For our rice cooker test, our editors tested 14 rice cookers based on different aspects: build quality, performance, ease of use and automatic cooking programmes. Based on this test, we made a selection of 8 of the best rice cookers on the market in 2024.
By Frank
Rice cookers are convenient and high quality cooking appliances that create delicious brown and white rice every time thanks to its steamer option, which can also cook vegetables, eggs, and more. When buying a rice cooker, consider your budget, size needs, whether analog or digital displays suit you, and whether you need a multi-functioning device, or a simple but powerful rice cooker. With that in mind, lets jump in to the top 10 best of 2024:
The Best Overall Rice Cooker
The Instant Pot Duo Plus comes in 3L, 5.7L, and 7.6L capacity varieties, and will make all your other cooking appliances redundant with it’s multipurpose capabilities. It can cook and create 9 foods-in-one in a pressure cook, steam cook, sous vide, bake, or saute environment all within the pot, and comes with its own handy yoghurt maker setting.
This multicooker is an excellent choice for home cooks, larger families, and those who are busy. It emerged as the best overall on our list for its versatility, and price. It will cook your rice to the perfect consistency every time, and save you money in the long run. The best part is, it is a bargain purchase relative to its’ capabilities.
- Multi purpose
- Yoghurt maker included
- Digital display
- Value for money
The Best Buy
Tefal have created a multi cooker that rivals any on this list. It emerged as the best buy of this year as it is perfect for cooking rice, comes with a steamer attachment, rice spoon, and measuring cup, and has 45 programmes to select from. You can see right into the 1.8L capacity cooker through its handy viewing window, so you don’t disturb the cook when you want to see progress. You don’t have to eye-ball it though, as this rice cooker has a digital display with a clear timer on the interface.
In our opinion, the Tefal RK8121 Multi Cooker is the best rice cooker on the market for value for money. Although not inexpensive, it promises a wide variety of cooking methods in one, so you don’t have to invest in new saucepans.
- Viewing window
- 45 settings
- 1.8L capacity
- Keep warm function
- Value for money
- Very expensive
The Best No-Fuss Rice Cooker
Another electric rice cooker from Tefal, but this one specialises in steaming rice and vegetables. This appliance emerged as our number one pick for the most no-fuss rice cooker because it is easily accessible, and focuses solely on making the most amazing rice every time. All you have to do is put the rice and water in, and flick the switch – no fuss!
Black on the outside this appliance has aluminium inner walls and long-life nonstick coating, making this rice cooker is easy to clean. Unfortunately, this means that the pan is not dishwasher safe. Although it lacks the multi functional capability of the previous additions to this list, it has excellent value for its price and should last for years.
- Simple design
- Fast cooking capability
- Durable
- Not multifunctional
- Not dishwasher save
The Best Rice Cooker for a Small Kitchen
This mini rice cooker is simple yet elegant in its approach to cooking rice. It has a smaller capacity of 0.6L, but still able to cook three portions of rice at a time. This rice cooker emerged as the best for a small kitchen because it is compact and cheap, without losing any of the quality.
This is a robust rice cooker with good build quality and removable lid. Its small size makes this rice cooker suitable for smaller kitchens and easy to store. Other than that, you don’t have to expect miracles. It just does what it is supposed to do at an excellent price.
- Simple, compact design
- Ideal for 1 to 2
- Good build quality
- Keep warm function
- Dishwasher safe
- Smaller capacity limit
The Best Rice Cooker for a Large Family
Buffalo 1055kW
This rice cooker is ideal for large families who cook a lot of rice. It has a keep warm function and the controls are very simple to operate. Furthermore, the inside pot is nonstick, and the rice cooker comes with its own rice measurer and spatula. But, the best feature of this appliance is it’s excellent capacity, coming in at 4.2L, and can cook that amount in just 35-40 minutes.
This rice cooker can double as a slow cooker for stews, and can also boil potatoes and pasta, so you can enjoy the convenience of easy cooking in multiple ways. The only downside is that there are no temperature controls or timer fitted on this appliance, so you have to keep watch over the rice.
