There are times when scorched, chewy rice is exactly what we’re craving. Most of the time, though, we recommend a rice cooker, and Black Friday means rice cooker deals to the rescue. We’ve rounded up bestsellers from tried and true brands like Zojirushi and Cuckoo, as well as new favorites like GreenPan, so no matter what kind of rice cooker you’re looking for—a stainless steel workhorse, a combination pressure-cooker, or an eco-friendly nonstick model—there’s a deal on this list for you.
Black Friday rice cooker deals highlights
Maybe you’re still on the fence about actually owning one of these. We get it! It’s tempting to write off rice cookers as a single use appliance. “How hard is it to cook rice?” you may ask. Well, the sheer volume of step-by-step guides out there will tell you that the answer is, “harder than you think.” We even have a guide of our own (make that two; okay, three). Ditching the stovetop method allows you to enter a world of dishwasher-safe inner pots, programmable cooking times, multiple cooking functions, and warm settings that allow you to keep your rice at a safe temperature. Besides, the best rice cookers don’t just steam white rice: they’re grain cookers, too, making it easy to add a serving of quinoa, farro, or lentils to round out your meal. You can also opt for a multi-cooker that includes a food steamer so you can cook your rice and greens simultaneously. If this is all sounding a bit too virtuous to you, consider this: some models also have settings for cake.
You can always check out our rice cooker recommendations and our test of the best rice cookers for detailed guidance on things like “fuzzy logic” and “micom rice cookers.” Just don’t wait until the next time you sit down to a bowl of undercooked brown rice or get stuck babysitting a pot of polenta to take the plunge. Shop these Black Friday deals and start living the good life.
Zojirushi
Zojirushi rice cookers set the standard for rice cooker technology with its micom (short for microcomputer) machines. The brand is always near the top of our rice cooker testing, and many staffers in the test kitchen swear by them. They vary in functionality, but all Zojirushi rice cookers come with a removable nonstick cooking pot, a measuring cup, and a keep-warm function. Higher-end models feature induction heating, luxe-looking stainless-steel exteriors, and specialized settings for brown rice, congee, oatmeal, multigrain blends, and more. We found deals on a range of sizes, too, from 3-cup models we’d classify as mini rice cookers to 10-cup cookers big enough to feed a family (or two).
Cuckoo
Cuckoo is a Korean rice cooker brand that has made in-roads in the American market over the past few years. Similar to Zojirushi in Japan, the brand has a loyal customer base in its home country. We’ve liked a number of Cuckoo machines in our testing, especially the more affordable models, like the CR-0655F.
Toshiba
Toshiba developed the very first automatic rice cooker in the 1950s, and they’re still in the game in 2024. Our sister brand Epicurious likes these machines for their “fuzzy logic” technology–which allows the machine to adjust during the cooking process rather than being stuck on a preset–and programmable features. They don’t score quite as highly in our test kitchen as Zojirushi, but we still give a lot of credit to the OG.
GreenPan
GreenPan (and their budget-friendly sister brand GreenLife) is all about making non-stick non-toxic. The brand introduced ceramic nonstick cookware to market, and now they make rice cookers too. The GreenPan Elite Ceramic Nonstick Induction Rice Cooker is Epi’s top pick for a Teflon-free rice cooker, and it’s on sale at a whopping 65% off today. For a more compact option that—importantly—comes in a baby pink, turn to the GreenLife Rice Cooker. (For more about Teflon coatings, read this section of our nonstick pans guide.)
Instant Pot
The brand behind the beloved Instant Pot makes a dedicated rice cooker, which is on sale right now…but did you know you can also cook rice in an Instant Pot? OK, maybe you did. But if not: Those do-it-all pieces of cookware pressure cook, sauté, slow-cook, steam, and make yogurt, and they can also cook a mean pot of rice. If you have yet to hop on the Instant Pot bandwagon, now is the time to do it. We found a deal on the “whisper quiet” Duo Plus, as well as a model that can double as an air fryer. If you’re wary about dedicating money and storage space to something with only one real use case, an Instant Pot is the answer.
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