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The best soup makers for easy dinners, according to the GHI
Whiz up healthy and hearty meals in minutes with one of these tried and tested gadgets
Tested by Blossom BoothroydHomes Testing Manager
We're now into the colder months and that means delicious soups and stews are very much back on the menu. And while soup makers aren’t necessarily a kitchen essential, they can save a great deal of time and fuss when whipping up a nourishing bowl of hearty goodness.
The best soup makers will cut, blend, puree and sauté your food in a flash. They're also easy to use and create minimal washing up, as everything happens in one appliance, making them a handy gadget to have around.
To find out which models have the best blending capabilities, we put them to the test at the Good Housekeeping Institute.
After trying a range of soup makers from top brands such as Lakeland, Ninja and Morphy Richards, here are our best performers at a glance, but scroll on for our detailed reviews.
Best soup makers 2025
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If you’re replacing an existing soup maker, there are plenty of places for you to safely recycle your old one. Find your nearest electrical recycling point, or read our guide on how to donate or dispose of your appliances and tech for extra guidance.
What's the difference between a blender and a soup maker?
A soup maker is essentially a blender with a heating element in its base. There are two main types: those that look like a traditional blender; and those that have a blade suspended from their lid. Both designs perform well but the former offers more versatility, as you can use it as a blender too. Most models can also blend cold foods.
As well as cooking your ingredients, soup makers can blend them into a smooth or chunky soup, so you can get just the texture you like. Plus, with no need for multiple pots and pans, they are a helpful, space-saving option.
What makes a good soup maker?
A good soup maker should be able to blend up any ingredients to the perfect consistency, helping you create delicious, hearty soups with ease. However, the best model for you will depend on personal preference.
If you’re a chunky-soup lover, look for machines that have a “chunky” setting; but 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
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-programed 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.
How we test soup makers
At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we test each machine by making a bowl of tomato soup using the standard smooth soup setting, followed by Thai butternut squash soup on the standard chunky setting. We taste each soup to make sure all the ingredients are well cooked and take a temperature reading to ensure it's hot enough to serve.
We also test each model’s blending ability, to see if they can blend without using the heating element. We run every test twice to check consistency.
Every soup maker is scored according to its design, ease of use, instructions and, of course, its performance.
These are our best buys. Bowl and spoon at the ready.
Ninja Blender and Soup Maker HB150UK
Pros
- Responsive controls
- Stable while blending
Cons
- Some ingredients splashed out
Score: 89/100
This two-in-one blender and soup maker can keep your soup warm for an hour after the program finishes. Our smooth soup was rich, deep and creamy, while the Thai butternut squash soup was pleasingly chunky. All the vegetables were well cooked but still had a slight bite, retaining their bright and vibrant colour, too.
As a blender, this model made a smooth banana milkshake and impressed when making batter for deep frying. The main bowl is heavy (over 2.5kg), making it a little tricky to clean, but overall, this is a quality machine.
Key specifications
| Type | 2-in-1 soup maker and blender |
|---|---|
| Maximum capacity | 1.6L |
| Programs | 10 including smooth soup, thick soup, smoothie, jam, milkshake |
| Jug material | Glass |
| Weight | 5.6k |
| Wattage | 1000W |
Pros
- Intuitive timer function
- Has an ingredient feeder
Cons
- Some splash back when adding oil to mayonnaise
Score: 89/100
With six main programs that all operate at different speeds and produce a mix of consistencies, this is a real multi-tasker.
Using its hot soup function, it blended ingredients evenly, barely dropping a mark for its Thai butternut squash soup. Our tomato and basil soup was also packed full of flavour, but was more lukewarm than hot, and the machine made quite a lot of noise (over 90dB) during the six-minute program.
As a normal blender, it scored perfect marks for its lump- and clump-free batter and breadcrumbs, something testers credited to the triangular jug. And when you're finished, its self-cleaning function makes clean-up fuss-free.
