The 5 Best Rice Cookers for Bowl After Bowl of Warm, Fluffy Grains

Tester: Kayla Hui, commerce writer (author)

My family and I are big on rice. Whenever I would visit my cousin’s home for dinner, she would always have her Zojirushi rice cooker on hand. After eating fluffy grain after grain, I decided I would get my own Zojirushi, too. I decided on the Micom—which looks like a tiny space ship—and having tested the device for four months now, all I can say is “wow.”

The Micom, which holds up to 5.5 cups of rice, is the Dyson of rice cookers. It has a menu with eight preset cooking options: white sushi, quick, mixed, long grain white, steel-cut oatmeal, quinoa, brown, and steam. So far, I’ve used the machine to cook quinoa, jasmine rice, and pandan sticky rice (short grain), and each batch comes out flawlessly all thanks to its smart technology, which properly balances water and steam for a delicious meal every time.

The cutest feature of this rice cooker is the little tune that plays at the end of each cooking cycle to indicate when the rice is done. Made of clear-coated stainless steel, the rice cooker body feels solid and is equipped with a handle that makes serving guests easier. Cleaning is a breeze, too. When using soap and water, leftover rice comes off the removable pot sans struggle.

One caveat is that the rice takes between 45 and 50 minutes to cook fully, but it does come with a scheduling function, so you can have the rice ready to go whenever you want it. I love that this rice cooker comes with a measuring cup and rice paddle. No matter if I’m cooking for myself, family, or friends, I always have my Zojirushi on deck.

Tester: Kayla Hui, commerce writer (author)

I bought the Oster Diamondforce rice cooker when I was in graduate school in 2018, and five years later, this rice cooker is still going strong. For only $20, the Diamondforce is a budget-friendly option that gets the job done. It’s equipped with a cooking plate, a tempered glass lid, and a removable 6-cup nonstick pot that boils and steams up to three cups of uncooked grains, which comfortably feeds a party of up to six people.

What’s neat about this rice cooker is that it comes with a steaming tray, so I can reheat bread, dumplings, and just about any other smaller food. One thing to note about the Diamondforce is that it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles like other rice cookers do. This one has just one button you push once you’ve loaded your rice. Afterward, the button will pop up and make a clicking noise to alert the rice has finished, which takes roughly 20 minutes to cook.

Unfortunately, this rice cooker doesn’t feature smart technology, so I have to ensure that the device is loaded with the proper water-to-rice ratio. The rice is fluffy and tastes good, but if I load too much or too little water, the end result can be soggy or dried. Still, this rice cooker has made cooking and meal prep easy for me and my roommates during my grad school days—it’s that easy to use. So, if you’re looking for a no-frills and affordable rice cooker, then this one’s for you.

Tester: Kara Jillian Brown, beauty writer

“The Dash Rice Cooker is the perfect rice cooker for one. I love that I can use it to make 1/4 cup of rice without it drying out or feeling silly. It’s super easy to use—just add your rice and water and press the one and only switch that turns the cooker from ‘warm’ to ‘cook’ mode. It comes with a little spatula and a measuring cup. The only downside is that it’s not dishwasher-safe. I broke that rule and put it in the dishwasher, and the handle broke off the lid, so please, if you get this rice cooker, do as I say, not as I do.”

If too much water is added, the rice can turn into mushy baby food, and rice water bubbles out, spilling on the counter, says Brown. All in all, the rice tastes good and cooks pretty quickly.

Tester: Jenny Heimlich, senior health and fitness editor

This multi-use pressure cooker isn’t a rice cooker per se, but it can effectively steam up a pot of rice.

“I make rice about once a week, but as a city person who’s always had limited kitchen space, I stuck to the stovetop method for years. (And burned plenty of pots of rice along the way.) This Christmas, my brother and sister-in-law got me an Instant Pot Pro, and the feature I’ve ended up using the most is its rice cooker setting. I can choose between a custom setting or a preset for white or brown rice.

As a jasmine lover, I use the white rice preset which takes under 20 minutes—a few minutes to preheat, three to cook, then 10 for the slow release. I don’t have to think about it or check anything during that time; the machine does it all for me, and I end up with perfectly-cooked rice every time. It never burns or ends up too goopy. I use one cup of water to one cup of rice, which leaves it on the slightly drier side. One thing I love is that it never sticks to the pot after I cook it.”

Tester: Kayla Hui, commerce writer (author)

For entertaining, Cosori’s rice cooker never fails. It can cook a whopping 10 cups of rice, making it ideal for dinner parties and food events. Additionally, the machine is equipped with 18 functions—it can slow cook, steam, and keep white rice, oatmeal, brown rice, and grains warm. One unique feature of the Cosori is that you can choose from three texture options: soft, regular, and hard rice (goodbye, uncooked rice), which you can choose on the LED display.

The rice comes out delicious every time. It’s fluffy and steamed to perfection using a seven-step process that involves a preheating process, water absorption, heating, boiling, steaming, cool down, and a keep warm phase. I’ve only used this machine for jasmine rice and found that it takes roughly 50 minutes to cook, so I would recommend preparing your rice first before your protein or vegetables.

A rice cooker wouldn’t be complete without its accessories, and this one comes with a rice paddle, measuring cup, recipe book, and a steam basket. All of the accessories, with the exception of the recipe book, are dishwasher safe, making cleaning easy. Trust me when I say, Cosori’s rice cooker won’t allow your guests to leave hungry.