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Perfect rice is a staple food for countless cultures the world over. Rice is inexpensive, filling, nutritious, and — with the right rice cooker — rich with subtle nuance, layers of flavor, and lovely distinctive fragrances. Having been raised in my parents' Chinese restaurant, where commercial rice cookers were an integral part of the business, it's no surprise I grew up sensitive to what constitutes great rice. It's a pickiness I've leveraged as a food writer, product reviewer, and author of several rice cooker references and guides. Access Point Outdoor 1km
To find the very best rice cooker for this guide, I researched 30 rice cookers, home-tested a whopping 15, and distilled it down to the seven best based on grain type, preparation, and other factors important to rice aficionados. Our top pick for most households is the Yum Asia Panda Mini Rice Cooker; it turned out perfect rice every time across multiple grain types. If you're cooking for a crowd, our best large capacity pick is the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker; a hearty rice cooker from a well-loved brand.
Read more about how the Insider Reviews team tests and reviews kitchen products.
Best overall: Yum Asia Panda Mini Rice Cooker - See at Amazon It was an unexpected winner, but this cute medium capacity rice cooker turned out consistently flawless grains of every type of rice we tested.
Best large capacity: Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker - See at Amazon The gold standard of rice cookers, the legendary Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy is now available in double its original capacity.
Best mini: Black+Decker Rice Cooker - See at Walmart If you just need a cheap monotasker for one or two people, this bargain buy from Black+Decker is just right.
Best budget: Aroma ARC-1126SBL SmartCarb Multicooker - See at Amazon Despite being an older model I've used for years, the Aroma SmartCarb Multicooker outperformed more expensive models in texture and taste.
Best low-carb: Toshiba Low Carb Digital Programmable Multifunctional Rice Cooker TRSH01 - See at Amazon The Toshiba Multifunctional Rice Cooker finishes the rice by steaming it suspended above the starchy cooking water for a lower final carb count.
Best for brown rice: Cuckoo CR-0632F Multifunctional Micom Rice Cooker - See at Amazon Smart rice cookers tend to overthink and therefore overcook brown rice, but the Cuckoo 6-Cup Multifunctional Rice Cooker nailed the cook on this tough grain.
Best for long-grain rice: Zojirushi UMAMI Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer NL-GAC10 - See at Amazon The Zojirushi Rice Cooker & Warmer is a stylish cooker and a bit of a splurge, but you assuredly get what you pay for, especially if you primarily cook long-grain rice.
Best for porridge: Toshiba TRCS02 Digital Programmable Rice Cooker - See at Amazon If congee is your priority, the Toshiba Digital Programmable Rice Cooker feels like it was made just for porridge, but it will cook traditional white and brown rice admirably, too.
Pros: Detachable power cord, clear easy-view display, straightforward operation, sleek design, compact footprint, precision settings, detachable top for cleaning, carrying handle, 24-hour keep warm setting, included extra accessories
Cons: Strong spring-back in the lid, inner pot markings hard to read and scratch easily, only one set of water lines, quick rice setting is only for white rice
There's so much to love about this unassuming little powerhouse, it's hard to know where to start. Its shape is sleek, tidy, and compact, and its packaging and build demonstrate high attention to small details: for example, an included steamer basket and ladle, a tabbed handle for the measuring cup, and glossy magazine-style user's manual.
Presentation only goes so far without function; this model nails both. A detachable cord stores right into the inner pot; the attached carrying handle tucks away seamlessly; a built-in holder keeps the spatula clean and in reach; and a minimal, easy-to-understand display and well-considered cook settings make it effortless to use. It has different programs for long- and short-grain rice as well as brown rice, porridge, quick and slow cooking, steaming, and even making cake, which speaks to its precision.
It cooked all four types of rice perfectly — a feat that most bigger name rice cookers weren't able to accomplish. Every grain was well-defined and evenly cooked. Every batch was moist but not wet; gemmy but not dry; sweet and aromatic.
It gets bonus points for its Keep Warm countdown timer that begins right away and tracks by the minute (most others only track by the hour). This mode was gentle enough that the rice resisted hardening or developing crustiness. Even better, as a small capacity cooker, it's quick about its job, taking around half an hour for white rice, just under an hour for brown, and an hour and a half for porridge.
