The 5 Best Blenders For Soup, According To Home Cooks

Whether you want to make a silky butternut squash soup or chunky gazpacho, a blender is a must-have for preparing restaurant-quality recipes at home, but there are several key features to consider when shopping. Since many recipes require you to work with hot liquids, the best blenders for soup have heat-resistant Tritan or borosilicate glass jars with venting lids for enhanced safety. Some have upgraded features like pre-programmed settings or built-in heating elements that let you whip up the entire recipe in the blending jar.

First, even if you let your soup cool slightly in a saucepan before transferring it to your blender, it will continue to release hot steam. For this reason, your blender should have a venting lid that allows steam to escape safely. Placing a towel over the top of your blender can also help protect hands from hot steam or potential splatter. Likewise, the material of your blender’s jar is important, and both borosilicate glass and BPA-free Tritan plastic are resistant to thermal shock and won’t absorb flavors or odors, making them a great choice for hot ingredients.

When it comes to the blending action itself, a blender with manual speeds will certainly get the job done, but a model with pre-programmed settings can take the guesswork out of preparing soup and other recipes like nut milks, frozen desserts, and smoothies. And if you’re looking for a soup blender that can really do it all, you may want a model with a built-in heating element that’ll allow you to whip up a meal from start to finish in the blending jar.

While most blenders sit on your countertop, if you don’t have room for a full-size option, an immersion blender will allow you to blend ingredients directly in your stockpot without having to transfer hot contents. These handheld blenders don’t have the same power as full-size models, so they can take a bit longer to fully puree ingredients, but they’re still very effective for blending hot ingredients and creating soups with texture. (Note: Never use a personal bullet-style blender to puree hot liquids, as they can potentially explode from pressure.)

With the help of the best blenders for soup below, you’ll be able to make a range of delicious recipes at home.

1. The Overall Best Blender For Soup

• Amazon rating: 4.6 stars, 3,900+ ratings
• Pitcher: 64 ounces, Tritan plastic, dishwasher-safe
• Special features: 3 speeds + pulse

With an impressive 4.6-star overall rating on Amazon, the NutriBullet blender features a generously sized 64-ounce jar — the biggest on the list — made from BPA-free, heat-resistant Tritan, along with a stainless steel blade assembly for breaking down and pureeing whole ingredients into smooth soups. Low, medium, and high speeds, as well as a pulse feature allow you to slowly ramp up blending speed and customize the texture of your recipes, while the lid’s venting cap prevents splatter, but still allows steam to escape when blending hot ingredients. Although it doesn’t have any preset programs, the versatile blender can also prepare a range of other foods, including nut milks, smoothies, and dips, earning it a spot on your counter for more than just soup. The pitcher, lid, and venting cap are all dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup.

Helpful review: “This blender is a stable beast. It suctioned down on my counter. I’ve made everything from Salsa to asparagus soup in this bad boy. If it can handle asparagus soup and/or the butternut squash soup I made it can handle anything.”

2. The Best Heated Blender For Soup

• Amazon rating: 4.5 stars, 5,800+ ratings
• Pitcher: 54 ounces, borosilicate glass, not dishwasher-safe
• Special features: built-in heating element allows you to make soup entirely in the blender, 8 pre-programmed settings, bonus accessories

Just as the Instant Pot revolutionized one-pot cooking, their Ace Nova blender is doing the same for blending. A built-in heating element at the base of the 54-ounce borosilicate glass pitcher allows you to assemble, cook, and blend soup ingredients in just one vessel for ultimate convenience — no stove necessary. The Ace Nova has 10 variable speeds, as well as eight pre-programmed functions for making hot soups, smoothies, frozen desserts, rice milk, soy milk, and nut and oat milk. There’s also a pulse function, “keep warm mode,” and settings for pureeing as well as crushing ice. The blender has a vented lid and comes with a set of helpful accessories, including a mesh bag for straining nut milks, two tampers, and a cleaning brush. Due to the mechanics in the blender’s pitcher, it should not be placed in the dishwasher, but the blender has a self-cleaning mode to cut down on any hassle. To get inspired, you can use the free Instant Pot app, which contains hundreds of recipes.

