I tried 17 rice cookers to find the best model in the US: here are my favorites

The Guardian

5 days ago

Not a day goes by where I don't cook and eat rice. I grew up thinking of it as central to every meal. I'm also a former professional chef who, for over seven years, ran a restaurant and food truck that served Hawaii's local food – a cuisine that is rice-based. All told I have made tens of thousands of pounds of rice.
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This means that I have purchased dozens of rice cookers of various sizes, both for home kitchens and commercial ones. I even have portable rice cookers for easy toting to outdoor cookouts.
My guiding principles in this review are, firstly, that the most important function of a rice cooker is to make delicious rice. But, secondly, I am fundamentally opposed to appliances that are single-function – rice cookers should be able to steam vegetables and other foods, too, often while the rice is cooking. Thirdly, I look for rice cookers that are designed to last.
I tested 17 rice cookers in what I referred to as the 'Rice Cooker Olympics'. I organized them in 'heats' of three to four rice cookers each (so as to not blow a fuse), making rounds of short-grain Kokuho rice with each cooker.
I'm used to assessing the quality of rice. As a food writer I judge sushi restaurants based partly on the quality of their rice, and I develop rice-based recipes. In this cooker review I looked for:
The gelatinization of rice after it was cooked – could you still taste separate, distinct grains?
Was rice cooked to the correct consistency that corresponded to the menu option?
Did the pot of rice cook evenly or were there obvious burned bits?
Could cookers make brown rice or germinated brown (gaba) rice if they claimed to have that functionality?
Could I cook other meals with the cookers – such as quinoa, beans, steamed vegetables, chawanmushi and congee?
I didn't look for speed – most take roughly 20 to 30 minutes for a pot of short grain white rice.
Since my husband is also a professional chef, he brought the seemingly endless pots of rice I cooked to his restaurant to turn into rice vinegar or manipulate into staff meals. At the end of the Olympics, I returned the cookers I did not own to their manufacturers or donated them to the Philly Aids Thrift or the food lab at Drexel University.
Read on for my top picks, and for a rice cooker Q&A at the end.
All prices current at the time of publication.
Best overall:
Zojirushi Induction Rice Cooker NP-HCC10 $384.99 at Amazon
Best budget:
Green Life 1.5 quart rice cooker $19.99 at GreenLife
Best for impatient people:Cuckoo Electric Pressure Rice Cooker and Warmer CRP-ST0609F$229.99 at Amazon
Best dispenser:
KitchenAid Grain and Rice Cooker$399.99 at KitchenAid
Best high-end:
Zojirushi Pressure Induction Rice Cooker NW-YNC10$229.99 at Amazon
Best stainless steel:
Tatung 11 cup electric rice cooker and steamer$220 at Yun Hai
If you want a multicooker – but on a budget:
Hamilton Beach Multi Cooker 37523MN$67.99 at JCPenney
If you want to cook different kinds of rice:
Cuckoo CR-0675F$139.99 at Cuckoo
If you want carb reduction:
GreenPan 8-cup rice and grain cooker$149.99 at Home Depot
If you want a rice cooker that is indestructible:
Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy 5 cup NS-ZCC10$226 at Amazon
If you want a rice cooker that doubles as a pressure cooker:
Our Place Dream Cooker$199 at Our Place
$384.99 at Amazon
$384.99 at Walmart
Why we love it The Rolls Royce of rice cookers. White rice comes out noticeably more fragrant than practically any other rice cooker tested. On the regular setting, cooked grains were distinct and lightly al dente, with a gelatinized texture that you'd look for in sushi rice or sticky rice. This effect is achieved through precise temperature controls.
Its smooth interior allows for easy cleaning (just wipe it). I love the 0.5 rice cup setting, which is helpful for making rice for just one person – other rice cookers rarely function as well when cooking rice in such small quantities. The cooker also comes in a larger 1.8L model.
It's a shame that … Unlike most models I recommend, this model uses induction technology – and it takes longer to cook the rice. On a regular setting, a pot of white rice required 54 minutes. Even so, there is a 'quick cook' setting that speeds things up.
Capacity: 1L / 5.5 Cups uncookedMaterial (body and liner/pot): Stainless steel and plastic body, platinum-infused non-stick inner potFunctions: White rice (regular, softer, harder), umami, mixed, sushi and sweet rice, jasmine, porridge, congee, brown, gaba, steel-cut oatmeal, quick cooking, extended keep warmAccessories: None
$19.99 at GreenLife
$32.79 at Amazon
Why we love it I tested four basic, traditional mini rice cookers from brands like Aroma, Dash, and Black and Decker. GreenLife's produced the best, al dente, non-mushy white rice. It was the only one of the budget brands that I tested that had a ceramic coating. This yielded a hint of brown at the bottom of the rice, but for me that was preferable to a more traditional nonstick coating and potentially more PFAS chemicals. This is the ideal cooker for a single person or couple seeking a handy and easily stowable device, and who don't need one that can steam other foods or make various types of grains.
