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I can not tell you how much I love gazpacho. I’m sure you are familiar with the ever-popular and seasonally-delicious recipes for gazpacho soup.
But, you know what? I think I love gazpacho in it’s chunkier form. What’s a chunky gazpacho, then?
It’s a salad! Not a soup.
What’s so great about it?
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For me, it’s the combination of all the crunchy and refreshing vegetables that blend together so well.
I especially enjoy the simple dressing that I’ll share with you below that adds another layer of flavor and is soooooo simple to make.
The texture of the vegetables that are paired together in this recipe is one of the keys to bringing this dish to life.
The ingredients are really no different than in a classic gazpacho soup, but I like them together even more in a salad!
It’s a healthy, light, low-carb salad course that is a great prelude to any summer meal.
I chose to make this recipe as a salad because I recently shared my favorite chilled soup recipe, Cool as a Cucumber Soup, which I love.
And I didn’t want to do another chilled soup recipe.
I still think these mostly-typical gazpacho ingredients work together better in a salad.
And just wait until you taste the dressing that accompanies this salad. You will, literally, put it on EVERY SALAD YOU EAT.
Okay, maybe not EVERY salad. You probably like some variety in your food choices.
I, on the other hand, can become a little obsessive over my latest recipe.
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At least until my wife tells me to cool it!
Usually, at this point (after my little rant), I like to say: Now Let’s Get Cooking!
But we really aren’t going to cook this chilled gazpacho salad…
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So I’m really not sure what to say to kick off this recipe. Now Let’s Get Salad Making!
Nah…just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Either way, this is one I’m sure you’ll enjoy so let’s just get started!
Servings: 6 side-dishes or 4 main courses (yes, you can have this salad as a main course)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 2 hours (I really have a hard time waiting the full 2 hours whenever I prepare this dish, but serving this salad cold really brings out the crunchiness. So you should wait the 2 hours.)
What You Need:
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium cucumber, cut into small pieces
- 3 medium tomatoes, cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh basil or 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon McCormick cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon Colman’s dry mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- dash of hot pepper sauce (optional)
- croutons (optional)
What You Do:
- Chop your vegetables using a sharp, chef’s knife like this one. It’s always better to use a sharp knife because a sharp knife is safer than a dull one, which can slip and cut your finger. I chop my vegetables coarsely (meaning not very fine and not diced) because I like a chunky gazpacho mix.
- Combine your chopped vegetables (red onion, green pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, minced garlic, basil) and parsley in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Next, make your dressing. This is actually pretty simple. all you have to do to make this delicious dressing for your gazpacho is combine your 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of cumin (or just a pinch if you don’t love cumin as much as I do). Add in your dry mustard powder, teaspoon of sugar, and a dash of hot pepper sauce all together in a dressing jar.
- Place cover tightly on your jar.
- Shake jar well so that the dressing mixes well and pour over salad. Toss to coat.
- Cover your salad with dressing and chill for 2 hours in refrigerator.
- Garnish your salad with croutons (if desired) before serving, but after chilling since chilled croutons can become soggy.
Now comes the wait.
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I’m telling you it is worth it to serve this salad nicely chilled…really, I’m serious.
Chilled Gazpacho Salad
4
servings15
minutes2
hours15
minutes140
kcalIf you ever want to add some vibrant colors to your table, this chilled gazpacho salad is the perfect accompaniment to any summer meal. A chunkier version of the classic gazpacho soup, this summer salad is cool and delectable.
I mentioned this above, but it is very important to use the sharpest knife you can find to chop your vegetables since a sharp knife will cut through rough vegetables without slipping.
Serving this dish chilled is really the only way to go. The colder the better. The chill adds a crispness to the vegetables that I just adore. I also like to add the dressing BEFORE chilling because I feel that this allows the vegetables to soak in the delicious flavors of what is really a simple oil and vinegar based salad dressing.
Since I like a little bit of spiciness in my food, I always opt to add a dash of some type of hot pepper sauce. Another way to bring some heat (spice) to the dish is to add a habanero pepper that you poke a few holes into, to the jar in which you are mixing your dressing. Add in the poked habanero before shaking the dressing mixture.
Shake the dressing with the habanero pepper well and then let the dressing stand for 15-20 minutes before pouring onto the salad and chilling. (Just remember to REMOVE the habanero pepper instead of accidentally adding it to your gazpacho, otherwise the salad you create will be face-meltingly hot!)
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Ingredients
1 small red onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium cucumber, cut into small pieces
3 medium tomatoes, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon fresh basil or 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon Colman’s dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon sugar
dash of hot pepper sauce (optional)
croutons (optional)
Directions
- The first step is to chop your vegetables. Always use a sharp, chef’s knife. It’s always better to use a sharp knife because a sharp knife is safer than a dull one, which can slip and cut your finger. I chop my vegetables coarsely (meaning not very fine and not diced) because I like a chunky gazpacho mix.
- Combine the coarsely chopped vegetables and parsley in a medium mixing bowl.
- Next, make your dressing. This is actually pretty simple. all you have to do to make this delicious dressing for your gazpacho is combine 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of cumin (or just a pinch if you don’t love cumin as much as I do) in a jar.
- To the same jar, add in your dry mustard powder, teaspoon of sugar, and a dash of hot pepper sauce (optional).
- Place cover tightly on jar.
- Shake dressing well to make sure that all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss salad in a mixing bowl to coat the salad well.
- Cover salad and chill for 2 hours.
- Garnish with croutons (if desired) before serving.
Notes
- Add croutons for texture. I listed these as an optional ingredient above because I try to keep my recipes low carb whenever possible, but the croutons aren’t really going to increase the carbs that much. You can make them yourself in the oven (use French or Italian Bread). But I usually just buy my croutons online!
- If you like spicy, the easiest way to do this is just by adding a few drops of the red pepper sauce, but if you have the time (and a habanero pepper handy), I would really recommend trying the trick of poking holes in your habanero and adding it to your dressing jar.
- If you like this recipe, but want to skip shopping for ingredients altogether, I highly recommend trying EveryPlate Delivery Kits. You can tailor their recipes to your specific diet, whether it be low-carb, gluten free or paleo. Get on an EveryPlate Meal Delivery Plan today simply by using this link.
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I made this dish over the summer and forgot to share how much I liked it.
I love simple, healthy, refreshing recipes that I can refrigerate and enjoy over and over!
Kate
PS I LOVE the plate in your food photo
Thanks so much for the kind words, Kate!
I am glad you liked my Chilled Gazpacho Salad recipe – it is super easy to make, which is why I like it so much. As far as the plate(s) in my photos, my wife deserves all the credit for choosing cool, photogenic plates.
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