In the event you’re involved about artificial PFAS, or ‘ceaselessly chemical compounds’, like PTFE and PFOA in your cookware, you’re forward of the sport. You might need already switched from conventional nonstick to non-toxic ceramic cookware, and even trusty and sturdy forged iron. However even after you’ve upgraded your cookware, these coatings you’re making an attempt to keep away from can sneak their approach into extra home equipment than you would possibly notice — together with your rice cooker.
Whereas nearly all of rice cookers depend on PFAS nonstick coatings, there are just a few nice choices for cooks trying to keep away from ceaselessly chemical compounds of their kitchen home equipment. I examined the highest rice cookers made with out PFAS, together with a new-to-market mannequin from Our Place. Right here’s what to know before you purchase your subsequent rice cooker.
TL;DR: Fast Takeaways
When Your Outdated Rice Cooker Begins Elevating Questions
You won’t look twice at your outdated reliable rice cooker till issues begin trying or tasting off. But when your rice begins sticking or the nonstick cooking floor turns into scratched, it could be exposing your fluffy rice to dangerous ceaselessly chemical compounds.
Apart from the annoyance of stuck-on meals or inconsistently cooked grains, nonstick coatings fabricated from PFAS (man-made chemical compounds that don’t break down within the setting or your physique), can leach straight into your meals. For this information, I solely examined up to date rice cookers made with out PFAS. As a substitute, the nonstick coatings are made with a ‘ceramic’-like nonstick coating, which provides a more healthy various to artificial PFAS coatings.
Why a Rice Cooker Issues Extra Than You Suppose
A rice cooker can rapidly grow to be a staple kitchen equipment. It removes a lot of the guesswork for cooking rice and different grains, making the method largely hands-off. When you add your components and choose the cooking setting, you may stroll away, put together the remainder of your meal, and know that your grains might be fluffy and scorching in a couple of minutes. rice cooker delivers dependable, constant outcomes each time, and the comfort means you’ll most likely eat extra complete grains.
Standards Breakdown: What Actually Issues When Selecting Your Rice Cooker
Many rice cookers look comparable, and their advertising claims echo these similarities. In the event you go purely off what’s on the label, it could be close to unattainable to decide. That’s why hands-on testing is one of the best ways to tell apart one mannequin from the following. To establish one of the best rice cookers made with out PFAS, I centered on every equipment’s potential to supply fluffy, evenly cooked white rice and grains. I additionally thought of ease-of-use options just like the management panel, cooking modes, measurement, and included equipment, in addition to ease of cleansing.
Discover our favourite non-toxic cookware manufacturers — that means cookware made with out PFAS.
1. GreenPan Bistro 8-Cup Carb-Lowering Rice Cooker
The GreenPan Bistro 8-Cup Rice Cooker is a superb all-around alternative for many kitchens. The 8-cup capability is massive sufficient to make rice for a crowd or meal prep, however you even have the choice to organize only one or two cups at a time. GreenPan additionally sells a 10-cup model of this rice cooker, so you may go larger in the event you favor bigger batches of rice.
This rice cooker has 10 preset cooking modes for widespread objects like white and brown rice, quinoa, and beans. You’ll be able to even customise the preset applications by adjusting the time on the easy-to-use touchscreen. The cooking pot is coated with Thermolon Volt, GreenPan’s ceramic nonstick coating that’s made with out PFAS, PFOA, lead, and cadmium. It’s dishwasher-safe, as are the tray, spatula, and measuring cup that include it.
Throughout testing, white rice got here out fluffy and evenly cooked. The sticky rice I examined got here out shiny and chewy (in a great way), and it didn’t stick with the cooking pot.
The cooker comes with a “carb discount tray” that claims to separate extra carbs out of your rice, decreasing the quantity of carbs by 37%. I can’t personally confirm this declare, so in the event you’re in search of a machine that cuts again in your carbs, it’s possible you’ll simply must take the phrase from the producer.
Specs:
- Measurement: 8.6’’ L x 10.5’’ W x 8.5’’ H
- Weight: 6.4 lbs
- 450 watts
- 35’’ removable wire
- Consists of:
- Detachable bowl
- Carb discount tray
- Measuring cup
- Rice spatula
Value: $224.99 $159.99 at time of publish
Standards Analysis
- Materials High quality & Security: 5/5 – Ceramic nonstick coating made with out PFAS is more healthy and nonetheless sturdy
- Cooking Expertise: 4/5 – Makes use of good presets and inside changes, although much less superior than full fuzzy logic methods
- Capability: 4/5 – 8-cup capability is bigger than mandatory for one or two folks, however ideally suited for meal prep and larger households
- Versatility: 5/5 – 10 presets cowl rice, grains, beans, and oats for on a regular basis use
- Design and Measurement: 4/5 – Trendy design however bigger than different fashions
- Ease of Use and Cleansing: 5/5 – One-touch presets and dishwasher-safe elements simplify use
- Value and Worth: 4/5 – Mid-range worth with nice ease-of-use options
| Professionals | Cons | ||
| Ceramic coating made with out PFAS helps safer on a regular basis cooking | Could also be too massive for one- to two-person households | ||
| 10 easy-to-use presets for various grains and meals | Unclear if carb-reducing know-how works | ||
| Simple to wash with dishwasher-safe elements | Not as exact as higher-end fuzzy logic fashions | ||
| Giant capability is nice for meal prep | |||
Group Critiques and Professional Suggestions
Customers love that this rice cooker is simple and makes huge batches of cooked grains. Critiques often reward the non-toxic ceramic cooking floor for being nonstick and more healthy than conventional surfaces. Clients who use the low-carb setting say there’s a noticeably totally different texture to their grains, however most don’t see it as a dealbreaker.
