This watermelon gazpacho recipe SO refreshing on hot summer days! The watermelon's subtle sweetness perfectly balances this cool, savory soup.
This watermelon gazpacho recipe is the perfect dish for hot summer days. In the past few weeks, I’ve gone from hot Austin to hot New York to hot Chicago. Now that I’m visiting my parents in Chicago’s west suburbs, I’m making this recipe as much as I can. I can’t think of anything as refreshing and hydrating as watermelon, so this cold soup really hits the spot. If it’s warm where you are, try it ASAP!
And just a heads up, this recipe makes a lot of watermelon gazpacho. It gets better as it chills, so I love to keep it in the fridge for quick lunches all week.
How to Make Watermelon Gazpacho
I always thought watermelon gazpacho seemed like an odd concept, but here’s the thing – when everything is mixed together, the soup doesn’t actually taste like watermelon. Tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, scallions, and herbs make it tangy and savory. Instead of making the soup sweet, the watermelon nicely balances these flavors. The final dish is rich, tangy, and complex – not too sweet at all.
When I make this recipe, I also add half a jalapeño for spice, but you can leave that out if you’re not into spicy things.
To make this recipe, combine all the cubed watermelon and half the tomatoes, cucumber, red bell pepper, and green onion in a blender. Finely dice the remaining veggies and set them aside.
To the blender, add the extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and jalapeño, if using. Puree the soup until it’s completely smooth. Then, transfer it to a large bowl or individual jars and stir in the reserved veggies. Chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight, to allow the flavors to develop. Enjoy!
Watermelon Gazpacho Serving Suggestions
When you’re ready to eat, top the chilled soup with garnishes. I love to add extra chopped veggies, avocado, and microgreens. A dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, minced basil or parsley, or a sprinkle of hemp seeds would also be delicious.
Enjoy the watermelon gazpacho on its own with good crusty bread, or pair it with a salad or sandwich for a larger meal. It would be fantastic with any of these recipes:
- Caprese Sandwich
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Avocado Toast
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
If I’m not in the mood for a sandwich or a salad, I often serve this soup with labneh, hummus, tzatziki, or baba ganoush and homemade pita for dipping.
More Favorite Cold Soups
If you love this watermelon gazpacho recipe, try one of these chilled soup recipes next:
And if you love watermelon, try making my Watermelon Salad with Feta and Lime Juice, Watermelon Tomato Salad, or Watermelon Margaritas next!
Watermelon Gazpacho
- 4 heaping cups cubed seedless watermelon
- 1 English cucumber, diced, reserve half
- 3 medium tomatoes, diced, reserve half
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced, reserve half
- â…“ cup chopped green onions, diced, reserve half
- 1 garlic clove
- small handful basil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ jalapeño pepper, optional
- diced avocado, optional
- micro greens, optional for garnish
- Set aside the reserved half of the chopped cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper and green onions and place the remaining half in a blender. Add the watermelon, garlic, basil, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and jalapeño pepper, if using. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Pour into a large bowl (or small individual jars, as pictured) and stir in the reserved chopped vegetables.
- Chill for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
- Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with diced avocado and/or micro greens, if desired, before serving.
Â
I made this for my boyfriend today for the third time in about 3 weeks. He literally moans all the way thru eating it. He had never had gazpacho before and he said this is one of the most amazing dishes he’s ever had. The only thing I do different is I blend everything because I prefer not to have a chunky gazpacho. I serve it by topping it with diced avocados & a drizzle of olive oil. So delicious!
I thought this looked like it would be just delightful, and it was. Thank you–such a nice summer soup.
Hi Kim! I’m so glad you loved it!
Can’t wait to try it! Perfect recipe for refreshment in summer . Thank you for sharing it ..
This is one of the most delicious gazpachos I’ve ever tried, Jeanine! Can I also use it as a salad dressing?
Hi Agness – I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This watermelon gazpacho looks refreshing, tasty and healthy…and the best part it only takes minutes! I’m definitely trying this recipe!
I made this delicious Gazpacho. So refreshing,and flavored full. Thank you for the recipe.
My vegetarian daughter will love this! We both love smoothies and this sounds like the perfect summer drink.
Hi, this is a great recipe! Thanks so much for sharing. I really love soups of all kinds, but I often have trouble finding new and different recipes like this one. I can’t wait to try it! One soup recipe I found recently that I really enjoyed was Creamy Dill Soup: http://bubbies.com/kitchen#Creamy-Dill-Soup. It’s delicious and not something I would have thought to have done!
What a wonderful idea! I would never have thought of a watermelon gazpacho. Can’t wait to try this.
Absolutely incredible. Perfect combination of summer flavors! I also made some croutons from a day old pain au levain and they were a delicious addition. Will definitely be making this again (probably this week!)
This soup looks so easy! I love ordering gazpacho, but have never made it myself. Yum!
We made it for dinner last night. It was tasty and refreshing. Thank you.
Made this yesterday – delish!!!
What a wonderful and beautiful mix of ingredients! And a great way to use extra watermelon!
I made this today and loved it! I’ll admit I didn’t follow the recipe proportions exactly, and added a little bit of cilantro (mostly stalks) because I had some left over. Mine ended up on the sweeter side (it was a sweet watermelon, but maybe I was too light handed with the salt?) but it was DELICIOUS nonetheless. Jalapeno is a must in my opinion. Thank you for sharing!
When does the watermelon get added? I’m midstream into the prep… 🙂
Into the blender with the tomatoes and other things — oops! Fixing that now…
This looks so fantastic!
I never thought about doing a watermelon gazpacho!
I have a pregnant friend that is craving everything with watermelons right now and we are having her shower this weekend in 105 degree weather, outside.
I’m making her this!
Ha, it sounds perfect, I hope you all enjoy!
Saw your post this morning….immediately headed to Whole Foods for my missing ingredients. It makes a big batch…about four quarts, but I think it will be gone quickly. I added a whole jalapeño and it is divine. I would definitely make this again. Thank you!
Yay, I’m so glad you liked it!
Thank you so much for this recipe – needed it real bad:-)
Holy shmoly! This looks incredible!
http://www.queenieslittlekingdom.com/2016/08/01/i-can-do-anything/
Tried this today and has turned out super tasty😄