Best Rice Cooker for Brown Rice: 4 Picks Compared

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For most people the Hamilton Beach 37548 is the best rice cooker for brown rice: Serious Eats and Bon Appétit both rank it first for most cooks, and it made brown rice in about an hour in both tests. It costs $66.95 and carries 4.4 stars across 20,958 ratings. If you want a pot with no coating at all, the Aroma Select Stainless at $34.78 has an uncoated stainless steel pot, but I found no independent brown rice test of that model.

Brown rice is where rice cookers disagree most, and the inner pot is the other decision: almost every model has a nonstick coating. This guide sets out what four tests found for brown rice and which pots are ceramic or stainless. Every price and rating below was read from Amazon.com on 13 October 2026.

Quick Comparison

What the Tests Found on Brown Rice

The Hamilton Beach is the only cooker here with good brown rice verdicts from two tests and no bad one, though Food & Wine found it limited beyond white rice. The Zojirushi models make excellent white rice and are slow and soft on brown. The Toshiba is the sharpest split: Good Housekeeping’s best for brown rice, and gummy in Serious Eats’ test of a different model.

The Inner Pot: Coated, Ceramic or Stainless

Bon Appétit says nearly every model it tested had a nonstick coating on its inner pot, and the few that did not were a bit of a nightmare to clean. It also notes that most rice cooker pots are not dishwasher-safe. Food & Wine says rice paddles are usually plastic or wood because the bowls are often nonstick and prone to scratching.

One caution on the Hamilton Beach: the tests describe the cooker, and the PFAS-free ceramic coating is a claim from today’s Amazon listing, so the tests may predate it. Bon Appétit’s stainless pick, the Tatung, had a pot it found much harder to clean than a nonstick one.

1. Hamilton Beach 37548: Best Overall

4.4 stars | 20,958 ratings | $66.95 | sold by Amazon.com

This is the pick for most people. Serious Eats has kept it at the top of its list for years and found it made brown rice near perfectly in under an hour, faster than any other cooker it tested. Bon Appétit calls it the best for most people and found intact, individual brown grains with a satisfying bite, though some tasters would want a little more water for softer rice.

It is not a perfect cooker. Food & Wine called it an excellent budget option that does little beyond plain white rice, Bon Appétit found rice can scorch on the bottom, and Serious Eats’ editor says the hinged lid falls down when lifted.

Pros:

• Best overall at Serious Eats and Bon Appétit
• Brown rice in about an hour at both
• 8% one or two star share across 20,958 ratings
• Listing says the pot has a PFAS-free ceramic nonstick coating

Cons:

• Food & Wine found it does little beyond plain white rice
• Bon Appétit found rice can scorch on the bottom, and the brown rice may be too al dente for some
• Serious Eats notes large batches are prone to drying or browning, and the hinged lid can fall down when lifted
• Coating claim comes from the listing, not the tests

Check Price on Amazon

2. Our Place Compact 6-Cup: Best Ceramic Pot

4.5 stars | 101 ratings | $115.00 | sold by Our Place

This is the pick if you want a ceramic pot and a compact footprint. Food & Wine named it the best rice cooker for brown rice, with fluffy, al dente grains that were not sticky or gummy, and it handled quinoa well. Serious Eats called its rice fluffy and tasty but found its few presets put it behind pricier rivals.

Food & Wine’s complaint is that the measuring cup is not a standard cup and must be used every time. Only 101 ratings are on the listing, and only one test names it for brown rice.

Pros:

• Best for brown rice at Food & Wine
• Ceramic nonstick pot made without PFAS, PTFE or PFOA, per the listing
• Dishwasher-compatible pot, per the listing
• A 6% one or two star share

Cons:

• Only 101 ratings, and one test names it for brown rice
• The special measuring cup must be used each time, per Food & Wine
• Serious Eats found its few presets put it behind pricier models
• The priciest of the four

Check Price on Amazon

3. Aroma Select Stainless 3-Cup: Best Uncoated Pot

4.4 stars | 4,507 ratings | $34.78 | sold by Amazon.com

This is the pick if you want no coating on the cooking surface and the lowest price. The listing says the pot is food-grade 304 stainless steel, coating free and dishwasher-safe, and it makes 6 cups cooked, so it suits one or two people.

I found no independent test of this exact model. Serious Eats tested Aroma’s 8-cup digital cooker and called its rice good but not great, and Food & Wine named that cooker best value, so the brand has some record, but not the uncoated pot. Bon Appétit warns stainless pots are harder to clean than nonstick, though it was testing a different cooker.

Pros:

• Uncoated 304 stainless steel pot, per the listing
• The lowest price of the four, with 4,507 ratings at 4.4 stars
• A 9% one or two star share
• Dishwasher-safe pot, per the listing

Cons:

• No independent brown rice test of this model
• A 6-cup cooked capacity, so not for families
• Stainless pots were harder to clean in Bon Appétit’s stainless test, with a different cooker
• The listing I read was the red variant, and other colors may differ

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4. Instant Pot 20-Cup: Best for Big Batches

4.1 stars | 1,096 ratings | $99.95 | sold by Amazon.com

This is the pick for meal preppers and large households. Good Housekeeping found its brown rice not mushy at all, with a great chewy texture, in 54 minutes for one cup, and Serious Eats named it its best budget grain and rice cooker with the biggest capacity it tested.