2. Our Place 6-Cup Rice Cooker
The Our Place Rice Cooker is a lately launched mannequin that takes the prize for best-looking. This cute cooker is available in a variety of colours and appears downright lovely in your countertop — however it’s not only a fairly face. It depends on built-in fuzzy logic know-how to persistently produce completely cooked grains. The inside sensors detect steam and warmth ranges to self-adjust the cooking time and temperature because it goes, stopping mushy or burnt-on grains. Throughout testing, the function proved itself; the cooker produced creamy oats and well-cooked rice each time.
This petite 6-cup cooker has a compact footprint, that means it could possibly tuck itself neatly away into the nooks and crannies of your kitchen. It has a 24-hour delay timer for many who wish to plan forward, and the cooking pot is coated in a slick nonstick floor made with out PFAS like PTFE and PFOA.
There are some little upkeep particulars I flagged throughout testing — the pot needs to be washed by hand, and the inside gasket isn’t detachable. For that reason, I don’t advocate cooking something aromatic or flavorful within the pot, as a result of the silicone can take up and maintain on to odors and flavors. However in the event you’re okay with going that further mile to hand-wash and can solely be utilizing this equipment for rice and grains, neither of those flags needs to be a priority.
Specs:
- Measurement: 11.2’’ L x 9.6’’ W x 7.6’’ H
- Weight: 4.8 lbs
- 380 watts
- Consists of:
- Detachable inside cooking pot
- Detachable inside lid liner
- Detachable energy wire
- Beechwood rice paddle
- Grains measuring cup (180mL)
Value: $139
Standards Analysis
- Materials High quality & Security: 5/5 – Ceramic coating is freed from PTFE, PFOA, lead, and cadmium
- Cooking Expertise: 5/5 – Fuzzy logic with real-time temperature changes improves cooking outcomes
- Capability: 5/5 – 6-cup capability is nice for households of as much as 4
- Versatility: 4.5/5 – 6 modes embody white and brown rice, fast prepare dinner, oatmeal, heat, and customized
- Design and Measurement: 5/5 – Compact, trendy design constructed to remain on the counter
- Ease of Use and Cleansing: 4/5 – Automated options simplify cooking, however handwashing is required for some elements
- Value and Worth: 4.5/5 – Mid-range pricing for superior tech and non-toxic supplies
| Professionals | Cons | ||
| Fuzzy logic delivers constant outcomes throughout totally different grains | New launch with restricted long-term person evaluations | ||
| Ceramic coating helps safer cooking | Internal gasket will not be detachable | ||
| Trendy design obtainable in a number of colours | Ceramic inside cooking pot needs to be hand-washed (though detachable inside lid liner is dishwasher-safe) | ||
| 24-hour delay timer | |||
Group Critiques and Professional Suggestions
As of this text, the rice cooker has solely been obtainable for a few days, so there’s no real-world suggestions from customers. Nevertheless, as a person myself, I like that the pot combines enticing seems to be with actual efficiency. That is an equipment I’d fortunately show on my counter and use repeatedly all through the week.
3. GreenPan GreenLife 4-Cup Rice & Grains Cooker
The GreenPan GreenLife 4-Cup Rice & Grains Cooker is a smaller, budget-friendly cooker that does precisely what it was made for: Cooking fluffy grains rapidly and reliably. The cooker has one-touch applications for white and brown rice, quinoa, and steel-cut oats. And just like the Our Place rice cooker, it makes use of fuzzy logic to regulate the time and forestall under- or overcooking.
The inside cooking pot is coated with a ceramic nonstick made with out PFAS, and it delivered on its guarantees — no rice caught throughout cooking (together with sticky rice!). The pot and included spatula are dishwasher-safe, making cleanup a breeze. This cooker can maintain as much as 4 cups of cooked rice, which is a superb measurement for households of 4 folks or fewer.
The management panel is clearly labeled and simple to function — it was intuitive and easy to regulate the time past the preset applications or use the delay timer. I additionally like that this cooker has a compact footprint and takes up minimal area in storage or on the counter, and the sunshine weight means it’s simple to maneuver round. And because it’s so fast and simple to function (one cup of raw white rice was prepared in 22 minutes), you may nonetheless make double batches with little effort on the events you need to meal prep or feed a crowd.
