11 Top Rated Rice Cookers [Buyer’s Guide & Reviews]

No doubt, busy cooks love rice cookers!

If you find it very dull and challenging cooking rice all the time, why not try some of the top rated rice cookers on the market?

Rice cooker is a fun and straightforward way to cook your rice without having it be sticky or too soft.

According to various studies, “90% of the time when you cook rice on the stove, it becomes starchy, and that raises blood sugar for gaining weight.”

However, using a rice cooker help prevent such health risk. Its filters are there to rinse your rice to remove excess starch.

Moreover, with a warming system, it cooks at the right temperature to avoid unready or overcooked food. Simply put your rice, add water, and push one button; the rice will be entirely ready in less than no time.

Life in the kitchen only gets better with a rice cooker; cooking becomes easier and faster – more like a fun thing to do.!

To help you pick a good rice cooker, we’ve made a list of the 11 top-rated rice cookers of 2022, which are tried and tested for quality and efficiency.

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Top Rated Rice Cookers | Comparison Chart

Best Rice Cooker Reviews

Finally! We come to the most crucial section of this article – our selection of the 11 top rated rice cookers of all time.

Below are the best rice cookers you should absolutely check out today.

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1. Instant Pot LUX Mini 3 Qt 6-in-1 Multicooker

This is one of the best rice cookers of 2022, it’s a multi-use cooker and is engineered to have 12 Smart Built-In Programs appliances all-in-1. It can help you handle multi-tasking 70% faster while saving energy.

Instant Pot Lux Mini is built with up to 6 kitchen appliances that comprise of Pressure Cooker, Rice Cooker, sauteing tool, Slow Cooker, Steamer, and Warmer. The Instant Pot Lux is a cooking-machine!

The Instant Pot Lux mini is designed to cook up to 6 cups of uncooked rice (12 cups cooked rice) at a time. It’s versatile and can be used at home or while traveling to prepare a side dish, small dish for two.

Furthermore, the rice cooking machine features a 24-hour delay start timer for delayed cooking, which is excellent for busy families so you can have your food ready the moment you get home from a busy workday.

That’s not all; its automatic keep warm is meant to holds the temperature of the dish until you serve. And it’s was carefully designed to get rid of most common errors which may cause you harm in the kitchen.

Some features of the Instant Pot LUX Mini include:

• Easy one-touch controls
• 6 kitchen appliances all-in-1
• Alexa skill and free app
• Delivers consistent results, 3^rd-generation technology
• High-pressure settings
• Adjustable temperature settings

2. Cuisinart CRC-400 Rice Cooker

Washing has never been easy not until the brushed stainless Cuisinart rice cooker came into the market.

Many mothers confessed they have a preference for the Cuisinart Rice cooker over others because making the perfect rice dish has been more comfortable for them.

This cooker comes with an excellent steam vent to help prevent splattering, while its chrome-plated handles remain cool for carriage.

It’s a 4-7cup capacity rice cooker ideal for small and medium families. You can as well switch to warm cooker to get your meal hot and also steam-cook your precious food.

The Cuisinart rice cooker remains among the best rice cookers, as it has a traditional lever control system with a warm and cooks indicator lights others may lack. Additionally, the tempered glass has a stainless rim, plus chrome-plated handle.

3. Aroma Housewares 8 cup rice cooker

This device is not just a digital rice cooker that can prepare 2-8 cups of any rice, but also a food steamer that keeps your meal warm. It has other accessories like a steamer tray, non-stick inner pot, measuring cups and a rice spatula plastic.

It’s also a multicooker that cooks Nutritious meal in the built-in steamer section above, while soup, rice, and other meal’s cooking go below.

This convenient rice cooker’s compact capacity is designed to cook 2 to 8 cups of rice (any variety) with specialized functions for both brown and white rice. Once the rice is done, it will switch automatically to keep-warm, so there’s no need for stirring or monitoring.

