The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Soup Maker

There’s little better than being able to quickly and conveniently create a batch of delicious, healthy, home-made soup. And, a soup maker is the best way to do this. However, when it comes to buying a soup maker you’ll probably be overwhelmed with choices. If you want to ensure you buy the very best soup maker, read this buying guide from the Morphy Richards team first…

What is a soup maker? 

Forgive us for posing what may seem like a question with an obvious answer, but what exactly is a soup maker? 

Put in the simplest terms, a soup maker is a kitchen appliance that’s designed to automate as much of the soup making process as possible; it’s all about convenience. 

In more practical terms, a soup maker is an appliance that combines both a heating element and a blender. The outward appearance of your average soup maker tends to resemble a ‘chunky’ blender, Thermos flask, or kettle. See the example below: 

Morphy Richards Classic Soup Maker

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Of course, soup makers aren’t merely a heating element and blending blade combined. Like many other kitchen gadgets, soup makers have been the subject of efforts to add even further conveniences. 

As such, the very latest soup makers (such as ours here at Morphy Richards 👋) are packed with a wealth of handy features. These include automated cooking programs that’ll happily create soup on your behalf at the touch of a button. On some models, these automated programs include drink and smoothie programmes. 

Some soup makers even include integrated digital scales and portion control functions, allowing you to create precisely balanced soups; ideal if you’re on a calorie controlled diet etc. 

You may sometimes see these types of soup makers (which can do more than simply make soup), referred to as ‘multifunction soup makers’. 

Other incredibly handy features that you’ll find on modern soup makers are cleaning modes, where the soup maker can give itself an initial clean. Note - you’ll still need to give your soup maker a manual clean (especially the inside of the lid). 

The point here is that today’s premium soup makers can do so much more than heat and blend soup!

What’s the difference between a soup maker and a blender? 

From what you’ve just read, you may be forgiven for thinking that a soup maker is a very similar kitchen appliance to a blender. 

Whilst they do share some similarities, the reality is that they’re very different. 

That difference is most marked by their physical appearance and assembly. 

Soup makers consist of a cylindrical base, which has a heating element built into the bottom. This does the ‘cooking’ of the soup. The other part of a soup maker is the lid, which houses the blending mechanism, below which sits the blending blade.

Blenders on the other hand tend to consist of a base which also incorporates the blending mechanism and blade. The lid merely acts as a physical barrier to prevent food or liquids spraying or splashing out of the blender during its operation. 

Both types of appliances have their pros and cons, but soup makers tend to be more versatile, allowing you to make hot and cold soups, smoothies, fruit juices and more. Plus, they’re really self-contained, meaning you don’t need to use lots of different pots and pans. In other words, soup makers are space-saving and time-saving devices!

How do soup makers work? 

As we mentioned above, soup makers function based on a heating element and a blending blade. 

The heating element and blender act in unison to turn the ingredients you add to the soup maker into a delicious, ready-to-eat soup. 

How do they do that? Well, the best way to explain is to take you through each step of the soup-making process. 

Step one: preparing your ingredients

The initial step in using a soup maker involves collecting your ingredients together. In this example, we’ll take you through the process of making a basic vegetable soup; convenient, nutritious and delicious!

Your ingredients will be as follows: 

• 130g potato (peeled and diced). We recommend Russet potatoes for making the perfect soups. If you can’t find Russets in your local supermarket, then Maris Piper and King Edward potatoes are just as good.
  
  
• 130g leek (washed and sliced). The Common Leek is ideal for soups, but if you prefer a slightly sweeter taste choose Baby Leeks.
  
  
• 100g carrot (peeled and diced). The Danvers carrot is the ideal type of carrot for use in soups. These are your classic carrot that is most commonly found in the supermarket.
  
  
• 100g onion (peeled and diced). The Yellow Onion (also known as the Brown Onion) is the perfect choice for soups. This type of onion has a slightly stronger taste compared to equivalents such as White Onions and will thus retain their flavour following cooking. 

Aside from the vegetables detailed above, you’ll want to also gather: 

• 2 vegetable stock cubes. We’re not going to favour any particular brands here, but if you want a healthier option it’s possible to buy very low salt veg stock cubes.
  
  
• 500ml cold water. 

Alternatively, you may wish to forego the stock cubes and water above and instead use ready-made vegetable stock. These days this is widely available from most supermarkets. 

Tip - it’s a good idea to ensure that your vegetables are well and evenly chopped. This will make it easier for the veg to both cook and blend. 

