6 Best Rice Cookers, According to Testing

Zojirushi is known for its rice cookers. The brand has been in business for over 100 years and offers more than 15 different models. The 10-cup MICOM (which stands for micro computerized) rice cooker thinks for itself and makes adjustments accordingly using fuzzy logic, which adjusts the cook time and temperature based on humidity changes within your home.

This model's overall performance was better compared to all other rice cooker models we tested: White rice was fluffy and cooked perfectly (tender, but with a nice bite to it), and quinoa turned out great (not mushy or undercooked). We did note that the quinoa stuck to the pot a bit, and brown rice, while well cooked, was a little mushy. In our tests, it took 65 minutes for one cup of white rice, 110 minutes for one cup of brown rice and 26 minutes for a cup of quinoa.

This model includes presets for white, brown, sweet and mixed rices, and the lid detaches for easy cleanup. Though it does take longer to cook rice than other models, the delay-start function, which lets you set a timer with dinnertime in mind, and the automatic keep-warm function will help you have rice ready when you need it. The retractable plug cable is also handy and makes for easy storage. And the cooker comes with a steam basket, spatula and measuring cup.

We think the NutriBullet EveryGrain Cooker is a great value thanks to its under $100 price tag, eight available settings and, most importantly, solid performance in our recent lab tests. There are presets for brown rice, white rice, oats, quinoa and grains as well as a steam preset for veggies or fish. This rice cooker also features a delay start so you can set rice to start cooking before you get home from work; the keep warm function helps your rice stay warm while you finish up dinner.

In our tests, this pick produced good brown rice that wasn't mushy at all — some singular grains were a little chewy, but the rice was completely cooked through. Two cups of white rice cooked in 38 minutes, two cups of brown rice cooked in 69 minutes and two cups of quinoa in 42 minutes. We did have to use a timer to determine these cook times because the rice cooker's control panel doesn't show time remaining during the cook.

The included steaming basket, spatula and measuring rice cup are all dishwasher safe, but the cooking pot needs to be hand washed, along with the inner lid which easily pops out for easy cleaning.

This pick offers fuss-free, one-button operation that can be used for all types of rice and some grains. It comes with a rice spatula, which works well with its nonstick cooking pot. It also has a glass lid so you can monitor the cooking process without opening the cooker. When a grain is done cooking, the machine switches immediately to the keep warm setting without an audible alert like other models we tested.

In our tests, this model produced nice and fluffy white rice that came out of the pot pretty easily with the spatula. The white rice cooked in 33 minutes, brown rice in 50 and quinoa in 30, which we determined using a timer, since there isn't a control panel that displays a timer on this rice cooker. We found that we don't recommend cooking quinoa in this pick, as it was unevenly cooked: There were some burnt bits on the bottom and also some overcooked mushy pieces on the top.

We think it's the perfect rice cooker for beginners, students who live in dorms, cooks with small kitchens and those who use their rice cooker occasionally: It’s small, lightweight and can be stored easily. All removable pieces are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup, which is especially handy since we did notice some foaming and spillover when we made brown rice in this rice cooker.

The rice cooker from the maker of the Instant Pot features eight different settings: white rice, brown rice, carb reduce, quinoa, mixed grains, slow cook, sauté and steam with keep warm and delay cook functions as well. This rice cooker is ideal for larger families and those who entertain often, as it can yield up to 20 cups of rice and can keep warm for up to 10 hours.

While this rice cooker can handle a large capacity, it also performed well when cooking just one cup of white rice, brown rice and quinoa. It took 36 minutes for white rice, 54 minutes for brown rice and 33 minutes for quinoa. We were especially impressed with the brown rice, which wasn't mushy at all and had a great chewy texture. Though the cooking pot features measurement markings, the user manual recommended using a liquid measuring cup for the water when preparing brown rice. This rice cooker also didn't show the cook time remaining until the last minute of cooking, instead of during the entire cook time.

This model comes with a stainless steel steam basket, spatula and rice measuring cup, all of which are dishwasher safe, as are the nonstick cooking pot and removable inner lid.

Toshiba launched its first automatic electric rice cooker in 1955 and has launched many models ever since. This model has seven pre-programmed settings: white rice, brown rice, mixed rice, short or long-grained rice, multigrain oatmeal and porridge. This fuzzy logic rice cooker also offers a quick rice setting, a keep-warm function and two programmable delay-cook time features.

In our tests, quinoa cooked perfectly using the multigrain setting, and brown rice delivered a nice al dente bite with no sticking on the bottom. White rice cooked in this rice cooker was slightly overcooked, but still fluffy and not watery. Similar to the Zojirushi, it took longer for all rices to cook in this model than others in our test: One cup of quinoa took 70 minutes, one cup of brown rice took 75 minutes and one cup of white rice needed 50 minutes. Thankfully this model features a delay-cook feature so you can set it to be ready when you want it, and the screen counts down to let you know how much cooking time is remaining.

A unique and inclusive design feature of this model is that it has Braille next to all of the buttons for those who are visually impaired. There is a removable large steam vent for easy cleaning, and this model comes with a plastic steam basket, soup ladle, rice spatula and rice measuring cup. There's even a handle on the model so you can carry it from your cupboard to your countertop.

This is a medium-sized rice cooker made with Greenpan's signature diamond-infused ceramic nonstick material. It features five presets: white rice, brown rice, quinoa, steel cut oats and soup plus keep warm, delay cook and an adjustable timer so you can control the cook time if you want. This model was one of the easiest rice cookers to use: It has an intuitive digital control panel that displays all presets and the times that each grain typically needs to cook plus a lid that's easy to open by pressing the large button located on the front of the machine.

During our tests, white rice cooked faster than many other models at 25 minutes; though it was tasty, it was a little on the stickier side. Brown rice took 50 minutes and was also fully cooked but stickier than brown rice from other models. A cup of quinoa took 25 minutes and was perfectly cooked. We did notice that there was some sticking with the white rice and quinoa, but it washed away very easily.

Conveniently this model displays the cook time remaining, and it uses fuzzy logic technology as well. This rice cooker comes with a rice spatula, soup ladle and rice measuring cup, which, like the cooking pot, are all dishwasher-safe. We appreciated the included measuring cup, because the measurement markings in the pot were difficult to read.