The Best Cheap Rice Cookers
Table of Contents
Your Ultimate Guide to the Best Cheap Rice Cookers
Let’s admit it. Most rice cookers, although deemed a necessity now, can have extravagant price tags. An expensive rice cooker is not the first thing people want to spend money on, especially if they’re living alone or with a partner. High-technology cookers such as the neuro-fuzzy rice cooker may be seen as a luxury that only big families need and can afford.
But there are many best-budget rice cooker options in the market at a cheap price, perfect for those on a budget. You just have to look for one that cooks rice well and has all the features you need so you can cook fluffy rice easily, quickly, and perfectly.
But look no further, we compiled a list of cheap rice cookers you can buy on Amazon that are easy on the pocket, suitable for a tight budget, and yet equipped with features that make it a bang for the buck.
Which is the Best-Budget Rice Cooker?
Aroma ARC-150SB 20-Cup Digital Rice CookerLooking for a convenient rice cooker with huge capacity, simple operation, functional features, and added accessories? The Aroma housewares ARC digital rice cooker has it all and so much more! | Oster 6 Cup Rice Cooker and Steamer 4722Rice cooking has never been simple, yet the Oster 6-cup rice cooker compact design allows for quick and multiple cooking and can provide a whole dinner in only a few minutes. | Aroma Simply Stainless Rice CookerEnjoy up to 6 cups of nutritious rice meals with the Aroma housewares stainless steel rice cooker built with a health-conscious design that employs food-grade 304 steel. |
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Let’s Go Over Each Best-Budget Rice Cooker
#1: Aroma ARC-150SB 20-Cup
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Quality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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The Aroma ARC-150SB is one of the cheapest yet most functional cookers in the market. This best-budget rice cooker model has everything you need in one handy kitchen cooker, including several menu options, easy navigation, large capacity, a streaming tray, a delay timer, and more.
This Aroma Housewares rice cooker can also function for slow cooking and steaming, so it’s as if you bought 3 kitchen appliances for an amazingly low price. With one touch of a button, you can prepare several types of rice and even steam your meat and veggies using the steaming basket.
One quick-cooking cycle can yield up to 20 cups of perfectly cooked rice for your family and guests at your party! This best value rice cooker is incredibly functional yet budget-friendly and easy to use, which is why it’s one of our top picks in our best aroma rice cookers guide.
Pros and Cons of the Aroma ARC-150SB
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Large capacity ✔️ Functions as a slow cooker and food steamer ✔️ Simple operations ✔️ Keep warm and timer settings | ✖️ Can only cook white and brown rice ✖️ Not suitable for small households because of its size |
#2: Oster 6 Cup 4722
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Although not as big a capacity as other rice cookers, this Oster 6-Cup rice cooker is still a good deal because of its features. It can cook any food you’re craving despite its compact build and even comes with a steam tray you can use for steaming vegetables, fish, or meat simultaneously with your rice. A measuring cup, rice paddle, and steam basket are also included in the package.
The tempered glass lid allows you to monitor your rice cooker food as it cooks in the removable inner pot. But you can also just set it and forget it, as the rice cooker automatically shifts to keep your meal warm after the cooking cycle to keep rice warm.
In addition, it has an auto shut-off feature to prevent your food from burning. Hence, you can always yield perfect rice with ease. Indeed, cooking rice has never been so easy. In fact, this appliance is very fast cooking and can yield a complete meal in a matter of minutes.
Pros and Cons of the Oster 6 Cup 4722
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Easy to use ✔️ Doubles as a food steamer ✔️ Can cook white or brown rice ✔️ Automatically keeps the meal warm | ✖️ Minimal capacity ✖️ Not suitable for big families ✖️ Lack of menu settings ✖️ Lack of innovative functions and features |
#3: Aroma Simply Stainless
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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The Aroma Housewares Simply Stainless has really proved its worth. At first glance, you immediately want this rice cooker on your kitchen countertop because of its simple yet sophisticated exterior.
This Aroma housewares stainless steel rice cooker is made with a health-conscious design with a stainless steel pot that uses food-grade 304 steel. This material plays a part in helping you when cooking healthy meals and preparing up to 6 cups of rice per cooking cycle.
