The best rice cookers of 2025, according to chefs
I'm capable of cooking many things well and a few things not so well. Much to my dismay, rice is one of the latter. Even though I'm a culinary school grad who has worked in restaurants, the rice I make is either burned on the bottom or a pot of mush. If you love a bowl of rice but hate the unpredictability of cooking it in a regular pot, a rice cooker may be the answer. Many of these gadgets take longer to cook rice than on the stovetop, but you can't beat the predictability of the resulting fluffy grains. The best rice cookers of 2025 will consistently produce excellent rice that stays warm until you're ready to serve it. They're easy to clean and many are programmable so you can set them to align with your schedule.
To find the models that perform best, we asked chefs what they use and recommend. The Japanese brand Zojirushi took most of the top honors, which isn't a surprise: The company has been around for more than 100 years and is famous for its consistent, foolproof rice cookers (it currently makes more than 20 models).
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When choosing a rice cooker, chef, author and cookware designer Jet Tila says key factors include capacity and functionality. "What's the average number of people you are cooking for? Remember, cooked rice yields three times the dry amount, and the average a person eats per serving is about a half-cup dry or 1.5 cups cooked," he explains. "So an 8-cup rice cooker is going to give you 24 cups cooked. You probably need less capacity than you think." He also likes bells and whistles: "Rice cookers should be multitaskers. Look for one that doesn't just cook rice. Common grains for the rice cooker should be brown rice, porridge, quinoa, grits and more. Certain units are great steamers too."
No matter how many people you're serving, there's a rice cooker that will suit your needs. We're fans of any kitchen appliance that falls into the set-it-and-forget-it category!
Table of contents
Best rice cookers of 2025
What to consider when shopping for rice cookers
How we chose these rice cookers
Rice cooker FAQs
Meet our experts
Spitzer offers this advice: "Buy the best rice cooker you can, as opposed to trying to save money and ending up with a rice cooker that burns out quickly or, even worse, burns the rice or has uneven cooking." Keep the following factors in mind:
Capacity: Before buying one of these gadgets, assess your needs, specifically the quantity of rice you cook most often. "These appliances are designed to perfectly cook a certain amount of rice, and perform the best when that is followed. Too much or too little and your results may vary. Sizes range from 3 to 10 cups for most home models," says Rick Mace, chef and owner of Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach, Fla. You shouldn't get a 6-cup rice cooker if you regularly need only 3 cups.
Convenience: When it comes to appliances, you want an intuitive display and a machine that knows how to adjust cooking time and temperature as needed. Products that easily wipe clean or have parts that can go in the dishwasher are best so you don't need to worry about stuck-on food.
Features: Do you want a rice cooker that simply cooks rice and keeps it warm or one that also makes porridge, steams fish and vegetables and bakes cake? These added features can be nice to have, but they also usually cost more.
We consulted with eight professional chefs for their tips and product recommendations. If they use a specific model in their own homes or in their restaurant kitchens, we wanted to hear about it! We then researched each appliance, checking its specs, price and reviews from real-life shoppers. All the products here come highly rated and deliver great value for the money.
Which rice cooker is better, Zojirushi or Cuckoo?
This is debatable as both brands offer high-quality rice cookers and have many fans with strong opinions. Cuckoo rice cookers tend to have more settings and offer more control over how you cook a particular type of rice, while most Zojirushi cookers are more user-friendly. Both brands will produce excellent rice, though we should note none of the chefs we spoke to named Cuckoo cookers as their favorite.
How long should you cook rice in a rice cooker?
Always consult the appliance instructions and settings and use them as your guide when determining how long to cook rice.
What is the perfect water-to-rice ratio?
The perfect ratio of water to rice depends on the type of rice you're using. You may have heard the rule of 1:1 or one cup of water to one cup of rice. This works well with long-grain rice, but heartier grains like brown rice may require more water and jasmine rice may require a bit less. Many rice cookers provide a measuring cup for rice and have water fill lines on the inside of the cooking pan to offer guidance. For best results, follow the instructions that come with the rice cooker for the type of rice you are making.
Collin Hilton, chef, Cunningham Restaurant Group
Rick Mace, chef/owner, Tropical Smokehouse
Teerawong "Yo" Nanthavatsiri, chef, BKK New York
Peter Som, lifestyle expert and cookbook author
Nadia Liu Spellman, founder, Dumpling Daughter
Jet Tila, chef, author and cookware designer
Sophina Uong, chef/owner, Mister Mao
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
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