10 best soup makers, tried and tested by BBC experts

Soup makers fall into two categories – simple models that require little more than chopping ingredients and pressing a button. Their primary use is to make soup with smoothies as an add-on and are ideal if you're looking to save time and minimise on effort in the kitchen.

Then there are more sophisticated blenders with a range of functions. They will still save time and washing up but require varying levels of user input and creativity. The less confident or less enthusiastic cook might prefer the former.

Size, weight and appearance are all factors to consider when buying. The simple models tend to be lighter and take up less space. The versatile models can be larger and heavier, especially if they have a glass jug.

The benefit of a glass or plastic jug over stainless is being able to view the cooking process so bear that in mind, too. We think a timer – even if just for counting down – is a worthwhile feature, allowing you to check on progress. Read on to discover our favourite soup makers.

For more unbiased expert buyer’s guides, visit our reviews section to find 400+ round-ups of everything from the best dishwashers and best microwaves to the best blenders and best food processors.

Best soup makers at a glance

• Best versatile blender and soup maker: Ninja Foodi blender & soup maker, £129
• Best value soup maker: Daewoo 1.6L soup maker, £44
• Best soup maker with extra features: Drew & Cole Soup Chef Pro, £79.99
• Best everyday soup maker: Morphy Richards Classic soup maker, £49.99
• Best soup maker with long warranty: Tower 1.6 Litre soup & smoothie maker, £43.99
• Best basic soup maker: Tefal Easy soup and smoothie maker, £79.99
• Best all-round soup maker: Lakeland Touchscreen soup maker, £129.99
• Best high end soup maker: Vitamix Ascent A2500i, £499
• Best soup maker for hands-on cooks: Cuisinart Soup Maker Plus SSB3U, £142.49
• Best multifunctional soup maker: ElectriQ multifunctional blender, smoothie and soup maker, £59.97

The best soup makers to buy in 2023

Ninja Foodi blender & soup maker

Best versatile blender and soup maker

Star rating: 5/5

Pros:

• Lots of presets
• Glass jug
• Multifunctional

Cons:

• Expensive
• Heavy jug

Wattage: 1000W

Functions: Smooth soup, chunky soup, jam, sauce, smoothie, frozen drink, dessert, milkshake, chop, sauté, manual blend, manual cook

This is a multifunctional blender and soup maker that performs well, no matter whether it’s blending milkshakes or cooking soup. With just a 1400ml capacity for soups, it’s a little smaller than some others on this list, but we think its versatility makes up for the lower capacity.

With a chop and sauté function on top of four cold blending programs and four hot blending programs, this is a useful bit of kit. And unlike many other soup makers, it really does function as a full-size blender too, so there’s no need to double up on appliances.

On the downside, it is pricey, and the heavy glass jug will be a struggle for some people to lift, particularly when full. That said, this is a top performing model that’s intuitive to use and it’ll earn its place in your kitchen.

Daewoo 1.6L soup maker

Best value soup maker

Star rating: 4 /5

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Simple to use
• Good capacity

Cons:

• Can’t be used for small quantities

Wattage: 1000W

Functions: smooth, chunky, juice, blend

If you’re looking for a basic soup maker that can make decent smooth and chunky soups, without breaking the bank, this Daewoo soup maker is not a bad option. The settings include smooth, chunky, juice, and blend, plus there’s an LED display that shows a countdown timer. It’s simple to use but the control panel is somewhat unsophisticated.

In our tests it successfully created smooth and chunky soups, but the juice function – which is supposedly for smoothies too – couldn’t handle our super berry smoothie with frozen berries. So it can’t take the place of a traditional blender.

The stainless-steel jug is sturdy and has a decent 1.6-litre capacity. But since it’s a budget option, there are no handy extras such as a sauté or keep warm function. It can create a tasty smooth soup from scratch in just 21 minutes though, so if you simply want to make soup, you won’t be disappointed.

Drew & Cole Soup Chef Pro

Best soup maker with extra features

Star rating: 4.5 /5

Pros:

• Delay timer
• Double wall construction
• Non-stick base

Cons:

• Chunky handle
• Lots of steam emitted

Wattage: 1000W

Functions: smooth, chunky, smooth+, sauté, auto clean, delay timer

The Drew & Cole Soup Chef Pro might look similar to some of the more budget models on this list, but it comes with a few useful extra features that make it stand out. These include a sauté function to brown onions and garlic or meats before making the soup. There’s also a delay timer, auto clean, and a keep warm function. Though whether these features justify the higher price tag will depend on how you expect to use it.