Step two: loading your soup maker

The second step in using your soup maker involves adding your ingredients in the correct order. 

This can vary from brand to brand, but at Morphy Richards, we recommend adding your ingredients in the following order: 

• Fill the soup maker with the prepared vegetables. Make sure that the vegetables are well mixed together as this will make blending easier. 
• Drop in the stock cubes. Ideally you’ll crumble these over the vegetables rather than dropping the cubes in whole. 
• Pour in your cold water ensuring that you cover the stock cubes and vegetables consistently. Do not fill the soup maker beyond the ‘max’ mark which you can find on the outside body of the appliance 

Tip - you’ll find that getting the correct ratio of vegetables to water can be more of an art than a science. Too much water to vegetables, and you can end up with very watery soup. Conversely, too little water, and you can end up with soup that’s too thick and which sticks to the inside of the soup maker. We’d recommend a few ‘practice runs’ when you first use your soup maker. Handily, Morphy Richards soup makers can be paused ‘mid-program’, so you can add more water/stock if necessary.

Step three: starting the cooking and blending program

Once you’ve added your ingredients to the soup maker it’s time to select one of the automatic programs. 

For this particular recipe (basic vegetable soup), we’ll be using the ‘smooth’ automatic program.

If you are using the Morphy Richards Compact Soup Maker, the smooth automatic program has a duration of 19 minutes. 

To activate this, press the ‘mode’ button until the ‘smooth’ option is highlighted (you’ll see a red LED light up to indicate this). Then push the ‘start/stop’ button.

From then on, you can sit back and relax as the soup maker does its stuff. 

The heating element kicks in as soon as it receives an electric current from the power supply. This electrical energy is converted into heat via a process known as Joule heating (whereby the electrical current passes through a resistor). 

As the heating element gets hotter the heat it generates radiates out into the soup, rising up through the soup maker as it does so.

In between bouts of heating, the soup maker’s blender will turn on, blending those ingredients we added earlier. (As we mentioned above, cutting your vegetables into smaller pieces will assist this blending process). 

Between heating and blending, your soup maker will rest, providing time for the ingredients to settle.

At the end of the 19 minute ‘smooth’ program, you’ll hear a beep which indicates that your soup is ready to serve. 

Serving your soup is as simple as removing the lid (being careful not to knock the blending blade) and using the integrated lip to pour out the soup into serving bowls.

Note - if you use other automatic programs such as ‘chunky’ you’ll find that the blending function doesn’t activate, with the soup maker simply heating the ingredients instead. However, you can manually activate the blending function using the ‘blend’ button, allowing you to create the perfect consistency.

Step four: washing your soup maker

Washing your soup maker couldn’t be easier. Morphy Richards soup makers are made from easy-clean materials such as stainless steel and robust polypropylene plastic. 

Whilst they’re not dishwasher safe our soup makers can be easily cleaned using warm water and a soft sponge or cloth. If the inside of the soup maker jug needs a bit more of a robust clean then some warm soapy water combined with a coarse sponge cleaning pad will do the job.

However, some soup makers - such as the Morphy Richards Large Soup Maker - feature an automatic cleaning function. 

Using this is as simple as removing the lid, pouring in 800 ml of warm water (along with a small drop of washing liquid), replacing the lid and pressing the ‘clean’ button. This cleaning function is designed to dislodge foodstuffs from the blade and jug - to get your soup maker completely clean you’ll still need to give it a wipe and manually clean the inside of the lid etc. 

Note - please ensure that you do not immerse your Morphy Richards soup maker in water when cleaning. 

The features to look for when buying a soup maker

Okay, so hopefully at this point you have a clear idea as to what soup makers are, how they are different from blenders, and how soup makers work.

So, what do you need to know if you’re about to buy one? Below, you’ll find the key characteristics and features to look for in a premium soup maker. 

Capacity

This is arguably the most important point to consider when purchasing a soup maker. 

How much soup do you want to cook? 

This isn’t necessarily a question with a cut and dry answer though. 

Imagine you’re a single person who only requires a bowl of soup at a time; it’d make sense to only buy a smaller soup cooker (with a capacity of around 1 litre). But, what if you’re a fan of batch cooking soup? Then it may make sense to buy a classic or large soup maker (with capacities of up to 1.6 litres). 

That’s our way of saying that you should give some extra thought to the ways in which you’ll be using your soup maker - not simply the total volume of soup you may need at any one time.

