Easy Peasy Cherry Tomato Gazpacho

Requiring just a quick blitz in the blender, this boldly flavorful, light yet filling, refreshing gazpacho is almost too easy! What’s more, it’s packed with antioxidants, oil-free, sugar-free, and refreshingly satisfying. Pair with a sandwich or salad for a simple, delicious summery dinner, or enjoy it on its own as a light lunch. Either way, its heartiness always seems to take us by surprise.

An overhead view of a bowl of gazpacho garnished with cilantro. The bowl sits on a plate on top of a cutting board sprinkled with cherry tomatoes and half a roma tomato.

Time continues to take my breath away with recurring realizations that it’s already time to turn the page on the calendar. F has been participating in a couple of ongoing weekly chess evenings, making meal planning both tricky and straightforward. Drive times necessitate a lot of portables—sandwiches and wraps—and quick-to-fix light bites, like this hero of a cool soup. Even on non-chess evenings, this blender beauty and a TLT (tofu, lettuce, tomato) or a chickpea salad sammie holds appeal almost any day. I love cooking immeasurably, but I also love a good shortcut, and isn’t time just the most precious commodity?

What’s in this gazpacho-inspired goodness?

While I don’t expect anyone would really confront me as to whether or not this qualifies as gazpacho, I suppose there’s room to acknowledge it as being “inspired by”. Some authentic versions incorporate bread. Most peel and seed tomatoes and cucumbers. Some aim to be silky smooth, others chunky. My priorities here (aside from reveling in the healthy raw radiance) are all about what’s easy.

Cherry tomatoes take center stage here, delivering a heavy dose of powerful antioxidant lycopene, which means a lot of love for your skin and heart. F insists on lots of cherry tomatoes in our raised beds (also pumpkins because of how fun they are in fall). This means we don’t get as much variety as I dream about, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s nothing like the sunripe juicy joy of homegrown tomatoes, especially ones so poppable! Cherry tomato seeds and skins are soft and mild enough you don’t have to worry about not peeling or seeding. If you’re craving a souper smooth consistency, however, you may want to pour through a fine sieve before serving. When we don’t have our own cherry tomato abundance, though, I have no problem swapping in fresh roma or other tomatoes (but in this case I’ll scoop out the seeds/inner core) or canned.

English cucumbers provide a crisp, ultra-hydrating base packed with vitamins K and C. Big happy bonus, you don’t have to peel or seed these, either!

In addition, the medley of bell peppers and red onions lends some crisp, fresh crunch alongside immune-supporting vitamin C and anti-inflammatory flavonoids. Finally, the small but powerful aromatic duo of freshly plucked basil and a pungent clove of garlic brings the flavor alive while quietly offering natural antibacterial and heart-healthy benefits. The result is more than a chilled summer soup— it’s basically wellness in a bowl.

Shakespeare penned that a “rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, but even as the message wasn’t intended ironically, we all know the names Capulet and Montague had tragic impact. While I know this sunshiny brightness would be as welcome to my taste buds regardless of its name, something about the word gazpacho adds an extra kind of allure, doesn’t it? I can’t say for sure, but I think just a bit of lustre would be lost if we called it a Veggie Smoothie, homemade V8, or even Spanish Tomato Soup.

Whatever you plate on your table, I hope you gift yourself some kind words for putting it there. It’s well known, words have power. Let’s allow ourselves some space to step back and be dazzled by them. Drift away on the shimmer and sheen of their poetry. Let them be a rally cry, the kind that instills confidence and ignites passion to do better. Embrace with every warm shade of tenderness they hold. xo

Easy Cherry Tomato Gazpacho

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Yield: 6

Author: Wendy McMillan

Prep time: 12 MinTotal time: 12 Min

Requiring just a quick blitz in the blender, this boldly flavorful, light yet filling, refreshing gazpacho is almost too easy!

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 Cups fresh cherry tomatoes (you can also use a 28-ounce can of diced)
• 1/2 Cup red onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, any color, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 an English cucumber, chopped (no need to peel!)
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 1/4 Cup fresh basil, more for garnish
• 1/4 Cup red wine vinegar
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Optional garnish: additional basil and/or cilantro

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and process to combine. You can leave it on the chunky side, keep processing until smooth (and pour through a sieve if desired), or pour out roughly half the mixture into another container before continuing to process the remainder for a happy medium.
2. Transfer to a container to chill until ready to serve. Garnish with extra basil and cilantro as desired.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

48

Fat

1 g

Sat. Fat

0 g

Carbs

9 g

Fiber

2 g

Net carbs

7 g

Sugar

5 g

Protein

2 g

Sodium

123 mg

Cholesterol

0 mg