Pros: Precision settings for nearly every type of rice, detachable inner lid and rounded nonstick inner pot for easy cleaning, well-marked guidelines, choice of textures for customizable rice
Cons: Looks dated with its huge buttons, so many choices can feel overwhelming for inexperienced users, brown rice cooks too soft
Though we tested the 5.5 cup version, the larger 10 cup model of this classic cooker is identical in everything but size, with thoughtful design and usability details that make it incredibly intuitive.
The retractable cord, for instance, is such a simple but brilliant solution, as is the dual-sided rice paddle holder, soft-open lid, and easy-grip handles on the sides of the inner pot. In fact, I could devote an entire paragraph to this inner pot, which has a rounded bottom that makes rinsing the grains, scooping the cooked rice, and cleaning up a breeze. The pot also features high-contrast water markings for different types of rice to ensure precision.
Most importantly, though, is how good the rice comes out and how it maintains that level of quality for hours after the rice is done. Rice porridge emerged glistening in a thick, pleasantly tacky suspension, soft but retaining a hint of a bite. Medium-grain rice comes out absolutely beautifully — chewy, polished, pearly, fully formed, uniformly cooked, and with a lovely enhanced sweetness few other cookers could match. The long-grain rice was fragrant, fully distinct, evenly cooked, but fluffy with unmatched airiness.
In both white rice tests, the rice was better after 24 hours on Keep Warm than fresh-cooked rice from some of the other cookers, with minimal deterioration and no clumping or crust. The brown rice setting was its only underperformer due to the program's long cook time, which made the rice soft and blown out.
Pros: Really inexpensive, detachable clip-on lid, just the basics, cooks quickly
Cons: Looks flimsy, design creates boil-over and burn risk, hard to read water markings, outer body gets very hot, rice hardens quickly and is hard to scoop out, no Keep Warm timer, no display at all, no audible notifications
Beating out much pricier and much more advanced mini models, this child's toy-looking, basic one-setting, one-button, entry-level rice cooker resulted in surprisingly acceptable rice. The quality of its results came nowhere near any of the others on this list, but for a household of one that's short on storage space and long on thrift, this utilitarian mono-tasker does its job cheerfully and quickly.
It relies on an old-fashioned temperature trip sensor to determine when the rice is done; the only audio cue you'll get is the flip of the switch as it changes from Cooking to Keep Warm settings. Like with other "dumb" rice cooker models, it's important to be patient and give the rice at least 15 minutes of resting time before it really is ready. If you try to eat the rice right away, you'll find it still quite wet and undercooked. Give it that rest, though, and your patience will be rewarded with sweet, chewy medium-grain rice that offers that lovely semi-translucent, gemmy look.
We had less successful results with other types of rice: long-grain rice got soft but at least avoided mushiness; and brown rice was flavorful but on the under-done side. Its minuscule size also comes with natural cons. It accommodates only a mere 1.5-cup maximum of raw rice, which doesn't give you a whole lot of room to maneuver, especially while rinsing the rice since the inner pot was roughly the size of my (small) fist.
There are also a few burn risks in the design: the lightweight inner pot makes it unstable, forcing you to grip it when scooping out rice, and the vent in the lid concentrates the steam in a sharp plume. However, I did appreciate the clip-on feature of the detachable lid, and the fun of being able to monitor the status of the rice visually through the glass top. Its ease of cleaning and the end taste of the rice is how it won over other small options.
Pros: SmartCarb feature, large capacity, many included accessories, sauté-then-simmer capability, Keep Warm countdown begins immediately, eight one-touch programs, available in smaller 12-cup size
Cons: Non-removable lid is hard to clean, components like steamer vent and condensation catcher may pop off, condensation catcher will leak over time, inner pot prone to scratching and denting, pot markings are not high-contrast, rice can stick to stainless steel SmartCarb basket, a bit big for smaller households
This jack-of-all-trades multicooker has certainly mastered one: chewy, toothsome rice that retains its fragrance and flavor. It aced all of our rice cooking tests, a notable feat considering that, in my experience, all-in-one machines tend to be masters of none. Even more surprising is that it uses more "old-fashioned" rice cooker technology that relies on water evaporation sensors to trigger cycle completion. Technically, this makes the cooker a "dumb" rice cooker despite having "smart" in the name since, unlike the other advanced cookers ruling this list, it's not a micom (microcomputerized) appliance.
Don't think for a minute that this detracts from its efficacy, though. This very basic technology is actually a boon for cooking brown rice, which comes out just on the right side of al dente. Fuzzy Logic micom cookers tend to "overthink" brown rice and therefore overcook it, while this one gets it perfectly.