During testing, we found the sauté function useful and effective. Both our smooth and chunky soups were well cooked and tasty, but it didn’t manage to blend up our frozen berry and yogurt smoothie, so you can’t use it in place of a standard blender. That said, if you’re looking for a soup maker that offers a little more than the most basic features, this is a good choice.

Tower 1.6-litre soup & smoothie maker

Best soup maker with a long warranty

Star rating: 4/5

Pros:

• Lengthy 3-year warranty
• Available with a flask
• Simple to use

Cons:

• Can’t add ingredients during cooking

Wattage: 1000W

Functions: Smooth, chunky, juice, blend

The Tower 1.6-litre soup maker is available on its own or, for an extra £10, with a 500ml flask so you can have tasty hot soup on the go. It’s a straightforward soup maker with just the essential smooth and chunky soup settings. But if the lid is removed during use, it resets, meaning you can’t add ingredients or seasoning part-way through cooking, which will be frustrating for some.

The blend function acts like a pulse button and allows you to further blend your soup if needed. Meanwhile there’s a juice function for blending cold mixtures such as smoothies, but it failed to liquidise a frozen berry and yogurt smoothie, so won’t take the place of a blender.

While it lacks anything other than the basic settings, the control panel is simple to use, and the soup maker is effective at creating smooth soup in just 21 minutes.

Morphy Richards Classic soup maker

Best everyday soup maker

Star rating: 4 /5

Pros:

• Simple settings
• Hot soup in 21 minutes

Cons:

• Lid can’t be opened during cooking
• Outside gets hot

Wattage: 1000W

Functions: smooth, chunky, juice, blend

Morphy Richards have quite a large range of soup makers and this is one of the cheaper models the brand offers. Though the RRP is still a bit steep given the fact that it’s incredibly similar to some of the more budget soup makers on this list.

Nevertheless, it’s simple to use and can produce silky smooth soup in just 21 minutes, or a chunky version in 28 minutes. It can’t be opened up without resetting the programme though, which will be frustrating if you’re a hands-on cook who likes to taste and season as you go. But the blend setting acts like a pulse button, so you can easily blend fresh herbs in at the end.

The juice programme doesn’t work for thick frozen smoothie mixtures, so while this is an effective soup maker that can do some blending, it won’t take the place of a separate blender.

Tefal Easy Soup

Best basic soup maker

Pros:

• Clear functionality
• Easy to use, fast – smooth soup in 23 mins
• Chunky in 25 mins
• 30 recipes
• Keep-warm function

Cons:

• No timer

For a little more, you get extra functionality with this Tefal soup maker. There are a lot of recipes to choose from in the accompanying booklet, and we had a go at their sweet potato & red lentil soup. The 'soup with pieces' setting doesn't blend at all and produced a good result in 25 minutes. You need to keep pieces small to ensure thorough cooking. We also used the blend button to make their mango lassi – this machine is perfect for the luxurious texture needed.

The easy cleaning button is a handy feature, but unlike some of the other soup makers that have this, it does not recommend using detergent. We can't quite get past not using soap so gave it a further clean afterwards. The information says not to put the jug under running water, which makes it a bit trickier, but it still proved easier than cleaning a saucepan. Read our full Tefal Easy Soup review.

Vitamix Ascent A2500i

Best high-end soup blender

Pros:

• High power with laser-cut blades for ultra-blending, even for hard ingredients such as nuts

Cons:

• Functions not long enough to create soup without some pre-cooking for most recipes
• Chunky soups not possible

This blender is so powerful it can produce piping hot soup in less than 6 minutes. However, as the length of the heating is so short, it's necessary to pre-cook the main ingredient. If you don't mind pre-roasting vegetables to give your soups depth, then this will still give you soup in a shorter time than if you transferred the contents to the hob and then to a blender.

It's worth noting that chunky soups are not an option as this is primarily a blender and only produces heat through the friction of the blades, not through any heating element as in standard soup makers. However, this truly is a multi-tasker. The comprehensive recipe book features broad range of uses – nut milks and butters, dips, doughs, cakes, baby foods, desserts and, of course, soup. We tried out the Vitamix peanut butter recipe and it produced smooth peanut butter in under 5 minutes. Read our full Vitamix Ascent A2500i review.