Furthermore, the steam tray enables for healthy steaming of vegetables and meats, even as rice cooks below. You can also save time with its flash rice functionality, which reduces cooking time by up to 50%.

It’s equally ideal for soups, chili, oatmeal, jambalaya, and so on. Finally, the programmable 15-hour delay timer function is perfect for families on the road, delivering sweet rice ready as at when needed.

4. Zojirushi NHS-06 3-Cup

Zojirushi is another top-rated brand that always produces quality rice cookers of minimal usage but of max quality. With the Zojirushi NHS-06 3-cup rice cooker, your rice is guaranteed to be fluffy and delicious.

There is no need to stand by and watch while it cooks, a simple set, and it handles the whole cooking task efficiently by itself. Additionally, it provides a durable nonstick inner pot for quick and easy cleaning.

This rice cooker is designed to cook up to 3 cups of dry rice (brown or white) and keeps it warm for up to five hours. It also has a glass lid, which allows monitoring of the entire cooking process.

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Furthermore, the Zojirushi NHS-06 3-cup rice cooker comes with a measuring cup and serving spatula as well as easy-to-follow instructions and a cooking chart so you can seamlessly understand how everything works.

The cooker operates with marvelous simplicity – just push a button (switch) to start. Interestingly, the switch and light are meant to turn off once cooking is finished, and the machine goes into its keep-warm mode automatically.

Finally, you can easily move the cooker as you like because of the stay-cool handles on its sides.

NOTE: Only mild detergent and plastic scrubbers should be used to clean it.

5. Aroma Housewares 20 Cup Cooked

The Aroma Housewares is also a digital rice cooker with food steamer and slow cooker. It is a Multifunctional rice cooker that saves time.

On top of that, it has a built-in steamer that gives room for nutrient-rich meals to be prepared, while, soup and other meals cooks below.

This cooker does not just work as a rice cooker; it also offers all the functionalities you could ever need such as steaming feature, keep warm function, and the slow cooking function.

Its capacity is big enough to cook up to 20 cups of any variety of rice. Another exciting feature is its two separate buttons for brown and white rice cooking mode, which is not found in some of the rice cookers out there.

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Finally, the Aroma Housewares Rice Cooker also has a 15-hour delay timer, which helps to ensure that the rice is always ready when it’s needed, its suitable for outdoor picnics or families on the go.

6. Hamilton Beach (37518) Rice Cooker

Many users often say that the Hamilton Beach rice cooker is the family’s precious choice. It results in making mounds of delicious rice with minimal effort.

The cooker is so perfect in terms of washing and cooking your rice. It gets your rice to the perfect moistness and texture and finally keeps the rice warm until serving time.

It’s the best choice for any family who enjoy cooked food in a particular way. It’s versatile and easy to use even at first try.

Interesting, you can also use it to steam your meals, cook beans, mac and cheese, any pasta/rice, and veggies.

7. Oster 6-Cup Rice Cooker

The Oster 6-cup Rice cooker is an exceptional cooker that comes with a steam tray. Although it’s small in size, the Oster 6-cup is a highly trusted equipment that offers total satisfaction.

It’s designed with auto shut-off and automatic keep-warm system to avoid an overcooked meal. Thus, you can put your rice in an Oster 6-cup rice cooker and be confident about the result.

Additionally, with the Oster 6-Cup Rice Cooker with Steamer, you can cook your rice to the ideal fluffy consistency and also steam vegetables to go with it. It features easy-to-use integrated one-touch switches, and prepare up to 6 cups of cooked rice or grains, making it suitable for small families or couples.

The electric rice cooking machine also comes with a 1-liter vegetable steamer tray, which you can use to steam fish or vegetables to go with your rice dish.

Aside from that, you can equally use the cooker to make fondue, soups, noodles, and so on. With the steamer tray and detachable dishwasher-safe nonstick inner pot, you can easily clean the machine – and the tempered glass lid allows you to check on your food without opening the lid.

It also features automatic keep-warm function which helps to keep food at the perfect serving temperature, as well as auto shut-off function that’ll help prevent your food from burning.

