I've Tested 41 Rice Cookers and Swear By These 4 (2026)

In college, I was introduced to the world of rice cookers when my roommate bought one for our house. I didn't fully realize how spoiled I'd been until we graduated and she moved across the country, taking her rice cooker with her. I was left to make do with the finicky stovetop method that never turned out quite right. In the years since, I've never been without one. Having consistently fluffy, well-cooked rice means I can turn my attention to the other components of the meal, and that convenience is well worth the price tag and the extra storage space a rice cooker comes with. Besides, there's nothing as humbling as cooking a big pot of rice for company only to find it's turned into a pile of mush. Our top picks - Best rice cooker for most people: Hamilton Beach 7-Cup Digital Programmable Rice Cooker - The one that makes the best rice: Zojirushi 5.5-Cup Induction Rice Cooker (NP-HCC10) - Best small rice cooker (that's also PFAS-free): GreenPan Advanced 4-Cup Rice Cooker - A great stainless steel rice cooker: Tatung Electric 6-Cup Rice Cooker and Steamer The best rice cookers are like a kitchen cheat code, a helping hand that ensures at least one part of your meal goes off without a hitch. But they vary a lot in performance. I've tested 41 rice cookers and cooked over 120 cups of rice (and that's just in the Test Kitchen), so I'm here to give you the lowdown and help you choose the right one for your lifestyle, budget, and household size. I believe the best rice cooker for your money is the Hamilton Beach 7-Cup Digital Programmable Rice Cooker. It's the right size for most people (making up to 14 cups of cooked rice), and at $70 it's a great price. But I also have picks for PFAS-free options, small cookers for tiny spaces, and the Zojirushi NP-HCC10 that makes the absolute best rice, as long as you're willing to pay for it. We think it's worth it. New in this update: I tested the GreenPan Advanced 8-Cup (Cooked) Rice Cooker and found it to be a good option for those looking for a small rice cooker with a ceramic, PFAS-free nonstick inner pot. I also tested the new KitchenAid Compact Grain and Rice Cooker, but didn't think its performance merited its price tag. Best rice cooker for most people: Hamilton Beach Digital Programmable Rice Cooker Pros and cons Pros: - Consistently good rice - Affordable - Handy features Cons: - Rice can get scorched on the bottom - Brown rice may be too al dente for some Specs Capacity: 7 cups (uncooked rice) Dimensions: (W x D x H) 10.75" x 10.75" x 11" Weight: 4.8 lb. Warranty: One-year limited warranty Features: Delay cook, automatic keep-warm function Menu settings: white rice, quick rice, whole grain, hot cereals, steam cook, heat/simmer You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to make great rice. The Hamilton Beach Digital Programmable Rice Cooker has consistently impressed me throughout years of testing, and at under $70, I think it’s the best option for most home cooks. What I love: The Hamilton Beach ranked right behind the Zojirushi (our splurge pick below) in a side-by-side blind tasting of white rice. It excelled in the brown rice test, producing individual and intact grains that had a satisfying amount of bite to them (though if you prefer your brown rice on the softer side, I'd recommend adding a bit more water than the recommended amount). It also fared well with long-grain basmati, producing a pot of fluffy rice on par with (if not better than) some of the more expensive cookers I tested. It cooked each pot of rice significantly faster than the Zojirushi, too: 35 minutes for a pot of white rice as opposed to the Zojirushi’s 50, and an hour for brown rice as opposed to 90 minutes. But what I really loved about the Hamilton Beach is that despite its low price tag, it doesn't sacrifice some of the helpful features the more high-end cookers tend to have. Besides a standard Keep Warm function, there are also six presets to choose from (white rice, quick rice, whole grain, heat/simmer, steam cook, and hot cereals), a handy delayed start feature (great if you want to prep a pot of rice before work and have it ready by the time you get home in the evening), a cook time countdown, and an audible beep when the rice is done cooking—all things most other options at this price point lack. Its 7-cup (uncooked) capacity is also larger than that of many of the other rice cookers I tested, but the machine's footprint is comparably compact. It's also technically a multi-cooker thanks to the heat/simmer and steam cook settings, though I was primarily interested in its rice-making capabilities for this review and will not vouch for those other functions here. I named the Hamilton Beach our budget pick two years ago, but after continuing to test it against the previous overall winner and countless other new-to-me models over the past couple of years while watching the price of the Zojirushi climb closer to—and oftentimes above—$400, I can confidently say that it’s the best choice for most home cooks for its balance of performance, features, and affordability. What I'd leave: While I