7 Best Soup Makers of 2026, Tested and Reviewed

Tested by Jessica Harlan

The old Campbell's Soup slogan is right: Soup is good food. And when you have the right appliance to make your favorite recipes, so much the better. A growing number of versatile appliances can make piping-hot, unctuous soup without all the stirring and pot-tending that traditional stovetop recipes require.

When it comes to appliances that make soup, the options are plentiful. Some, like immersion blenders or jar blenders, are the best appliances to puree a soup that's been simmered in a saucepan on the stove. A pressure cooker can quickly cook tough dried ingredients like beans and rice. The slow cooker setting on a multicooker is perfect for tenderizing tough cuts of meat and transforming vegetables and aromatics into a rich broth.

There are hot pots that can quickly heat a can of soup, simmer a broth or cook dried noodle soups. And finally, combination soup maker-blenders, which are also commonly used to create nut milks, are the ultimate in easy soup making: just add the ingredients into the jar and press start. These appliances cook the ingredients and blend them using preset programs.

We tested 18 products in seven different soup maker categories to find the best solutions for making the perfect bowl of soup.

How We Tested

To pick the best soup-making appliances, we began by researching what's on the market across seven categories: multicookers with slow-cooker functions, electric pressure cookers, immersion blenders, traditional jar blenders, electric hot pots, combination soup and nut milk makers, and countertop soup makers. We ordered the best-rated options from each category — 18 in all — and unpacked them, noting which accessories they came with and how detailed and easy to follow their instruction manuals were. We examined and measured the appliances to see if they'll store easily in a cabinet or look attractive on a countertop, and familiarized ourselves with their functions and control panels.

Finally, we made a soup recipe in each. For the multicookers and pressure cookers, we chose recipes with meat: a chicken white bean chili recipe for the pressure cookers and a chicken and rice soup for the multicookers. For the immersion blenders, we cooked a broccoli soup recipe in a Dutch oven, then blended the soup right in the pot. For blenders, we made a simple tomato soup, containing only four ingredients: two tablespoons of butter, half an onion, a can of San Marzano tomatoes and two cups of chicken stock. And for the nut milk/soup maker appliances, we chose a creamy soup from each of their instruction manuals or recipe booklets.

We then evaluated each appliance on the following:

Capacity: We considered how much food each appliance could hold and whether recipes fit into the appliance without overfilling it.

Performance  & Accuracy: We checked how well preset programs performed, how long the cooking or blending took, and whether the food was perfectly cooked and pureed at the end of the cycle.

Texture & Consistency: For the slow cookers and pressure cookers, we assessed whether the chicken was tender and juicy, and the vegetables or beans retained their shape without being mushy. For the creamy soup recipes in the appliances with blenders, we were looking for a uniformly smooth and velvety texture with no grit or chunks remaining.

Operation: While testing, we considered how intuitive each appliance was to use and how versatile it was for a variety of soups and even functions beyond soup-making. We also considered whether functions could be operated manually (i.e., heating without blending or blending without heating) and whether the interface was easy to operate.

Ease of Use: Nobody wants an appliance that requires consulting the instructions every time it's turned on. We checked to see how easy and straightforward the appliances were to use, whether they were comfortable to operate and handle, and whether cleaning was easy.

What to Consider When Buying a Soup Maker

Type: Multicookers and electric pressure cookers will be the most versatile soup makers. These often have multiple functions, whether it's pressure cook, slow cook or simmer, so you can make a variety of soups. If a creamy soup is your goal, blenders and immersion blenders are your best bet.

Size & Capacity: Take into account the size of your household when choosing the best soup maker for your needs. Most families of four to five people do well with an appliance that will prepare at least six cups or more of soup. It's also important to consider storage: Is the appliance so big that it won't fit on a shelf in your cabinet or pantry? If it's too big to store, is it attractive enough to be displayed on your counter? Will it fit under an overhead cabinet? Many blenders and pitcher-style soup makers are tall and bulky, making storage a challenge.

Features: Consider your favorite recipes and make sure the product you choose is capable of making the types of soup you enjoy eating. A pressure cooker or multicooker is good for making chunky soups with beans and meats, while a soup maker with an integrated blender is ideal for making vegetable-based soups.

Cleaning & Maintenance: While some parts of soup makers are dishwasher-safe, many need to be hand-washed. Many blenders and soup makers with blending capabilities have a "clean" setting that can do a lot of the grunt work. Just fill it with warm water and a few drops of dish soap, and turn it on! Some products even come with specialized cleaning brushes or sponges. Look closely at the appliances you're considering and see if there are crevices that could be difficult to clean or a lot of parts to keep track of.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can soup makers cook raw vegetables?

All of the soup maker categories we tested excel at cooking raw vegetables, even denser, tougher varieties like carrots.

Can soup makers cook raw meat?

The best soup makers for cooking raw meat are multicookers and pressure cookers, which are well-suited for stews and chunky soups that contain meat. It's not recommended to cook meat in the soup makers with an integrated blender.

Do soup makers blend and heat at the same time?

The combination nut milk and soup makers, as well as the blenders with an included heating element, such as the Ninja Foodi, have a built-in heating element so they heat the ingredients as well as blend them. Typically, the soup cooking programs will periodically pulse the ingredients during the heating cycle to better distribute the heat, and the cycle will end with prolonged blending to puree all the ingredients.

Are soup makers hard to clean?

Some of the products we tested, especially those with integrated blenders, had a lot of crevices and parts to clean. The appliances with blending functionality often have a cleaning setting that will use a combination of speeds and heat to clean the interior. Pressure cookers and multicookers, meanwhile, have a simpler construction that makes the removable pot easy to clean. Look for products with dishwasher-safe and nonstick-coated parts for easy care.

What's the difference between smooth and chunky soup settings?

Smooth soup settings puree the ingredients for a perfectly creamy consistency. These are typically soups like tomato soup, pureed vegetable soups or cream soups. Chunky soup settings have intact pieces of vegetables, beans or meat in a brothy base. With soup makers, the chunky setting often uses a slow mixing or pulsing motion to stir and combine the ingredients without pureeing them into a homogenous mixture.

Other Soup Makers We Tested

With 18 products to test, we had a few runners-up that just barely missed the cut, as well as others that we would not recommend.

We loved the way the Beautiful by Drew 6-Quart Electric Multicooker looked on our countertop and appreciated that the cooking vessel can be used on the stove or in the oven, but we found the control panel confusing. What's more, the low setting of the slow cooker kept the mixture at a brisk boil, too hot for a low setting.

While we're usually big fans of Cuisinart, the Cuisinart Smart Stick Immersion Blender left a lot to be desired. The blender splattered soup everywhere, and the controls need two handles to start or change the speed. We also found it uncomfortable to hold, as it puts the hand at an awkward angle.

The Breville Fresh and Furious Blender didn't completely puree a batch of tomato soup at the soup setting (slowest speed) and lacks a preset program for soup, so we think it's a better blender for smoothies than for soup-making.

Why You Should Trust Our Tester

Jessica Harlan, the tester and author of this review, is a cookbook author, food writer, recipe developer and culinary educator. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, Jessica has been writing about food, cooking and kitchen equipment for more than 25 years. She's tested everything from burger presses to peelers to the viral Ninja Creami ice cream makers. She has also written nine cookbooks.

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