It's a shame that … it only has two functions. It's heated via a coil in the cooker's interior, which can make cleaning challenging if liquid or food is spilled on it. The inner pot also doesn't sit perfectly on the coil, so it does bounce and jiggle when not in use.
Capacity: 6 cups of cooked rice or 3 cups of uncooked riceMaterial (body and liner/pot): Aluminum body. Ceramic- coated pot. The lid is glass and plasticFunctions: Cook and keep warmAccessories: None
$229.99 at Amazon
$324.89 at Walmart
Why we love it White rice turns out beautifully sticky with distinct grains. It is also a beast. Though compact at 5.8kg (12.7lbs), it's about twice the weight of the Zojirushi above, so it's the sort of appliance that might live on your countertop. Thankfully, it's sleek, attractive and feels hi-tech.
Its turbo cooking mode is absolutely remarkable and makes a pot of nearly perfect white rice in roughly 15 minutes (the timing varies according to how large a pot you make). This rice doesn't necessarily come out quite as fragrant as our Zojirushi picks, but it still has the right bite.
Moreover the sprouted brown rice I make with GABA function comes out wonderfully textured, while also sticky, fluffy, and nutty. (Scroll to the bottom for an explanation of what gaba rice is.)
Its inner pot has handles for easy removal and cleaning. It also speaks to you in a sweet, high-pitched voice, saying things like 'Cuckoo is starting,' 'Steam release will begin,' and 'Super-turbo is complete. Stir the rice.'
It's a shame that … this seems to be a hallmark of Cuckoo cookers, but it leaps backwards when you press the button that opens the lid. This doesn't make the cooker fall over, but it has knocked other items off my kitchen counter.
Capacity: 6 cups uncooked, 12 cups cookedMaterial (body and liner/pot): Body is stainless steel and plastic, inner pot is stainless steel with a non-stick coatingFunctions: High pressure: white rice, turbo white rice, mixed rice, gaba rice, high pressure steam, high heat. Non-pressure: white rice, frozen rice, open cooking, veggie rice, baby food, non-pressure steam, open cooking. It also has an auto-clean modeAccessories: None
$399.99 at KitchenAid
$399.95 at Walmart
Why we love it I've been using this KitchenAid cooker for over a year, and it's perfect for when I don't feel like measuring the amount of rice I'm cooking or the amount of water I need to cook it. It's also perfect for beans – I always forget to soak my beans before cooking, but this appliance, with an external water tank (like a Nespresso coffee pod machine) takes the guesswork out of it, measuring the correct amount of water for practically any bean or grain that you can think of to cook. It's basically a little computer.
It's a shame that … while versatile, you don't get the same wonderful floral flavor in rice that the Zojirushi models unlock.
Capacity: 8 cupsMaterial (body and liner/pot): Plastic and stainless steel body and dispenser, aluminum inner pot with ceramic non-stick coatingFunctions: Short-grain brown rice, long-grain brown rice, short-grain white rice, long-grain white rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, wild rice, sushi rice, steel-cut oats, rolled oats, couscous, quinoa, pearled barley, hulled barley, farro, black beans, red beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, lentilsAccessories: Steamer basket
$499.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond
$499.99 at Zojirushi
Why we love it The reason this Zojirushi model is our pick for best high end isn't simply because of its price, but because it makes basic Kokuho short-grain white rice taste like high-end Tamanishiki rice. The rice grains turn out sticky but also fluffy – without any manual fluffing with my rice paddle. I'm aware of every individual rice grain as I'm chewing. The machine itself is extremely straightforward. It's very clear about cooking time – for instance, it told me my germinated brown rice had a 192-minute cooking time. There's also a 10 cup, 1.8 L version.
It's a shame that … it's not fast. One cup of white rice takes 59 minutes to cook, but if you're normally letting rice steam in the cooker after cooking it anyway, it's not that much longer. You also can't open the lid during the cooking process to add vegetables into your pot to steam while the rice is cooking. This is also the most challenging to clean. Rice scum gets between the gasket and the inner lid.
