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- Best soup maker: At a glance
- How to choose the best soup maker for you
- The best soup makers to buy in 2024
- 1. Scott Simplissimo Chef All In One Cook Blender: Best soup maker for easy clean-up
- 2. Ninja Blender and Soup Maker: Best overall soup maker
- 3. Lakeland Touchscreen Soup Maker: Best soup maker for versatility
- 4. Morphy Richards 501020 Total Control Soup Maker: Best value soup maker
Everyone loves a nice bowl of soup, and whether you prefer it chunky or super smooth, the best soup maker will prep perfect soup in no time. If you’re done with watching over a pot for hours on end, our recommended soup makers will revolutionise your preparation process and likely produce some of the best soup you’ve ever had.
Soup makers take all the hassle out of cooking: simply pop your ingredients into the jug, sear if required, add stock and the soup maker will do the rest. Moreover, if you steer clear of creamy blends, a soup maker is a dieter’s dream – you really couldn’t ask for a quicker, easier route towards getting your five a day.
If that sounds like just what you’ve been looking for, it pays to make sure that your soup maker has really earned its place on the worktop. The best soup makers need to be simple to clean and easy enough to operate that you don’t have to pore over an instruction manual every time you’re in the mood for chowder.
Not sure what to look out for? You’ll discover all the key features in our guide below, followed by our picks of the best soup makers.
Best soup maker: At a glance
| Best soup maker for versatility | Lakeland Touchscreen Soup Maker (~£150) | |
| Best overall soup maker | Ninja Foodi Blender and Soup Maker (~£150) | |
| Best soup maker for easy clean-up | Scott Simplissimo All-in-one Cook Blender (~£150) | |
| Best value soup maker | Morphy Richards Total Control (~£82) |
How to choose the best soup maker for you
What’s the difference between a soup maker and a blender?
While some may resemble blenders where others look a bit more like a kettle, soup makers have a heating element so they can cook soup in around 20 to 30 minutes. These soup makers work differently to blenders that will make soup using the friction of the spinning blades to heat the soup while blending, such as the NutriBullet Rx or Vitamix.
If you’re opting for the latter type, it’s worth noting that you’ll need to avoid certain ingredients that require more prolonged heating/cooking, such as onion, or it may dominate the flavour of the soup. A good rule of thumb is to only use ingredients you’d be happy to eat raw or lightly cooked in a blade-friction soup maker, such as most vegetables, cooked meat and yoghurt. Alternatively, you can sauté ingredients in a pan beforehand.
Soup makers with a heating element may also allow you to sauté food, such as onions or meat, before adding the rest of your ingredients. You can then set the time and temperature (or use a preset programme) and get on with something else. Some will require meat to be cooked beforehand so there may still be some preparation involved. During or after cooking, the maker will blend it to the required consistency.
As blending hot liquids produces steam and can be potentially hazardous, this final step is the reason why soup-making capacity is less than that for blending cold liquids. Your soup maker should have a vented lid or one that locks into place for this reason.
READ NEXT: Best multicookers for soups, stews, curry and more
How much should I spend?
A good guide is to consider how much you’d spend on a blender and add a bit on. Basic soup makers can be picked up for around £70-£80, while the more feature-packed models cost up to £150.
What sort of capacity do I need?
A litre of soup is around three servings, so a soup maker that can accommodate over this should make a good batch. If you plan to make a lot of soup, opt for 1.4 litres or more. If you’re making soup for one, something up to a litre is ideal.
What other features should I look for?
The number of functions tends to correspond to price, but a few specific ones will help you get the most of out of your machine.
Preset programmes are ideal for taking the guesswork out of recipes, while a sauté function that enables frying at the start of cooking will result in a more flavourful soup. Blending options allow you to choose your preferred consistency, plus for extra convenience look for an appliance with a “keep warm” function.
For more control, you can find soup makers with pause buttons that allow you to add ingredients, and stir functions so you can prevent ingredients from being overcooked.
