The 4 Best Rice Cookers of 2024, Ranked By Our Test Kitchen Experts

Rice is a major component of many of our favorite dishes. It serves as a foundation for delicious curry recipes, adds texture to soups and fills out our menus when made as a side dish.

As common as this ingredient is, it often can give even regular cooks some trouble (raise your hand if you’ve ever scorched a pot of rice!). Even if rice doesn’t present major problems for you, keeping an eye on the pot while working on other parts of your meal is a pain. That’s where finding the best rice cooker comes in. A good rice cooker takes care of making this grain perfectly tender and keeping it warm while you finish up that stir-fry.

Our guide to how to cook rice is full of tips and helpful advice for making different varieties of rice.

What to Look for When Shopping for a Rice Cooker

Rice Cooker; Tkp; Header Taste Recipes

There are what seems like limitless rice cooker options out there. Our Test Kitchen provided its top picks below, but be sure to keep these considerations in mind when you’re choosing from our favorites (or choosing one of your own):

Capacity: How many people do you typically cook for? Look for rice cookers that produce four cups or more if cooking rice as a side for the family.
Settings: Do you want your rice cooker to just cook rice? Do you regularly cook other grains as well?
Cleanup: What level of cleanup would you prefer? Some models offer dishwasher-safe inserts. Others require hand washing.
Price: Keep in mind how much you want to spend. There are good options at any price point. You’ll find worthwhile rice cookers starting at just $25.

Our Test Kitchen-Preferred Rice Cookers

After testing eight rice cooker brands by cooking white, brown and wild rice, four rose to the top and earned the title of Test Kitchen-Preferred.

Best Basic Model: IMUSA Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker

Imusa Rice Cooker via merchant

Love rice? Make it all the time? Don’t need any frills? You’ll want an IMUSA Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker.

This appliance produced reliably good rice in each of our tests for white, brown and wild rice. With just a single setting, this rice cooker manages to cook and steam these different grains perfectly. The texture is terrific and the cleanup is a cinch thanks to the nonstick insert.

Besides producing spot-on rice every time, the IMUSA rice cooker also worked fast. In 19 minutes our Test Kitchen opened the lid to find perfectly fluffy white rice. Brown and wild rice took just 25 minutes—a fraction of the time it would take on the stovetop.

Capacity: 3 cups, but IMUSA also makes 5- and 8- cup models
Features: Nonstick insert, automatic keep-warm setting
Price: $23

$22.99 at Amazon

Best for Families: Tiger Rice Cooker

Tiger Rice Cooker via merchant

When you cook for a large family or host frequent parties, a compact three-cup rice maker just won’t cut it. Fortunately, Tiger makes generously sized rice cookers in eight- and 10-cup models.

This attractive and streamlined rice cooker was one of our Test Kitchen’s favorite small appliances. Time and time again, Tiger made tender, fluffy rice. Even wild rice, which can be tricky to cook, turned out perfectly. In fact, the Tiger rice cooker made the best wild rice of any model we tried; bear that in mind if wild rice makes regular appearances on your dinner table.

Another bonus of this cooker: It was a breeze to use. Just hit the cook switch and you’re good to go. There are no secrets to great rice with this appliance.

Capacity: 8 cups, with 3-, 4-, 5.5- and 10-cup models also available
Features: Nonstick pot, retractable cord, audible alert when rice is done, removable and washable steam insert
Price: $137

Shop Now

Best Rice Cooker for Small Spaces: BLACK + DECKER Rice Cooker

Black And Decker Rice Cooker via merchant

If you don’t have much space to spare but love the idea of rice made easy, grab this BLACK + DECKER Rice Cooker. This compact appliance cooks just enough rice for a pair—ideal for when you make Chinese takeout-inspired recipes for your date night in.

The BLACK + DECKER rice cooker isn’t fancy or flashy but it does its job well and quickly. This rice cooker made white rice in about 23 minutes—that’s less time than it takes for the delivery person to make it to your door.

Capacity: 3 cups
Features: Nonstick insert, automatic keep-warm setting
Price: $25

Shop Now

Best Splurge Model: Panasonic Japanese Rice Cooker

Panasonic Rice Cooker via merchant

Are you really serious about your rice? Do you eat it more than once a week? Then you should consider spending a bit more on your rice cooker. Just like with any other appliance, if you use it frequently, you won’t regret leveling up a bit to the Panasonic Japanese Rice Cooker.

This model has 12 different presets that allow you to cook more than just rice; you can also slow cook, steam and cook quinoa in this appliance. And when it comes to rice, you can choose your settings from fluffy, white rice (perfect for an easy side) to sushi rice that’s just the right texture for your California roll.

These pitch-perfect grains take a smidge longer to produce than other models, but the customization is well worth it according to our Test Kitchen.

And if you’re serious about Asian cooking, be sure to check out different types of woks and pick up the Chinese cooking tools to fill out your kitchen.

Capacity: 10 cups
Features: Ceramic-coated nonstick insert, 12 pre-programmed settings, LCD screen
Price: $540

$552.99 at Amazon

How to Make the Most of Your Rice Cooker

Our Test Kitchen’s recommendation: Use your rice cooker whenever you can! This set-it-and-forget-it gadget makes your rice perfectly and with near-zero effort. Start with some white rice recipes then move on to brown rice dishes.

1 / 63

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I was talking about stuffed peppers with the other cooks at the restaurant where I work. We decided to mix similar ingredients for a soup. Customer response was overwhelming! —Krista Muddiman, Meadville, Pennsylvania Go to Recipe

Southwestern Rice Exps Tohd24 18003 Suzannajjar 4

Southwestern Rice Recipe photo by Suzan Najjar

Southwest RiceBright, colorful and chock-full of flavor, this hearty southwest rice will become a favorite side to all your Tex-Mex mains. With total prep and cook time coming in under 30 minutes, it's also ideal for busy weeknights.

The Best Rice Cookers of 2024, Tested By Our Kitchen Experts

Now Trending