Whether you’re only wanting the occasional bowl of soup, or you’re a batch cooking maestro, Morphy Richards has you covered. 

Our range includes soup makers of varying capacities: 

• Compact Soup Maker - 1 litre capacity (~1.7 pints) - enough for three decent servings of soup.
• Classic Soup Maker - 1.6 litre capacity (~3 pints) - enough for four generous servings of soup.
• Large Soup Maker - 1.6 litre capacity (~3 pints) - enough for four generous servings of soup.

Note - the Large Soup Maker has the same capacity as the Classic Soup Maker, but is able to cook soups quicker.

Materials and style

Soup makers may be exceptionally good value small kitchen appliances, but you still want to ensure that you buy one that is long-lasting and durable. 

So, the next thing you should check when buying a soup maker is the materials it's manufactured from.

Here at Morphy Richards, our soup makers are manufactured from corrosion resistant stainless steel and robust polypropylene. 

Not only are these materials strong and durable, but they’re easy-to-clean and hygienic. 

Further, what really makes our soup makers stand out is the fact that the plastic used in our soup makers (such as polypropylene) is BPA-free. 

BPA is an industrial chemical that is present in many plastics (including plastic food containers and water bottles). Standing for bisphenol-A, BPA has been known to ‘leach’ out of plastic into foodstuffs and liquids which come into contact with that plastic. 

This leaching can be particularly pronounced where a BPA-containing plastic is in contact with a hot liquid or foodstuff. 

Because bisphenol-A has been linked to a variety of health conditions (such as hormonal imbalances), at Morphy Richards we have ensured that our soup makers are completely BPA-free.

Aside from being made from safe and durable materials, we’ve also ensured that our soup makers typify that classic Morphy Richards style. 

Elegant, minimalist, mid-century modern design is expressed throughout the Morphy Richards soup maker range. Think modern, but with a hint of mid-60’s retro. 

Let’s put it this way, when you’re finished using your Morphy Richards soup maker you’ll want to leave it on display rather than putting it in a kitchen cupboard…

Programs and functions

After capacity and build quality, this is another of the most important things to check when buying a soup maker. 

What programs and functions does your chosen soup cooker have? 

As a minimum, you’ll want the following functions and programs: 

• Automatic chunky mode - this will allow you to create hot, chunky soups from vegetables and meats that you’ve pre-prepared. This is an automatic program that utilises the heating function of the soup maker (no blending occurs on this setting). On Morphy Richards soup makers the chunky mode takes 26 minutes.
  
  
• Automatic smooth mode - as the name suggests, this mode operates automatically and uses the soup maker's heating and blending ability to create delicious smooth soups in only 19 minutes.
  
  
• Blending - the best soup makers also allow you to manually push a button to blend your soups further. This allows you to ‘fine tune’ the consistency of your soups.
  
  
• Drinks/Smoothie/Juice - you may not always want to eat soup! Sometimes you’ll have a hankering for a cold smoothie or juice. This setting on a soup maker will allow you to do exactly that. On some Morphy Richards soup makers the blending and smoothie/drinks/juice settings are combined into one, as they simply involve the use of the blending mechanism without the heating element.
  
  

All Morphy Richards soup makers come with the above four programs/functions as standard. 

If you want to step things up a notch, then it’s possible to buy soup makers with even more features. Examples include: 

• Automatic medium mode - found on our Total Control Soup Maker, this mode allows you to create soups of the perfect blend between chunky and smooth.
  
  
• Sauté - the more advanced soup makers allow you to sauté some foods as well as make soup (note - the sauté function isn’t designed to cook raw meat, except for very small amounts e.g. bacon lardons). . With a sauté function you’ll be able to fry ingredients in a little hot fat within your soup maker.
  
  
• Pre-clean/clean - soup makers with this function can give themselves an initial clean using a short four-minute program. All you need to do is add some warm soapy water to the soup maker jug and pop the lid back on. Note - some manual cleaning is still required, particularly the inside of the soup maker’s lid.
  
  
• Re-heat - soup makers such as our Clarity Soup Maker and Total Control Soup Maker possess re-heat/keep warm functions so you can either maintain your soup at a certain temperature, or heat it up again once it’s cooled. 