8. Tiger Corporation JBV-A10U-W 5.5-Cup Micom Rice Cooker

Tiger corporation JBV-A10u-W of 5.5-cup rice cooker is the best choice for a medium-sized family. On the cooker, it has four primary cooking menu with two extra buttons – which means it offers six options to cook any item.

Additional, the rice cooker comes with all the necessary accessories needed to seamlessly prepare your meals. The inner pot also comes with a non-stick coating –it’s removable for cleaning.

However, you should be cautious about the cleaning procedure — no use of hard or sharp materials in an attempt to wash the pot.

9. Dash DRCM200GBAQ04 Mini Rice Cooker Steamer

The Dash mini rice cooker has a steamer with a removable pot, a recipe guide, and a keep-warm function.

The 2-cup capacity is, however, little but allows for quick breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can set it and forget it, all that is required is a simple push of the cook button.

Furthermore, the Dash Mini cooker is designed to cook it all and more. The keep-warm function lets you can keep your meal hot for an extended time. It’s durable and dishwasher safe and is perfect for offices, dorms, and apartments.

You can use it to make 2 cups of rice, stews, soups, grains, and lots more, and it features PFOA-free non-stick coating for seamless cleaning.

This compact rice cooking machine also features a recipe guide with about 14 delicious meals and sides. It’s recommended to use the included measuring scoop if you’re cooking white rice – don’t use a regular measuring cup.

Simply scoop your desired amount of white rice into the cooker, rinse, and then fill the cooker with water to the line that corresponds to the number of white rice scoops you want to cook.

10. Zojirushi NS-TSC10 5-1/2-Cup Rice Cooker

Zojirushi is one of japan’s favorite rice cooker model. A quality rice cooker shouldn’t be challenging to use, and that’s what the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 is all about.

Not only that, but it also comes with a fuzzy logic technology for best cooking performance. It incorporates an auto keep-warm and reheating cycle for about-to-eat meals.

The Zojirushi NS-TSC10 rice cooker features a steam menu setting and Steaming Basket, which permits for healthy cooking of vegetables, seafood, etc.

Excitingly, you can also use this top rated rice cooker for baking a cake using the “Cake menu setting.” And on the user manual, you’ll find recipes for cheesecake and sponge cake.

Furthermore, it’s nonstick coated feature helps for your cleaning convenience and to prevent the rice from sticking. You can this rice cooking gadget to cook rice and steam foods at the same time.

11. Pressure Cooker Instant Crock 10-in-1 Pot

This cooker is for gigantic use. It’s a one with pro series 19 program 6Q with Germ ThermaV tech – with a finishing touch of cook two dishes.

Additionally, the cooker has a tempered glass lid, steamer, slow cooker, rice and yogurt cooker, and sterilizer.

With all of these features, the Instant pot duo can make a delicious meal very easy. It’s of greater use even when you have to prepare something urgently. Also, with the 8-quart version, it’s the ideal rice cooker for feeding large families.

What to Look for When Buying a Rice Cooker

What should you put into consideration before buying a rice cooker? You can’t just go to the market to pick a random rice cooker that catches your eyes.

First and foremost, you need to analyze certain things before purchasing to ensure total satisfaction. They are as followed:

1. Rice cooker size

Firstly, Do you eat white rice often? Then a cheap rice cooker will probably meet your needs. However, if you’re the kind of person that eats all types of rice, you want a multifunctional rice cooker with microprocessor alongside other rice settings.

Secondly, How many people will be eating rice? If it’s just one-two persons, you won’t need a 10-cup rice cooker. Instead, a 3-cup model will do.

But if you’re preparing 5-6 cups-of-rice and above, you’ll have to settle for a rice cooker of about 8-10 or 20 cups capacity.

2. Bowl quality

Ideally, you pay for a model that is typically aluminum. Because aluminum bowl heats quickly and is easy to remove a stain.