White rice is ready to eat as soon as you crack open the lid, and comes out sweet with no trace of hard boiled flavor. And if you want to wait a bit, its Keep Warm function does its job well for about three hours before the steam catcher traps more moisture than it returns to the rice.
Unfortunately, this rice cooker's headlining SmartCarb setting was a bust. This technology elevates the rice above the cooking water after boiling. This supposedly prevents the starchy water from being reabsorbed, cutting the total carbohydrate content of the finished rice. This feature sounds too good to be true, and unfortunately, it is. The rice texture ends up being too soft and grains blown out on this setting.
Pros: Quick Rice function, removable inner lid, stainless steel steamer basket, standing paddle, large digital display, tactile buttons, carrying handle, heavyweight nonstick bowl, high-contrast markings, 24-hour Keep Warm setting, counts down to completion time
Cons: Louder than others, max capacity for low-carb is 2 cups (4 cups cooked), display hard to read, power cord not detachable
Low-carb rice cooker: sounds too good to be true. Yet a handful of manufacturers have heard the carb-conscious masses and developed rice cookers that use steam and an elevated basket to finish cooking rice above the starchy water. Our budget pick, the Aroma SmartCarb Multicooker, pioneered this technology, but Toshiba truly perfected it.
The Toshiba TRSH01 turned out flawless "low carb" rice in 40 short minutes. At first glance, it looks on the wet side, but all it needs is a quick stir to release excess moisture. The rice emerges gemmy and chewy, the perfect texture, and sweeter than with other models.
However, this is no one-trick pony. It made regular medium-grain rice that was moist and fluffy but still distinct. It achieved this in 50 minutes, and the display began counting down as soon as I pressed the button. During testing, I found that this immediate countdown to completion was my favorite universal Toshiba rice cooker feature.
It similarly swept the brown rice category with an absolutely flawless cook in less than an hour and a half. The grains were tender, nutty, aromatic, and well-formed — fully cooked through while maintaining a lovely chew.
In fact, this model could have become our top pick for overall had it done better on the long-grain rice test. This more delicate length of rice came out on the softer side, with slight degradation to the outer layers that made the grains stick together while the centers were saturated.
A durable, extra-thick nonstick inner pot helped to maintain temperature for the Keep Warm function, which begins as soon as the cooking cycle is complete. The only major fault is that the large, bright display can look warped in daylight or glare and the cord is not detachable.
Pros: Keep Warm timer starts immediately, My Mode features for personalized flavor and textures, attractive coffee-colored inner pot, longer power cord, built-in spatula holder, cleans easily
Cons: Overcooks white rice, significant bounce-back in lid operation, water line markings are hard to read, no handle, condensation catcher can leak
With all this talk of soaking brown rice, you'd think that the cookers who do it longest would make the best. I did. But after extensive testing, I found that extended soaking broke down the bran a bit too much, resulting in a mushier bite rather than the firm, gemmy one that comes with perfect rice. Plus, you lose the popcorn element that's so distinctive to brown rice — one of the greatest pleasures of it.
With this cooker, though, a propensity for cooking softer, mushier white rice benefited its brown rice execution. Although there's a hint of hot-heat scorch to the rice if you eat it as soon as it's done, it mellows after a few minutes of resting to a pleasant toasted nutty richness. This cooker blooms the grains visibly, but stops short of any blow-out. It breaks down the bran just enough to make it more easily digestible without compromising the chew.
Every bite of brown rice from this cooker showcased the best qualities of this type of rice. Grains remained fully distinct, avoiding any kind of clumping, crusting, or wetness for a shocking 50 hours on Keep Warm. Plus, it also has a setting for GABA rice, a sprouted variety of brown rice with purported nutritional benefits. Get this cooker if brown rice is your primary pick, and just use less water than marked on the occasions you make white rice.
Pros: Sleek design, easy to read display, easy to use, clearly marked water lines for nearly all programs, hyper-specific settings, compact footprint, removable inner lid, extended Keep Warm, sturdy handle, detachable cord, included steamer basket, ambidextrous spatula holder
Cons: Keep Warm countdown doesn't start right away, so many choices can feel overwhelming for inexperienced users, brown rice cooks too soft
This microcomputerized (micom) cooker has incredibly precise and detailed cooking settings. I appreciated the jasmine rice setting, a nod to the delicate structure of this long-grain cultivar. The batch I made on this setting was perfect from the get-go, with distinct, intact grains that were chewy and only got sweeter with time on the Keep Warm setting. The batch even held strong for over 66 hours without any significant degradation.