The table below shows the different programs and functions you can find on the Morphy Richards soup maker range:

Setting/Program	Compact Soup Maker	Classic Soup Maker	Large Soup Maker*	Perfect Soup Maker*	Sauté & Soup Maker	Clarity Soup Maker*	Total Control Soup Maker
Chunky	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Medium							X
Smooth	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Drinks/Smoothie/Juice	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Blend	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Sauté					X		X
Pre-Clean/Clean			X			X	X
Re-heat/Keep Warm			X			X	X

 
*Note - the Large Soup Maker, Perfect Soup Maker, and Clarity Soup Maker combine their smoothie and blend functions into a single setting.

Additional soup maker features

The programs and features we’ve described above are pretty much ‘must haves’ when it comes to modern soup makers - especially those core programs such as smooth, chunky and blend. 

However, there are a number of other features that can be useful…

LED display

Although soup makers will do nearly all the work for you, you’ll still want to know where they are up to during their programs. 

So, look for soup makers (like ours!) that feature built in LED displays. These provide a handy countdown timer which will help you coordinate your cooking. 

The LED displays on Morphy Richards’ soup makers also show what process the maker is currently using (e.g. heating, blending, resting, completed). It’s a feature that you probably never knew you needed, but once experienced you can’t do without it!

Digital scales

Some soup makers - such as the Morphy Richards Perfect Soup Maker - incorporate a set of digital scales within the base of the soup maker jug. 

With a set of scales you are able to finely tune your soup recipes and ensure you are using precisely measured amounts of ingredients. This is useful on a number of levels; an individual who is on a calorie controlled diet can track their caloric intake. Someone who is looking to bulk up and needs to keep track of their protein and carbohydrate intake can easily do so. Or someone who is attempting to create a particularly challenging recipe can create with confidence.

In other words, digital scales can be an extremely useful addition to a soup maker.

For added utility, the digital scales on the Morphy Richards Perfect Soup Maker allow you to customise the units of measurement (e.g. g, ml, lb/oz, oz).

Portion control

In many soup makers you have to make a complete batch of soup in order for the automatic programs to work effectively. For example, you’d have to cook a batch of three bowls of soup in order for the ‘smooth’ function to properly heat and blend the soup. 

To put this another way, on many soup makers the automatic programs are finely tuned to cook only very specific volumes of soup. 

This, unless you’re willing to batch it, can result in wasted soup. And, nobody wants to waste soup!

That’s why some people choose soup makers that have a portion control feature. You simply add the ingredients and water stock to the predefined levels within the soup maker jug and then select the appropriate portion amount using the controls. Voilà! You’ve got soup without the waste. 

Price

One buying factor that you can’t get away from is price. When you’re looking for a new soup maker it’s best to decide how much you’re willing to spend before you start browsing. 

At the time of writing (February 2024), soup makers range from just under £60 up to £130. 

Like any other appliance, the more you spend on a soup maker, the more features and programs you’ll get. 

Ultimately, the ‘price’ factor hinges on the balance between how much you want to spend and what features and programs you can’t live without on your soup cooker…

Reviews

We hope you’re finding this buying guide useful, however it’s always handy to read a mix of reviews. 

Given the popularity of soup makers, you’ll find that they’ve been reviewed by everyone from prestigious legacy media publications to indie one-man-band bloggers. 

Okay, so having said that, now’s our chance to boast…

Morphy Richards’ range of soup makers are widely acknowledged to be some of the best on the market. But, don’t just take our word for it; check out some of these reviews:

• Reviewed to be the ‘best everyday soup maker’ by BBC Good Food.
  
  
• Judged to have the ‘best soup maker for smooth soup’ and ‘best soup maker for built-in scales’ by Good Housekeeping.
  
  
• Our Total Control Soup Maker and Clarity Soup Maker made Which?’s list of the best soup makers.
  
  

Aside from these reviews in major publications, the internet is littered with honest, impartial reviews from home cooks to professional bloggers. Fire up Google and have a look!

Buy the best soup maker now

Made up your mind to buy a soup maker? Then you’re in the perfect place to pick up a super soup maker…

Below, we’ve taken a whistle-stop tour of the Morphy Richards soup maker range, highlighting the key features and benefits of each model. 

Compact Soup Maker

 Morphy Richards Compact Soup Maker

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The ‘entry’ model of many product ranges tends to be fairly basic, but there’s nothing basic about the Compact Soup Maker from Morphy Richards. 

This is a soup maker that can hold its head up amongst the very best premium soup cookers on the market. 

But, enough of the superlatives, here are the key ‘need to know’ facts about this soup maker:

• 1 litre capacity.
• Easy LED display. 
• Non-stick coating. 
• BPA-free.
• Chunky or smooth automatic programs.