found the Hamilton Beach to be well-made for a $70-ish machine, it didn’t feel quite as sturdy as the higher-end models we tested. I also didn’t love the design of the lid: It requires you to press and hold a button while manually opening it, and it opens sideways rather than front to back. The inner pot is also relatively thin, which contributed to a scorched layer of rice at the bottom in some of my tests—something that wasn’t a deal-breaker for me in the end but is worth noting. And, unlike many other models we tested, there is no differentiation in the recommended amount of water for different types of rice. I didn’t find that this negatively impacted the resulting rice, though the brown rice, which had a nice bite to it, could be a tad al dente for some with the recommended amount of water. The one that makes the best rice: Zojirushi 5.5-Cup Induction Rice Cooker (NP-HCC10) Pros and cons Pros: - Consistent results - Wide range of capabilities Cons: - Expensive - Bulky cord is not retractable Specs Capacity: 5.5 cups (uncooked rice) Dimensions: (W x D x H) 10" x 14" x 8" Weight: 9 lb. Warranty: One-year limited warranty Features: Micom technology, induction heating, delay cook, automatic keep warm function Menu settings: white rice (regular, softer or harder), jasmine rice, mixed rice, sushi rice, porridge/congee, sweet rice, brown rice, GABA brown rice and quick-cooking, rice paddle and measuring cup, nonstick pot. Zojirushi is to rice cookers what Vitamix is to blenders, and KitchenAid is to stand mixers. That is to say, it's the brand everyone knows to buy if you want the best. We've tested seven of Zojirushi's 19 models, and I've been most impressed by the NP-HCC10, which has won our blind taste tests every time. If you're serious about your rice and willing to invest in a perfectly fluffy pot, this is the model for you. What I love: BA staffers have crowned this machine the winner time and time again in blind taste tests, noting the way it produced grains that were not too soft, not too hard, and never mushy. In my own testing, it turned out evenly cooked, perfectly fluffy rice every time. That comes down to two technologies working together. Micom (short for microcomputerized) technology, found in many of Zojirushi's cookers, uses built-in sensors that adjust temperature and cook time according to real-time feedback, acting as a safeguard against imprecise water-to-rice ratios. Induction heating, more specific to this tier of Zojirushis, lets the cooker maintain a precise temperature and conduct heat evenly across the whole pot, rather than from the bottom only, as non-induction cookers do. Rice quality was my number one criterion in evaluating these cookers, but I also gave points for design and features. The NP-HCC10 has a 5.5-cup (uncooked) capacity, enough to feed six people. Its nonstick pot is a breeze to clean, and the interior is clearly marked in white with the water levels for various types of rice. I loved that this model counts down the total cook time, a surprising rarity among the rice cookers I've tested, though the Hamilton Beach does it too. Its extended Keep Warm setting, on top of the standard automatic one, prevents rice from yellowing or drying out when it's left to sit. A delayed start setting lets you set your rice to be done cooking at a certain time. And nine programmed settings cover several types of rice, including jasmine, brown, and sushi (the White Rice setting on a Zojirushi refers to short-grain white rice). For other grains like quinoa or oats, Zojirushi has a guide here. What I’d leave: The main downside to the NP-HCC10, and the reason it's no longer my top pick, is the price. This model has gotten steadily more expensive over the years and now sits around $400, which makes it a definite investment piece. Still, our testers could tell the difference in rice quality during every blind tasting, so if rice is something you care about, that's what you're paying for. Zojirushi also tends to fall short on brown rice across the board. I found the brown rice this model produced to be a touch soft for my liking, though using a bit less water than the recommended amount fixes it. There's also no retractable cord, which makes storage more of a hassle. Another thing to know if you’re new to the world of precision rice cookers, is that it takes a very long time to make a pot of rice. Depending on the volume, white rice can take up to an hour and brown rice up to two. That's not a shortcoming. It's part of the reason they work so well. Get in the habit of starting the cooker before you begin the rest of your cooking and you won't notice. On weeknights when you're tight on time, the timer function guarantees your rice will be done when you need it. For more information about Zojirushi’s line of rice cookers, read our guide. Instagram content The best small rice cooker: GreenPan Advanced 8-Cup Rice Cooker Pros and cons Pros: - Easy to use - Decent rice - PFAS-free ceramic nonstick inner pot Cons: - White rice was a touch unevenly cooked - Brown rice may be too al dente for some Specs Capacity: 4 cups (uncooked rice) Dimensions: (W x D x H) 9.8" x 