Best soup makers, tried and tested by experts

Read on to discover our favourite soup makers and, for more inspiration, check out some of the best soup maker recipes we're loving right now.

Best soup makers at a glance

• Best soup maker with blender: Ninja Foodi blender and soup maker, £129.99
• Best value soup maker: Daewoo 1.6L soup maker, £43.99
• Best everyday soup maker: Morphy Richards Classic soup maker, £79.99
• Best soup maker with long warranty: Tower 1.6 Litre soup & smoothie maker, £48.99
• Best basic soup maker: Tefal Easy soup and smoothie maker, £69.95
• Best all-round soup maker: Lakeland Touchscreen soup maker, £149.99

Jump to:

• Best soup makers to buy in 2024
• Other soup makers tried and tested
• How we tested soup makers
• What makes a good soup maker?
• Is it worth getting a soup maker?
• Soup maker recipes

Best soup makers to buy in 2024

Ninja Foodi blender and soup maker

Best soup maker with blender

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.

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 and Smoothie Maker

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.

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.

Other soup makers tried and tested

• Vitamix Ascent A2500i, £599

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.

Is it worth getting a soup maker?

A soup maker is a game-changing piece of kit if you buy and eat soup regularly. And while there's an upfront cost to consider, by switching from supermarket soup to homemade, you could save some serious cash in the long-run. Here's a look at some of the other benefits:

• Time saved: If you already enjoy cooking soup from scratch, a soup maker streamlines the process and does the hard work for you. Many models even come with automated settings, so all you need to do is add your ingredients, then let your gadget take care of the rest.
• Additional functions: Not just reserved for soup, some soup makers come with extra presets for making smoothies and yogurt, or creamy sauces, dips, and purées.
• Better awareness of ingredients: For those with dietary requirements or preferences, making soup from scratch is an easier way to keep an eye on which ingredients have been used.
• Control over consistency: Whether you prefer chunky or smooth, achieving the perfect texture when cooking on a hob can be tricky. But with a soup maker, you can programme your appliance to achieve the exact consistency you're after.

What makes a good soup maker?

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.

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.

Soup maker recipes

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

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