As a regular maker of sushi, I can tell you that cooking rice perfectly is an art. You must pick your rice carefully, rinse it several times, and ensure there is an airtight seal as it simmers. World-class sushi restaurants use a pot on a stove to cook their rice. Of course, most of us are not world-class sushi chefs. We want an easy way to create well-textured rice as a side dish. This is where rice cookers reign supreme.

If you eat rice regularly, a rice cooker is an effortless way to get your daily dose of starchy goodness. With most devices, you just measure out the rice, pour in water to the appropriate line, press a couple of buttons, and wait for the machine to let you know your rice is ready. Basically, set it and forget it. Even if you are a seasoned pro when it comes to cooking rice on the stove, a rice cooker is indispensable when you want to free up burners or if you simply don’t have a range available.

It’s also worth noting that the measuring cups that come with rice cookers typically are smaller than a standard eight-ounce cup. Instead, they are about six ounces in volume. This is important to keep in mind when measuring out rice as you put it in your cooker. If you use a standard cup, you are likely to end up with tough, undercooked rice.

The rice cookers included in our guide are durable, have intuitive functions, and can be used for several varieties of rice.

Here are the best rice cookers:

Prices and links are current as of 7/27/2020. We’ve removed references and ratings from third-party sites because we’ve found them to be unreliable in the past. For our next update to this guide, we’re considering a new best mini rice cooker category for people living in small spaces or anyone wants only wants to make small, personal servings of rice.

The best rice cooker overall

If you are looking for a cooker that produces delicious results no matter what type of rice you put in, the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is the best.

What sets the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker apart is its use of "fuzzy logic." Basically, a microcomputer adjusts the cooking time and temperature to adapt to the rice, whether it's brown, sweet, white, or porridge. At the bottom of the inner body of the cooker, there is a thermal sensor that keeps tabs on the rice and reports back to the microcomputer, which makes the appropriate adjustments.

The nonstick internal cooking pan features handy lines indicating how much water to add for each type of rice. Both the cooking pan and inner lid can be removed for easy cleaning, though they are not dishwasher-safe.

Other features include a large LCD screen, programmable delay timer for having your rice ready when you get home from work, handle and retractable cord for easy transport, reheating cycle, and an extended keep warm mode. There are two sizes: 5.5-cup and 10-cup. Both come with a one-year warranty.

Senior guides editor Les Shu grew up in a household where rice was served nearly every night. His family has relied on Zojirushi cookers because they consistently make perfect rice and rice porridge. The 5.5-cup model is actually the model his parents now use after downsizing from a larger cooker.

Senior reporter Connie Chen has also used Zojirushi cookers in her family home for many years and loves their reliability, compact size, and ease of use.

Pros: Adjusts to the type of rice, uses "fuzzy logic," produces tender rice, small footprint

Cons: Somewhat slower than other options

The best rice cooker on a budget

Foto: Source: Oster

The Oster 6-Cup Rice Cooker is affordable, doesn't take up much space, and has a detached glass lid that is easy to clean.

The Oster 6-Cup Rice Cooker is the only option with a tempered glass lid. The compact size allows for faster cooking, and the lid lets you monitor the progress of your rice. The lid is also easier to clean. The "6-cup" size mentioned in the name of this appliance does not refer to a standard US cup but rather the slightly smaller cup that comes with most rice cookers.

There is only one button so the Oster rice cooker is easy to use. Yet, there is no timer or alarm that lets you know when the rice will be ready. Instead, you might be able to hear the audible click that occurs when the device switches from Cook to Keep Warm mode. Both the inner pot and lid are removable for hand washing. Oster backs this product with a one-year limited warranty.

Expert testers have found the Oster to clean up effortlessly and the rice quality to be terrific, particularly white rice and sushi rice. Brown rice, however, can be somewhat dry.

This cooker doesn't take up much space and is ideal for one- or two-person households.

Pros: Inexpensive, glass lid, great for white, sushi, and sticky rice

Cons: No timer, actually only produces about four standard cups of cooked rice

The best multipurpose rice cooker

Foto: Source: Aroma Housewares

The Aroma Housewares Digital Rice Cooker is an affordable appliance for cooking 20 cups of rice as well as steaming vegetables and slow cooking.

The Aroma Housewares Digital Rice Cooker is unique in that it can steam vegetables and meat while rice cooks. There are easy-to-program controls for slow cooking, flash rice (speeds up the cooking time for grains that usually take longer), steaming, brown rice, and white rice.

It also has a keep warm function and a 15-hour delay timer, which is useful for when you want your rice and vegetables to be ready when you get home from work.

The Aroma rice cooker yields 20 cups of cooked rice and comes with a serving spatula, rice measuring cup, and steam tray. The inner cooking pot features measurement lines that make it easy to determine how much water to add. And, the pot is removable for cleaning.

Thanks to its Saute-Then-Simmer function, the cooker is great for any recipe that first requires sauteing your ingredients. You can save time and space by switching directly to the simmer step to make dishes like risotto or chili.

Pros: Large capacity, several uses, including steaming vegetables

Cons: The attached lid can be difficult to clean

The best rice cooker for GABA rice

Foto: Source: Cuckoo

If you are looking for an affordable fuzzy logic cooker that can help you enjoy the health benefits of GABA rice, the Cuckoo Electric Heating Rice Cooker is an excellent solution.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) rice is becoming increasingly popular as we learn more about its many health benefits, including lowering blood pressure and improving brain function. Enter the Cuckoo Electric Heating Rice Cooker, which has six cooking settings, including a GABA function, turbo cook, keep warm, and timer.

The Cuckoo rice cooker produces up to 12 cups of cooked rice. The inner pot has a non-stick surface and is removable for easy cleaning, though it's not dishwasher safe. The company offers a one-year warranty on parts and labor.

Impressively, it can keep your rice warm for an entire day, so you'll have fresh rice whenever you want it.

Pros: Uses fuzzy logic, keeps rice warm without drying out for 24-plus hours, has GABA rice cooking function

Cons: Only available in pink

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