7.5" x 8.7" Weight: 5.2 lb. Warranty: Lifetime limited warranty Features: Delay cook, automatic keep-warm function Menu settings: white rice, quick rice, brown rice This sleek little rice cooker makes a good pot of rice and takes up less counter space than the other models on this list—plus it's got a PFAS-free ceramic nonstick-coated inner pot that makes cleanup a breeze. What I loved: This new rice cooker from GreenPan is lightweight, relatively compact, and quite sleek, with a straightforward interface that’s intuitive to use. It made serviceable white and basmati rice in testing and excelled in the brown rice test, producing extremely individualized grains with a satisfying amount of bite, similar in texture to the batch made in the Hamilton Beach. While the GreenPan doesn’t offer a ton of presets, it’s got everything you need if your main use case for it is cooking rice: dedicated white and brown rice settings, a Quick Cook setting, an automatic Keep Warm function, and a Delay Timer. The ceramic nonstick-coated inner pot cleaned up easily with a sponge during testing, but it’s also dishwasher-safe. What I’d leave: While the GreenPan made acceptable rice, it wasn’t perfect—the white rice was a bit unevenly cooked according to some blind taste testers, and the brown rice was too firm for some tasters’ preferences (though others disagreed). Unlike the Hamilton Beach and the Zojirushi, the GreenPan is limited when it comes to settings. I also wish it had a carrying handle, though it’s so lightweight that it’s relatively easy to move around anyway. The best PFAS-free rice cooker: Tatung Electric Rice Cooker and Steamer Pros and cons Pros: - PFAS-free - Makes great rice Cons: - Stainless-steel pot is hard to clean - Lid gets very hot - Lid rattles around when rice is cooking - Pricey given lack of features Specs Capacity: 6 cups (uncooked rice) Dimensions: (W x D x H) 12" x 9.8" x 9.8" Weight: 7.1 lb. Warranty: One-year limited warranty Features: Automatic keep warm function Menu settings: None Tatung has been a leading manufacturer of rice cookers and steamers in Taiwan for over 60 years. With its straightforward on/off switch and cook/warm lever, the company's signature rice cooker looks like some of the simpler Zojirushi models, but it features a unique inner and outer pot system that steams the rice as it cooks. What I loved: In my testing, the Tatung produced fluffy pots of rice that earned praise from blind taste testers. The white rice had a nice amount of bite to it and a pleasant, slightly sticky texture. The brown rice was a good middle ground, al dente but not as dry as the rice from the Hamilton Beach. And the basmati was fluffy, the delicate grains all relatively intact. One major plus? Each pot of rice was done in about half the amount of time as the Zojirushi NP-HCC10. The Tatung is all stainless steel, with an inner pot that fits inside the appliance like a nesting doll. That nesting design is what makes it work differently from most rice cookers. Rice and water go into the inner pot as usual, then you add more water to the outer pot, which heats up and steams the rice from the outside in. The Tatung features an all-stainless-steel construction, with an inner pot that fits inside the appliance like a nesting doll. To make a pot of rice, you'll add rice and water to the inner pot as per usual, and then add more water to the outer pot before covering with the lid and setting to cook. What I'd leave: Because it's made of stainless steel, the Tatung can get quite hot while cooking—especially the lid, which I burned my hands on a few times during testing. The lightweight lid and addition of water surrounding the inner pot also meant that this model rattled quite a bit as it cooked, and water occasionally bubbled up over the edge when making large batches of rice. The stainless-steel inner pot is, as expected, much harder to clean than a nonstick pot, and required some soaking and serious elbow grease in order to scrub clean. The other thing to note is that at $210 at the time of writing, this is not a cheap appliance, but it doesn't come with the kinds of features (like delayed start or multiple settings) you might expect from a rice cooker at this price. How we tested rice cookers Many rice cookers these days try to position themselves as do-it-all appliances (the Instant Pot-ification of the category), but we were here to see how each model performed at one all-important function: making rice. We’ve spent years testing over two dozen models and have held numerous taste tests among Bon Appétit staffers, abiding by the following testing process each time: Each rice cooker was first put through a white rice test. We used Nishiki Japanese medium-grain white rice, cooking two cups worth in each full-size cooker and one cup in the mini cookers (models with 4-cup uncooked capacities or less). Models that performed adequately in this test then moved onto short-grain brown rice, and finally to long-grain basmati rice. Our tasters were on the lookout for fluffy pots of rice made up of nicely individualized grains that had just enough bite and didn’t mush together. Cookers that