Standard rice cookers are easy to use, inexpensive, and fits into a small footprint. They can make excellent fluffy rice easily and quickly, yet the rice will not be sticky or mushy. Nevertheless, rice cookers are multi-functional appliances. Aside from being used for cooking rice, it can also be used for baking cakes, steaming meat, and cooking oatmeal to ease meal prepping. And finding the best model is easier said than done.
Though it might seem challenging to make a selection out of the thousands of options available on the market, we’ve simplified everything for you. That said, we’ve compiled a list of the best ten rice cookers for reviews—also, the listing of a set of things you should consider before making a selection. Let’s start.
#1. Oyama CNS-A15U 120V Inner Pot Stainless Steel 16-Cup Tray Rice Cooker & Steamer
OYAMA rice cooker is a perfect unit that can prepare your fluffy rice within no time. It doesn’t only cook rice but also steam veggies and meat. It features a simple one-touch operation that makes even cooking faster. Better yet, after the rice is cooked, the appliance switches off automatically and remains in a keep warm mode. Besides, it’s made from 304-grade polished stainless steel to ensure you’re taking healthy and chemical-free food. As if that’s not enough, it has a tempered glass lid that enables you to check the progress of your cooking anytime. It’s capable of producing 16-cups of cooked rice.
Features:
- Built with all stainless steel cooking pot & steamer tray
- The steamer tray can be used to steam multiple foods
- Has a compact design that fits into a small footprint
- Can cook 8 cups of uncooked rice
#2. Zojirushi 3-Cup Micom Stainless Steel Warmer Rice Cooker (Black) - NS-LACO5XT
Prepare the most excellent and delicious rice each time with a Zojirushi rice cooker. Aside from being a rice cooker, it’s also a nice warmer. The three 3-cup capacity enables you to prep 6-cups of cooked rice that is enough for couples, singles, and small families. This unit comes with different cooking functions like mixed rice, white rice, sweet, brown, and quick cooking. Also, it comes with a removable black thick inner pan that offers balanced heat distribution for excellent cooking. What’s more, it boasts an interchangeable beep and melody signal to show when the cooking cycle has ended.
Features:
- Built-in retractable power cord brings convenience
- Has a beautiful sleek design to match most kitchen
- Uses micro-computerized fuzzy-logic technology
- Comes with an auto-keep warm setting
- Small footprint to saves you on space
#3. Cuisinart 4-Cup CRC-400P1 Modern Shape Non-Stick CRC-400 Rice Cooker (Silver)
If you’re looking for an all-powerful rice cooker, you’ll never get enough of this model from Cuisinart. You can prepare perfectly fluffy rice with ease while the brushed stainless steel tray ensures you get healthy foods out of the device. Also, it comes with a keep warm utility that ensures your food doesn’t get cold in the middle of the dining. The steam vent ensures all the excess steam is released for even and controlled cooking. Moreover, the handle allows for easy handling of the rice cooker when cooking or shifting to a different place.
Features:
- Tempered glass cover allows you to check the cooking process
- Has traditional lever control with warm and cooking settings
- Comes with brushed stainless steel housing for durability
- Includes a measuring cup and rice spoon in the package
- Prepares 4-7 cups of cooked rice
#4. Aroma Housewares Electric Food Steamer Cool-Touch 8-Cup Rice Cooker (Silver)
Have fun and comfort in cooking using the Aroma rice cooker. It is capable of offering you restaurant-quality rice. And again, it can also provide you with healthy steam meals. It can prepare all this kind of delicious food with a one-touch operation. If you want extra time to do other house chores while food is cooking, this is the right type of kitchenware to acquire. Aside from cooking, it’s also a nice warmer that allows you to take warmed food at all times. Further, it’s built with a compact design that can cook between 2 to 8 cups of rice, be it white or brown rice. The auto-shutoff function ensures your cooking is under control for precise cooking.
Features:
- It can cook both brown and white rice to perfection
- The steam tray allows you to prep your veggies
- Has a compact design for easy storage
- Built with a user-friendly digital panel
- Can cook 2 to 8 cups of cooked rice
#5. Aroma Housewares 3-Cups Stainless Steel Healthy Conscious Rice Cooker (White)
As a smaller family, you will need a smaller and compact rice cooker, this model from Aroma housewares. This equipment is designed from high-grade stainless steel materials that are long-lasting. Maintenance is a hassle-free task since this device has a non-stick surface to prevent any hard stains. Various accessories such as rice measuring cups and bamboo serving spatula to aid you while cooking or serving your rice. Additionally, it has a compact design which enables you to cook three cups of rice for 6 cups of cooked rice; this makes it ideal for smaller families. You do not need to do any stirring while cooking since this unit automatically switches to warm mode to keep your rice fresh.
Features:
- Ideal for preparing oatmeal, soups, chili, jambalaya, etc.
- Comes with a compact design to saves you on space
- It requires one touch of a button for easy operation
- All accessories are dishwasher friendly
#6. Oyama CFS-F12W 7-Cup Stainless Steel Steamer Tray Keep Warm Rice Cooker (White)
Are you looking forward to cooking your rice at a faster rate than before? Well, you can do all that with the Oyama rice cooker. This unit is designed from stainless steel materials and added with layer aluminum materials to enable it to conduct heat faster for faster cooking rate. It has a larger capacity since it holds up to 14 cups of cooked rice, making it ideal for larger families. Unlike other rice cookers, this brand has a warm cycle of 24 hours as compared to 18 hours of other brands. You are assured of a hassle-free cleanup since it has non-stick coatings all around. The cooking bowl has a triple-layered bottom to prevent your rice from burning.