Cuisinart Soup Maker Plus SSB3U

Best soup maker for hands-on cooks

Pros:

• Allows user to be in control of cooking process, and with glass jug you can monitor progress

Cons:

• Requires more user input

This machine has three main settings. The first is sauté for browning base ingredients. There's a high setting (up to 100C) for bringing liquids up to the boil and a simmer setting, which is a lower temperature (up to 80C) and ideal for simmering soups. These settings only provide heat.

If you want to stir, you need to press the slow stir button. Blending can be done once any of the programmes have finished. In addition, you can blend or pulse cold liquids such as smoothies.

We tried two of the recipes provided by Cuisinart – a curry paste and a Thai chicken soup. The machine had no trouble grinding up ingredients to a smooth paste and the soup function was easy to use. The recipe booklet also offers inspiration for jam, chutney, risotto, smoothie, nut milk, curries and soups. Read our full Cuisinart Soup Maker Plus SSB3U review.

electriQ multifunctional blender, smoothie and soup maker

• Available from Amazon (£76.97), Appliances Direct (£59.97)

Best multi-function soup maker

Pros:

• Sturdy
• Powerful
• Good value

Cons:

• Large
• On the noisy side

People with small kitchens might be reluctant to buy a separate blender and food processor and this electriQ machine solves that particular problem. Its Japanese stainless steel blades – and powerful 1800W motor – are able to pulverise ingredients, including nuts, seeds and grains, with ease, acting like a food processor. Plus, all of its functions conveniently use the same blade, saving on time and washing up. Impressively, it can also rustle up a hot soup from cold ingredients in just five minutes. Read our full electriQ blender review.

Available from:

Lakeland Touchscreen soup maker

Best all-round soup maker

The Lakeland soup maker still offers the simplicity of a basic soup maker but also provides versatility for a wider range of uses. The smooth setting produced an ultra fine carrot & coriander soup in 30 minutes, while the chunky setting created more of a coarse finish. The keep-warm setting is handy.

As you can see the contents through the jug, it's easy to decide how coarse or fine you want it, plus it has a handy pause button for adding more ingredients as you go. The ice crushing setting proved great for smoothies, plus there are different speeds for making purées, baby food, cold sauces and dips, and a bonus sauce setting. Read our full Lakeland Touchscreen soup maker review.

How we tested soup makers

Smooth setting: We followed the basic instructions to make our carrot & coriander soup in order to compare texture, taste and ease of use.

Chunky setting: We also tried at least one of the manufacturer's chunky recipes as, depending on whether this setting blended or simply heated, results could vary. We also wanted to see how good the provided recipes were!

Other settings: We took the machines through their paces, trying a variety of other settings and functions – from smoothie making to grinding – to get an idea of how versatile the machines really were.

Soup maker recipes

Our cookery team has adapted some of our favourite soup recipes to be used in a soup maker. We tested them using the Lakeland Touchscreen soup maker but they are designed for use in all machines.

Soup maker mushroom soup
Soup maker carrot & coriander soup
Soup maker tomato soup
Soup maker butternut squash soup
Soup maker leek & potato soup
Soup maker broccoli & Stilton soup
Soup maker lentil soup
Soup maker roast chicken soup
Soup maker vegetable soup
Soup maker pea and ham soup
All our soup maker recipes

What makes a good soup maker?

Instruction manual: Helpful, accurate guidance from the manufacturer on set-up, timings and how to prepare various types of soups was a must. We gave extra marks for a variety of recipes.

Ease of use: A soup maker should reduce the work involved in cooking. We looked for easy-to-use machines, where we felt confident that the process minimised the fuss of preparing ingredients and cooking them.

Ease of cleaning: Although we were open to hand-washing (most machines, because of their size and electric output are not dishwasher safe), we still kept an eye out for machines that made life easier when it came to washing-up.

Aesthetics and size: Soup makers can be space-consuming, so we considered both height and footprint. We favoured compact soup makers for ease of storage, unless they were enhanced with additional functionality, which justified a bigger size. Attractive design was also taken into consideration.

Versatility: We looked for soup makers that didn't just stick to the norm and brought other uses where possible.

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