fared well in our initial testing were then given to several different editors to use in their own homes. Those editors have and will continue to provide feedback on how these models perform in the long-term. What we looked for in the best rice cookers Let’s start with the obvious: How was the rice? While we evaluated rice cookers based on several factors, no amount of fancy features or high-tech claims mattered if the resulting rice wasn’t up to par. Our testers and tasters scored models on the quality of all three kinds of rice, and they were looking for evenly cooked grains that were neither over- nor undercooked, not too wet and not too dry, and fluffy rather than gummy or mushy. How’s the user experience? The whole point of having a rice cooker is to make your life easier, so we were looking for rice cookers that were straightforward and intuitive to use. We valued clear instructions on how to wash and measure rice, guidance on water ratios and selecting settings, and automatic Keep Warm functionality. A timer function was an added bonus that we appreciated in some of the more advanced models. We also looked at the accessories each model came with. Every rice cooker comes with a few necessities, which usually include a rice paddle and a measuring cup. Every model we tested, save for the Cuckoos, came with a built-in paddle holder, and many came with an additional steamer basket insert. While we didn’t test out steamer or synchro cooking functionality in our initial tests, our long-term testers were encouraged to report back on how such functions performed. How easy is it to clean? Nearly every model we tested had a nonstick coating on its inner pot, and the few that didn’t were a bit of a nightmare to clean. We wanted to be able to cleanly scoop rice out of the cooker without leaving any residue behind, and looked for pots that were easily washed with a soapy sponge and some warm water (if you are really trying to avoid PFAS coatings, note that most rice cooker pots are not dishwasher-safe). Some models have removable, cleanable lids, something we appreciated and noted where applicable. How easy is it to store? We took note of the footprint of each model, but found that most full-size options were around the same size. Is it worth the price? The rice cookers we tested ranged in price from $25–$750. While we think a great model like our winning Zojirushi is worth its $300 price tag, we awarded points to models like the Hamilton Beach that provide a great value, performing better than their cost might suggest. Other rice cookers we tested and liked Cuckoo 6-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer CR-0655F This model from Cuckoo is a great rice cooker for the price. Tasters ranked the rice it made nearly as highly as our winning Zojirushi, which is a feat considering the Cuckoo is a third of the price. It’s also much faster than the Zojirushi, finishing in 15 minutes less, and a bit larger, with a 6-cup capacity. Why didn’t it take the top spot, you might ask? A couple of reasons: The lid jerks open with so much force that it can knock the whole appliance off the counter (as well as any objects surrounding it), and it doesn’t have a countdown for the total cook time. Tiger Micom Rice Cooker JBV-A10U This former best budget pick is made by Tiger, another Japan-based company with over 100 years of history making many of the same kinds of products Zojirushi does. It’s one of the most affordable Micom models out there, ringing in at $99 (at the time of writing). And while it doesn’t have all the fancy bells and whistles of our winning Zojirushi, it still makes consistently great rice. In our blind taste tests, staffers picked the Tiger over several more expensive models. We also loved this cooker’s generous 5.5-cup (uncooked) capacity, the fact that it’s easy to clean, and that it offers something a step above a simple one-button, non-Micom model. This is still a dead-simple, no-frills rice cooker though. You get what you pay for: There is no alarm, timer, or digital interface, and fewer settings than you’ll get on something like our winning Zojirushi or some of the fancier Tiger models. In our most recent round of testing, the Hamilton Beach model edged it out by producing slightly better rice and having more helpful features, all while ringing in at practically half the price. Zojirushi Pressure Induction Heating Rice Cooker & Warmer NW-JEC10 The Zojirushi NW-JEC10 is like if Apple made a rice cooker: It’s sleek, high-tech, and expensive. It’s the most expensive home rice cooker in the brand’s lineup, as a matter of fact. Of its host of features, the one that sets it apart from the other high-end models Zojirushi offers is the My Rice setting, which uses artificial intelligence to learn your preferred rice texture based on inputs you give it after cooking through each batch of rice. Commerce writer Wilder Davies has been testing the NW-JEC10 for over a year and has come around to the view that the My Rice functionality is no gimmick. He found that his batches of rice evolved for the better over time as he gave the machine more feedback (specifically, it will ask you to input whether the stickiness and firmness of the previous batch you made was “not enough,” “okay,” or “too much”). What’s more, this rice won its initial taste test with our staffers. But the difference in rice quality was not enough to merit the $750 price tag, hence our recommendation for the average rice eater remains the (nearly $450 cheaper) NP-HCC10. Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer NS-TSC10A This model is similar to our top pick in design and functionality, but rings in at about $100 cheaper. The main reason for that is likely that it lacks the induction heating capabilities of the NP-HCC10. While it produced good rice across all of our tests, it never quite achieved as perfectly textured results as our winner. Our testers found the rice to be a bit too soft across the board (though this could be remedied by adding a bit less water than the recommended amount). We did, however, appreciate the retractable cord—plus the silver-and-light gray design is rather chic. Toshiba TRCS01 Rice Cooker This model performed exceedingly well in our initial blind taste test, producing fluffy grains that won over our testers. We also loved its suite of programmable features, the way it gave us a timer countdown from the start of cooking as well as the option to delay cooking until later, its audible alarm, and its use of fuzzy logic to make minute temperature and time adjustments according to real time sensor feedback (something more typically seen in higher priced models). We found it easy to use, with helpful presets for a range of rice types and a Quick Rice function that worked well for grains like quinoa, farro, and polenta, and an included steamer basket. But our long-term testing of this product revealed a major flaw: We found that the timer would repeatedly freeze (sometimes for 20 minutes or longer) while the machine continued to cook. This issue was particularly prevalent when using the Mixed Rice and Quick Rice settings. It’s worth noting that the timer function on a rice cooker is typically more of an approximation, and it’s not uncommon for it to change or stall momentarily—but not to this extent. It resulted in overcooked or even burned rice. It was not a consistent problem, but a problem nonetheless, and a big enough one to give us pause about recommending this model as our top budget pick. Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer NS-ZCC10 The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 didn’t make as nicely textured and fluffy rice as our winning pick. It does include many of the features we loved in our winner at a lower price point, like the intuitive interface, sturdy inner pot, Keep Warm function, and array of presets. It also had some additional features our winner lacked, like a retractable cord and handles on the sides of the pot that allow you to lift it out from the cooker while it’s still hot. However, at over $240 at the time of publication, we just don’t think this cooker produced rice that merited the still-high price tag. Toshiba TRSH01 Low-Carb Digital Programmable Multi-Functional Rice Cooker This sleek model from Toshiba has an intuitive digital interface and eight different settings, including one for “low-carb” rice that uses a colander-like insert to drain away starchy water as the rice cooks (which Toshiba claims “can remove unhealthy digestive starch by up to 37% and increase healthy resistant starch by up to 34%”). We aren't going to vouch for the low-carb claims, but we can tell you that this model fared relatively well in testing. We found the white and jasmine rice to be a tad soft for our liking, which ultimately kept it out of our top picks (though this could be remedied by using a touch less water than recommended). It excelled in the brown rice test, producing rice with just enough bite—the Goldilocks of brown rice, as one of our taste testers put it. If you’re a brown rice fiend, this may be the model for you. Tiger 5.5-Cup IH Rice Cooker JKT-D10U This model performed similarly to our winning pick from Zojirushi, scoring just a few points below it in our taste test. It has a 5.5-cup uncooked capacity, a sturdy nonstick inner pot with handles for safely lifting it out of the machine while hot, and all the other features we’d expect from a rice cooker with its price tag: A bevy of settings (12 to be exact), automatic logic technology, an audible chime, and an automatic Keep Warm functionality. It produced beautifully cooked white rice that was nearly on par with the Zojirushi NP-HCC10, but fell a bit short in the brown rice test, where the grains were on the mushier side. All in all, it’s a great rice cooker that any home cook would be happy to use, but for just a few dollars more, we’d recommend you go with our winning pick from Zojirushi. Zojirushi Induction Heating Rice Cooker & Warmer NW-QAC10 This model is part of Zojirushi’s newest line of rice cookers, and it looks similar to the pricey NW-JEC10 model we mentioned above. It is similar to our winner in terms of functionality, but it couldn’t match up to the NP-HCC10’s results in the white rice test. Our tasters found the rice this