What is the best soup maker?
Soup is the ultimate in nutritious comfort food. And there’s nothing quite like a bowl of broth you’ve made yourself. But if you’re lacking time then why not make the job easier with one of our best soup makers?
We’ve put every machine here through its paces to ensure you can choose from the best products capable of taking fresh ingredients and whizzing up a perfect, piping-hot bowl of soup with minimum hassle.
We’ve reviewed more than 20 soup makers, but have listed the best four here. Of these, two stand out. The Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker remains the best soup maker we’ve tested, producing consistent results quickly. For those looking for a device that can also make smoothies, the NutriBullet Rx is a good all-rounder.
1. Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker
Pros:
- Non-stick cooking plate
- Sautés, cooks and simmers
- Can be used as a normal blender
Cons:
- Jug isn’t dishwasher safe
- Bulky to store
- No cleaning brush included
Why we liked the Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker
Although the 1.4-litre Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker has been around for a while, it’s as good today as at the time of launch.
It’s a superb all-in-one device, with options to blend, stir and sauté. Two higher heat settings, with a timer of up to 30 minutes, offer up different cooking options for various types of soup, too.
Cooking a Scotch broth, we ended up with a creamy soup that retained some texture and bite. It’s an impressive result. The Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker comes with an excellent recipe book, making it easy to experiment.
And for those concerned that the Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker may not get a whole lot of use, it works like a traditional blender too, producing desserts, sauces and pastes. If you’re after an all-in-one solution then the Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker is the best product.
Read the full review
2. NutriBullet Rx
Pros:
- Makes soups, smoothies, nut butters
- Comprehensive recipe book
- Most parts dishwasher safe
Cons:
- Recipes measured in cups
- Bulky
- Pricey
Why we liked the NutriBullet Rx
Best known for its range of smoothie-makers, the NutriBullet Rx turns its hand to producing healthy soups, although it can handle cold drinks, too.
To make a soup, use the 1.3-litre jug attachment. We added cauliflower, pear, nut butter, oil, mustard, stock and almond milk and picked the automatic soup programme. After a couple of stops to let the ingredients settle, the result was a perfectly smooth and hot soup minus any lumps.
The NutriBullet Rx is designed to cook just once, so if the results aren’t hot enough at the end of the cook, the manual recommends that you use a microwave or hob. Also note that this soup maker doesn’t have the ability to brown ingredients, so you may need to start some recipes on a hob.
Without the ability to reheat or sauté, the NutriBullet Rx is limited as a soup maker. However, it’s easy to use, can produce soups in seven minutes, and can whizz up cold drinks as well. For all-round use and making the occasional soup, this is a winner.
Read the full review
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3. Tefal Easy Soup
Pros:
- Three automatic cooking programmes plus blend
- Dedicated cleaning programme
- Detachable power cord
Cons:
- Parts aren’t dishwasher safe
- Can’t see soup as it cooks or blends
- No pause option during programmes
Why we liked the Tefal Easy Soup
No surprises over what the 1.2-litre Tefal Easy Soup is designed to do. Fortunately, we can report that the product lives up to its billing.
Although the Tefal Easy Soup can’t sauté ingredients, meaning you may need to start some soups on a hob, it takes care of the rest. Ingredients go into the stylish 1.2-litre metal jug, then simply select the right programme: Creamed Soup, Soup with Pieces, Compote or Blend and hit the Start/Stop button.
The metal jug doesn’t allow you to see what’s going on inside, so you have to trust that the programme you’ve selected is doing its job. We made a cream of celeriac soup with cumin, and the results were fantastic.
There’s an Easy Clean programme that you can run at the end, which uses a cook and blend programme with the jug full of tap-hot water. This wasn’t wholly successful; we had to resort to a bit of scrubbing to get the Easy Soup clean.
Nevertheless, to make quick and easy soups, the Tefal Easy Soup is excellent value.
Read the full review
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4. Scott Simplissimo Chef All in One Cook Blender
Pros:
- Auto cook, steam and blend programmes
- Stir function
- Auto-clean programme
Cons:
- Not dishwasher safe
- Very noisy
- No sauté function
Why we liked the Scott Simplissimo Chef All in One Cook Blender
More than just a soup maker, the Scott Simplissimo Chef All in One Cook Blender is designed to steam, cook, blitz and more, making this a versatile all-in-one machine. It can make up to 1.4 litres of hot fluids and 1.7 litres of cold.
The one thing this model can’t do is sauté, so you may need to turn to a pan and hob for some recipes. Starting with a vegetable soup, we used the Soup Smooth programme, which heated and stirred the ingredients, blending them at the end. The result was a piping-hot and tasty bowl of soup, although not quite as smooth as we’d expect.
Steaming, too, was made easy with this machine, as was whizzing up smoothies. There’s no denying that the Scott Simplissimo Chef All in One Cook Blender is a versatile and space-saving device.
Although the parts aren’t dishwasher safe, the auto-clean programme did an excellent job of removing food residue, with just water and washing-up liquid needed to do the job.
A great choice for small kitchens, where you don’t have room for a steamer, blender and soup maker, the Simplissimo Chef is a great multi-tasker.
Read the full review
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Best Soup Maker Round Up
- Cuisinart SSB1U Soup Maker
- NutriBullet Rx
- Tefal Easy Soup
- Scott Simplissimo Chef All in One Cook Blender
How we pick the best soup makers
It’s the quality of the final product that determines how good a soup maker is.
To test each model:
- We made a variety of recipes and evaluated the results. The exact recipes we use depend on the soup maker’s capabilities, but we push each model to see what it’s capable of.
- For those models that offer a sauté option, we test how well the soup maker can brown ingredients before setting off the cooking programme.
- We test the soup-making ability, timing how long it takes to make the soup, and examining the final product to see how well the ingredients are blended.
- For machines that have an easy clean option, we test to see if baked-on ingredients can be cleaned off automatically.
Best soup makers buying guide
How much capacity do I need?
Larger capacity soup makers are great if you’re either cooking for a lot of people, or you want to pre-make and freeze soup for use later. For general use, a soup maker with around a 1.2-litre capacity will do the job. If you want to make a lot of soup, look for a model that can handle 1.4 litres or more.
Do I need a sauté option?
A sauté option is helpful for recipes that require you to brown ingredients first, such as pre-cooking onions. While not having such a function isn’t the end of the world – after all, you can use a pan and a hob to do the job – it certainly saves time, hassle and washing up.
What options do I need?
Some soup makers are very basic and just create hot soup using a pre-defined programme. For more control, look for a model that has different programmes for different types of soup: smooth, chunky, and so on. Temperature control and reheat options can be useful additions, too.
What else should I look for?
If you want a device that can do more than just make soup, buy a model that can deal with cold liquids, too. That way, you get a soup maker, blender and smoothie maker all in one.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