3. Detachable inner lid

Don’t go for a cooker that has an attached inner cover. Instead, you want a cooker with a detachable inner lid that will be easy to wash.

4. Automatic keep-warm functionality

This feature is what ensures that your rice remains warm without been over-cooked or burnt. Cookers with keep-warm don’t need your constant attention –you can multitask yourself.

5. Easy Control System

Most models are complicated to handle. You don’t expect to be a professional-cooker with these types of rice cooker at first. Thus, you want a rice cooker that offers one-touch operation or digital controls with distinct manuals.

6. Brand and pricing

This is probably the most important of all. Is the cooker affordable, is it of good quality? You want to ensure that whatever rice cooker you’re going for is from a reputable brand that’s known for quality.

Although there are other features, the ones we have mentioned above will guide you in choosing the right rice cooker that suits your needs.

How To Use A Rice Cooker

So after you might have gotten your rice cooker, maybe it’s your first time, how do you use it?

Most of the rice cooker brands listed here made their cookers so easy to use even if you’re a beginner, while others might give a slight complication.

But you must keep in mind that all rice has different textures and will result in different outcomes if prepared with a rice cooker.

Also, It’s so crucial to read the instruction manual that comes with the rice cooker and follow those instructions thoroughly. Doing so will yield positive results every time.

That said, we’ve made simple step-by-step instructions on how to use a rice cooker to make a delicious bowl of rice below.

Step 1: Measure with the measuring cup that comes with the rice cooker.

Step 2: Rinse the rice to remove excess starch to prevent the rice clumping together. Pour drinking water [Stir as you add the water until the rice submerges below] and then drain all the water out of the bowl.

Step 3: Measure the water. In the instruction, most of these brands recommend using freshwater. However, measurement highly depends on the type of rice you want to cook.

• White short grain: 1 1/4 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
• White medium grain: 1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
• White long rice: 1 3/4 cups of water per 1 cup of rice
• Brown, long-grain: 2 1/4 cups of water per 1 cup of rice

Step 4: Soak the rice for thirty minutes (optional) though this makes cooking easier.

Step 5: Add flavors (optional)

Step 6: Push the rice under the water level and off the sides: if not done, the rice may burn during cooking. Also, don’t stir the rice.

Step 7: Let the rice cook; don’t open the lid to check the rice. This only lead to improperly cooked rice –as steam may escape.

The rice cooker turns off once the rice grains have fully absorbed all the water. If sufficiently soft, let the rice rest for about 10-15 minutes before opening the lid.

Step 8: Tah-dah! Your fluffy rice is ready!

The Best Rice Cooker Brands [For High Performance & Quality]

I know how exhausting and difficult this might be for you to find a trustworthy brand of exceptional rice cooker in terms of good conditions and performance. I’ve been there before and trust me, it’s frustrating.

The thing is, most of these brands promise us –the customers –efficient performance of their product. But when purchased; only to end up giving you more problems while cooking at home.

So, over the years of using different rice cookers from different brands, we compared notes and experiences from the variously used cookers. We have done all the testing and know what works better and what doesn’t.

We only selected the best ones among rice cooker brands. They’re good in qualities and performance. Without taking much time below are the brands that ought to trust in terms of high-quality production & functionality:

1. Tiger Corporation

I can give a personal assurance of their unique rice cooker qualities. Although they have their pros and cons, I can only mention a few of them we’ve personally tested.

• Tiger Corporation JBV-A10U-W 5.5-Cup Micom Rice Cooker
• JKT-S Series IH Stainless Steel Multi-functional Rice Cooker
• JAX-T Series Stainless Steel Micom Rice Cooker with tacook Cooking Plate
• JAX-S Series Micom Rice Cooker with tacook Cooking Plate
• JAX-R Series White Micom Rice Cooker with tacook Cooking Plate

These are the best Tiger Corporation rice cookers. Although most of them might be expensive, quality is the key.