It also performed remarkably with medium grains, too. They came out flawless: chewy, gem-like, moist, airy, and with no soggy or wet spots, retaining their character for 14 hours.
The UMAMI setting that gives this model its name extends soaking and steaming to coax out more sweetness and subtleties in the rice. However, I do not advise using it on brown rice. The extended cook made it soft, wet, and blown out.
Pros: Detachable inner lid, high-contrast markings in inner pot, carrying handle, Quick Cook feature, 24-hour Keep Warm, Cake and Egg programs, two timers for delayed start, color-changing display to indicate when working, detachable power cord, instant countdown to completion
Cons: No steamer basket, no brown rice markings, no condensation catcher
While this cooker performed admirably through all the rice categories (medium, long, and brown), it truly turned out an exemplary pot of porridge in an hour and a half. This was 30 minutes longer than other models we tested, but the porridge was just that much better. Plus, it's one of the only smaller cookers that even offer a porridge setting, much less bowl markings that show you the proper proportions. This made it stand out from the get-go.
The grains of rice in porridge were plump, gelatinous, and sweet, where other cookers disintegrated them into broken fragments. Even when left to sit on Keep Warm for several hours, there was little to no film, and the liquid thickened further into a lovely, luxuriously creamy bowl that didn't get mushy or turn into a slurry.
While the cooking was a tad uneven for other types of rice, it was far from disappointing. This unevenness actually worked in its favor for brown rice. Despite the grains looking slightly busted open, they came out with a nice chewy bran, cooked all the way through but not soft. Mixing the rice well resulted in texturally interesting and easy to eat brown rice with a buttery popcorn undertone.
White rice came out very firm and chewy in this model — just slightly undercooked and wet-smelling. While it's not a fully even cook, it also didn't have any hot spots that burned the rice, even over time on the Keep Warm setting.
All rice cookers will cook rice, plain and simple. But the best rice cookers have certain default features that will extract the most out of every grain. Here's what to look for in a rice cooker:
Lid: Airtight, sealed tops help the aroma of fragrant rice types like jasmine and basmati bloom, as well as prevent rice from drying out on the Keep Warm setting.
Smart functions: Micom, or microcomputerized rice cookers, are best for those who don't limit their pantries to just one type or preparation of rice. These smart rice cookers have different settings for each type of rice, so that you get consistent results each time. All Fuzzy Logic-marked rice cookers are equipped with this technology.
Features: In an advanced rice cooker, audible indicators and digital countdowns make cooking even more effortless. Removable inner lids are also a great feature for easy cleaning. A spatula holder minimizes mess, and easy-to-grip handles simplify clean up even further. Finally, high contrast, water line markers will save a lot of frustration and help to guarantee success.
Extras: Some rice cookers only come with a rice cup and paddle. Others include steamer baskets, ladles, spatula holders, scrapers, and other extras. If you're planning to use your rice cooker as an all-in-one cooking device, you may want to look for a model that contains extras.
Capacity: A mere half rice cup of raw rice, three ounces, is considered one serving, with a yield of a full cup of cooked rice. A tiny, single-serving rice cooker might be fine if you're cooking for just one, but if you're cooking for a family, you'll want a rice cooker that makes at least 5 cooked cups of rice.
Over the course of a month I tested 13 rice cookers, one type of rice at a time, and evaluated their usability and quality of output:
We determined the fairest way to evaluate the rice cookers was to test with one measure above each cooker's minimum, regardless of the type of rice or preparation. For example, if the lowest marker was for 1 cup of raw rice, I tested with 2 cups; if it was for 2 cups, I tested with 3. We chose these measurements because they are typical of what a household using that capacity rice cooker would make.
Every batch was hand-rinsed five times and none were soaked prior to hitting their preset program button.
Medium grain white rice: Medium grain is chewy, plump, sweet, and commonly used in Korean and Japanese kitchens. Many rice cookers are programmed specifically with this type of rice in mind. With a firmer structure, medium grains require plenty of fluid penetration, making this type of rice perfect for testing the thoroughness of the cook. For this test, I chose medium-grain Nishiki brand Calrose rice.
Long grain white rice: Cooked long grain rice ought to be fluffy, separate, distinct, and still firm. Long grain rices are often the most fragrant types, too, and good rice cookers will unlock those sweet aromas. I selected Thai Jasmine rice for this test.
