Cucumber Gazpacho

Spice up your summer with this easy cucumber gazpacho! Made with tomatillos, cucumber, jalapeño & cilantro, it's a cool, refreshing soup.

Green Cucumber Gazpacho

I love gazpacho. If it’s on a restaurant menu, I’m ordering it, and once summer rolls around, I make it at home as much as I can. To date, I’ve made gazpacho recipes out of watermelon, tomatoes (raw and roasted), corn, green apples, zucchini, and even carrots. I think it’s fun to experiment with different types of fruits and vegetables to find out if they can blend up into delicious cold soups. So why did it take me so long to think about tomatillos and cucumber?! I get giddy about tomatillo salsa, so the obvious next step was to throw a cucumber into the blender along with the otherwise-salsa ingredients and make this green cucumber gazpacho recipe.

Tomatillos and onion on a grill

How to Make Tomatillo Cucumber Gazpacho

To start, I grill the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and a jalapeño. If you don’t have a grill, you can roast these ingredients in the oven or char them in a cast iron pan on the stove. At this stage, the fire-roasted tomatillo/onion combination smells like the best salsa bar ever.

Cucumber, tomatillos, and onion in a blender Cucumber gazpacho ingredients in a blender

After grilling, let the hot vegetables cool completely before blending them with diced cucumber, lime juice, cilantro, and Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain. Add a scoop of yogurt for balance, and blend until smooth. Then, chill the soup.

When it’s cold, drizzle it with a simple yogurt-lime sauce and top it with your favorite crisp garnishes. This soup is tangy, creamy, light, and refreshing, with a nice kick from the jalapeño. All in all, I can’t think of a better meal for hot summer days!

Cucumber gazpacho recipe

Cucumber Gazpacho Serving Suggestions

Load up your cucumber gazpacho with whatever toppings you enjoy. I added charred corn, finely chopped tomatoes, cucumber, mint, hemp seeds, a sprinkle of microgreens, and, of course, more olive oil! Another delicious combo would be cilantro, diced avocado, and croutons (or even crispy tortilla strips).

Serve the gazpacho on its own with good crusty bread or corn on the cob, or pair it with Mexican street corn salad, cilantro lime rice, and black beans or chips, mango salsa, and guac. I also like it as a starter with any of these taco recipes:

And don’t forget the margaritas to drink!

Green Cucumber Gazpacho in a bowl

More Favorite Soup Recipes

If you love this cucumber gazpacho recipe, try one of these favorite soups next:

Or check out this post for my 25 top soup recipes!


4.9 from 12 reviews

Cucumber Gazpacho

 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
You'll love this tart, spicy cucumber gazpacho! I topped mine with charred corn, tomatoes, hemp seeds, and a yogurt drizzle, but cilantro, avocado, and tortilla strips would be excellent choices too.
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 pound tomatillos (8 medium)
  • ¼ white onion
  • 2 whole unwrapped garlic cloves
  • ¼ to ½ jalapeño pepper
  • ¼ cup Arbequina extra-virgin olive oil from Spain, more for drizzling
  • ½ English cucumber, chopped
  • ½ cup packed cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon honey or pure maple syrup
  • ¼ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
yogurt drizzle:
  • ¼ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • pinch of sea salt
garnish options:
  • extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • kernels from 1 ear of corn, lightly charred
  • 1 cup finely diced cucumber
  • ½ cup yellow cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • fresh herbs (mint or cilantro)
  • microgreens
  • 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
Instructions
  1. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. On a plate or small baking sheet, toss the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeño with drizzles of olive oil and a few pinches of sea salt. Wrap the garlic cloves in a piece of foil and place all the vegetables directly on the grill. Grill 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until the tomatillos are soft, charred, and just starting to burst, and the onion and jalapeño are charred and soft. Remove from the grill and unwrap the garlic. Let cool, then chill completely. (This step can be done in advance.)
  2. In a blender, combine the chilled tomatillos, onion, garlic, ¼ of the jalapeño pepper, ¼ cup of olive oil, cucumber, cilantro, lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, honey, and the yogurt. Blend until smooth. Season with more salt, if desired (I add ½ teaspoon). Taste and add the remaining jalapeño, if desired, for more spice. Chill the soup until ready to serve.
  3. Make the yogurt drizzle: In a small bowl, mix the yogurt, lime juice, water, and a pinch of sea salt.
  4. Serve the soup with the yogurt drizzle and any desired garnishes.

This post is in partnership with Olive Oils from Spain, thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep us cooking!

35 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Sara
    07.09.2023

    Can’t wait to make this. Is the cuke meant to be peeled?

  2. Patricia
    07.06.2022

    I deviated from original recipe, but felt compelled to give my comments just in case the same thing happens to someone else….As per one of the previous reviews, I subbed tomatillo salsa for the fresh roasted tomatillos (didn’t have any/couldn’t find at local store) and it was WAAAY too spicy. Ended up adding a full cucumber, more sour cream (subbed for yogurt), a few pieces of honeydew melon and half avocado to mellow it out. It was good, but I look forward to making the original soon.

