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Watermelon Gazpacho

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Watermelon Gazpacho

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This watermelon gazpacho is adapted from Juice Manifesto by Andrew Cooper (Chronicle Books, 2016)

Pitcher and bowls of watermelon gazpacho.

This watermelon gazpacho is a fun twist on the Spanish cold soup comes from one of my favorite new cookbook finds, Juice Manifesto: More than 120 Flavor-Packed Juices, Smoothies and Healthful Meals for the Whole Family by Andrew Cooper (Chronicle Books, 2016). Andrew is the co-founder of the Juiceman line of juices, but you might recall him as the lawn-mowing heartthrob from the viral “Diet Coke guy” commercial. (I know I remember him from that ?.)

His book is chockfull of healthy, easy recipes for juices, smoothies, snacks, and more that make you want to clean out your pantry and eat healthfully forever. About this recipe, he writes, “I love gazpacho – this is a bit of a different take on it, but it works really nicely. The ginger and chile give it a bit of a kick, but you can put in as little or as much as you like.” For what it’s worth, I add even more; I love how the spice plays off the sweetness of the watermelon and acidity of the lime.

What you’ll need To Make Watermelon Gazpacho

Gazpacho ingredients including apple cider vinegar, ginger, and lime.

How To Make Watermelon Gazpacho

To begin, set aside 3-4 cubes of watermelon, a couple of celery pieces, and a few leaves of basil to use as a garnish for the soup.

Fruits and vegetables in a blender.

Put the remaining ingredients into a blender (if you run out of room, blend the vegetables for a few seconds to make more space for the other ingredients). Then pulse until it reaches a soup-like consistency.

Watermelon Gazpacho in a blender.

Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, then chill the gazpacho in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Serve in bowls or glasses topped with finely chopped watermelon, celery and basil. For more delicious gazpacho recipes, check out my roasted garlic gazpacho or golden gazpacho.

Pitcher and bowls of watermelon gazpacho.

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Watermelon Gazpacho

This watermelon gazpacho is adapted from Juice Manifesto by Andrew Cooper (Chronicle Books, 2016)

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 15 Minutes, plus 2 to 3 hours to chill

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cubed watermelon (1-inch cubes)
  • 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
  • 3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • ½ English/hothouse cucumber, roughly chopped
  • 2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped
  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (see note)
  • ½ a red chile pepper
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • Handful fresh basil leaves
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  1. Set aside 3-4 cubes of watermelon, a couple of celery pieces, and a few leaves of basil to use as a garnish for the soup.
  2. Put the remaining ingredients into a blender (if you run out of room, blend the vegetables for a few seconds to make more space for the other ingredients). Pulse until it reaches a soup-like consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Chill in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Finely chop the reserved watermelon, celery and basil. Pour the gazpacho into bowls or glasses and top with garnishes.
  3. Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
  4. Note: If you touch the seeds of the chile pepper, just be sure to wash your hands well and avoid touching your eyes.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (4 servings)
  • Calories: 90
  • Fat: 1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 20 g
  • Sugar: 14 g
  • Fiber: 4 g
  • Protein: 3 g
  • Sodium: 31 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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Comments

  • What a refreshing summer soup and a great way to use watermelon when you buy a whole one.
    Like all Jen’s recipes, it’s great as is and lends itself to personal taste variations. I used a quarter of a poblano pepper instead of a red chili to tame the heat for a breast feeding mother and it was perfect with a little after taste tingle. All the flavors shine – the refreshing cucumber, the ripe tomatoes, the peppers (I used one red and one orange pepper) are sweet and the ginger gives it just the right zing and all with the underlying sweetness of ripe juicy watermelon. I forgot to add the apple cider vinegar but the gazpacho was so good on its own that it didn’t need it. I added shredded fresh mint to the garnish along with the basil and cucumber and watermelon. It was so easy to prepare and just gets better when the flavors meld, it makes just the right amount (most gazpacho recipes tend to be made in bigger batches that I can never finish before the soup tastes old).

    • — Marilyn on July 15, 2022
    • Reply
  • This is a wonderful recipe. Can this be frozen ?
    Jasmine

    • Glad you like it. 🙂
      Unfortunately, I don’t think it will freeze well — sorry!

