Vegan Watermelon Mint Gazpacho (Printable)

Vibrant chilled soup with sweet watermelon, crisp cucumber, zesty lime, and fresh mint.

# What You'll Need:

→ Fresh Produce

01 - 5 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
02 - 1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped (about 1.5 cups)
03 - 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
04 - 0.5 small red onion, chopped
05 - 0.25 cup fresh mint leaves, plus extra for garnish
06 - 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

→ Citrus

07 - Zest and juice of 2 limes

→ Pantry

08 - 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
09 - 0.5 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
10 - 0.25 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

→ Garnish

11 - Diced cucumber for garnish
12 - Diced watermelon for garnish
13 - Fresh mint leaves for garnish

# Method:

01 - In a blender, combine the watermelon, cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, mint leaves, cilantro if using, lime zest, and lime juice. Blend until smooth.
02 - Add olive oil, salt, and black pepper to the blender. Blend again until fully combined and silky in texture.
03 - Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. For a thinner consistency, add a few tablespoons of cold water and blend again.
04 - Transfer to a bowl or pitcher, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to meld and develop.
05 - Stir well before serving. Pour into chilled bowls and garnish with diced cucumber, watermelon, and fresh mint leaves.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It takes twenty minutes from start to table, no cooking required, which means you can spend your evening actually enjoying people instead of standing over a stove.
  • The flavor tastes impossibly complex—sweet, tart, herbaceous, and cooling all at once—but the ingredient list is surprisingly simple and forgiving.
02 -
  • Don't skip chilling the bowls themselves; I learned this the hard way when I poured beautiful cold soup into room-temperature bowls and watched it lose its chill within minutes.
  • Taste before it goes into the fridge, because adjusting seasoning on cold soup is harder than adjusting it at room temperature—cold dulls our taste buds slightly, so you might under-season if you're not careful.
03 -
  • Make this the night before if you're hosting, since the flavors deepen and become more integrated overnight, and you'll have one less thing to worry about on the day itself.
  • If your blender isn't particularly powerful, chop your vegetables slightly smaller than you think necessary, which helps achieve that impossibly smooth texture without straining the motor.
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