Features:
- Designed from high-grade and durable materials
- Three-dimensional heating to enable food to cook faster
- Silicone center grommet keeps your food safe
- More portable since it only weighs 6 pounds
- The removable steam vent is easy to clean
#7. Miracle Exclusives ME81 Stainless Steel Cooking Bowl Automatic Cook Rice Cooker
When it comes to high-quality rice cookers, this brand, Miracle Exclusives, outdo all other brands in the market. It is from high-grade stainless steel materials well known for its durability and resistance to rust materials. A measuring cup included to aid in cooking or to serve the right amounts of rice. Besides, it consists of a vegetable steamer that enables you to steam your fish or any other vegetables to eat with your rice. The warm mode keeps your rice warmer for the time that you need to avoid warming your food each time. Also, it features indicator lights that notify you if the cooking cycle of your food.
Features:
- Colorless glass lid to enable you to watch your rice cooking
- The rice paddle aids you in stirring and serving your rice
- Cooks up to 12 cups of rice thus ideal for larger families
- Has a non-stick surface making it easier to clean it up
- Easy to move it from place to place
#8. Aroma Housewares MTC-8008 Professional 8-Cup Uncooked Rice Cooker (Champagne)
If you are looking for a large capacity rice cooker, then this brand from Aroma awareness could be the best choice. It has 12 different functions which not only enables you to cook rice but also cakes, tarts and even makes some yogurts. You can cook up to 16 cups of rice since this unit features a unique turbo technology. Moreover, you do not have to worry about burning your hands because its outer surface is cool to enable you to access it at the point of the cooking process. With the sauté then simmer technology, you can easily simmer your vegetable as you cook your rice using the steaming tray. This is an ideal gift for your loved one.
Features:
- Delay timer enables you to cook rice for the desired time
- High and low cook settings to meet your cooking needs
- Comes with a measuring cup for ideal serving amounts
- The programmable digital control is easy to operate
- Distributes heat evenly since it has a concave design
#9. Maxi-Matic 6-Cooked Elite Cuisine ERC-003 Automatic Cook Electric Rice Cooker (White)
No more burnt rice; you can now cook your rice more efficiently and quicker with the Maxi-Matic rice cooker. This kitchen equipment is designed for heavy-duty materials that are stronger and last longer. With the cook and warm indicators, you will be aware when the cooking cycle begins and stops. Also, it comes with an easy to read cup and spatula to ensure correct amounts of rice is served or cooked. You can easily carry it from one place to another in your kitchen since it only weighs 3 pounds.
Features:
- Ideal for smaller families since it has a capacity of 6 cups
- Cool-touch handles ensure a convenient transportation
- The cooking pot can be easily removed for cleanup
- Keeps your food fresh since it has a warm function
- Made lightweight making it easier to carry around
#10. Oster 6-Cup Compact Tempered Glass Auto-Keep Warm Rice Cooker w/Steamer (Red)
Oster rice cooker is well equipped with a wide range of features to meet all your cooking needs. This unit is ideal for smaller families since it cooks up to 6 cups of rice per unit time. It has an automatic warm function that keeps your rice warm many hours after exposing them to heat. This is much convenient because you might get tired from your job with no energy to cook at all. Additionally, it features a one-liter vegetable steamer tray that aids you in steaming your vegetable or any other food to eat with your rice. Not only can it be used to cook rice but also different foods such as fondue, noodles, soups, and many more.
Features:
- Power indicator light makes you aware when the unit is on
- Easy to clean because most of its part is dishwasher safe
- Occupies less kitchen space since it has a compact design
- The tempered glass enables you to check on your food
- Auto shut off feature keeps your food from burning
Things to Consider When Shopping for the Best Rice Cooker
Capacity
The capacity of any rice cooker is measured by how much uncooked or cooked rice can fully fit in the cooking bowl. You note that this capacity ranges something between 1 to 42 cups from a little portion to many portions. If you want a rice cooker that suits home use, you need to settle models that can cook between 1 to 10 cups of rice. However, if your family has four or fewer members, 5-5 cup models can work for you best. However, if you want a model for commercial use, you can go for the models with many cups.
Types
The next aspect to consider when purchasing a rice cooker is the type. Microwave rice cookers are BPA-free; hence you can cook your rice confidently without compromising your health. On the other hand, a standard or conventional rice cooker comes with many features and functions compared to microwave rice cookers. You can use them to steam veggies, steam beef, or even bake cakes. Besides, they come in various sizes to suit different needs. Micom rice cookers are advanced models of conventional rice cookers because they’ve built microchips that make everything automatic.
Features & Function
Even with most basic rice cookers, you can enjoy using warm settings; thus, you can rest assured to get warm yet fluffy rice at all times. This feature is handy more, so when you don’t want your prepared rice to be cold in the middle of your meal. Aside from that, they come with a non-stick cooking bowl, which is necessary to keep off scrubbing at burned rice, thus cleaning is made quite easier than ever. The other feature you might want to consider is the sealed lid feature; hence the steam wouldn’t escape. You can also find a timer function when shopping for the best rice cooker.
Conclusion
If you’re hunting for the best rice cooker in the market, the above array of options offers you exceptional choices. We’ve done more than enough research to table what we believe in providing you nothing but the best. They are affordable and high-quality, and choosing one that goes handy with your needs is valuable. You don’t have to go through hell to acquire an item of your choice and preference. Shop wisely!