Best soup makers 2023: Which? Best Buys and expert buying advice

The best soup makers blend and cook food in one go, so you don't have to wash up extra pans, pots and gadgets, or hover over the hob during cooking.

Most soup makers can make smoothies too, which is handy if you're also partial to a fruity blend.

Each soup maker we review goes through rigorous lab testing. We judge them on the quality of soup they make, their speed and how easy they are to use and clean. So if you check our reviews before you go shopping, you should come home with a product that makes great-tasting soup, quickly and easily.

Go to our soup maker reviews to find out which ones impressed in our independent tests.

Best soup makers for 2023

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Table last updated: May 2023

Video: How to buy the best soup maker

Watch our video guide to discover more about the pros and cons of using a soup maker and the different types you can buy. 

Soup maker types explained

Some soup makers are dedicated gadgets for soup making, while others are more like traditional blenders with added cooking functionality – these tend to be more expensive.

Soup makers

• Usually cost between £40 and around £130
• Tend to have only a small gap between minimum and maximum quantities
• Can make smooth and chunky soup, and some can sauté

This kind of soup maker looks a bit like a large kettle or Thermos flask. A heating element in the base cooks the food, and the lid has a long blending blade that reaches into the jug to blitz food to a smooth texture once cooked. 

They tend to make soup in around 20-30 minutes, and give you the option of smooth or chunky soup. Most include a cold blending function so you can make smoothies and shakes, too. You can't see inside soup makers while they cook, as most have metal jugs.

Soup-making blenders

• Usually cost £65 or more
• Look like a normal blender but are usually bigger
• More flexible, especially for blending different quantities

These look similar to an ordinary jug blender – and offer the same kind of blending functions – but they can also cook ingredients. Like regular blenders they have transparent jugs, allowing you to see the ingredients cooking and blending. But they tend to be bigger, bulkier and more expensive than both soup makers and ordinary blenders.

Friction-heating blenders

• Cost from around £130 to as much as £500
• Friction heating is a setting usually only seen on bigger, premium blenders
• More flexible, blenders with this function usually capable of various other tasks

Some premium blenders don't have a heating element, instead using the friction heat generated by the blades to heat soup (the Nutribullet Rx works this way). This usually means you need to blend on high power for seven or eight minutes, which can be pretty noisy. 

These are typically high-powered models that aim to cover a range of food-prep jobs from making soup to smoothies, dips and even granola, ice cream and nut butters such as the KitchenAid Artisan Power Plus (£455).

Some friction-heating blenders include travel lids for converting the blending cup into a drinking mug. This lets you take your smoothie or soup safely to work or out and about.

Nutribullet Rx, £129

• Capacity – 1.3 litres (jug)
• Features – smoothies, ice-crushing, soup-making, additional one and two-portion blending cups, travel lids for taking on-the-go, recipes included.

This Nutribullet blender claims to make hot soup from raw veg in just seven minutes using the friction of the blades to generate heat. It only makes smooth soup, but does include handy travel cups for transporting your soup or smoothie easily, and a wide range of recipes to try.

Ninja QB3001UKS slim blender, £49

• Capacity – 0.5 litres (cup)
• Features – Soup-making, smoothies, ice-crushing, two portable drinking cups and lids and recipes included.

Just like the Nutribullet Rx, the Ninja QB3001UKS Slim Blender uses the friction made by its fast spinning blades to heat soup. It also comes with travel cups and lids to keep your soup or your smoothies safe from spilling as you travel.

Best soup maker features to consider

If you're thinking of treating yourself to a soup maker, these are the things you should think about before you make your decision:

Capacity

Soup maker capacities ranges from 0.8 litres (feeds two-three people) to more than two litres (six-eight people).

Some soup makers have a very small difference between their minimum and maximum capacities, which can limit your options if you only want one portion, or want to make a big batch, so it's worth checking this before you buy – see the specs section of our soup maker reviews for the minimum and maximum capacity of each model.

Size

Some soup makers now come in a smaller size – like the Morphy Richards Compact Soup Maker, designed for kitchens where space is at a premium. But the mini design of these soup makers means they can only make up to around a litre of soup at a time – enough for three small bowls or two large bowls of soup.

Cooking time

Some soup blenders can whip up hot soup from scratch in around eight minutes. However, this is noisy as you have to blend on full power for the whole time. Most soup makers cook ingredients first, which takes between 20 and 30 minutes.

Sauté feature

Some soup makers allow you to lightly fry your meat or vegetables before cooking. We found that this can make a real difference to the flavour of your soup. 

Blending options

Most soup makers can make smooth or chunky soup, but some also include a medium-texture setting for extra flexibility. You can also manually blend ingredients, so if you find your soup is overly chunky, you can give it another whizz. 

Most models also include a smoothie setting, for cold blending, and some even have ones for nut milk, jams and purées. 

Cleaning

If you want to make soup quickly, don't forget to factor in clean-up time. It's no use making speedy soup and then spending ages clearing up. Look for soup blenders with dishwasher-proof parts, pre-cleaning programs, and non-stick coatings to make it easier. Our soup maker reviews reveal which models are easiest to clean.

How much do you need to spend to get a good soup maker?

Soup makers cost from around £40 up to about £130. Spending more will usually get you a larger or more flexible capacity, and features such as a sauté function, keep-warm setting or pre-cleaning mode.

Should you buy a Morphy Richards soup maker?

Morphy Richards kicked off the soup maker trend and has one of the largest ranges around. Some models, like the Morphy Richards Sauté and Soup maker 501014, have a sauté feature, meaning you can sear meat, spices and vegetables before cooking – or even toast croutons. If you aren't fussed about sautéing, the Morphy Richards 501013 is identical to the 501014, minus the sauté function, and is cheaper.

Older models, such as the Morphy Richards 48822 soup maker, are still around online – the main difference on newer models is the redesigned lid and handle. Morphy Richards says that the newer angled display makes it easier to select blending programmes.

You can see how the various models stack up against each other by checking our Morphy Richards soup maker reviews.

Soup maker cooking tips

These handy tips should help you make great soup every time:

• Chop ingredients evenly: smaller chunks will help your soup to cook more quickly and evenly.
• Add water first: this can help prevent food sticking to the bottom and burning during cooking.
• Try adding veg high in vitamin B and C at the end: this is because these vitamins are heat-sensitive, so can be lost if you cook vegetables that contain these (such as peppers, broccoli, spinach or peas) for too long. Some soup makers have a pause button that can help with this, but these are more common on soup-making blenders.
• Use lentils to thicken up your soup: these are cheap, and an excellent source of protein and fibre.
• There's nothing wrong with using a little oil: sautéing onions or garlic in oil at the beginning doesn’t add a lot of fat to your soup, but can help pack in more flavour.

For our top picks for quick and easy soup-making, check our soup maker reviews

Put your appliance to work and whizz up a homemade soup for lunch or dinner. Browse BBC Good Food's soup maker recipes for inspiration.