model produced to be soft and less intact than they’d have liked. That said, the NW-QAC10 features quinoa and oatmeal settings, which makes it a good rice cooker for anyone with a particular affinity for either of those grains. Zojirushi Pressure Induction Heating Rice Cooker & Warmer NP-NWC10 With Micom technology and induction heating, this model is very similar to our top pick. If you’re wondering why it’s over $100 more expensive, that’s because, unlike our winner, it uses pressure when cooking rice. While intended to produce a more tender grain, our testers preferred the rice the NP-HCC10 churned out, deeming the NP-NWC10’s rice a bit soft for their liking when cooked on a standard setting. It’s worth noting that this model allows you to adjust texture and consistency with relative ease, which worked well in our long-term testing, but we cannot recommend you shell out an additional $100-plus for it based on its overall performance. Rice cookers we don’t recommend Whether because of how they fared in our taste test or because of their design, these are the rice cookers that we don't recommend buying. - Aroma Digital Rice Cooker ARC-914SBD: This affordable 4-cup model performed well in the white rice test, but failed with brown rice. It leaked starchy water onto the lid that would have spilled everywhere had we not mopped it up. The rice itself was wet and oh-so-mushy. - Aroma 2.5-Cup Rice Cooker ARC-753SG: This model from Aroma has a stainless-steel inner pot that we found difficult to clean. It made white rice in near record time (20 minutes or so), but it tended to be a bit underdone. The same can be said for the brown rice test—the rice was good, but certainly not great. This model also exhibited some leakage through the steam vent even when just cooking one cup of rice, which we imagine would only get worse if you filled it to capacity. - Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 14-Cup Rice and Grain Cooker: I’ve generally been impressed by Drew Barrymore’s line of appliances, but this rice cooker was disappointing. It produced mushy, gummy white rice and didn't make it past the first round of testing. - Cosori 5-Cup Rice Cooker: Standard settings on this model produced rice that was a bit undercooked, according to most of our testers. This machine does have a whopping 18 settings, including a range of different grains, so it could be a decent option for anyone who frequently cooks steel-cut oats, barley, farro, and the like. - Cuckoo 6-Cup Heating Pressure Rice Cooker CRP-P0609S: The rice this Cuckoo made was incredibly sticky. It also suffered some design flaws: the lid snaps open aggressively, the control panel is unintuitive, and there's no countdown timer. - Cuckoo 6-Cup Micom Rice Cooker CR-0675F: This model made great rice. However, unresponsive buttons, a confusing interface, and a poorly translated manual made it frustrating to use. So while this cooker checks the "Makes Great Rice" box, the same cannot be said for the "Is a Joy to Use" box. - Cuckoo 6-Cup HP Twin Pressure Rice Cooker CRP-ST0609F: Like the other Cuckoos, this model made decent rice. However, its control panel was irritatingly unresponsive. It also talks, and in a voice that can only be described as Barbie DreamHouse-core—which may be amusing to some, but aggravating to others. - Cuisinart 4-Cup Rice Cooker: This mini model didn't move past the white rice test–the rice it produced looked very wet and undercooked at the time it finished cooking and switched to the Keep Warm function, and it tasted too firm in the middle. - Dash Mini Rice Cooker: This one-button model has a lid that is too light to stay sealed, allowing steam and heat to escape during cooking. - Imusa GAU-00011 Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker: This is one of the cheapest rice cookers you can get these days. Was the rice edible? Totally. But we found the white rice to be undercooked, and the brown rice it made was sort of wet, as if not enough water had been cooked off. - Instant Pot Duo: The beloved Instant Pot Duo is a multi-cooker that claims to do it all—including make rice. It was one of the fastest models to do so, but the grains it produced were gummy and decidedly un-fluffable. - KitchenAid Rice and Grain Cooker: This model from KitchenAid has a unique design that comprises an integrated scale and attached water tank. It uses that scale and whichever of the 21 preset functions you've chosen to determine how much water to add, eliminating the need to futz around with measuring cups and ratios. While it's an interesting concept, we weren't impressed enough by this model's performance to recommend it. The first batch of white rice we made was painfully dry, though the second batch we made using the Softer setting was an improvement. The brown rice was serviceable, nicely textured if still a touch dry. We spent time in 2025 testing its other capabilities as well and found them hit or miss. You can check out our complete KitchenAid rice cooker review here. - KitchenAid Compact Rice and Grain Cooker: This new version of the KitchenAid model above eliminates the attached water tank for a more