Best rice cookers, tried and tested for perfect grains every time

Inspired by the premium rice cookers found in Asia, the sakura can cook it all: fluffy sushi rice, brilliant basmati and nutty brown rice. And in an impressive range of quantities too. Unlike many other cookers, we were able to prepare as little as one cup of uncooked rice (and as many as eight) to perfection. And uniquely, the sakura has not just one, but six different AI-powered rice cooking settings – ensuring whatever variety you’re using is prepared to a restaurant standard. Truly, we’ve rarely had sushi rice this good outside of Japan.

The ceramic-coated inner bowl (both BPA and PTFE-free) has clear, easy-to-read measurements and useful handles so you can remove the bowl when the rice is still hot. The machine will automatically keep rice warm at a food-safe temperature for up to 24 hours after cooking, and can also be pre-set the same amount of time in advance – handy, say, if you’re heading out to work for the day and want rice ready for when you arrive home.

The sakura is a precision cooker, preparing rice to optimum doneness rather than a set time. When it decides your rice is nearly ready, you’re given a 10-minute count down on the sleek LED screen. If you’re in a bit of a rush, a ‘fast cook’ setting speeds up the process without sacrificing too much on quality. Speaking of rush: we love how this machine is super quick and easy to clean, too.

But what really pushes this brilliant-value cooker into winning position? Its versatility in the wider kitchen. As well as delivering fabulous rice, it can tackle a range of other grains – from quinoa to lentils – and also has functions for slow-cooking, cake-baking, steaming vegetables, making yoghurt and creating rice crusts (such as for Persian tahdig). We used the soup function to whip up a red pepper and lentil soup in just 20 minutes, faster (and more flavourful) than on the hob.

This little electric cooker delivers on value – great if you only cook rice now and then. It can prepare as little as two cups of rice at the single touch of a button, which means it’s a particularly good bet for couples or small families. Simply flip it on, then once the ‘ready’ switch pops up, leave the rice to steam for a further 15 minutes before serving. (You’ll need to keep a timer to hand for this, as unfortunately there’s not one inbuilt on the device).

Sure, this cooker doesn’t boast the multiple cooking modes that more premium rice cookers have. But it’s still versatile. The included manual shares recipes for pastas, stews, chilis and risottos that can be cooked on its one-mode setting – ample inspiration for your own culinary wizardry.

Love the idea of a rice cooker, but can’t commit the counter space? This generously sized 5.6-litre cooker also sears, sautés, steams and roasts – as well as making great white, brown and sushi rice – so it really earns its place in your kitchen. The wide base, with PFAS-free non-stick coating, is shaped like a broad casserole pan, so you’ve plenty of space to manoeuvre food, while a clear glass lid lets you see what’s happening as you cook.

The omni’s pre-programmed rice settings (launched in a couple of clicks) cook to a set time and temperature – 50 minutes for white rice or 1 hour and 15 for brown – though you can manually adjust these if you’re working with different varieties. Saying that, in our tests we used only the pre-programmed settings and found that they pretty much nailed it every time.

Downsides? You must cook at least two cups of raw rice as a minimum, which means it’s better suited to larger households or couples who love leftovers. We found the measurements on the side of the pan a bit tricky to read too – and it was a shame that it didn’t cater to smaller quantities, either.

But really, these are small niggles – and made up for the fact that the Omni is almost entirely dishwasher-friendly, and good-looking on your countertop too. It comes in four hues (cream, blue, black and stainless steel) so there’s one to suit every kitchen scheme.

If you only cook rice occasionally, it’s hard to argue with the Sistema, which will cost you little more than a tenner. The simple microwavable design in BPA-free plastic cooks as little as one cup of rice in just eight to 12 minutes. A pressure chamber plate prevents overflow, while a steam release vent in the lid keeps splatters at bay.

What you save on cost and time you sacrifice on precision however, which means you will need to undergo a bit of trial and error with cooking. Our first batch of white rice, which we made according to the instruction manual included with the cooker, was watery at eight minutes and slightly overcooked at 12. But once we got the hang of how each specific rice variety behaved in our microwave, it was a game-changer. And because it can also tackle quinoa, polenta and couscous, it’s an excellent kitchen workhorse for the price.

If you’ve got a hungry family that loves rice and eats a lot of it, this is the cooker for you. Purist in style and functionality – it’s designed to be a dedicated rice cooker, rather than a multi-mode appliance – Judge’s model makes top-notch white and brown rice by the gallon load. The minimum batch? About eight cups in total of cooked rice, which could easily serve eight to 12 people in one sitting.

It’s not the most stylish or compact of the rice cookers we tried, but it does the job well and at a reasonable price too – it costs around half of some of the other cookers we tested. And just because it’s not officially a multi-cooker doesn’t mean you can’t multi-task with it. It comes with its own inner steam basket, so you can steam veg, meat or fish separately, or just above the rice as it cooks.

If you don’t have the largest of budgets but still want a multicooker option that makes great rice, this model from German manufacturer Gastroback ticks the boxes. It cooks porridge, soup, cake and multi grains as well as rice – and the latter at a much quicker rate than some competitors. In our tests it produced perfectly fluffy white rice at 36 minutes and nutty brown rice at 55 minutes.

We liked the clear markings in the inside of the cooking basin, which are easy to read and begin at just two cups – and also include separate markings for multigrain and porridge cook modes. There’s an integrated handle that lets you tote it around the kitchen as needed, and sleek black and stainless steel looks that coordinate well with a range of other appliances. An easy-to-read, intuitive display screen will alert you when you’re ten minutes away from rice perfection, so you can coordinate the whole meal accordingly.

Still haven’t joined the air fryer brigade? This buy kills two birds with one stone. The family-sized Ninja foodi max employs its signature tendercrisp tech to air-crispen everything from chicken wings to samosas, using a fraction of the oil of traditional frying. The machine also sears, pressure cooks, dehydrates and steams – and, of course, makes rice. With its roomy 7.5-litre capacity, it’s easily big enough to cook rice-based meals for up to six people, including one-pot risottos and biryanis.

With so much functionality – there are nine different settings, two removable lids and multiple cooking attachments – we found the foodi max a bit tricky to get our heads around at first. But using the included instruction booklet as inspiration, we soon got the hang of how to cook rice in the pressure cook mode, and were impressed with how quickly we got results. Before long we were using the foodi to make a full chicken biryani – from sautéing the onions to spooning into bowls – in under half an hour.

This is probably too elaborate or expensive a cooker to invest in if you’re only interested in making plain rice all the time. But use it to it full spectrum of functionality, also making rice-base dishes, roasts, dehydrated lemons for cocktails and (of course) pub-worthy chips, and you’ve made a winning investment.

Some rice cookers come with hefty minimum cook amounts and large countertop footprints, making them hard to justify unless you eat loads of the grain. But this compact design – just 18cm x 18cm x 25.8cm – is a no-brainer for solo cooks and couples. It whips up single (140g) or double (280g) portions of rice in just a few minutes, meaning no mounds of leftovers festering in the fridge.

The VonShef is light, easy to clean and super-portable thanks to an integrated handle, so it’s easy to move around the kitchen to wherever you need it. While it only has a single cook setting for all kinds of rice, it did cook both white and brown well in our tests (the manufacturer suggests increasing the water ratio for the latter, which we did). The cooker comes with a handy measuring cup and rice scooper too; all around great value.