This Easy Watermelon Gazpacho with cucumber and mint is a summery take on the traditional cold soup: gazpacho. You'll love this cold watermelon soup because it's packed with hydrating cucumber, sweet watermelon, refreshing mint - and no tomatoes!
The sun is beating down on you. You're sweating. You're hot.
It's like, thighs-sticking-to-the-leather-couch-hot.
It must be summer, baby😎
And what better way to counter all that heat than a cooling watermelon gazpacho recipe?
Jump to:
- 📝Ingredients for watermelon gazpacho
- 🔪How to make watermelon gazpacho without tomatoes
- ❓Is watermelon high in sugar?
- 📈What is the glycemic index?
- 🙋♀️To account for serving size, the Glycemic Load calculation was created
- 😄Bottom line on this glycemic index in watermelon?
- Watermelon Feta Salad with Balsamic Glaze🍉
- More gluten-free summer recipes to check out
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
This watermelon mint gazpacho was adapted from one I saw a few years ago from the Marilyn Denis show.
I think you're gonna absolutely love a bowl of this cooling, sweet and healthy recipe.
📝Ingredients for watermelon gazpacho
- Watermelon
- Red onion - gives a strong balance of flavour to balance the sweetness
- Cucumber - another reason why this recipe is so freakin' hydrating
- Garlic
- Lemon and white vinegar - gives a "tang" and again, balances naturally sweet watermelon
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Mint or basil for garnish on top
See recipe card below for quantities.
I tried this watermelon soup with basil as a garnish on top the first time. Because the soup is so sweet on it's own from the watermelon, I prefer the mint on top of the soup when serving for the cooling contrast.
If you have both mint and basil, try each and see what you like best.
And note: there are no tomatoes in this gazpacho!🚫🍅
🔪How to make watermelon gazpacho without tomatoes
Cut the watermelon, red onion and cucumber into chunks.
Working in 2 batches, blend the vegetables and watermelon with ½ of the garlic, lemon, white vinegar, olive oil and salt.
You can use a hand blender and do it all in a large pot or you can use a blender like a Ninja or a Vitamix.
Then chill the blended soup in the fridge for a couple hours. Serve in individual bowls, topped with mint.
❓Is watermelon high in sugar?
Watermelon gets a bad rep for being labeled incorrectly as being "high in sugar."
There are only 11 grams of carbohydrates (in the form of fruit sugar or "fructose") in 1 cup of watermelon.
So where does the bad reputation come from?
I think it has to do with a mis-interpretation of the glycemic index.
📈What is the glycemic index?
The glycemic index of a food is a way to measure the impact on blood sugars.
It's measured on a scale of 1-100.
Watermelon is an interesting fruit because it has a Glycemic Index of 72, which is relatively high.
However, a typical serving size only has 5 grams of carbohydrate.
So the potential impact on blood sugars is low, when a reasonable serving size is eaten.
🙋♀️To account for serving size, the Glycemic Load calculation was created
Here's how you calculate glycemic load:
- Glycemic Index/100*grams of carbohydrate per serving
So in our watermelon case:
72 Glycemic Index/100*5 grams of carbohydrates = 3.6
Although the Glycemic Index is higher, the Glycemic Load is low.
So if you care about the glycemic index of foods, then you should also care about the glycemic load.
Because, it takes into account the serving size of any particular food.
Not only that, at meals, we eat a combination of foods that further lowers the glycemic load of the meal.
Think: basmati rice, green beans and chicken breast, for example.
😄Bottom line on this glycemic index in watermelon?
When eating a few slices of watermelon on a hot day, you don't have to worry about the sugar content.
Be more interested in your whole diet vs. one food or one single dish.
Hope you love this watermelon gazpacho like we do♥️
Now go peel those beautiful thighs off the couch and make this recipe!
~April
Watermelon Feta Salad with Balsamic Glaze🍉
This watermelon salad with feta is SO YUM and perfect for summer. Juicy watermelon pairs perfectly with salty feta, fresh basil, blueberries, and a balsamic glaze.
More gluten-free summer recipes to check out
📖 Recipe
Easy Watermelon Gazpacho (without tomatoes)
Ingredients
- 8 cups watermelon peeled and diced
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 2 cups cucumber, diced about 1 large cucumber
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lemon
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- Salt
Instructions
- Place ½ of the watermelon, red onion, cucumber and garlic into high speed blender.
- Blend in a blender by pulsing for a few seconds each time until juices and water come out and there are no large pieces left (will be lumpy - it's ok!)
- Add the juice of ½ of the lemon, add half the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the vinegar and 1 pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Add to a large serving bowl or other container.
- Repeat the process with the second half of ingredients.
- Add the blended second half of ingredients to the first half in the large serving bowl or container.
- Chill completed soup in fridge for an hour or overnight.
- Serve with fresh basil or mint leaves on top.
Notes
- You don't have to peel the cucumber! No need to peel all that nutrition away. The watermelon? Yes, you'll want to remove the tough outer rind of the watermelon before blending.
- The recipe uses about ½ of a large watermelon. So if you want, cut the leftovers into triangles, stick a popsicle stick through the rind by making a little hole with a knife (be careful!) and freeze. In a couple hours, you'll have the coolest treat around.
Debbie Miraglia says
Can I freeze this
April Saunders says
Hey Debbie - so I don't recommend freezing because the texture will get all funky (ie, won't be smooth). If you want to try, make sure you re-blend once thawed.