The tests do not agree on the brown rice setting. Serious Eats ran it twice and both times the grains came out with frayed ends, while Good Housekeeping praised the same cooker’s texture.

Pros:

• Up to 20 cups cooked, the biggest capacity Serious Eats tested
• Brown rice in 54 minutes, chewy and not mushy, at Good Housekeeping
• Dishwasher-safe pot and lid, per the listing and Good Housekeeping
• Serious Eats found Keep Warm softened rice rather than drying it

Cons:

• Serious Eats found frayed brown rice grains in two tests
• Good Housekeeping says the countdown only shows the last minute
• A 17% one or two star share across 1,096 ratings, the highest of the four
• The nonstick coating is not named in the listing

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Left Out

• Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy and Induction models: the best white and Japanese rice, with 4.7 stars on Amazon, but three tests call its brown rice soft and the fourth times it at 90 minutes. The Induction NP-HCC10 listing showed a third-party seller on 13 October 2026.
• KitchenAid Grain and Rice Cooker: Serious Eats’ most foolproof cooker with a ceramic pot and a firm setting, at $259.99. Bon Appétit did not think the compact version merited its price.
• GreenPan Advanced 4-cup: Bon Appétit’s ceramic, PFAS-free pick that excelled at brown rice, though some found it too firm. Its Amazon listing had only 19 ratings, so there was too little owner data.
• Toshiba: Good Housekeeping’s best for brown rice, yet Serious Eats found a different Toshiba gummy. I could not tell which unit a buyer would get.
• Tatung stainless steel: Bon Appétit’s all-stainless pick at about $210, with brown rice that was al dente but not as dry as the Hamilton Beach’s. I did not find it on Amazon.
• Cuckoo Micom and Dash Mini: Serious Eats liked both, and the Dash’s brown basmati had very few broken pieces, but I did not check either on Amazon and neither has the owner data of the four picks.

Cooking Brown Rice in a Rice Cooker

Rinse the rice first: Serious Eats rinsed two cups of brown basmati until the water ran clear and used four cups of water. Follow the manual’s markings, since Good Housekeeping notes the Instant Pot’s manual recommends a liquid measuring cup for brown rice. Bon Appétit suggests adding a bit more water than recommended if you like brown rice softer.

Use the paddle that came with the cooker, because Food & Wine says nonstick bowls scratch and plastic or wood paddles are the usual choice. If you are choosing between coatings, my ceramic vs nonstick cookware guide compares ceramic and PTFE pans and my best non-stick pan without Teflon covers pans without Teflon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does brown rice take so long in a rice cooker?

Brown rice keeps its bran and germ, which take much longer to break down, according to Food & Wine. The tests saw about an hour in the Hamilton Beach, 54 minutes in the Instant Pot 20-cup and 90 to 110 minutes in Zojirushi models.

Can any rice cooker make brown rice?

Most have a brown or whole grain setting, but results vary widely. Serious Eats found brown rice often came out split or gummy, and called mushy brown rice a common theme. A cooker that tested well on brown rice, like the Hamilton Beach, is the safer choice.

Which rice cookers have PFAS-free pots?

Bon Appétit says nearly every model it tested had a nonstick pot. PFAS-free options include ceramic-coated pots, such as the Our Place and GreenPan Advanced, and uncoated stainless ones, such as the Tatung and Aroma’s Select Stainless. Check the current listing for the coating.

How much water should you use for brown rice?

Follow the maker’s markings first. Serious Eats used two cups of brown basmati to four cups of water, and Bon Appétit suggests a little extra water for softer rice. Good Housekeeping notes the Instant Pot manual recommends a liquid measuring cup for brown rice, not the pot’s lines.

Is a stainless steel rice cooker pot harder to clean?

Yes, according to Bon Appétit: the Tatung’s stainless pot was much harder to clean than a nonstick pot and needed soaking and scrubbing. Aroma’s listing says its stainless pot is dishwasher-safe, though I found no independent test that covers that model.

Do you need to rinse brown rice before cooking?

Serious Eats rinsed its brown basmati about seven times, until the water ran clear, before each test, so its results already include rinsing. The Hamilton Beach’s listing calls its included steam basket a rice rinser, so that cooker comes ready for the step.

How These Picks Were Chosen

This is a research-based guide, not a hands-on test: I have not cooked in these machines. Each pick rests on its Amazon listing, read on 13 October 2026, its star breakdown, and the Serious Eats, Food & Wine, Good Housekeeping and Bon Appétit tests.

Several things could not be established. The four tests used different rice, batch sizes and models, and Good Housekeeping’s test dates from 2023. I did not read Wirecutter’s rice cooker guide, which would not load for me, and the Aroma uncoated pot and the PFAS-free coating on the Hamilton Beach come from listings, not tests.

The Verdict

For most people the Hamilton Beach 37548 is the pick: first at two tests and about an hour for brown rice. The Our Place suits you if you want a ceramic pot, and the Aroma Select Stainless is the cheapest way to get an uncoated pot. The Instant Pot 20-cup is the pick for big batches.

For a rice cooker that also boils eggs, see my egg cooker comparison.