Spanish Salmorejo

Beat the summer heat with a refreshing bowl of Salmorejo, Spain’s other cold tomato soup. Unlike gazpacho, it’s emulsified using bread, eggs, and olive oil for a decadently creamy texture. This no-cook dairy-free soup is a great way to reduce kitchen waste and keep the kitchen cool.

Looking for more Spanish flavours? Whip up this Simple Romesco Sauce and add it to pasta or serve with roasted or grilled veggies or meats. For something completely different, serve this decadent Basque Cheesecake (Tarta de Queso) with a side of Spanish sherry for an authentic experience.

Disclosure: This post is made possible by (you guessed it!) Egg Farmers of Alberta. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Spanish Salmorejo

The inspiration for this Spanish Salmorejo recipe came from our trip to sunny Spain in November 2025. We stayed with food-loving friends in Madrid who enthusiastically shared their favourite spots and dishes with us. From grocery store gazpacho in a jar to crispy duck ribs and creamy Russian salad we tried it all!

One dish that keeps calling out to me is Salmorejo. It’s a cold soup like gazpacho but with a thicker, richer consistency from the emulsified bread (and sometimes egg). What’s more exciting is that Salmorejo is almost always topped with a generous amount of Spanish jamón and diced eggs.

I just couldn’t stop thinking about this chilled soup. The version we tried also had generous swirls of premium olive oil which made it extra special. It could have been the surroundings (a cozy tapas wine bar with great friends) but one spoonful and I knew the flavour would be in my heart forever.

I hope that you try this recipe and that you taste a little bit of Spain in every bite.

Salmorejo vs. Gazpacho

While both Salmorejo and Gazpacho are traditional, chilled tomato-based dairy-free soups from Andalusia in southern Spain, they differ significantly in ingredients, texture, and how they are served. A common local saying sums it up: “Gazpacho is drunk, salmorejo is eaten.”

Gazpacho hails from the Andalusian community in Southern Spain and is made primarily from vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, and garlic) in addition to olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, and water. This chilled red (or bright orange) vegetable soup has a thin, drinkable consistency. In fact, my friend sometimes buys a bottle of grocery store gazpacho to drink at lunchtime, no bowl or spoon required!

Salmorejo is Andalusian but more specifically from the city of Córdoba. It is made from tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, boiled eggs, stale white bread, and sometimes sherry vinegar. Salmorejo is thick and velvety with an emulsified texture and creamy appearance.

This full bodied, garlic forward soup is traditionally served in a shallow bowl or small clay dish (cazuela) and is thick enough to support the weight of a substantial garnish.

Ingredients in Salmorejo

For this recipe you will need a sharp knife, a cutting board, and a high-powered blender.

• Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Sherry
• Stale Bread
• Water
• Eggs
• Jamón de Ibérico

I purposely waited 9 months to develop and post this Salmorejo recipe JUST so I could use ripe, sweet local tomatoes at the peak of their season. There are very few ingredients in this soup, so their quality is super important for a successful dish. There is no point in using subpar tomatoes or common cooking olive oil in this recipe.

When the tomatoes are in season, there’s no need to hide their flavour with an excessive list of ingredients. Fresh garlic is available at the same time as ripe tomatoes and sherry vinegar is a great way to heighten the flavour of tomatoes while dulling the ‘heat’ of fresh garlic.

If you don’t have stale bread, buy a loaf of white French bread, cut it into cubes (sans crust) and place on a baking sheet in the oven at 300°F until it’s dry but not browned, about 15 minutes. 

Season with salt as you see fit and use more (or less) water to achieve desired consistency. It should be thick enough to hold up the jamón and diced eggs.

Finally, use the best quality (preferably Spanish) olive oil available in this Salmorejo recipe.

How to Make Salmorejo

Chop, de-seed, and core tomatoes to equal 2 lbs (you can also chop and put them through a mill to remove seeds and skins). Place them in high powered blender, like Vitamix. Add stale bread cubes to the blender and blend well. No need to soak if you have a good blender.

To the tomato mixture add sherry vinegar and sea salt. Start with 1 tablespoon of salt and add more later as needed. Slice one boiled egg in half and add to the blender. Add 1-2 cloves garlic. Blend well.

Pour in 1/3 cup cold water and blend thoroughly. Next, start blender on low increase to 3 or 4 power. Remove the middle section of the lid and slowly pour in 1/2 cup olive oil. Refrigerate Salmorejo for at least an hour.

To serve, portion into six bowls, swirl with extra olive oil and top with sliced or diced eggs and diced Jamón Ibérico.

Recipe Tips and Trips

• Best flavour and colour come from very ripe red tomatoes. Red heirloom varieties, vine ripened cocktail tomatoes, and beefsteak tomatoes are great choices. The tomato selection in Spain is above and beyond what is available here in North America.
• For a silky-smooth soup, chop and de-seed/core the tomatoes before adding to a blender, or chop then press them through a food mill. If you prefer more texture, leave them whole.
• Fresh picked garlic will give this soup an incredible flavour without the bitterness. For older garlic, remove the inner germ prior to blending.
• Use 1-2 cloves depending on how much you like garlic.
• You may find the soup is thick enough using only bread. Adding a boiled egg is a personal choice and makes a more substantial bowl of soup.
• Use high quality olive oil with a lively flavour that is low in oleocanthal, the polyphenol that tingles the back of your throat.
• Pour olive oil in a thin stream with the blender running to emulsify the soup.

Storage Instructions

Because Salmorejo is a raw recipe, it does not keep very long. Any longer than 2 days in the fridge and it will begin to ferment, especially if you used sourdough bread.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill, the heart and soul behind Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

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