Capacity: 1L/5.5 cups uncookedMaterial (body and liner/pot): Plastic, stainless steel body. Inner pot is made from aluminum with a PTFE (Teflon) non-stick coatingFunctions: White rice (regular, firmer, umami), quick, brown rice, gaba, jasmine (regular, quick, congee), sushi, sweet, congee, steel-cut oatmeal, keep warmAccessories: None
$220 at Yun Hai
Why we love it This is actually your momma's rice cooker, and it's an heirloom for a reason. It's consistent, makes an excellent pot of rice, and can steam anything. It has the great advantages of having all its cooking components made of stainless steel (eliminating concerns about PFAs or toxic non-stick materials), and of not having a heating coil inside of the cooker, making cleaning very easy. You will have to soak the rice pot after use, and avoid abrasive scrubbers, as the rice would start to stick to the stainless steel pot.
It functions differently from all other rice cookers on this list as it is essentially a double boiler – you have to fill the outer pot with water to steam the rice in the inner pot. Make sure the rice is completely flat so that it cooks evenly, and keep an eye on the level of the water in the outer pot so that it doesn't run out during cooking.
It's a shame that … it takes a little getting used to keeping an eye on the water level in the outer pot.
Capacity: 11 cups (there is also a 6-cup model)Material (body and liner/pot): Stainless steelFunctions: Cook, keep warmAccessories: Inner pot cover, steam plate (can be bundled with steamer tongs, bowl clip, upper stainless steel pot)
$67.99 at JCPenney
$67.95 at Walmart
Why we love it I like the straightforward controls. This one also had by far the best-designed lid of all of the 17 rice cookers I tested – it's easy to clean. The pot's side handles are not made of metal, meaning you can lift it out without using hand protection. (I've burnt myself on many other rice cooker pots.)
It didn't make the final cut because … the grains of the white rice were sticky and overblown, the rice as a whole was gummy, and the bottom of the pot quickly developed a rice-paper film. I also don't like how the appliance is so large, and the minimum amount of rice you can cook is two cups, at least according to the inner pot's line measure. Each of the three Hamilton Beach rice cookers I tested came with plastic steamer baskets, but I'm put off by the idea of cooking with plastic at such high temperatures.
Capacity: 4.5 quarts/20 cups cooked riceMaterial (body and liner/pot): Stainless steel, plastic steamer basket, non-stick stainless steelFunctions: White rice, brown rice, slow cook low, slow cook high, steam, hot cereal, soup, keep warmAccessories: Plastic steamer basket that sits inside the inner pot
$79.99 at Walmart
$139.99 at Cuckoo
Why we love it This Cuckoo cooks beautiful sticky rice evenly: the rice maintains its shape and is perfectly and lightly al dente. It also has a scorched rice function in case you want that crispy bottom, making this the closest to a Persian rice cooker on this list. It's not as sturdy as our Cuckoo pick above but at this price point, it's a really good deal. It has an autoclean function for high-temperature sanitization – but for regular cleaning you do have to disassemble it.
It didn't make the final cut because … the open button flings the lid open a little violently, making the entire cooker jump on my counter top. It is jarring.
Capacity: 6 cups uncookedMaterial (body and liner/pot): Stainless steel core with a non-stick coating. The lid is plasticFunctions: Cook, keep warm, white, white quick, multigrain, gaba, scorched, thick porridge, thin porridge, baby food, auto-clean. It has an autoclean function where it steams itself – but for regular cleaning you do have to dissembleAccessories: None
$149.99 at Home Depot
$149.95 at Sur la table
Why we love it This small, relatively lightweight rice cooker makes lovely, evenly cooked white rice without sticky or hard spots. It's easy to use – there's a touch screen on its lid and you toggle from one setting to another. For this price point, it's surprisingly advanced, despite using a traditional coil heating element. Its main selling point is that it claims to reduce the carbohydrates in rice by up to 37% compared to other rice cookers. What does this look like? At the end of the cooking cycle, a starchy condensation is collected in the carb-reducing insert.
It didn't make the final cut because … I'm testing this in a home kitchen and I am only able to tell you how the rice tastes, not how much carbs it contains.
Capacity: 4 cups uncooked, 8 cups cookedMaterial (body and liner/pot): Plastic body, stainless steel components and coil, inner pot is diamond-infused ceramic non-stick (claims to be PFAs and PFOA-free)Functions: White rice, brown rice, multigrain, wild rice, low-carb white rice, low carb brown rice, barley, quinoa, beans, steel cut oatsAccessories: Carb reducing stainless steel insert
$226 at Amazon
$259.99 at Macys
Why we love it I have put this particular rice cooker and its larger version through absolute hell the last decade and it has consistently made me delicious rice with distinct grains. Despite it being a home appliance, I have used it in professional capacities on my food truck and in my fast casual restaurant. It's slower than a commercial rice cooker (it takes about forty minutes to cook a pot), but the rice always turns out fluffier. This 5.5 cup model is portable and pretty light. I love the handle, and I have carried this rice cooker like a purse when transporting it to catering events. It's easy to use for steaming vegetables (I open the lid halfway through the rice cooking process and toss in my vegetables), and for making congee (I open the lid to stir it occasionally). I believe this rice cooker is indestructible.
