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If you forgot to get up early on Black Friday to snag a new rice cooker, don’t fret. There are plenty of Cyber Monday rice cooker deals right now. Many of last week’s Black Friday deals are continuing on as Cyber Monday deals (and even beyond), so you still have a chance to save more than a few bucks on a new blender, air fryer, and stand mixer, plus these rice cookers or multi-cookers we found below.
That includes rice cookers that are simple, single-task appliances, and the new wave of zhuzhed up multi-cookers (think Instant Pot) which allow you to slow cook, pressure cook, sauté, air fry, and more, in addition to making perfect rice. Brands with Cyber Monday deals include Zojirushi, GreenPan, Instant Pot, Aroma, and Toshiba. And you can find great rice cooker deals directly on brand websites or at major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart.
How to choose a rice cooker
We’ve tested a whole bevy of rice cookers and have a few thousand words on it if you need a deep dive on which rice cooking appliance is right for you. But if you’re looking for the tl;dr version, here’s a quick overview of things to consider when buying a rice maker or multicooker.
More than likely, size is the first factor you’ll want to think about — how much rice are you really going to make and how often? If you’re regularly feeding a family of four to six people, then the 5-cup to 8-cup rice cooker range is probably fine. Fewer than that? A mini rice cooker, 4 cups or under, may be all you need. But if you’re the go-to host for family dinners and holidays, consider a 10-cup rice cooker for feeding a crowd. (Double check the product description to confirm whether the capacity is for cooked or uncooked rice.) Of course, you’ll also want to think about countertop or cabinet space for storage, too.
Next, take a look at the rice cooker’s actual components. How does it know when the rice is done? Some less-expensive models are essentially just steamers, while those labeled with words like “Micom” (that’s short for “microcomputerized”) are able to automatically adjust cooking times and temperatures to accommodate things like unrinsed grains or putting in the wrong rice-to-water ratio. Micom cookers with fuzzy logic can correct the cooking time and temperature to compensate for those errors, however, that smart tech usually means a higher pricetag.
How the rice cooker heats itself up also makes a difference. Rice cookers with induction heating tend to offer more even heat and consistent results than those that only heat from the bottom of the pot.
Finally, check out the added features like a keep warm function or — and this might seem like a given but sometimes it isn’t — a beep or other alarm to let you know the rice is done cooking. Lots of rice cookers also come with a variety of other cooking functions, such as use as a food steamer, or presets for white rice, brown rice, or other grains. Having the same set it and forget functionality for a pot of congee or farro is a nice addition.
Now that you have a rundown on what to look for, here are the best rice cooker deals happening on Cyber Monday:
Zojirushi rice cookers
Zojirushi is to rice cookers as Vitamix is to blenders: A brand that is synonymous with the best. Their induction rice cooker that came out on top in our testing wasn’t part of a Black Friday sale and doesn’t seem to be part of a Cyber Monday one, but the brand is offering 20% discounts on other Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer on its website. If you don’t need the fuzzy logic that a micom machine offers, Zojirushi also has simple rice cookers (like the one we recommended for no-frills simplicity) on sale via Amazon.
Cuckoo
Like Zojirushi, Cuckoo, out of Korea, also has a fervent fanbase. Their micom rice cookers performed well in our tests. They’re also a little less expensive than some of the other brands on sale right now.
INSTANT POT MULTI-COOKERS AND RICE COOKERs
If you want a digital rice cooker that can do a whole lot more than cook rice (pressure cooker? Slow cooker? Yogurt maker?) check out these deals on Instant Pot Pro, Max, and Duo multi-cookers from Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.
Instant Pot Pro Plus Wi-Fi Smart 10-in-1, Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté
More rice cooker brands on sale
GreenPan is everywhere right now, from your Instagram feed to the Great British Baking Show. And the brand has expanded its appliance lineup to include two rice cookers, both of which we reviewed were noteworthy for their nonstick inner pots that were PFOA-free. And you can save big on both — over 60% off — via the GreenPan website now through December 11.
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Check out the rest of our coverage if you want more Black Friday sales on kitchen tools, cookware, coffee makers, and more.
