Best Soup Makers 2024

If you’ve been out all day in the cold dark days of winter, what could be better than coming home to a nice hot home-made soup? The problem is you either have to start from scratch chopping ingredients and waiting for them to cook or you have to reheat soup you prepared before you went out. Either way takes time and effort when all you really want to do is curl up on the sofa in front of the fire and get cosy.

Well depending on which make and model soup maker you purchase, you could come home to piping hot soup that’s ready as soon as you walk in the door. This is because some models have delay settings that allow you to delay the cooking process for up to 12 hours. Even if you buy a soup maker without the delay setting, you can still have a healthy hot bowl of soup in between 20 – 30 minutes.

All you have to do is peel the vegetables, add them to the soup maker, fill with liquid and turn the soup maker on. Then you’re free to go and have a glass of wine and relax, no need to keep checking on the pot in case it boils over, the soup maker does it all. 

Best Soup Makers 2024 (UK)

Here are our picks for the Soup Makers of 2024:

What’s The Difference Between Soup Makers And Blenders?

The short answer is, not much, many soup makers look like blenders. They both turn vegetables into a blended liquid at the touch of a button. But blenders just blend, soup makers blend and cook the soup, it’s the perfect one-pot cooking system for soup.

Many soup makers have a cleaning setting to save on washing up too, let’s be honest after a hard day’s work nobody enjoys washing up. Even though neither of these appliances are essential kitchen gadgets, we believe a soup maker will make your busy life that little bit easier.

How Do Soup Makers Work?

The design of the average soup maker has been described as a blender with a heater at the base, and that’s a pretty accurate description. You place raw, peeled vegetables into the soup maker, add stock or water to the full level, replace the lid and switch on. The soup maker chops up the vegetables just like a blender does and then cooks the soup.

What Are The Benefits Of Soup Makers?

Having just said that a soup maker isn’t an essential kitchen appliance here comes the many reasons why we think you should buy a soup maker. The benefits of using a soup maker are:

• No need to watch it cooking – Cooking soup on a stove involves a lot of pot watching and temperature adjustments. The soup maker does it all for you.
• Money-saving – It would cost 4 times as much to buy enough soup for 4 people as it does to make it in the average soup maker.
• Cuts down on waste – As the vegetables will all be chopped and blended, it doesn’t matter how wrinkly or misshaped they are. No need to throw perfectly good vegetables just because they look ugly.
• Tastier soups – If we’re being honest, home-made soups taste much better than shop-bought, tin soups.
• Healthier meals – There’s no need to add meat, dairy, saturated fats, or any other unhealthy ingredients to create a healthy, tasty soup.
• Less salt – Doctors agree that too much salt is detrimental to health, all canned and prepackaged foods contain much more salt than we would use in our home-cooked food. They use the extra salt to make their soups seem tastier, we can use more vegetables for a tastier soup.
• Preservative-free – As you are making fresh, home-made soup there will not be any added preservatives that can cause health issues in some people.
• Much more nutritional – The main cause of vitamin loss in foods is overcooking, boiling soups for too long cuts the nutritional value considerably. Soup makers cook for the optimum time needed to create healthy, tasty, nutritional soups.
• Easier for calorie counting – For those of us on a diet, it’s almost impossible to get the calorie count right from prepacked food. Cooking your own ingredients gives you much greater control.
• Hides food the kids won’t eat – We all want our kids to eat healthy, nutritious vegetables but many will complain that they don’t like them. Once they’re all blended into a tasty soup, the kids won’t know what vegetables you’ve put in there.
• Helps you get your 5 a day – By using a soup maker regularly, you will find you are eating way more than your 5 a day recommendations.
• Increase your fluid intake – Soups are liquid-based meals, and as they’re so simple to cook in a soup maker you will find you cook them more often. Which will result in you increasing the amount of fluid you are consuming.
• More adventurous with ingredients – Once you start using your soup maker on a regular basis, and realise just how easy and convenient it is to use, you’ll be more inclined to experiment with unusual ingredients.
• Easy to adapt recipes – This ties in with the last one really, because the more adept you become with your soup maker, you will realise just how easy it is to combine and adapt recipes and make them your own.
• All year round fresh soups – Hot soups full of chunky vegetables are great as a winter warmer but how about summer soups. Light soups make great summer meals too and they help to keep you hydrated.
• Even consistency – With a soup maker you can control how thick or thin you want your soup to turn out, without having to constantly watch over it.
• Fast working – The average time taken for a soup maker to cook your soup is around 20 minutes for a smoothly blended soup and around 28 – 30 minutes for a chunky vegetable soup.
• Energy-saving – In just 20 minutes or thereabouts, you can make enough soup for 4 meals, giving you the option of freezing them for a quick meal at any time. That’s 4 meals cooked at one time, saving energy on cooking time.
• No mountain of pots – When cooking even a simple meal like soup, you end up with dirty pots, blenders, stirring spoons etc… With a soup maker, you just have the one pot to clean and even better than that…
• Easy-clean – Once all the soup has been emptied out of the soup maker, add a little squirt of washing up liquid and some water, blend and leave. When it’s done just rinse the machine out with cold water and you’re ready to cook again.
• Easy on the eye – Soup makers come in a range of designs and colours to suit your kitchen and decor.
• Not just for soups – Soup makers can also be used for blending, juicing and much more, some can even make jam!
• Space-saving – To cook perfect soup, a soup maker is all you need, cooking soup without a soup maker involves at the very least a saucepan and a blender so soup makers save you space in the kitchen.
• Time-saving – Once all the ingredients are in the soup maker, you can leave the kitchen and get on with whatever you choose to do while the soup is cooking. No need to stand and watch it cook to make sure it doesn’t boil over or burn.
• Easier to use – If for example, you have arthritis, rheumatism or any other problems with your hands, a soup maker will make cooking soup so much easier than struggling with pots and pans.