Key specifications
| Type | Soup maker and blender |
|---|---|
| Maximum capacity | 2L |
| Programs | 6 plus 10 speeds, pulse, and 3 texture options |
| Jug material | Tritan |
| Weight | 4.6kg |
| Wattage | 1600W |
Pros
- Quality build with non-slip feet and handy pouring lip
- Blade is attached to the lid to prevent ingredients getting stuck underneath
Cons
- No feeder for ingredients
- Not dishwasher-friendly
Score: 85/100
If you’re on a budget, this Dunelm soup maker is a savvy buy. It has two soup presets, one for smooth soup (which took 21 minutes) and another for chunky (28 minutes). Both produced flavoursome results on test, with our soups emerging steaming hot. Testers would have liked a viewing window to check on progress, though.
While you can’t use it like a food processor, it’s suitable for anything with wet ingredients, including milkshakes and mayonnaise – both of which impressed in the test kitchen. Its 1.6-litre capacity isn’t huge (about the size of your average kettle) so won't suit large households. But if you’re short on space, it won’t take up much room on your counter or in the cupboard.
Key specifications
| Type | Soup maker |
|---|---|
| Maximum capacity | 1.6L |
| Programs | Two |
| Jug material | Metal |
| Weight | 2.6kg |
| Wattage | 1000W |
Pros
- Easy to assemble
- Scored well for our milkshake test
Cons
- When blending, you must continuously press the button, and it only runs for 35 seconds at a time
Score: 85/100
With three blending settings, this machine took half an hour to make smooth and well-cooked tomato soup. Our chunky soup was also flavourful, but the butternut squash wasn't quite cooked enough, so we would cook for a little longer next time.
There’s a handy automatic cleaning mode, but it didn’t remove all the burnt food on the base of the jug, so you’ll need to wipe it down too. This soup maker can blend cold food and its ice-crushing function is great. It struggled to chop nuts evenly, but that's a minor niggle.
Key specifications
| Type | Soup maker with cold settings |
|---|---|
| Maximum capacity | 1.75L |
| Programs | 5 including smooth soup, thick soup, sauce, ice |
| Jug material | Glass |
| Weight | 7.14kg |
| Wattage | 1000W |
Morphy Richards Total Control Soup Maker
Pros
- Controls are intuitive
- Has both sauté and manual functions too
Cons
- Can’t make mayonnaise or chop nuts like other models
Score: 83/100
Differing from our top scorers, this soup maker's blade is suspended from the top rather than the base. It has smooth, medium, and chunky soup settings, as well as separate functions for smoothies and milkshakes. All this earned it full marks for its flavoursome and silky smooth tomato soup, and the chunky soup was tasty too.
The milkshake setting left small un-chopped chunks of banana in our drink, which may not be everyone’s preferred consistency. It was also difficult to remove the lid without making a bit of a mess.
Key specifications
| Type | Soup maker with cold settings |
|---|---|
| Maximum capacity | 1.6L |
| Programs | 7 including smooth soup, thick soup, drinks, sautee |
| Jug material | Metal |
| Weight | 2.9kg |
| Wattage | 1100W |
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
The verdict on soup makers
As the winner of our blender tests, we weren’t surprised that Ninja’s Blender and Soup Maker also topped this list, 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) and capacity requirements (the Braun is a little bigger).
Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
Our homes testing team have reviewed hundreds of products in the lab, from the best blenders to the best kettles, so they know what to look for in a reliable home appliance.
When it came to finding the best soup makers, they followed rigorous protocols to ensure each model would deliver well blended, flavoursome soups, time after time.
After they'd finished making (and tasting) all those bowls of soup in the test kitchen, the results were passed to our homes writer, Megan Geall, who analysed 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.
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior homes and lifestyle writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market and has written hundreds of product reviews on everything from the best vacuum cleaners and coffee machines to the best ice cream makers and robot window cleaners.
When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her running every distance from 5km to 100km or relaxing at home with her cat – there really is no in between.
Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, Women's Health, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall.
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
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