Plus the fact that this best-budget rice cooker is stainless steel from the exterior to the pot means you can enjoy the ease of cleaning up after use.
Pros and Cons of the Aroma Simply Stainless
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Easy to use ✔️ Stainless Steel build for healthier meals and better durability ✔️ Sleek exterior ✔️ One-touch operation | ✖️ Minimal capacity ✖️ Not suitable for big families ✖️ Lack of menu settings ✖️ Lack of innovative functions and features |
#4: Hamilton Beach Digital Simplicity 37549
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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The Hamilton Beach 37549 can yield up to 14 cups of rice in one cycle (up to 7 cups of uncooked rice) and enables you to expand your rice menu with perfectly-cooked dishes thanks to its several menu options. It’s a cooker for rice, beans, whole grains, pasta, etc., so you can simply select one of the versatile settings, including white grain rice, jasmine rice, quick rice, whole grain, a unique heat/ simmer, sticky rice, and steam cook.
This amazing display of versatility and ease in terms of cooking rice is particularly why we named this model as the best versatile Hamilton Beach rice cooker in our reviews.
This multi-cooker is also equipped with a delay timer function and feature to keep rice warm. The former enables you to toss your ingredients in the pot before leaving for work, setting the timer up to 15 hours in advance so your rice starts cooking minutes before you get home. The latter automatically turns on after the rice cooking cycle to keep your rice warm and ensure that your meals are at optimal serving temperature when you’re ready to eat.
The price is definitely right for one big and versatile rice cooker, not to mention with a capacity that enables you to prepare a meal for several party guests.
Pros and Cons of the Hamilton Beach Digital Simplicity 37549
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Large capacity ✔️ Can cook more than just rice ✔️ Has a unique heat/simmer feature ✔️ Up to 15 hours delay timer | ✖️ Inner pot is not induction heating, so there's a tendency for the rice at the bottom to burn |
#5: Cuisinart CRC-400
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Price: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Cuisinart CRC-400 rice cooker is probably one of the most convenient cookers you can get at an affordable price. The product costs less than $60 but is equipped with all the ideal cooking functions and features you need for daily use.
This best-budget rice cooker comes with a stainless steel cooking pot and basket or tray for steaming food. You can look at and monitor the progress of steaming with the tempered glass lid with a stay-cool handle.
Unlike other rice cookers of its kind, all its parts are made with a high-quality, non-stick material (including side handles, cup, and spatula) that makes them easy to use, easy to clean, and durable.
Pros and Cons of the Cuisinart CRC-400
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Doubles as a steamer ✔️ Made with high-quality stainless steel ✔️ Automatic keep-warm function | ✖️ Lack of menu settings ✖️ Lack of innovative features ✖️ Not the best for professional use |
#6: Aroma 6-Cup Pot Style
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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The Aroma 6-Cup Pot Style rice cooker makes preparing your daily serving of rice easier than ever before — and at a cheap price! It has a one-touch operation that makes the cooking cycle as easy as tossing your ingredients in and flicking the single switch.
After the rice is done cooking, the switch automatically flicks back up to keep your rice cooker food warm, keeping your rice at optimal serving temperature until you’re ready to consume it.
While this Aroma housewares rice cooker seems a little generic, it has more to it than what meets the eye. It comes with its very own steamer basket where you can put your viand such as meat, fish, and veggies to cook simultaneously with your rice. All it takes is one button and one cycle to yield an entire dinner for you and your family.
Pros and Cons of the Aroma 6-Cup Pot Style
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Doubles as a steamer ✔️ Simple one-touch operation ✔️ BPA-free | ✖️ No off button ✖️ Lack of menu settings to cook different rice varieties |
#7: Zojirushi NHS-06
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐
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If you’re looking for a smaller rice cooker that can cook just enough for one or two people, you have the Zojirushi NHS-06 electric rice cooker with a 6 cups cooked rice capacity. It’s a mini rice cooker that has a simple one-touch switch, a see-through glass lid to check as your rice cooks, and durable and stainless steel nonstick inner cooking pan.
An incredibly affordable Zojirushi rice cooker, easy to navigate with one touch, and capable of preparing your daily meals quickly — those are reasons why this product is another optimal choice for the best-budget rice cooker.