compact footprint. While it made decent rice, we found the workflow of pouring water into the inner pot while it was attached to its base (rather than filling it to a designated line at the sink) somewhat annoying, and ultimately weren't impressed enough by the quality of the rice to justify the somewhat steep price tag. - Nutribullet EveryGrain Cooker: This cooker has settings for specific grains like white rice, quinoa, and oats, plus other nice-to-have features like a Delay Start button and Steam option. While we can't comment on how this cooker performs with other grains, we can say that it did not fare well with rice. The white rice we made was wildly inconsistent, even within the same batch. - Our Place Rice Cooker: This rice cooker is cute as can be. It's intuitive to use and looks nice on a countertop—an attribute most rice cookers lack; however, the appliance is bulky and pricey considering the small, 3-cup uncooked capacity. After some long-term testing, we found that the rice cooked inconsistently, either too mushy one time or too dry another, despite the fuzzy logic, so ultimately we don't think it's worth the price tag. - Tiger Microcomputer Controlled Rice Cooker JAX-T10U: Despite its promising features, this model produced white rice that was a bit wet and soft for our testers' liking. The brown rice had a nice bite to it, but its exterior was a tad mushy. We found that the less expensive Tiger JBV-A10U outperformed this pricier model. - Tiger 10-Cup (Uncooked) Rice Cooker JNP-1800-FL: This is a straightforward, single-button rice cooker that makes enough rice for the whole family (and a large one at that). Unfortunately, the rice it produced proved some of the softest of the bunch. With few features and lackluster performance, it's hard to recommend. - Toshiba TRCS02: This 3-cup model from Toshiba fared relatively well in the white rice portion of our taste test, but produced overcooked brown rice that kept it from earning a top spot. - Yum Asia Panda: This cooker is a bestseller on Amazon, so we wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It remained a promising contender through the first round of taste testing, in which it produced excellent white rice. However, the brown rice this model made was overcooked and mushy. But if brown rice isn't your thing, you might still consider this model. - Zojirushi 3-Cup Rice Cooker: This dead-simple mini model from Zojirushi uses a single button to start cooking. Unlike some competitors we tested, it didn't leak starchy water, but it produced inconsistent results. It also lacks a Keep Warm function, and we found it didn't handle brown rice well. - Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer NS-LGC05: This 3-cup version of one of Zojirushi's micom models ultimately failed to impress us—especially compared to the other mini models we tested, which performed much better even despite being lower tech. The white rice made in this model was quite sticky and mushy, as was the brown rice. Because of that micom technology, it also took longer to cook than the other small models. - Zojirushi NL-EAC10: This newest model in Zojirushi's lineup is cute, but it lacked the helpful carrying handle that most other Zojirushis have, took longer to cook rice than our winner, and produced white rice that was overcooked and a touch mushy. FAQs Should you rinse your rice? To make a long story short, you probably should. Washing rice strips the grains of their starchy coating and keeps them from sticking together and becoming a gummy mess when cooked—something you want for most types of rice (exceptions to this rule include arborio rice used for risotto, where the excess starch is necessary to create that creamy texture). In testing these cookers, we followed each model’s instructions with regard to rinsing rice. In general, you’ll want to swish your measured rice around in some water, pour that water out, and repeat until the water runs clear. Do you need a rice cooker? What about stovetop rice? You don’t need a rice cooker, but there’s no denying that having one makes getting weeknight dinners on the table or cooking rice for a crowd infinitely easier. That said, making great stovetop rice is a skill worth mastering—and the food editors in our test kitchen can help you with that. How much rice can a rice cooker make? You’ll notice that many of the rice cookers on this list have cup capacities in their names. That number refers to the amount of uncooked rice a given cooker can make at a time, measured in 180-ml rice cooker cups rather than standard US cups (which are 237 ml). Rice approximately doubles in size after cooking, so a 5.5-cup rice cooker like the winning Zojirushi will make a maximum of about 11 cups of cooked rice (which is enough to feed around 5–6 people). If you’re cooking for just yourself, note that the minimum amount of rice most rice cookers can make is one rice cooker cup’s worth. This will likely be more rice that you need for a single serving meal, but we’d advise against trying to make less rice than the cooker is designed for. And besides, the leftovers will make for excellent fried rice the next day.