Two soups! Do you have a soup maker? Is it good?

[ZolaBudd]

I’m no amateur in the kitchen and can easily make soup, but a couple of my friends say these are better than your usual home-made with a blender stick
do you have one and do we use it -which type do you have?

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I don't.

But "Two soups" 🤣🤣🤣

Up there with "Fork 'andles" 😂

I do. I can't remember what brand it is but I bought it last year because it was ridiculously reduced in tesco. I paid about €10 for it. I really like it, the faff of blending it used to put me off making it but now I have perfectly smooth soup in 20mins with next to no effort at all.

I love homemade soup and was going to get one but thought... how ridiculous, stick blender and saucepan, why do I need one.

Welllll........ I am sooo pleased with the one I got (Lakeland Saute Soup Maker). It makes such smooth soup, far more than I could achieve with a stick blender, splashing it all over the worktop!

Really recommend it!

I have the Ninja Soup Maker.

I do NOT recommend it.

I used the soup making capabilities precisely once. I followed the instructions to the letter. The soup stuck to the heating element area at the bottom under the blender blades. Because the non-removable blades are above the element, it's horrendous to clean, really heavy, you can't immerse the base at all and the jug is massive thick glass so cleaning it is an uncomfortable and exhausting nightmare and I wish I had never wasted the money on it. The lid is also hard to wash as it's got all these deep ridges in it and the "cleaning tool" is a joke.

For a while I used it as just a blender but then I bought a cheap washable blender so why subject myself to the hand ache of trying to clean the Ninja every time I want to make a sauce or soup?

I keep meaning to sell it but I don't feel like I can in good conscience so it just sits on top of a cupboard.

So I don't recommend that one! 😅

Nope. I got one bit because you just bung everything in, you don’t get the taser brow sweated off onions or fried veggies. Mine died soon after I got it too and I didn’t replace it.

I got the cheap aldi one last year and I like it. I have bad hands so it's easier for me. There are two options, chunky or smooth, but I've only done the chunky so far.

No, regularly make soup and bought one. Was rubbish. However, one of the best kitchen things I've ever bought is a top quality blender.

I either roast things for soup or make it on the hob, chuck in my blender, can then conveniently pour out and all goes in the dishwasher. Much better than a stick blender and I use for gazpacho, smoothies and other sauces too. Love it.

Yes - I have the Morphy Richards one - bought in 2020, still going strong and used regularly.

The main benefit of it is that once you've added your ingredients, you switch it on and it does the rest - so you are not standing over a pan using a stick blender. You can relax for 20 mins then once it beeps, just pour out your soup.

Mine has a choice of smooth or chunky soup.

It's great for using up leftovers - if they're pre-cooked it is just a case of bunging them in with some stock, so minimal effort to avoid waste and you can easily freeze portions for later use.

Tefal one is good. Would recommend.

Yes, we also have the Morphy Richards one that sautées and makes soup. I too wondered what the point would be as I was more than happy with a pan and blender....... then was gifted this and would not go back!

Agree with Ruby - I use a powerful blender (NutriBullet) that I use, much easier that a stick blender. Made a lovely sweet potato and roasted pepper soup today - so easy and cheap.

I have a Morphy Richards one but have barely used it. It certainly isn’t my worth it in my book. Making soup the normal way is slightly more of a faff but I feel more in control of the results, and I find the pans/utensils easier to clean than the awkward-shaped soup maker.

There are some kitchen gadgets (like a bread maker, say) that do things that I either can’t do or would take ages to do. But a soup maker just does something I can already do, barely any quicker or easier.

I bought one from Aldi and used it twice a week through the Autumn and Winter. It only cost about £24 after 2 years it broke so I bought another one. It's still going strong. For vegetable soup you put in a teaspoon of olive oil. Add an onion. Add a large carrot. Add a large potato Add some large chunks of swede. Add half a parsnip. Add a couple of cauliflower florets. Add a vegetable stock cube in water. Add salt and black pepper. Cook. Then at end of cook time blend. Serve with crusty bread. For lentil and tomato soup add a teaspoon of olive oil. Add 2 tins of plum tomatoes add lentils. (I boil lentils in a small saucepan and skim off any froth. Then strain, then add to souper. Add water and a squirt of tomato puree plus salt and black pepper. Cook then blend. Serve with crusty bread. Soup comes out with a lovely smooth texture. Add a swirl of cream.

I have one. Husband uses it to make a couple of different soups. I make soup on hob and use stick blender. I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference.

Love mine. I roast my veg first then put in the soup maker for 20 minutes with a stock cube and water.

Use mine constantly

Morphy Richards compact one

I adore my morphy richards, it is much easier than a stick blender and is much easier to clean. I just put some soapy water in the soupmaker and pulse it, practically cleans itself.

Ours has the saute function so can sweat the veg and onions first.

I’ve got the ninja one. I use it as an average across the year at least once a day.

Smoothies in the morning and if I’m working from home, about lunchtime I bung in ingredients and it keeps it hot till lunchtime.

Then it self cleans.

It is heavy but that’s literally the only downside I can think of.

(I was a very dismissive pan and blender stick person till my friend recommended it. No regrets at all)

I've got this one too and do use it on average once a week.

I had a cheap aldi one before which I used a fair bit too but when it broke I replaced it. I've bought so many gadgets over the years but the only two I regularly use are this soup maker and my slow cooker.

What I like about it over a pan and stick blender is that you just chuck everything in at the same time and just leave it for 20 minutes. I've found that as long as I include onions, that gia garlic paste, stock, seasoning, sometimes a bit of tomato puree then whatever veg I use it turns out consistently good. My favourite is broccoli and stilton, so I add stilton and creme fraiche at the end and then blend again. In fact cheese makes all the soups better.

My daughter uses it too. She's 15 and should really be able to cook better than she can but she's doing her gcses/would rather wait for me to produce something so the soup maker is good for this too.

I'm not really a great cook though, so you might prefer your own soups? For example, if you'd normally roast your veg first then it's probably not going to be better than that. But for basic soups such as veg, brocoli and stilton, carrot and coriander, spicy parsnip etc then it's great.

Also, it's good for less food waste. I keep the "core" bits from cauliflower and broccoli for example and use it now for soup whereas before I'd have just thrown it away. You can use the "woody" bits from kale and greens too. I just put these in the "soup box" now in the fridge.

I also have the ninja one and love it. You put the onion, oil and spices/flavouring in first, press chop, then press sauté and it fries them off. You then add the veg and stock and it does the rest. It has a cleaning cycle too. In between starting this post and now I've just made smoothies for me and the kids in it, using up some grotty brown bananas and a bit of frozen fruit and some milk that's about to turn. They loved them!

@Wincher Can you use the Ninja with raw meat?

The only soup i dont make in it is Avgolemono soup as it doesn't need blending. I make a big pot boiling the chicken/turkey carcass so it won't fit in the soup maker.

I have a Morphy Richards one, mine is used a lot during the winter.
I also use mine to make pasta sauce! It's quick & easy!

A saucepan & a stick blender does the job for me.

I don’t honestly know, I wouldn’t think to make soup with raw meat! I doubt it though