I thought you were very clear in relating this is not a traditional gazpacho…more of a combo soup/salad. I could care less what the name is, it’s delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and knowledge.
So happy you enjoyed it, Sally. ❤️
It hasn’t even been an hour since I put this salad in the refrigerator, but couldn’t resist a taste. Delicious, perfect summer recipe! Cut the recipe in half as it is just for 2 of us. I used a bit less salt as I tend to do with most of Jen’s recipes (sorry Jen, raised in a low salt home and tend to find most recipes have too much salt for my liking; can always add when serving). I also used a bit less tabasco as husband doesn’t like spicy. Otherwise, followed exactly subbing garden cucumber for English. I was confused about removing the core from the tomatoes. I understand to remove the core, but didn’t know if that included all of the pulp and then just chop the shell of the tomato? Left about 1/3 of the pulp intact on the shell. Serving tonight with crab cake and shrimp.
Hi Vivian, hope you ended up enjoying the salad! Regarding removing the pulp from the tomatoes, the way that I suggest doing it is just to cut down on the potential mess that comes from cutting up the tomatoes. Ultimately, all the seeds and juice are added back in so it’s perfectly fine if you left some of that intact in the shell of the tomato. Hope that clarifies!
Hi Jenn,
What could I make to pair with this? I want to make it next week but I need a good protein to serve as well. Thanks!
I think it would be nice with something simple like this cedar planked salmon (or if you don’t feel like turning on the grill, this pan-seared salmon). These scallops would also work nicely. Hope you enjoy whatever you make!
Thanks for getting back to me! The trouble is, I’m already making a lot of seafood this week….would your rack of lamb recipe from the cookbook work here?
Definitely! That recipe is now on the blog as well.
I don’t see the part where you add the tomato juice/seeds back to the salad, or use it in the dressing.
(Love your recipes)
Hi Gigi, When you seed the tomatoes, the seeds go right into the bowl that you end up putting the remainder of the ingredients in, so you’re really not adding them back in; rather just including them. (I think the wording in the note about the seeds was a bit confusing so I’ve updated it.) Sorry for any confusion and hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen: What could I use instead of cucumber? Unless it’s pickled, raw cucumber upsets our tummies. Please let me know if there’s another veg that would work. Thanks! ~Kate
Hi Kate, I’d use more bell peppers (preferably yellow or orange) in place of the cucumber. Hope you enjoy it!
Hi Jenn – wondering if this can be made a day or two ahead or will it get too mushy? Thanks
Hi Merryl, You could stretch it to 8 – 10 hours, but beyond that, it really does get mushy. It’s certainly still edible, but no longer at its best. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn,
If you add the seeds and juices from the tomatoes back into the veggies, why remove them at all? I was expecting you to discard the seeds, pulp, juices.
Great question, Lou! It may seem odd to juice and seed the tomatoes when you add them back to the salad anyway. The reason behind that Is to preserve both. Otherwise, they tend to spill off the cutting board and make a mess (especially if you have very juicy tomatoes). Enjoy!
This is just Israeli chopped salad with the addition of tabasco! Gazpacho begins with bread, olive oil, salt and pepper, onion and garlic all blended together before adding the skinned and depipped tomatoes and iced water. No peppers! Then add vinegar to taste! My references? A husband raised in Gibraltar on the southern tip of Andalucia and my family who live in Israel.
I agree, no peppers. I am about to make traditional gazpacho with the addition of a can of cold comsomme. That from the NYTimes Bread and Soup Cookbook that I have been using since 1972. You can tell, the price was $12.50 🙂
I’ve made this 4 times this week now with the garden filling my counters, a big hit, I remember my mom making this for neighborhood bbqs. glad to have it back in my life again. I’m calorie counting and it doesn’t say how much is a serving
So glad you like this Deborah! I’d guesstimate that a serving size is approximately 1.5 cups. 🙂