  3. Kris
    06.29.2022

    Made this today, turned out pretty well. Not a fan of the yogurt dressing but that’s just a personal preference.

  4. Alyssa Crilley
    08.14.2021

    Delicious! Love your website!

  5. Vanessa
    07.07.2020

    Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.10.2020

      Hi Vanessa, it’ll keep well in the fridge for about 4 days.

  6. Suzanne
    07.07.2020

    This looks so good! What a great way to use a bunch of summer veggies at once!

  7. Kim
    07.21.2019

    Can this be made ahead of time and frozen? I have all these things right now in the garden, but I love being able to have extra for another time when I don’t!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.21.2019

      Hi Kim, I haven’t tried freezing this one – I think the cucumber might have a funny texture once frozen and thawed. Usually I freeze warm soups, I’ve not tried freezing gazpacho.

      • Penelope Carroll
        08.02.2022

        I have frozen cucumber yogurt soup and it did well

        Perhaps a slight bit more separated but not noticeable

  8. Amanda
    09.16.2018

    Any suggestions for a cilantro replacement? Otherwise this looks great, but I have that thing where cilantro tastes like soap.

    • Amanda
      03.08.2019

      Parsley works great as a cilantro substitute.

  9. Roz
    08.27.2018

    I just made this yesterday and left in the fridge overnight to do its thing. This was delish. I had for mid morning snack(drink) and for dinner. I only had jar of jalepanos so just poured juice in. I will without doubt be making this again. I loved the burnt taste from grilling the veggies amongst the cucumber.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.29.2018

      Hi Roz, I’m so happy you loved the recipe 🙂

  10. Ridhisha
    07.28.2018

    That was a perfect recipe. Thanks for sharing I will definitely try this at my home.

  11. Susan
    07.17.2018

    This was the perfect recipe for a hot and humid summer day. I made it for dinner and it was a big hit with my family! So refreshing and I thought it was a nice change from tomato gazpacho. I only used 1/4 of the jalapeño pepper so it wasn’t too spicy.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.18.2018

      Hi Susan, I’m so happy to hear that you and your family loved it!!

  12. sabrina from newkitchenlife.com
    07.14.2018

    the perfect summer recipe, thank you, jalapenos enhanced too, much appreciated

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.15.2018

      Hi Sabrina, you’re welcome! I love jalapeños so much 🙂

  13. Gaby Dalkin
    07.14.2018

    I’m obsessed with the color—prettiest gazpacho!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.15.2018

      Thanks Gaby!

  14. torrents
    07.12.2018

    It looks so yummy and tasty. I will try doing this tommorrow. Thanks for your nice recipe

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.15.2018

      I hope you love it!

  15. Liese
    07.12.2018

    This has been a great suggestion for today’s dinner. But since I didn’t have tomatillos and needed something now, I used tomatillo salsa and veggie stock that I made up a few days ago. I also don’t use yogurt so added a tablespoon of vegan which worked well. I really appreciate your creativity.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.13.2018

      Hi Liese, what a great idea to improvise with the salsa! I’ll have to try that next time I don’t have tomatillos 🙂

  16. Roberta
    07.12.2018

    I have no grill. I think that roasting in the oven will work. Is that the best way to grill the vegetable? Or would a hit iron skillet be better?

    I truly appreciate your delicious recipes for healthy food. Thanks.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.12.2018

      Hi Roberta, either works! You can roast them in the oven at 450° for around 15-20 minutes. Or you could char them on a cast iron skillet until the onions are charred and fully tender, and the tomatillos are bursting. Hope that helps!

  17. I immediately made a grocery list from these ingredients and will be serving after a long trail ride! Sounds delicious!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.15.2018

      Hope you enjoyed it!

  18. Marta Reyes
    07.12.2018

    Is it customary for the Spaniards to use jalapeños in their dishes?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.12.2018

      nope, but this isn’t a traditional gazpacho! The jalapaños are really delicious with the tomatillos 🙂

  19. Oh boy, I’m having a bit of a fan girl moment lol! My family and I are huge gazpacho fans and are always searching for new, delicious recipes. One of our favorites if the watermelon gazpacho from the Fig and Olive recipe book. All the ingredients you’ve included in this recipe seem to go so well together. Cucumber seems like the perfect fruit (it is a fruit right?!) for the summer because it’s so refreshing, light, and watery. I’m going to make this for my parents this Saturday – that’s my day to do the cooking. Always a nice treat for them 🙂

    http://www.beingisabella.com

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.15.2018

      Hi Isabella, I hope you enjoy it! I’m obsessed with watermelon gazpacho too – so refreshing! 🙂

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.