Specs:
- Measurement: 8.2’’ L x 7.4’’ W x 7.3’’ H
- 4 lbs
- 240 watts
- 32.7’’ wire size
- Consists of:
- Detachable pot
- Measuring cup
- Rice paddle
Value: $85.99 $59.99 at time of publish
Standards Analysis
- Materials High quality & Security: 5/5 – Ceramic nonstick coating is freed from PFAS and heavy metals like lead and cadmium
- Cooking Expertise: 4.5/5 – Fuzzy logic mechanically adjusts warmth and timing for consistency
- Capability: 5/5 – 4-cup measurement is good for 2 to 4 folks with minimal waste
- Versatility: 4/5 – Covers key grains like rice, quinoa, and oats, however fewer modes than bigger fashions
- Design and Measurement: 5/5 – Compact and light-weight, excellent for small kitchens or restricted counter area
- Ease of Use and Cleansing: 5/5 – Easy controls and dishwasher-safe elements make it simple to keep up
- Value and Worth: 5/5 – Inexpensive with nice efficiency and non-toxic supplies
| Professionals | Cons | ||
| Inexpensive entry into non-toxic rice cooking | Is probably not massive sufficient for batch cooking or massive households | ||
| Fuzzy logic improves cooking | Fewer presets than premium fashions | ||
| Compact measurement matches small kitchens | Primary design in comparison with higher-end fashions | ||
| Simple-to-use presets cut back guesswork | |||
Group Critiques and Professional Suggestions
Customers persistently spotlight how simple this rice cooker is to make use of, particularly for cooks who don’t need to overcomplicate issues. Folks recognize how the built-in fuzzy logic improves their grains with out a big studying curve (and at an excellent worth level). This cooker can be well-liked amongst folks with tiny kitchens, restricted space for storing, or smaller households — it’s excellent for feeding one to 2 folks.
A Fast Comparability of the Greatest Rice Cookers in This Information
| Product | Capability | Cooking Expertise | Key Options | Ease of Cleansing | Greatest For | Value | |
| GreenPan Bistro Carb-Lowering Rice Cooker | 8 cups | Fuzzy logic | 10 presets, delay timer, carb-reducing know-how (as much as 37%) | Dishwasher-safe elements | Meal prep + health-focused cooking | $159.99 | |
| Our Place Rice Cooker | 6 cups | Fuzzy logic | 6 modes, 24-hour delay timer, design-forward construct | Handwash (with some dishwasher-safe elements) | 4- to 6-person households | $139.00 | |
| GreenPan GreenLife Rice & Grains Cooker | 4 cups | Fuzzy logic | Grain presets (rice, quinoa, oats), delay timer | Dishwasher-safe elements | Small households, funds choice | $59.99 | |
Regularly Requested Questions
A 4- to 6-cup rice cooker is a superb measurement for many households with fewer than 5 folks for on a regular basis use. In the event you plan to batch prepare dinner, meal prep, or use it for entertaining, a bigger 8-cup mannequin may have you lined. The good factor about rice cookers is that even the bigger ones don’t require a ton of area, and larger fashions can nonetheless deal with smaller quantities of grains simply as properly. For reference, one cup of cooked rice usually makes two servings.
On the lookout for a easy meal thought to make use of your rice cooker? Do this brown rice teriyaki bowl with edamame and pea sprouts.
A stainless rice cooker is a superb choice if you wish to keep away from nonstick surfaces fully. There are not any coatings on the metallic inside pot to chip, crack, or put on down over time. Nevertheless, the trade-off is that rice is extra prone to stick, particularly in case your water ratio or timing is off. Just like cooking rice in a stainless-steel pot on the range, it takes a bit extra consideration, however you get sturdiness and peace of thoughts in return.
At first look, most rice cookers appear to do the identical factor. You add rice and water, press a button, and wait. Nevertheless, there are some variations in how the know-how impacts the prepare dinner. Primary fashions comply with a preprogrammed timed heating cycle with no changes, no matter how your grains are cooking. Fuzzy logic fashions use moisture sensors to regulate time and temperature as your grains prepare dinner. Fuzzy logic machines have a tendency to not burn or overcook rice as usually as fundamental fashions, as a result of they adapt as they go.
Nowadays, your common rice cooker can do far more than steam white rice, and one of the best fashions can take over kitchen duties out of your different home equipment. By including greens or proteins like tofu and beans to your grains, you may prepare dinner a wholesome one-pot meal. Some additionally supply gradual cooking performance, and you may normally get away with dishes like curry and even some desserts. However in the end, these machines are actually greatest at what they’re designed to prepare dinner: grains.
Making the Excellent Alternative
The perfect rice cooker for you’ll make your every day routine simpler, match into your area, and have ample room to feed your family. Whether or not which means a easy, compact cooker or a better mannequin with extra options is dependent upon how usually you employ it and what you anticipate from it.
For many four-person houses, the candy spot is a mid-sized mannequin with dependable cooking know-how and secure supplies. Smaller households or these with minimal space for storing will profit from a extra compact gadget. Assess the scale of your family and the best way you intend to make use of your rice cooker to make the proper resolution earlier than including to cart.
