Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho
Tomato watermelon gazpacho combines the sweetness of juicy watermelon with the savory depth of ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs, and cooling cucumber with a hint of spice. Cool down on hot summer days with this refreshing chilled soup.
Looking for more summer recipes? Try my dairy free Mexican street corn pasta salad, dairy free caprese flatbread, or burst cherry tomato pasta.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this tomato-watermelon gazpacho:
- Ripe tomatoes – make this soup during tomato season to ensure they’re extra sweet. You can use any tomato variety, such as cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, etc. or a combination of varieties.
- Watermelon – either seedless or remove the seeds before blending.
- Red bell pepper
- English cucumber
- Jalapeño pepper
- Fresh chives
- Fresh basil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Lime juice
- Smoked paprika
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to Make Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- Blend. Add all ingredients to a blender. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blend on high speed until creamy. You’ll likely need to do this is 2 batches depending on the size of your blender.
- Season to taste & chill. Transfer each batch of watermelon tomato gazpacho mixture to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Season to taste with more kosher salt, black pepper, or vinegar/lemon juice as needed. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. It’s best eaten when very cold.
- Serve. Garnish with the remaining tomato and cucumber. Top with minced chives and a drizzle of olive oil.
How to Choose A Ripe Watermelon
You want to pick a ripe watermelon because it won’t continue to get any sweeter. Here are a few indicators that it’s ripe:
- Gently thump or knock on the skin. If it sounds hollow inside, it’s ripe.
- It should feel nice and heavy for its size. Need a comparison? Pick up another similarly-sized watermelon beside it.
- Look for the field spot. This is the yellow patch on the rind of a watermelon that rested on the field as it grew. If the field spot is more white than yellow, it was picked too early and won’t be sweet enough.
Helpful Tips
- Use ripe, in-season tomatoes and watermelon for the best flavor. It makes all the difference.
- Use a high-speed blender for best results. A food processor can work, but it won’t get as smooth as it will in a blender.
- Fresh chives add a lovely, delicate onion/garlic flavor without the need to eat raw garlic or raw onion, which many people don’t enjoy (myself included).
Quick Tip: The flavors develop even more after they’ve had time to completely chill. So, it’s a great make-ahead meal!
Storage
Store this cold soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days. Stir before serving. Unfortunately, this recipe is not freezer-friendly and is best eaten fresh.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this tomato watermelon gazpacho recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No chives? – you can also use green onion (green tops only).
- No cucumber? – sub celery.
- No fresh basil? – fresh mint will also work.
- No red wine vinegar? – use sherry vinegar or white balsamic.
- No lemon juice? – you can also use lime juice or more red wine vinegar.
- Add-ins – red pepper flakes for extra heat.
Variations:
- Yellow watermelon gazpacho – use yellow watermelon and sungold tomatoes.
Serving Ideas
Serve it with crusty bread, crunchy croutons, or cheese and chive scones (dairy free). Basically something that’s crunchy and will offer some textural contrast against the blended soup.
More Soup Recipes
I hope you love this Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho! If you make this recipe, please leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ripe, red tomatoes (any variety), cut into chunks reserve 1 cup diced & deseeded for garnish
- 3 cups diced watermelon
- 1 small red bell pepper seeds & stem removed, cut into large chunks
- 1 cup diced English cucumber + 1 cup for garnish
- 1 small jalapeno pepper roughly chopped, omit if don't like spice
- ¼ cup fresh chives plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- diamond crystal kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Blend. Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend on high speed until creamy. Depending on the size of your blender, you'll likely need to do this in 2 batches.
- Season to taste & chill. Transfer each batch of watermelon tomato gazpacho mixture to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Season to taste with more kosher salt, black pepper, or vinegar/lemon juice as needed. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. It's best eaten when very cold.
- Serve. Garnish with the diced tomato (or watermelon) and cucumber. Top with minced chives and a drizzle of olive oil.
This is really delicious! I used lime juice as I was out of lemon. I used green onion green rather than chives. I would make this again. I used the jalapeño but removed the seeds.