Helpful review: “I can say from personal experience that you can have raw, WHOLE ingredients in the container and 25 minutes later have a hot and creamy soup ready to feed the family. I was very impressed since I didn't even cut up the veggies before other than cutting in half to help them fit.[...] Overall, a great blender and time saver for a busy kitchen!”

3. The Best Value Blender For Soup

• Amazon rating: 4.6 stars, 3,900+ ratings
• Pitcher: 48-ounces, borosilicate glass, 24-ounce blending cup, both dishwasher-safe
• Special features: dual blade direction blending, 7 speeds, 3 pre-programmed settings

Oster makes one of the few affordable blenders with a borosilicate glass jar, and this particular model also comes with a 24-ounce blending cup in case you want to make to-go smoothies. The stainless steel blade assembly utilizes Oster’s patented dual blade direction technology that blends in both forward and reverse motion to release and break down ingredients that can otherwise get trapped by blender blades. Seven speeds allow you to slowly increase blending to control splatter when processing hot ingredients, and you can also select from three preset buttons for making smoothies, salsa, and milkshakes. The small blending cup should not be used for making hot soup, but is great for making smoothies to take on the go, or for small batch dressings or sauces. The blending jar is dishwasher-safe and the lid has a venting cap that can be removed to release steam.

Helpful review: “It does the work well and seems to have enough power to get through anything that I want to do. I would recommend this blender for those who like to cook and bake. For example, it does great with butternut squash soup as well as fruit to make jams.”

4. The Best Immersion Blender For Soup

• Amazon rating: 4.5 stars, 38,000+ ratings
• Pitcher: n/a (dishwasher-safe stainless steel shaft and blades)
• Special features: 8 speeds + turbo setting, whisk and frother attachments included

The benefits of an immersion blender go beyond easy storage, one being its budget-friendly price, and another being its ability to blend hot soups directly in the cooking pot — no transferring required (which also means one less bulky vessel to clean). The Mueller immersion blender has a variable dial with eight speeds as well as a high-speed turbo setting, which allows you to mix ingredients slowly, as well as efficiently puree them. The stainless steel blending shaft and blades can reach into deep pots, and they detach easily for cleaning in the dishwasher or by hand. There are no preset programs, but this versatile pick also comes with a whisk attachment for making whipped cream and eggs, and a frothing attachment for foaming milk. One important thing to keep in mind: An immersion blender will be less powerful than a stand blender, so it’s best for soft ingredients or chunkier soups.

Helpful review: “Now that the weather by is turning colder I like to make my own soup. The immersion blender makes it so much easier. There's no need to transfer the ingredients to a food processor. It all gets done in one pot. Would absolutely recommend this product to others.”

5. The Best Premium Blender For Soup

• Amazon rating: 4.7 stars, 4,100+ ratings
• Pitcher: 48 ounces, BPA-free Tritan plastic, dishwasher-safe
• Special features: 10 speeds + pulse, blade friction heating

Boasting an impressive 4.7-star rating overall, Vitamix’s blenders are some of the best for hot blending, due to their wide speed range, durable hardened stainless steel blades, and dishwasher-safe Tritan pitchers. This blender from the brand’s Explorian line comes with a 48-ounce pitcher that’s ideal for small to medium batches, and has a tight-fitting lid with a venting cap. The best part? The blades rotate fast enough to create friction heat that brings cold ingredients to steaming hot in a matter of six minutes. The simple controls on the Explorian include a pulse button for adding texture to soup, or for chopping up tough ingredients when making salsas, purees, or frozen treats, but keep in mind that there are no pre-programmed settings. The blender’s variable speed dial allows you to start slowly and ramp up to a high speed for safely pureeing hot and cold soups, as well as other recipes like sauces and nut milks. A tamper is included for blending thick dips, nut butters, or heavy frozen recipes. While it’s not dishwasher-safe, it self-cleans with a little soap and water at the highest speed.

Helpful review: “Could not be more in love with a blender. This absolutely pulverizes everything I throw in! Perfect for smoothies, hot soups, homemade cashew cream, sorbet, etc. [...] The pitcher size is also perfect; with a larger size, I'd have to make larger batches of whatever I'm making for it to blend properly. So glad I made the purchase.”