We also hailed this as one of the best small rice cookers in our reviews. This mini rice cooker doesn’t fall short of high-quality appliances and meets the product standards that Asian brand Zojirushi rice cookers have to offer.
Pros and Cons of the Zojirushi NHS-06
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Single touch operation ✔️ Non-stick inner pot ✔️ Budget-friendly | ✖️ Lack of menu settings ✖️ Lack of innovative features ✖️ Small capacity |
#8: Black+Decker RC506
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The Black+Decker RC506 rice cooker is a new and improved version of its predecessors. It’s an easy-to-use and fool-proof rice cooker that can help you cook your complete daily meals in one cycle. This rice cooker has a 6-cup rice cooked capacity, a nonstick pot, digital cool touch rice cooker handles, a glass lid, plus a good steaming basket that offers versatility and variety when it comes to what you want to cook.
The product also has an automatic function to keep rice warm even hours after the cooking cycle ends.
And the best part? The price is easy on the pocket! The RC506 is one of the Black+Decker RC rice cookers composed of different products and models with differing capacities — some can accommodate even up to 14 cups of uncooked rice. That’s enough rice and meals to feed several guests at a party!
Pros and Cons of the Black+Decker RC506
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Single touch operation ✔️ Doubles as a steamer ✔️ Automatically keeps rice warm | ✖️ Lack of menu settings ✖️ Lack of innovative features |
#9: Dash DRCM200BK Mini Rice Cooker
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Quality: ⭐ ⭐
Price: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Not enough space on your kitchen countertop for a big product? Then why not go with a smaller and cheaper version like the Dash DRCM200BK mini rice cooker?
The Dash Mini rice cooker will cost you less than $30 but doesn’t fall short in terms of cooking functions and features you need to cook rice. This mini rice cooker, despite its price and size, has meal versatility and an automatic feature to keep rice warm. It yields up to two cups of rice for healthier portion control.
One of the things customers love about the Dash cooker is the variety of product color options in its arsenal. You can choose either white, black, aqua, pink, or red and enjoy the best-budget mini rice cooker you can use to easily prepare white or long grain rice, jasmine rice, sushi rice, oatmeal, stew, soup, quinoa, pasta, and even steam vegetables.
Pros and Cons of the Dash Mini Rice Cooker
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Small and compact size ✔️ Very cheap ✔️ Perfect for beginners and solo dwellers ✔️ Various color options ✔️ Can cook more than just rice, also suitable for other dishes | ✖️ Lack of innovative features ✖️ Small capacity |
#10: Aroma MI Cool Touch Mini Rice Cooker
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Quality: ⭐ ⭐
Price: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Aroma MI Cool Touch mini rice cooker is everything you need for optimal rice cooking in a cheap, tiny, and lightweight package. Its functions exceed its meager size of 6.75 x 6.25 x 7.25 inches, boasting a one-touch operation and automatic keep-warm function.
One single flick of a switch is all it takes to yield up to 3 cups of rice at optimal serving temperature. And because of its portability, this great mini rice cooker is easy enough to carry to picnics or family gatherings via its collapsible handle. Best of all, it’s incredibly easy to clean owing to its small rice cooker construction.
Pros and Cons of the Aroma MI Cool Touch Mini Rice Cooker
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Budget-friendly ✔️ Portable and compact ✔️ Keep food warm for 12 hours ✔️ Great first-time rice cooker | ✖️ Does not feature advanced interface buttons ✖️ Simple build quality |
#11: Imusa GAU-00011 Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker
Functionality: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Price: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Imusa GAU-00011 Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker has a notably low price yet can offer durability and no-frills performance.
What you see is what you get with this rice cooker. It comes with a measuring and instructions on how much water to add so you can get perfectly cooked fluffy rice — no matter the variety. Its only functionalities are the single cook button and a setting to keep food warm, but the simplicity of it all makes it a great rice cooker for beginners and those who don’t want all the frills and complex instructions.
It may not be the fanciest model but it can certainly do the job of cooking rice. After all, the point of purchasing a rice cooker is to simply do just that!
