Soup is a quick and easy dish that we can indulge in on the go without feeling incredibly guilty about our calorie intake.
However, there will still be those people that tell you homemade soup is far better than a tin of Heinz from the supermarket that is undoubtedly laden with salt.
If you are the type of person that raises your eyebrows in horror at the thought of preparing a meal from scratch, we’ve found some handy little gadgets that can whizz you up a tasty treat in almost the same time as it takes to open up that can of minestrone (and let’s be honest, you may as well chuck that straight in the bin if that’s your favourite flavour!)
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How to buy the best soup maker for you
A soup maker is essentially just a blender with a heating element. Chuck in your veg and push ‘go’. You don’t even have to stand there and watch it; simply leave it to its own devices for around 30 minutes and return to a delicious (and healthy) meal.
If you really don’t want any faff, you’ll be pleased to hear that the most basic soup makers only cost around £50, are fairly intuitive and dishwasher friendly.
However, if you do see yourself as a bit of a Gordon Ramsey or Marco Pierre White (no, we don’t mean the excessive swearing), then you might want to invest a little more towards a soup maker with all the mod-cons such as pre-set programmes and consistency control to really taste the difference.
The average soup maker has a capacity of 1.6L and will produce around four portions, so if you’re into meal prep or like man-sized portions, opt for a 1.6L or higher.
Our pick of the best soup makers to buy today
Do your weekly lunch prep in less than 30 minutes with this 1.6-litre model from Morphy Richards. Simply chop up some veg, bung it in and choose either ‘smooth’ or ‘chunky’. Voila, instant fat-free nutrition with minimal washing up afterwards.
This is one of the best soup makers 2019 has to offer because it doesn’t cost a bomb and doubles as a smoothie maker. You’ll also get a recipe book if you get bored of the same old soup. Top choice.
This is a compact sized blender that does more than it says on the (soup) tin. The Cuisinart Soup Maker Plus allows you to make soups as well as risottos, sauces and jams. It can even crush ice and make smoothies. However, it doesn’t have the biggest capacity (1.4 litres) so perhaps avoid it if you’re feeding more than four hungry gannets at a time.
The Cuisinart’s clear glass jug is great for keeping an eye on things as it goes about its business of gently heating and stirring the ingredients, while its three heat settings and four blender speed options provide excellent control throughout the process. This isn’t the cheapest model on the page but if you have the money to spare, it’ll go a long way in your kitchen.
Put the tin of Heinz down and head to the electrical aisle because this is now your new soup buddy. If soup is your go-to meal then the Tefal Easy Soup Maker is a hassle-free, intuitive model that will produce excellent results every time. Granted, its 1.2-litre capacity is among the smallest here (just about enough for a family of four) but it whips up a smooth, nutritious broth in less than 25 minutes and will keep it warm for a further 40 minutes. It also features a self cleaning program.
The Tefal comes with a handy recipe book, too, so you can venture away from the bog-standard tinned tomato and started getting a bit more adventurous. Many customers have stated how efficient and easy this product is to use. Given Tefal’s excellent track record, that doesn’t surprise us. A top choice for quick, fuss-free nosh.
This cracking soup maker is equipped with a portion control function that tailors your cooking to your lifestyle so if you only want soup for one or two, it’ll reduce the cooking and blending time accordingly. It also has a sauté function to give your soup a bit more zing and will happily even blend a smoothie.
The lid-mounted circular touch interface is really easy to use and comes with an array of pre-programmed settings, including the aforementioned portion control, three settings from smooth, medium and chunky soups and a pre-clean function that rinses the main jug for easier cleaning.
If you have absolutely no idea about cooking but wish to wean yourself off prepackaged microwave food and start living a little more healthily, then this is the model for you. Buyers love it, Which? loves it, we love it.
Turkish manufacturer Beko specialises in decent-quality white goods at affordable prices. However, in this instance the company’s bucked the trend and produced one of the most expensive soup makers on the market. Clad in stainless steel and quite Magimix-like in design, this is arguably the prettiest model on the worktop and one of the easiest to use. We especially like the simplicity of the control dial and clear LED timer on the front.
Eschewing the useless manual, we chucked a whole heap of soaked split peas in it and tried our best to replicate an amazing pea soup we once sampled in Amsterdam. Despite us leaving out one or two ingredients, the Beko produced a near perfect alternative in about 30 minutes. It kept it warm for a while, too, and was pretty easy to clean afterwards. Not bad. Not bad at all.
If you like to get ahead with your week by cooking in bulk then the VonShef Multifunctional Soup Maker can make soup and pretty much anything else you fancy – from soup and steamed vegetables to boiled eggs and sauces. Moreover, when you’ve completed the first course (and if your stomach can handle it), simply clean it out, bung in some frozen fruit, ice cream and milk, and finish off with a cool refreshing smoothie.
This model is equipped with four simple functions – chunky, smooth, pulse and blend – and one of the largest containers on the page (1.75 litres). If you have a large family of up to six or simply need a soup maker that can produce a week’s worth of meals in one fell swoop, then waltz right this way.
This soup maker featured on ITV’s This Morning, so it must be good, right? Well, if Amazon reviews are anything to go by, reactions are a bit mixed – ‘the food at the bottom burned’, ‘it won’t make thicker soup’, ‘great if you only want chunky soup’, ‘it’s a soup creator for Millennials who like pushing buttons’. On the plus side, the vast majority of users seem more than happy with it.
The Salter is larger than average, but with only three settings to choose from (chunky, blend and puree), you really can’t go wrong. However, you will need to chop all ingredients into 2cm pieces and that can be a faff without a decently sharp chef’s knife to hand.
