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What are the best rice cookers for under $50?

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6 Options Considered

6 Options ConsideredPriceWeight Timer
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Aroma Housewares ARC-914SBD
$31.474.2 pounds Yes
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Hamilton Beach Rice & Hot Cereal Cooker 37541
$46.313 pounds Yes
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Oster 004722-000-000
$18.963 pounds No
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Cuisinart CRC-400
$46.594.8 pounds No
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Black & Decker RC3203 3-Cup Rice Cooker, White
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Aroma Housewares ARC-914SBD

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smts
Top Pro

Good feature and functionality ratio

•••
This is a great rice cooker with a decent set of features - all with a price of less than $50. The pre-cook timer, the “keep-warm” mode, and the inclusion of steaming are great additional features that bump up the value of the cooker.
smts
Top Pro

Can make food in advance

•••
The pre-cooking timer can be set for up to 15 hours. It means you can put all the ingredients into the cooker, set the timer, go to work, and have a warm, delicious dinner waiting for you when you return home.
smts
Top Pro

Cooks rice for the perfect amount of time

•••
The rice is always cooked for the right amount of time. It is not neither undercooked nor burnt and tastes simply delicious.
smts
Top Pro

Small to moderate sized

•••
The cooker’s capacity can hold up to 4 cups of uncooked rice, which, in turn, turns into approximately 8 cups of rice. This is a medium amount and can be sufficient for up to 3 people.
Alex
smts
Top Pro

Easy to clean

•••
The inner pot and inner lid are both removable and dishwasher safe. The inner pot also has a teflon coating which is a non-stick surface that eases cleaning even more.
smts
Top Pro

Keeps your food warm after cooking

•••
Once the cooking is done, it automatically transitions into “keep-warm” mode to maintain your food’s temperature until you want to actually eat it.
Alex
smts
Top Pro

Convenient controls

•••
The buttons are big and their functions are clear. With three available presets, the operating is easy and straightforward.
Alex
smts
Top Con

Annoying beeping sound

•••
Once the cooking ends, the cooker announces it with a loud, high pitched beeping which can be really annoying. The sound cannot be disabled or made quieter.
smts
Top Con

Foods cannot be slow cooked

•••
Slow cooking is when a dish is best made over a longer period of time with a lower temperature setting. Sadly, the predefined options do not include this feature.
smts
Top Con

Small steam basket

•••
The steam basket, where you place all the food that you want to steam-cook, is rather small and shallow. The size is enough for only 1 portion or maybe 2 smaller portions.
See 8 more Pros & ConsSee 8 more Pros & Cons
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Hamilton Beach Rice & Hot Cereal Cooker 37541

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Alex
Patricia Q
smts
Top Pro

Can prepare food for multiple people

•••
The rice cooker is pretty large, especially for its price. It can hold up to 10 cups of uncooked rice which will become 20 cups of cooked rice. This amount is large enough for around seven people.
smts
Top Pro

Can cook a lot of different foods

•••
On top of cooking various types of rice, it can also cook pasta, whole grains, beans and even use the steaming option for vegetables, meat or fish. A lot can be done with just this one appliance.
Ryan
smts
Top Pro

Meals can be prepared in advance

•••
The timer can be set for up to 15 hours, meaning, it will wait for up to 15 hours before starting the cooking process. This way you can plan your dinner in the morning, set the timer, leave, and have a meal ready just when you arrive home.
Alex
smts
Top Pro

Automatically keeps food warm

•••
When it is done cooking, it will automatically shift into “Keep warm mode” to keep your food warm until you want to actually eat it. Be advised that rice shouldn’t be kept in this mode for longer than ~10 hours, as it can get really dry.
Alex
Patricia Q
smts
Top Pro

Interface is easily understood and used

•••
The interface is quite clear and very easy to use. The buttons are obvious with their functions and the predefined settings make cooking even easier.
Alex
smts
Top Pro

Easy to clean

•••
The inner bowl has a non-stick surface and is dishwasher safe. The inner lid can also be removed but has to cleaned manually.
kouriku
Top Pro

Good for white and brown rice

•••
Since there's a dedicated brown rice cooking feature, you don't have to pre-soak brown rice yourself.
smts
Top Con

Best used with only white rice

•••
Brown and long-grain rice are not as finely cooked as regular white rice. This is expected since the predefined settings do not include different types of rice other than white rice.
smts
Top Con

Foods cannot be "fine-tuned"

•••
The cooking settings are predefined and cannot be changed, thus making it impossible to fine tune any food with very specific temperatures and cooking times.
smts
Top Con