Pros and Cons of the Imusa GAU-00011 Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker
Pros | Cons |
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✔️ Cooks 6 cups of rice ✔️ Notably affordable at a low price ✔️ Simple and easy to use | ✖️ Only has cook and warm features |
Why Do You Need a Rice Cooker?
To cook rice the traditional way (boiling the grains in a pot via a stove) is not ideal anymore in this day and age. Since we’re busy with our jobs most of the time and want to spend our free periods relaxing or bonding with our loved ones, no one wants to spend hours in the kitchen preparing home-cooked meals. Eating outside or getting take-out every day may not be a viable option either because of the cost and of course, the toll of fast food on our health.
Luckily, there is a way for us to prepare our meals at home quickly and easily — without spending too much time in the kitchen cooking or cleaning up. That’s thanks to the use of basic rice cookers. Having a handy rice and grain cooker in your kitchen means you can set it and forget it. Just put all your ingredients in the cooking pot, push the buttons to start the process, and wait as it cooks rice, and your rice dishes will be ready to serve in a few minutes.
What are the Basic Features of a Good Rice Cooker?
Rice cookers come in all shapes and sizes. There are also different brands and manufacturers to choose from, from Asian brands to American-made rice cookers. Each model is unique in a sense because they have different cooking functions and features. Here are some of the must-have features of a basic rice cooker:
Simple Operation in Cooking
In your search for the best-budget rice cooker to invest in, find one that has simple operations. Something that would not cost you a lot of time to read the instruction manual before you can use it.
A lot of rice cookers make it as easy as tossing ingredients in the pot and pushing down a single switch to start the cooking process. Some rice cookers have a simple digital LCD display where you can navigate tons of rice cooking options.
Adequate Capacity For Uncooked Rice
First and foremost, you have to know how many cups of rice you’re yielding to serve per cooking cycle. A bigger model can usually yield up to 16 cups of rice. A mini rice cooker model would usually have a 1-3 cup capacity of uncooked dry rice grains, which can make 2-6 cups of ready-to-eat rice. If you live alone or with a partner, a mini rice cooker will do. A small rice cooker would have just the right capacity for healthy and filling portions, without wasting any rice grains. Plus, you can easily keep it in a cabinet when not in use.
Durable Material
Just because a basic rice cooker has a low price doesn’t mean that you have to settle for bad quality or function. Some of the best-budget rice cooker models are made with top-grade materials that are durable and easy to clean. Ideally, you want a good rice cooker that comes with a non-stick, stainless steel coating pot to prevent scratches and to ensure that you can use it better. Stainless steel rice cookers are also durable, have great texture, are and easy to clean.
Accessories
A package, in default, comes with items and accessories which include a measuring cup, pot, spatula, or rice paddle. These are the basic accessories you need. Some rice cookers can offer more accessories, such as a steamer tray or steaming basket, rice washers, containers to store rice, or a recipe book. Ultimately, it depends on what you need. Buying the best-budget rice cooker that comes with the essential accessories will help you save more compared to buying them separately on Amazon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What rice cooker brands have affordable yet versatile functions?
In some well-known brands like Instant Pot, Zojirushi, and Tiger Corporation, there are versatile yet budget-friendly cooker models coming from their collections.
Conclusion
You don’t have to pay too much and break your budget to get the benefits of convenience and great-tasting and ready-to-serve meals every day. Any one of these rice cooker models can make the cooking process much easier and more pleasant from tossing your ingredients in all the way to cleaning up after dinner. The best part is that you have a helpful kitchen appliance that allows you to save time, effort, and energy without breaking the bank.
If you want to make the investment, check the best prices for these best-budget rice cooker models on Amazon today.
Editor’s Choice
Aroma ARC-150SB 20-Cup
The Aroma ARC-150SB is definitely the best rice cooker for its price! You get a 20-cup capacity, which is more than enough to feed a big family and guests. This cooker is equipped with several menu options, allowing you to steam vegetables and prepare white, brown, or Japanese rice, porridge, jambalaya, or even cake with a simple press of a button.
This product has everything you need in the kitchen, including a non-stick pot, large capacity, timers, shut-off features, a steam basket, a digital panel, and some more highly sought-after features. This is one of the best-budget rice cooker models if you’re looking for a kitchen product that’s functional, provides ease of use, yet won’t break the bank.