For fuss-free soup, look for makers that are easily cleaned. Most need to be washed by hand or have a dedicated cleaning programme, but a non-stick base and a glass jug, rather than plastic, will make life easier.
READ NEXT: The best hand blenders you can buy right now
The best soup makers to buy in 2024
1. Scott Simplissimo Chef All In One Cook Blender: Best soup maker for easy clean-up
Price when reviewed: £150 | Check price at WayfairWhile it features buttons for smooth and chunky soup programmes, the Simplissimo Chef has been designed to be far more than a simple soup maker. As well as blending, with an auto programme for smoothies and ice and three manual speeds, it includes a steamer basket for poaching eggs in their shells and steaming fish or vegetables, alongside sous-vide capabilities.
There’s also a manual mode with temperatures ranging from 40˚C to 99˚C and an eight-hour timer. Plus, for those who dread cleaning up after a soup-making session, it’s a dream. All the integral electronics mean that neither the two-litre glass jar or lid are dishwasher-safe so instead, there’s a self-cleaning programme to do the hard work for you, as well as a slim brush for scrubbing away stubborn debris.
Key specs – Capacity: 1.75l; Programmes: Chunky, smooth, sauce and smoothie/ice crush; Power: 1,100W
2. Ninja Blender and Soup Maker: Best overall soup maker
Price when reviewed: £150 | Check price at NinjaIf the thought of a velvety, creamy tomato soup fills your heart with joy, then look no further than the Ninja blender and soup maker. During testing, the Ninja consistently delivered smooth soups, although it took markedly longer to soften chunkier leek and potato varieties due to the slightly weedy heating element.
That heating element can keep soups warm for up to an hour after they finish cooking, however, and that’s not all: the Ninja’s sauté function and manual cooking modes mean you can chuck everything in and leave it to go for hours if you need to, and it can produce jams, frozen drinks and sauces as well.
It’s a bit hefty, sure, but no other soup maker is quite so well-rounded and powerful.
Read our full Ninja Soup Maker and Blender review
Key specs – Capacity: 1.7l; Programmes: Chunky, smoothie, dessert, frozen drinks, jams, sauces, auto clean; Functions: Three blending speeds, saute, manual cook, pulse; Power: 1,000W; Material: Glass and stainless steel jug, plastic base
3. Lakeland Touchscreen Soup Maker: Best soup maker for versatility
Price when reviewed: £150 | Check price at Amazon
As one of the more expensive soup makers on the market, you would expect to find features such as sauté or reheat, but this machine has neither.
However, what it does have to justify its price is a sleek touchscreen, four automatic cooking programmes and the choice to cook manually by varying time and temperature – and a slow blending function that means you won’t accidentally get purée when you wanted chunky and rustic.
As well as soup programmes, it makes sauces, taking the effort out of béchamel and cooked dips, while its ice-crushing programme can be adapted for fresh lemonade and other drinks.
Key specs – Capacity: 2l; Programmes: Smooth, chunky, sauce, ice crush, auto clean Functions: Slow blend, manual cook and temperature; Power: 1,000W
4. Morphy Richards 501020 Total Control Soup Maker: Best value soup maker
Price when reviewed: £82 | Check price at AmazonThis kettle-style soup maker will make leftover soup a thing of the past thanks to its innovative portion control – instead of having measurements on the inside of the appliance, they’re on the outside.
Simply fill to the level required, select the two, three or four portion size using the dedicated button and it’ll adapt the cooking time to suit the volume. Automated keep warm after cooking is handy but even cleverer is the option to reheat, so it’ll work around a busy lifestyle. There are also three options for the smoothness, unlike the standard two, plus a self-cleaning programme and the ability to blend drinks. Even better is having recipes on the brand’s Cook and Create app.
Between it’s handy portion control options, reheating function and regularly discounted price, the Morphy Richards Portion Control is our top option for anyone looking to avoid wasting both excess food and excess cash.
Key specs – Capacity: 1.6l; Programmes: Smooth, medium, chunky, drinks, auto clean; Functions: 1 blending speed, sauté, reheat, 30min keep warm, portion setting; Power: 1,160W