- Large capacity
- Fast cooking capability
- Ideal for group events
- Not easy to clean
- No temperature controls
- Difficult to store
No. 6 – Best ‘Smart’ Rice Cooker
Yum Asia Bamboo Rice Cooker
This 1.5 litre smart rice cooker has multiple rice settings for optimum consistency, and a quick cook setting for faster white and brown rice cooking. It comes in a sleek brushed rose gold exterior and a digital interface. The interior is ceramic which is cooks evenly. Its’ smart feature is its most valuable draw however, being easily programmable, and capable of making basmati to sushi to risotto style rice.
This electric Japanese rice cooker was the best smart rice cooker on the market, and although it has a steep asking price, it is a powerful machine, and a complete rice cooker with every feature you could ask for.
- Smart AI controlled
- 10 programmes
- Ceramic interior
- Steam bowl included
- Expensive
- Not multifunctional
The Best Rice Cooker for the Catering Industry
TK Tartle Kitchen Commercial Rice Cooker
Suitable for restaurant kitchens serving large amounts of rice to customers, this 15L capacity appliance emerged as our pick for the best rice cooker for the catering industry. The outside of this appliance is stainless steel, and the inside enjoys a non-stick coating that is easy to clean. The rice cooker stays warm throughout the service thanks to its keep warm function
The TK Tartle Kitchen Commercial is specially designed for the catering industry. It is a hefty appliance that can cook 60 cups of rice in just 45 minutes, and comes with a spatular for easy removal of the rice when cooked, and a measuring cup which is also helpful. Since it is for commercial use the price is mirrored that sentiment, meaning that this rice cooker is not suitable for domestic kitchens and budgets.
- 15L capacity
- Ideal for restaurants
- Fast cooking capability
- Keep warm function
- Commercial use only
- Large and cumbersome
- Expensive
The Best Affordable Rice Cooker
Russell Hobbs 19750
This rice cooker is a great deal, doing the simple thing well and not breaking the bank. This appliance is the best affordable rice cooker we could find, and has the honour of being named as Amazon’s choice on Amazon as well. The operation is easy, and the appliance knows when the food is cooked, switching off automatically and saving electricity. The keep warm function will maintain the rice temperature, and you can also steam veggies thanks to steaming tray provided.
This is a budget option for those who want to enjoy high-quality cooked rice without exceeding their budget. The only downside is that the affordability of this appliance means that its and build quality will ultimately suffer.
- For any budget
- Easy to control
- Steaming tray included
- Budget quality
- Less durable
Overview of the 8 best rice cookers from our test
Things to Bear in Mind:
So that was our list. As you can see, there are many rice cookers that come in different shapes, sizes, and affordability. There’s so much variety though, and you might be asking yourself, “how do I choose the right rice cooker for my needs?” Well, at the beginning of the article we went over some of the questions briefly, but now we will touch on them in more detail.
What does my budget look like? Your budget for a rice cooker should reflect your usage and requirements. If you are someone who regularly cooks rice or steams vegetables, then it might be worth investing in a pricier model. Since you’ll be using it often, a cheaper rice cooker would wear down sooner and have less practicality.
Rice or slow cooker? A lot of rice cookers have the ability to cook a variety of foods, including vegetables, quinoa, potatoes etc. You start to see the difference when wanting to create stews, boil eggs, saute mushrooms etc., the variety that a slow cooker offers has a real draw that many people prefer. It may be worth investing in an appliance that can offer that variation. That said, A great quality rice cooker cooks rice to the perfect consistency every time, so the real question is, do you want to sacrifice the consistent quality rice of a one-trick rice cooker for the quantity and variation of a multi-functioning pressure cooker?
How many will I be feeding? Larger families will require more space in their appliances to suit the quantity of food, and a rice cooker is no different. At the same time, there’s no point in investing money into a large appliance that will only be used by two people. Size is always an issue in smaller kitchens, so a more compact rice cooker is sensible.