It didn't make the final cut because … once I tasted the rice from Zojirushi's pricier models, it's a little hard to go back to this basic one. Zojirushi's rice always turns out more fragrant, even when I'm cooking the exact same bag of short-grain rice.
Capacity: 5.5 cups uncooked rice, 10 cups cooked (there's also a 10 cup uncooked/20 cup cooked model)Material (body and liner/pot): Plastic body, non-stick coated inner potFunctions: White rice, regular/sushi rice, softer, harder, quick-cooking, mixed, porridge, sweet, semi-brown, brown riceAccessories: None
$199 at Our Place
$199 at Amazon
Why we love it This is large and heavy at over 18lbs, will take up a decent amount of space on your countertop and is roughly the size of a half-keg of beer. That said, the Dream Cooker is incredibly attractive, coming in a range of powder-coated hues that will probably match your kitchen. If you're deciding between a rice cooker, a slow cooker or a pressure cooker, this combines all those capabilities into one appliance. Using the pressure function, it makes brown rice in a shockingly fast 20 minutes.
It didn't make the final cut because … you have to remember the ratios for water to grain when cooking rice or quinoa, or any grain that requires precise measurements. It's billed as simple to use, but is sometimes simple to the point of being mysterious (I had to consult Google a lot to make it cook anything). It doesn't talk to you, it just beeps.
Capacity: 6 quartsMaterial (body and liner/pot): Aluminum, inner pot has a toxin-free non-stick coatingFunctions: Pressure cook, slow cook, sear and saute, keep warmAccessories: None
What are the three main kinds of rice cooker?
In a traditional rice cooker, rice and water heat up, the water turns into steam and the rice absorbs the water, getting cooked. When all the steam has been absorbed, the cooker will switch off or to keep warm mode. Heat is concentrated at the bottom, which can make for less evenly cooked rice.
Fuzzy logic rice cookers contain a computer chip and sensors that adjust cooking time and temperature. The most advanced rice cookers use induction heating. They have more advanced temperature-sensing technology and better heat distribution, resulting in more evenly cooked rice, and generally have more setting.
What about Persian rice cookers?
There are no Persian rice cookers on this list. I determined that they deserve their own category, as the type of rice they are used for demands a crisp bottom – a characteristic that most rice cookers, with the exception of one on this list, aims to avoid.
You keep mentioning gaba rice. What is it?
Gaba rice is also known as sprouted or germinated brown rice. It's unpolished, which increases its flavor and texture. The long cook time is thought to boost the content of gaba (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and provide additional nutritional and health benefits.
Do I need to use the measuring cup that comes with the appliance?
Rice cookers, which generally originate in Asia, always come with a rice measuring cup, which is not the same capacity as an American standard cup (8 fl oz). You must use the rice cup to measure rice.
What capacity do I need?
For a single person, you can get away with a one-cup rice cooker. For two people, think 2-4 cups. For a family of 4, you'll probably want a 5.5 cup/1L capacity cooker.
Should I be concerned about the materials the appliances are made of?
Materials in these cookers can be inscrutable, if they are even listed. Certain inner pots have nonstick coatings, as noted in their specifications above. And some nonstick coatings have become controversial because they can be made with PFAS or 'forever' chemicals. Various newer brands use ceramic coatings and say they are PFAS-free, though information about these coatings is still coming in. If you are concerned about PFAS, you can choose the stainless steel Tatung cooker listed above. You can also find stainless steel liner pots for many of the models I recommend, such as this one for the Zojirushi model I call 'indestructible'. I have not tested these liners.
How do I clean them?
I would clean all pots and washable elements by hand. Even if a cooker's components are listed as dishwasher safe, I want to avoid the degradation of plastic (which can lead to the shedding of microplastics into food and water) and the wearing down of any non-stick coating, regardless of what it's made of.
What devices didn't make the list?
The chasm of quality between the highest end Zojirushi model I tested and a Black and Decker two-function rice cooker, is vast. (Sorry Black and Decker, maybe stick to vacuum cleaners.) Other devices that did not make the cut include the Dash mini rice cooker and the Aroma pot-style rice cooker. In the future I hope to test models by Toshiba and Tiger.
Kiki Aranita is a food writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer and former senior editor of kitchen and dining at New York magazine's the Strategist. She is also the owner of Poi Dog Sauces, and the former chef/owner of Poi Dog restaurant and food truck in Philadelphia. She writes and cooks with an eye towards sustainability
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