  • Wonderful summer soup. I have made this recipe a half dozen times in the last month. Usually I have to double the recipe so that it lasts more than a day. The proportions are perfect. I grow Serrano peppers so I tend to use them instead of other peppers. Serranos work beautifully in this recipe. Thank you, Jenn. Another 5 star recipe!

  • This was very good and unlike the usual gazpacho I make. I did add a clove of garlic and used sherry vinegar instead of the apple cider vinegar. The ginger almost overpowered the other flavors, so I will leave it out next time even though I love ginger. Overall a good recipe and the first time I’ve made gazpacho with watermelon.

  • Any idea how this would work substituting either honeydew, cantaloupe, or mango for the watermelon? Thank you.

    • Carolyn, I think any of those would work nicely without any additional changes. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it! 🙂

  • Delicious!

  • This is some good soup! I added a shallot, used half sweet half thai basil, and instead of a chili pepper, I used Gochujang (Koren fermented hot chili paste). Love it!!

  • Hi! Can I use dry chili red pepper instead?

    Thanks!

    • Sure, Selma.

  • My guests and I love it. Wouldn’t change a thing.

  • This was the best gazpacho I’ve ever made! I loved the addition of the ginger and the red pepper. It added a nice slightly spicy, extra heat flavor to the watermelon and tomatoes. I used red wine vinegar instead of apple cider and it was fine. Thanks for another terrific, flavorful, easy recipe Jen!

  • This is easy and wonderful. My blender couldn’t handle all the ingredients, so I switched to my food processor. Perfect! This is the best gazpacho I’ve ever had. Thank you, Jenn!

  • What vegetarian main dish could you make with this (but not pizza)?

  • Do you think this could be done in a food processor?

    • Sure, Maggie, that should work. Enjoy!

  • This is a really easy soup once the chopping is done. Excellent naturally sweet except I screwed up by using 1/2 of a Serrano Chili Pepper (Seeded). The end result was hellishly hot, in fact almost inedible. I’ve never made Gazpacho without blanching the skin of the Tomatoes.There was no Worcestershire sauce, but it came together and I will try again. You might describe the chili in a bit more detail. But next time I will use a lesser heat chili or perhaps none at all.

  • Loved this soup. Delicous. Instead sof hot peppers I put a few shakes of Sriracha. Will make it again soon. Thanks for all your Delicous receipes.

    • — Elizabeth pereira
    • Reply
  • Hi! This was wonderful! So perfect before true tomato season in the northeast when I live to make tomato gazpacho!
    Question. My husband is allergic to raw celery! So crazy but true. Is there a substitute you could recommend? I was thinking raw fennel?
    Thank you; and I love your newsletter. I make everything and try very hard to give you the credit…..

    • Glad you liked it, Maureen! I’d recommend fennel (as you suggested), jicama or water chestnuts. All three are mild tasting and you’ll still get the crunch in the garnish.

  • I tried this recipe in Ramazan this time and people requested me to make this one on Eid too. This is so great and beautiful. Everyone loves it.

  • Could you freeze this?

    • Hi Nan, Unfortunately, I don’t think this soup would freeze well. Sorry!

  • Do you know what variety of pepper you used?

    • Hi Judy, I believe it was a jalapeno. (It was not terribly spicy.) Hope you enjoy!

  • I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious!!! Super easy and low calorie too. As a bonus Weight Watchers 0 points!

  • Love watermelon gazpacho but have had really poor luck with other recipes. This one seems more promising. But I am curious, about making over 4th of July at our family’s cabin which has limited electrical voltage/ampacity(?). Do you think a high powered blender is a must with this or would a lower powered immersion blender be alright? ( I’m ok with a chunkier result. )

    • Hi Maria, I definitely think you could get away with an immersion blender for this recipe – this gazpacho is good with a little texture.

  • I would love to try this, but my daughter is allergic to apples and therefore I can not use apple cider vinegar. What could I use as a substitute? Thank you!

    • Hi Kim, White/red wine vinegar or rice vinegar would all work well.

  • Hi Jen! Do you think the gazpacho would still be okay after ~10 hours before eating (like if I made it before work and had it for dinner), or should it be eaten within 3-4 hours? Thanks in advance!

    • Hi Christi, I think it’d still be okay after about 10 hours – you’ll just need to stir it well.

      • This was great. We had leftovers the next day and surprisingly it didn’t need stirring. The flavor was even better the next day too.

        • Good to know, Dianne– Thanks!

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