These adorable little Brunch Gazpacho Shooters are a fabulous way to celebrate the bounty that is summer produce! The cool and refreshing gazpacho recipe combines heirloom tomatoes, tomatillos, and roasted red peppers with a delicious blend of Spanish flavors that are perfect for a brunchtime palate cleanser.
So here’s a weird yet fun fact about me: I hate bloody mary’s, but I love a good gazpacho.
Like most people, I devour bowls of tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches in the cooler months. I can’t resist the comforting warmth that a good hearty bisque fills me with.
But it makes absolutely no sense to me why soup is even offered in the heat of the summer. Like, unless you’re eating lunch in a frozen tundra of a restaurant…
Then again, we do live in an anomalistic climate down here, so. There’s that.
This page includes step by step instructions, as well as tips and notes. If you’d like to skip all that, feel free to scroll down to the full, printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Gazpacho on the other hand – now that’s something that’s absolutely meant for spring and summer. It offers the goodness of delicious tomato soup – but cold in a completely pleasant way. Though this is not really a terribly traditional Spanish gazpacho recipe.
The ingredients in here are pretty much the same, but most Andalusian gazpacho recipes found in Europe are blended with stale bread to help smooth out the consistency of the final product. And they’re often much smoother than this.
Funny enough, if you don’t finish all of this AS gazpacho, you could always break out the tortilla chips and call it salsa. Or just keep cranking out those cheesy everything toast strips and dip to your heart’s content!
So…what is gazpacho, anyway?
Widely eaten in Spain and Portugal, gazpacho is essentially a cold soup made of raw vegetables. Vegan, Paleo, and Whole30 compliant, you can also enjoy this healthy, antioxidant-rich gazpacho without heating up your house to cook it.
Of course, if you’re looking for something a little more savory, adding some bacon, cheese, or grilled shrimp would be tasty additions. And while this gazpacho recipe is presented as an appetizer, spooning it into a bowl and eating it for lunch is completely acceptable (and totally encouraged on my part.)
These cute, convenient little gazpacho shooters are perfect for brunch! The soup itself is light and fresh and full of amazing textures and flavors. And the cheesy, salty toast dippers…you might end up eating more of those by themselves than you intend to.
(For example – Abe had a small bowl of gazpacho, but an entire plate of toast. That cheese!)
In between bites of rich egg-and-cheese casseroles and sweet waffles and French toast, this appetizer makes for a perfect palate cleanser!
And did I mention how cute they are in these little shot glasses? Because come on. THE SPOONS, EVEN. Line these up at your next brunch event and see how fast they disappear!
How to make gazpacho:
- Reserve 1/3 of the chopped tomato, tomatillo, cucumber, and cubanelle pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
- Combine the remaining chopped vegetables, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, vinegar, cumin, red pepper, and oregano in a blender. Purée until smooth, adjusting the seasoning to taste with more lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the blender as it blends until it thickens and emulsifies. Add the reserved vegetables and pulse to chop them to your desired consistency. (Alternatively, you can also puree all of the vegetables together. Strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl for a smoother final product.)
- Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. When ready to serve, ladle into shot glasses and garnish with slices of lime and small celery stalks. Serve toast dippers on the side.
Looking for more great brunch appetizers? No problem!
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Brunch Gazpacho Shooters with Cheesy Everything Toast Dippers
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds heirloom tomatoes cored and chopped
- ½ pound tomatillos cored and chopped
- 6 roasted red peppers jarred, sliced
- 1 cucumber peeled and chopped
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 1 cubanelle pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ lime juiced, plus more to taste
- Handful of fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cumin ground
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- ½ cup olive oil
Cheesy Everything Toasts
- 4 slices white bread
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Everything bagel seasoning
Instructions
- Reserve 1/3 of the chopped tomato, tomatillo, cucumber, and cubanelle pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
- Combine the remaining vegetables, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, vinegar, cumin, red pepper, and oregano in a blender. Purée until smooth, adjusting the seasoning to taste with more lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the blender as it blends until it thickens and emulsifies. Add the reserved vegetables and pulse to chop them to your desired consistency. (Alternatively, you can also puree all of the vegetables together and then strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl for a smoother final product.)
- Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. When ready to serve, ladle into shot glasses and garnish with slices of lime and small celery stalks, with toast dippers on the side.
Cheesy Everything Toasts:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each slice of bread. Cut each piece diagonally into 4-5 separate strips of bread. Arrange the strips side by side on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Toast the bread in the oven until it just begins to brown and become crispy, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the broiler on high. Sprinkle each strip with shredded cheese, then return the baking sheet to the oven. Broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown, another 4-5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle Everything bagel seasoning on the hot cheese so it sticks. Separate the strips when they’re cool enough to touch.
Wendy says
I’m not a gazpacho fan but I think these are an adorable start to a lovely brunch.
Christie says
Such cute shooters! I would devour a few of these.
Liz @ Books n' Cooks says
These are so cute and yet so elegant at the same time. And the dippers… YUM!
Kate says
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
Erica says
Hi Kate! You could freeze it if you puree it really smoothly – the chunkier consistency of mine likely won’t taste as good after being frozen, due to the structure of the vegetables breaking down in the freezer. The emulsified oil and liquid may separate as it thaws, or taste more watery than it should, so I hesitate to give you the green light here. You CAN keep it in the fridge for 3-5 days though, and it will still taste fabulous (personal experience haha) – I hope that helps if you’re planning to serve it to a crowd and are just trying to get prepped!