2. Instant Pot

The instant Pot Lux offers a large functional set with a more economical price tag. Customers seem to enjoy their products as it has a 4+ star rating on Amazon. The best product models for Instant Pot are:

• Instant Pot Lux 6-quart
• Instant Pot Duo 6-quart
• Instant Pot Ultra 8-quart
• Instant Pot Smart WiFi 6-quart
• Instant Pot Duo60 7-in-1 Pressure Cooker
• Instant Pot Ultra 6-quart
• Instant Pot Duo Mini 3-quart

3. Aroma Housewares

The Aroma Housewares branded as Aroma is the leading American brand for rice cookers. They manufacture reliable products. Below are some of their best rice cooker for 2022:

• Aroma Housewares ARC-914SBD 8-Cup
• Aroma Housewares 20 Cup Digital Rice Cooker
• Aroma Housewares 6-Cup Pot Style Rice Cooker
• Aroma Housewares ARC-6206C Ceramic Rice Cooker
• Aroma Simply Stainless Rice Cooker

4. Hamilton Beach

Hamilton Beach ensures fluffy rice with minimal effort, and their products last longer. Below are some of their top-rated rice cookers for 2022:

• Hamilton Beach 5.5 Quart Digital Steamer
• Hamilton Beach 20 Cup Capacity (Cooked) Rice Cooker
• Hamilton Beach 4-20 Cup Rice and Hot Cereal Cooker
• Hamilton Beach 6 Cup Capacity (Cooked) Digital Rice Cooker
• Hamilton Beach 2-14 Cup Capacity (Cooked) Rice/Hot Cereal Cooker
• Hamilton Beach 2-8 Cup Capacity (Cooked) Rice Cooker

5. Zojirushi

The Zojirushi rice cookers are known for advanced technology. We have some of the best rice cookers from Zojirushi below:

• Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup
• Zojirushi NP-NVC10 Induction Heating Pressure Cooker
• Zojirushi NS-TSC10 5-1/2-Cup (Micom Rice Cooker)
• Zojirushi NS-LAC05XT Micom 3-Cup Rice (with warmer)
• Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH (Induction Heating System)
• Zojirushi NS-VGC05 Micom 3-Cup
• Zojirushi NS-YAC10 Umami Micom Rice Cooker (with warmer)

Top Rice Cooker Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]

What size rice of cooker should I get?

Depending on the model, the cup usually contains between 6 to 8 ounces of rice. You can make 1½ to 2 ½ cups of cooked or steamed rice with a cup of uncooked rice.

Can Rice Cooker be used as slow cooker?

Yes! Rice cooker can be used as slow cook or a roast. We don’t always use the rice cooker except we’re steaming some veggies.

Can you use a rice cooker for cooking meat?

Yes! You can cook any type of meat in the rice cooker, even a whole chicken. You can also steam an entire fish in a steamer basket lined with vegies for a full one-pot meal.

Are slow cookers and rice cookers the same?

Rice Cookers vs. Slow Cookers. A slow cooker basically distributes slow and even heat, which is why you can have a roast cooking for hours and not get overcooked results.

Rice cookers, on the other hand, work fast to bring ingredients to a quick boil, which delivers the strong steam required to create steamed vegetables or fluffy rice.

What is Fuzzy-Logic?

Fuzzy-logic rice cookers use “computer chips” to make adequate changes required for the cooking temperature and time.

Additionally, basic rice cookers are mechanical and do not need fuzzy-logic since they don’t have any functions apart from cooking and turning off. The fuzzy-logic function automatically regulates cooking parameters for perfect cooking performance.

Best Rice Cookers of 2022 | Conclusion

Finally, you have had it all. All the rice cooker options we’ve listed above will give you a complete insight of what to look for in a rice cooker. To derive the highest possible satisfaction you need.

Now you have gotten the full blueprint on what to look for when buying a rice cooker, how to use a rice cooker and the 11 top rated rice cookers 2022 altogether, what next?

I think it’s time to go for something you will be delighted and happy with for a more extended period –and our list assures you of that.