How many functions do I want? Not every rice cooker on this list has the functionality to cook multiple types of rice to the preferred consistency. Different types of rice, as well as veggies and quinoa, all have different lengths of cooking time to reach the desired softness and flavour. If this is something that you are a foodie who can taste those acute details, and if it is important to you, then a cooker with multiple functions, temperatures, and timing settings is the right choice. Fruthermore, multifunctional cookers can do breakfast as well, making porridge, boiling eggs, and in Japan, sticky rice!
Why Buy a Rice Cooker?
Rice cookers save you time, money, and give consistently good results. Everyone loves rice and it is enjoyed in a wide variety of cuisines, but it can be tricky to cook properly and plenty can go wrong – maybe you didn’t add enough water, or wash the starch off beforehand and you’ve been left with a gloopy horrid mess. Rice cookers alleviate these problems, cooking the rice to your desired taste, consistency, and timing, letting you worry about the other things you have to do.
The Key to Rice Cooking is Simplicity
You don’t have to be an expert to use a rice cooker. In fact, cooking with one is straightforward and painless. In a few simple steps you can cook rice to perfection: The steps are as follows:
- Fill the rice cooker with the desired portion of rice. Realise that 100 grams of rice will yield about 200 grams of cooked rice.
- Add water to the rice cooker. The amount of water depends on the type of rice you are going to cook. Usually double the amount of rice.
- Add salt, oil, or chicken/vegetable stock
- Place the lid on the rice cooker and turn the appliance on.
- Let it cook for as long as needed (depending on the amount of rice). The rice cooker will turn off automatically once the rice is done.
- Serve the rice directly from the rice cooker or keep it in the pot with the keep-warm function.
- Enjoy!
Conclusion:
In conclusion, there are many amazingly great models on the market in 2024. We only mentioned 8, but there are so many more that warrant a mention. That said, the best 8 were mentioned and the best features that any rice cooker can have has been covered. Do not let that stop you from browsing away, though! You can find all of the aforementioned rice cookers on online shopping websites like Amazon, Argos, and Currys. Often, sellers on these websites put the appliances on sale, so keep an eye out!
The best overall rice cooker in 2024 had to be the Instant Pot Duo Plus for its multi-functional programming, impressive design and specifications, and accessibility, all for a reasonable price! It is the perfect option for anyone looking to expand their culinary recipe insight and cooking practice, without spending hours and hours slaving over a hot stove. However, if you want a powerful pressure cooker that speaks quality, then perhaps the Tefal RK8121 is more the style. This appliance is expensive but worth every penny, making it our best purchase option for this year.
Thanks for reading our review of the top 8 best rice cookers of 2024. We hope you are now more informed to make the right choice should you choose to purchase a rice cooker. If and when you do, enjoy a delicious bowl of rice on us!
How do we test?
When testing products, we use some products, interview users and experts on kitchen appliances.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The best rice cooker brands are those who are known for excellent kitchen appliances in every area, and widely featured in most kitchens. Some examples include: Tefal, Russell Hobbs, Buffalo, Panasonic, Toshiba, InstantPot to name a few.
The Tefal Classic RK1038 cooks quickly thanks to its rice-oriented design, but the Yum Asia Bamboo Rice Cooker has a ‘fast cook’ setting that is even quicker.
With a ceramic rice cooker, the material allows for the even distribution of heat throughout the appliance. The ceramic also retains the heat better than a thin lining of aluminium or stainless steel.
Depends on your wants and needs, but ultimately yes. The multi-functionality of an expensive model allows for more accurate timing, better material for longer lasting insulation and energy efficiency. Cheaper models are also more easily worn down over time.
We think that yes, it is worth it. Often, you aren’t just getting a rice cooker when you purchase one, and the ease of use and energy efficiency means you will most likely save money on electricity in the long run, as a gas stovetop will take a lot longer to bring rice to the boil. Furthermore, you get more control over the cook.