What Are The Disadvantages Of A Soup Maker?

There are always some disadvantages to owning anything and there have been some comments on the disadvantages of having a soup maker. Let’s have a quick look at the most common complaints.

You can’t taste test your soup while it’s cooking in a soup maker, but is that really a problem? If you follow a decent recipe there’s no need to taste during cooking. 

Takes up space on the worktop. So does a blender, but a soup maker not only blends, it makes perfect soup too. Plus soup makers are small enough to be packed away in the cupboard when not in use.

Soup Makers Buyers Guide

There are plenty of soup makers on the market, many with extra features that you might find useful. So we’ve put together this list of features to consider before buying a soup maker.

Cooking Time

Most models claim to be capable of making soup in 20 – 30 minutes but does this include time taken to soften the onions, for example. Some models have the capability to saute onions, check before making your final decision if this is a feature you require.

Design

Soup makers come in many different designs, some look just like a blender, whilst others look like jugs. There are even some that look like old fashioned kettles and others that look like lidded cauldrons. The choice is yours, subject to the price of course. 

Capacity

 The range in capacity starts at 0.8 litres and rises to 2.2 litres but the average capacity size for soup makers is around 1.6 litres, you can get larger models that cook more soup, but remember the bigger the capacity, the bigger the machine will be too. Think about storage space or how much space you have on your worktop.

Power

The size and power of the motor will definitely affect the time taken to blend vegetables. Also, the Wattage will make a difference to energy bills. 

Cleaning

Does the soup maker come apart easily for cleaning? Is it dishwasher safe? Or does it have a self-clean setting?

Functionality

Do you just want a basic model that just blends and makes soup? Or do you want one that can also make sauces, jams, smoothies, milkshakes, slushies, or even just crush ice?

Also, will it cut vegetables and leave them chunky as well as making smooth soups. 

Some models even have a steam program for cooking fish, potatoes or vegetables. Others have the ability to boil eggs.

What Is The Jug Made from

There are 3 types of jugs made for soup makers dependent on make and model. Do you prefer glass, plastic or stainless steel? Stainless steel is less likely to get damaged but you might want to see the soup as it’s cooking, then you’ll need either plastic or glass.

Size

We touched on this earlier but if you have limited space there are now models that are compact, obviously, they have a smaller capacity (usually around one litre) than full-size soup makers but if space is important they might suit you better.

Integrated Scales

Some of the more expensive soup makers have an integrated weighing scale for your convenience.

Soup Maker Price

With such a large range of makes and models available, we’re certain you’ll find the right one for your home. As a rough guide, you can pay anywhere between £30 to £130 for a soup maker. The more expensive models tend to have the most functions and also offer longer warranties too.

Brand

Buying a soup maker from a well-known brand is always the best practice, these companies have many years of experience in manufacturing electrical products. This means their products are less likely to go wrong. But if they do develop a problem a respected company is more likely to have a good after-sales and service department.

Warranty

The length of the warranty on a soup maker varies between 12 months and 3 years. With more expensive makes and models having longer guarantees. Any guarantee is only as good as the company that issues it, that’s why we recommend buying a well-known brand from a reputable retailer.

Can You Thicken Soup In A Soup Maker?

There are many ingredients that can be added to the soup to thicken it after cooking these include:

1. Cheese
2. Creme Fraiche
3. Yoghurt
4. Double Cream
5. Single Cream
6. Instant Mash Powder
7. Cornflour
8. Thickening Agents (Usually found in a granular form).

What Soups Can You Cook In A Soup Maker?

Any of the classic soups can be easily made in a soup maker. From pea and ham, leek and potato, carrot and coriander… even chicken soup is a doddle in a soup maker! To see some of the classic soups adjusted for a soup maker head over to our recipe page.

How Much Does A Soup Maker Cost?

As we said earlier a soup maker can be bought for around £30 for a one-litre capacity basic model and rise to as much as £500 for a soup maker that can make soy milk, almond milk, rice milk and double up as a blender too.

For around the £50 mark you can buy a soup maker from a respected company with more than average features.

Where Can You Buy A Soup Maker?

You can buy a soup maker from all reputable retailers including, Argos, Amazon, AO.com, Tesco, ASDA and many more.

Frequently Asked Questions