Classic Soup Maker

Morphy Richards Classic Soup Maker

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If you want the original soup maker that has acted as the inspiration for countless other imitations, then you’ll want the Classic Soup Maker. 

Endlessly stylish, yet simultaneously practical and durable, the Classic Soup Maker is ideal for individuals and families alike. It’s no wonder it’s been the subject of rave reviews!

• 1.6 litre capacity. 
• BPA-free.
• Automatic smooth, chunky and juice programs. 
• Easy-to-use blend button for precise consistency and texture control.

Large Soup Maker

Morphy Richards Large Soup Maker

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If you want to cook larger amounts of soup in a short period of time, then you won’t do better than the Large Soup Maker. 

With a 1.6 litre capacity, the Large Soup Maker can cook four generous servings of soup in only 21 minutes. That’s perfect for when you need to rustle up a filling snack in a hurry, or need to heat up soup within the space of a lunch break.

Apart from the usual programs you’d expect to find on a Morphy Richards soup maker (e.g. smooth, chunky programs), the Large Soup Maker also has a fantastic ‘keep warm’ function, so you can keep your fresh soup warmer for longer - again, ideal for scenarios such as dinner parties.

• 1.6 litre capacity. 
• BPA-free.
• Automatic cleaning function.
• Keep-warm function.
• LED countdown timer display.

Perfect Soup Maker

Morphy Richards Perfect Soup Maker

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Well, the name sums it up really! The Perfect Soup Maker has been designed to be just that - perfect. 

Incorporating all the features you’d expect from a modern, innovative soup maker, the Perfect Soup Maker also includes an integrated set of digital scales in the base. With this feature, perfect soups are only a few button pushes away.

• 1.6 litre capacity. 
• BPA-free.
• Digital scales - set to your preferred unit of measurement. 
• LED countdown timer display. 
• Automatic cleaning function.

Sauté & Soup Maker

Morphy Richards Saut é & Soup Maker

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Go on a culinary adventure with the Sauté & Soup Maker which… you guessed it, allows you to both sauté ingredients, and make soup!

With the sauté function, you’ll be able to add more complex, delicious flavours to your soups, whilst the manual blend function allows you to achieve the absolutely perfect consistency. 

Naturally, the Sauté & Soup maker comes with many of the other features you’d expect from a premium soup maker, including smooth and chunky automatic programs, and a juice program.

• 1.6 litre capacity. 
• BPA-free.
• Non-stick internals for sautéing.
• LED countdown timer display. 

Clarity Soup Maker

Morphy Richards Clarity Soup Maker

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Create soup with crystal clarity with the Clarity Soup Maker from Morphy Richards. 

With its novel Tritan™ plastic body, you’ll have a completely clear view of your soup as it's being made. After all, our appetite is partly driven by our vision in addition to our other senses. So, with the Clarity Soup Maker it’s easy to make a visually-appealing soup.

The usual features are all present on the Clarity; think smooth and chunky automatic programs, but you’ll also find a handy ‘keep warm’ function that’ll keep your soup warm for 30 minutes. 

It’s clear that the Clarity is one of the best soup makers you can buy!

• 1.6 litre capacity.
• BPA-free.
• Keep warm function.
• Automatic cleaning function.

Total Control Soup Maker

Morphy Richards Total Control Soup Maker

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Want the ultimate soup maker that’s absolutely packed with programs and features? Then you’ll have to buy the Total Control Soup Maker. 

As its name suggests, the Total Control Soup Maker provides the ultimate level of control for soup making. Multiple different programs, as well as a reheat and automatic cleaning function mean you’ll be spoilt for choice.

The Total Control Soup Maker also has an innovative portion control function, meaning you can create only the soup you need. So, no food waste!

In addition to its self-cleaning function, the Total Control Soup Maker also has an easy-to-remove soup jug, so if you want to give it a manual clean, it’s super easy!

• 1.6 litre capacity.
• Multiple programs, including smooth, medium, chunky, sauté, and drinks.
• Keep warm function. 
• Automatic cleaning function.

Buy the best and buy direct

There’s really no better soup maker than a Morphy Richards soup maker. If you’re looking to ‘make room for a Morphy’ in your home, then why not buy direct? 

Order today, and you can benefit from free delivery (on orders over £60) and flexible ways to pay (such as Klarna Pay in 3). Plus, our soup makers come with a two-year warranty (with one year extra when you register with us).  

Shop soup makers at Morphy Richards now