Short power cord

•••
The power cord is just around 28 inches long. It can really limit the places where you could keep it.
See 8 more Pros & ConsSee 8 more Pros & Cons
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Oster 004722-000-000

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smts
Top Pro

Very cheap

•••
This rice cooker is very cheap. Because of its price, it really cannot have many additional features. Still, it has a great value because of its quality cooking.
smts
Top Pro

Can make two dishes at the same time

•••
The optional steaming tray allows cooking two separate dishes at once. Doing so saves energy and time.
Alex
smts
Top Pro

Won’t allow food the get cold

•••
When it's done cooking, it automatically enters the “keep warm” mode which won’t allow your food to get cold and will maintain the meal warm for whenever you’re ready.
Alex
smts
Top Pro

Easy to clean

•••
The non-stick pot and the steaming plate are both removable and dishwasher safe. Can’t really be more convenient.
Alex
smts
Top Con

Not big enough to cook for multiple people

•••
The small size means it won’t be able to cook enough food at once for multiple people. It can hold up to 6 cups of cooked rice, which is reasonable, given its compact size. Such amount is best for 1 or 2 people
smts
Top Con

Cannot cook meals in advance

•••
It doesn’t have a programmable timer which would allow planning meals in advance.
smts
Top Con

Water sometimes overflows

•••
When cooking rice within the indicated margins, the water can still overflow and be a bother when it comes to cleaning. This simply shouldn’t happen with these kinds of appliances.
smts
Top Con

Doesn’t offer a choice between cooking settings

•••
The only choices are “cooking mode” and a “keep warm mode”. Because of this, you have to solely rely on the only cooking setting it provides.
Alex
Ryan
smts
Top Con

It has no on/off switch

•••
You have to unplug the power cord every time you want to turn it off.
See 7 more Pros & ConsSee 7 more Pros & Cons
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Cuisinart CRC-400

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smts
Top Pro

Neat design

•••
The square design is a unique one. The build is made from stainless steel which adds to the look and the square design, its small size, and a retractable power cord makes it easier to store.
Alex
smts
Top Pro

Keeps the meal warm after it is done cooking

•••
After it detects that the food is done, it automatically switches to the “keep warm” mode. The cooker will keep the food warm until you actually want to eat it. But look out not to leave rice for too long in this mode, as it will dry out.
smts
Top Pro

Can also steam food while cooking

•••
The optional steaming pot allows cooking such foods like fish, meat, or vegetables during the time when the rice is cooking. It saves energy and time.
smts
Top Pro

Small to medium sized

•••
Given the compact design, it only has room for 4 cups of uncooked rice. This, generally, is enough only for one to three people.
Alex
smts
Top Pro

Easy to clean

•••
All parts are removable and dishwasher safe. It also has a non-stick cooking bowl. Combined, these features make cleaning very easy.
smts
Top Con

Water tends to overflow with the glass lid

•••
The water can overflow during cooking if the glass lid is on, making cleaning more cumbersome than necessary. To prevent this, use the steaming pot instead of the glass lid to seal the cooker.
smts
Top Con

Doesn’t always cook perfectly

•••
You can follow the instructions on what ratios to use and still have unsatisfactory cooked rice. It is best to experiment yourself with the water and rice ratios to achieve the best results.
smts
Top Con

Cannot be turned off

•••
You have to plug the power cord in order to switch it on or off. After it is done cooking, it will stay on the “keep warm” mode indefinitely, potentially ruining the food and expending energy if left on for far too long.
smts
Top Con

Doesn’t have many features

•••
Despite its price, it doesn’t have many additional features, like a timer or multiple cooking settings to choose from.
See 7 more Pros & ConsSee 7 more Pros & Cons
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Black & Decker RC3203 3-Cup Rice Cooker, White

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thermoplastics
Top Pro

Cook-pot insert is dishwasher safe

•••
There is no need to wash the inside cook-pot by hand when done using as it is dishwasher safe, which saves time and castle.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
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Aroma 20 Cup Cooked (10 cup uncooked) Digital Rice Cooker, Slow Cooker, Food Steamer

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thermoplastics
kouriku
Top Pro

Multi-functionality

•••
Steams and slow-cooks in addition to making rice.
Know any negative aspects of this option?

18 Community Recommendations

smts
Ryan
Izem Lavrenti
Aubrey
Stuart Kearney
max
Harvey Rose
LovelyProphasis
LovelyChiminigagua
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