Brown rice: Brown rice retains the bran and germ layer of the grain, resulting in more micronutrients and a lower glycemic index. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice since the water needs to break through those extra layers. Additionally, many rice cookers with brown rice settings build in soaking time for better liquid absorption and digestion. I only tested the rice cookers that performed well in the white rice categories with mixed grain brown rice (a blend of medium-grain and Jasmine brown rice) cooked on the machine's brown rice setting.
Porridge: For the rice cookers that offered this specific setting, I tested authentic Koshihikari short-grain rice for porridge/congee.
Quick Rice functions can be a time-saver, but you'll sacrifice flavor and at times, tenderness, if you choose the faster-heating option. To ensure consistency of quality, I ignored these in favor of the traditional cook settings. The faster the rice cooker could turn out flavorful, tender rice on a standard setting, the better.
Keep Warm is an important function of a good rice cooker, especially for families that meal prep or eat at different times. I taste-tested each batch of rice immediately after cooking, at 30 minutes, then at longer intervals of hours — up to 66 hours after cycle completion — to investigate how well the cooker protected the rice against degradation and flavor loss.
Nobody wants an ugly appliance sitting out on their counter. In this all-encompassing criterion, I took note of everything from overall aesthetic to user experience, including controls, ease of use and cleaning, and overall look and feel. Functional necessities such as a carrying handle, delay timer, rice spatula holder, and bonus accessory materials were also factored into this category.
According to millions of Asians around the world: yes. It's more of a necessity to most Asian households than even a blender or toaster oven, saving significant time, labor, and babysitting over what for many families is a daily chore.
It also saves even more time with cleanup, since the nonstick interiors take scrubbing out of the equation, and scorching, too. And while its name might hint at uni-tasking, digital rice cookers take on many uses with aplomb. Even the most basic ones can boil and steam simultaneously. With the more advanced, you can cook yogurt, oatmeal, stew, baby food, and even cake.
Consider the size of your household. About half a cup of raw rice, three ounces, yields a full cup of cooked rice. This is considered one serving. If you're cooking for one, a single-serving rice cooker might suit your lifestyle, but for a family, we recommend a rice cooker with a three to five cup capacity.
Rice is extremely absorbent and therefore sensitive to even minuscule variation in water-to-grain proportions, plus sticky to boot, so making rice on a stovetop can be tricky and requires more hands-on work. A rice cooker fully automates the process, so you can just add rice and water, press the cook button, and come back whenever you like to perfectly cooked rice.
If it has a slow cooker function, absolutely! Just mind that because those models tend to be airtight; the lining might hold onto the flavor of what you're making, so be sure to clean and air it out thoroughly. We don't recommend attempting to slow cook in a rice cooker without a slow cooker function, however.
Allow it to cool and store in an airtight container, then consume it within six days; the extended shelf life if it's stored properly. To buy more time, you can also freeze it, but make sure you cool, package, and freeze it within an hour after cooking to avoid bacterial growth. Bacteria can live through the freezing process, living in suspension only to multiply once you heat back up, picking up right where it left off.
When reheating, reconstitute the grains with a sprinkle of water, then cover and microwave. One serving in a bowl will take as little as 35 seconds this way. For bigger batches, some advanced rice cookers have a "reheat" function (many of our top picks do). If not, you can also choose to steam the rice.
Check out our full guide on how to reheat rice.
If your household eats rice regularly, it's worthwhile to invest in a dedicated rice cooker that will last you for years. However, rice cookers can be quite expensive and may not be the best option if you only cook or eat rice occasionally.
Multicookers like the Instant Pot can be a good alternative if you want a foolproof way to make rice once in a while. They provide excellent value and help maximize storage space by doing the job of more than one small appliance. Most usually have at least one setting for rice and can produce acceptable results.
Read our full review of the best pressure cookers and Instant Pots.
Fuzzy Logic-equipped rice cookers are microcomputerized (micom, for short) rice cookers that have smart settings that allow them to make micro-adjustments dynamically to the temperature and humidity during the cooking process.
The most basic rice cookers rely on a one-button switch to cook and will automatically flip via spring mechanism to Keep Warm once the inner plate detects that all water has been absorbed into the rice grains. Fuzzy Logic, on the other hand, allows for more flexibility so that you can set preferences and programs for specific textures and functions. For example, jasmine rice cooks differently than medium-grain rice, which cooks differently than porridge. Fuzzy Logic allows for this variability.
These presets are not perfect for all types of rice and preferences (see our note on brown rice in our best budget recommendation), but they're ideally suited for folks who like to change up their grains.
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