The best soup makers, tested by experts, because soup season is here

Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute

Our homes testing team review hundreds of products in the lab every year, from the best blenders to the best kettles, so they know what to look for in a reliable appliance.

When it comes to finding the best soup makers, we follow rigorous protocols to ensure each model consistently delivers well blended, flavoursome soups.

After making (and tasting) all those bowls of soup in the test kitchen, the results are passed to our senior homes and lifestyle writer, Megan Geall, who analyses each product's claims and performance in the lab. She's a keen home cook who has reviewed hundreds of products, so knows exactly what makes a soup maker stand out from the crowd.

Are soup makers worth it?

A good soup maker should be able to blend up any ingredients to the perfect consistency, helping you create delicious, hearty bowls with ease. Most models can also blend cold foods, and some have settings for smoothies and milkshakes, making them more versatile than they first appear. If you opt for one of these multitaskers, you can save space too.

If you’re a chunky-soup lover, look for machines that have a “chunky” setting; and if you’re after a soup with lots of depth and flavour, you may want to consider one with a sauté function so you can brown off your onions first.

What to consider when buying a soup maker

There are a few things to think about before buying a soup maker. We've listed they key ones below.

Size: Think about how many people you’re going to be serving. Generally speaking, 400ml is enough for one portion of soup. All the models on our list have a maximum capacity of 1.6L or above, which means you can make enough for at least four people.

Settings: Most models come with the option to make smooth or chunky soups. The soup maker will cook the ingredients first, then either blend until smooth or leave for a chunkier finish . These are some of the other pre-programmed settings to look out for.

• Jam – this setting cooks and reduces sugar and fruit to make textured fruit jam.
• Sauce – use this to make sweet and savoury sauces, from bechamel to chocolate.
• Smoothie – whip up thick smoothies with either fresh or frozen ingredients.
• Frozen drinks – this setting will crush ice and frozen fruit for slushy drinks.
• Dessert – a great mode for summer, this uses frozen fruits to make sorbets and ice creams.
• Milkshake – blend milk with powder or fresh fruits for a refreshing milkshake.
• Ice – crush ice for cocktails or other drinks.
• Steam – models with this setting come with a basket that fits into the bowl. Fill it partway with water to produce steam for cooking vegetables, fish, or potatoes.
• Sous vide –water is heated and maintained at a controlled temperature to cook fish or meat consistently.

Cooking time: Quicker isn’t always best; on test, we found that some of the faster soup makers left some fresh ingredients raw at the end of a program. Generally, it will take half an hour or more to cook ingredients thoroughly. If you're making chunky soup, cut ingredients into one centimetre cubes so they cook thoroughly.

Cleaning: Some models have dedicated cleaning settings. You simply add water and a few drops of washing up liquid and it will heat and mix the solution to clean the inside of the jug. However, this may not remove burned-on food. We also recommend wiping the inside of the jug with a warm soapy cloth – but keep your fingers clear of the blades.

What are the best recipes to make in a soup-maker?

The world is your oyster here. These are some of Good Housekeeping’s most popular winter soup recipes if you want to experiment with your new device:

• Spicy butternut squash soup
• Leek and potato soup
• Tofu satay noodle soup
• Carrot and coriander soup
• Broccoli and stilton soup
• Pea and ham minestrone

What not to put in a soup maker

While it’s fun throwing in lots of ingredients and seeing how your soup turns out, there are some watchouts. These include:

• Frozen food – unless your model explicitly says so, adding frozen food isn’t a good idea. Large chunks can damage the blade and lead to uneven heating.
• Uncooked pasta, rice or grains – raw carbs like these absorb lots of liquid and expand as they cook, causing sticking on the base and a stodgy texture (rather than a lovely soup). You risk your soup maker overflowing, too.
• Too much/too little liquid – too little liquid can cause burning and uneven heating, while too much can cause it to boil over.
• Dairy – milk, cream and cheese can curdle and stick due to the high temperatures. If you want to add them, pop them in at the end and use the blend setting to mix them in.
• Uncooked meats – soup maker programmes are fairly short and aren’t made for cooking meat. They typically don’t reach the temperatures needed to cook raw meat safely either. Instead, add in cooked ingredients near the end so they can heat through properly or stir in as a final step.

The verdict on soup makers

We weren’t surprised that Ninja’s Blender and Soup Maker topped our list of the best soup makers, but we were equally impressed by Braun’s PowerBlend 9 Jug Blender, which matched Ninja’s rich, creamy soups.

Both would make great buys – the choice really comes down to budget (the Ninja is cheaper when they're both full price) and capacity requirements (the Braun is a little bigger).