26 Remarkable Rice Cooker Recipes

Did you know, a rice cooker is good for more than just rice? The potential of your rice cooker will amaze you. I’ve got 26 Rice Cooker Recipes to show you exactly how varied you can get with a rice cooker and weeknight meals. Rice cookers are meant to make your life much more convenient when you need a big batch of rice cooked perfectly. But it is also great for making other meals convenient as well.

It allows easy clean up, and a “hands off’ cooking technique for those that don’t want to slave away making a dinner.  This rice cooker recipe roundup will take you on a journey from savory to sweet, breakfast to dessert, the options are almost endless. Whether you need a quick dinner or need to whip something up for unexpected guests, this list and a rice cooker will get you there. If your rice cooker has just been sitting in your cabinet, get it out, and let’s get started. 

1. Rice Cooker Oatmeal

Let’s start with breakfast. Oatmeal is a grain just like rice, so why not use the same equipment to cook it? It will give you the freedom each morning to get ready while breakfast cooks away. A rice cooker creates creamy, thick oatmeal with this recipe. It’s extremely easy and you can add whatever toppings you like. 

2. Rice Cooker Chocolate Cake

Yes! You can make a chocolate cake in a rice cooker. This recipe will save you in the heat of summer if you don’t want to on an oven and make the house even hotter. This chocolate cake is delicious and moist. And it only takes about 35 minutes to cook. 

3. Rice Cooker Chili

Since it’s similar to a crockpot, you can make chili in a rice cooker. But it’s a bit faster than a crockpot. This recipe is budget-friendly and takes about 40 minutes total. You can even take a rice cooker to a hotel or in an RV and make your own dinner there. 

4. Pumpkin Rice

Pumpkin adds a creamy, autumn flavor to rice. It will pair amazingly with seared salmon or a roasted pork loin. If you don’t have access to pumpkin or don’t want to cut it, you can use pre-cut butternut squash. It’ll still give the same delicious autumn flavor. Mushrooms add a depth of flavor to this recipe as well. 

5. One Pot Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables

This recipe keeps things super simple. Four ingredients – chicken, rice, vegetables, and spices – are all you need to create this one-pot chicken, rice, and veggie dinner. You can tailor it to your family’s taste preference by using veggies that you all like. This is a fantastic, fully balanced, one-pot meal. 

6. Smothered Potatoes and Sausage

Sausage, potatoes, and cajun spices come together in an amazing side dish by cooking together in the rice cooker. It’s a simple and easy recipe but with a world of flavor. You’ll want to make these as a side dish for every roasted meat dinner you have from now on! 

7. 10 Minute Rainbow Fried Rice

Rainbow Fried Rice is made with a variety of vegetables including cauliflower, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, and onions. The delicious flavor comes from a combo of sauces: light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce. And as the name suggests, it’s done in just 10 minutes! 

8. Rice Cooker Mac And Cheese

The rice cooker does a fantastic job of cooking pasta. You can go from uncooked pasta to creamy mac and cheese in 15 minutes with this recipe. Four ingredients total makes this a super easy side dish to serve with any meal. Or if you’ve got picky eaters that will only ever eat mac and cheese, you can save yourself the effort of making a whole meal. 

9. Spaghetti Bolognese

Can you imagine spaghetti night without the pasta boiling over and making a mess all over the stove just because you had your back turned, focusing on the kids screaming in the background? Well now, you can have a delicious spaghetti dinner without the mess. Just throw the ingredients in the rice cooker and let it do the work for you. 

10. Quinoa in a Rice Cooker

Just like oatmeal and rice, quinoa is a grain that cooks up amazingly in a rice cooker. It comes out light and fluffy, and packed with essential nutrients. To make it taste good, all you have to add is salt, oil, and a bit of water. This is great for bulk-prepping grains for the week. 

11. One Pot Oyakodon

In Japanese, Oyakodon literally means “parent-and-child rice bowl.” It packs a ton of flavor for just a simple “rice bowl” though! Chicken, rice, and onions are all combined in a sweet, sticky sauce and cooked to perfection. This one-pot meal is fully balanced with high protein, filling carbs, and healthy fats. 

12. Yellow Split Pea Dal

If you’ve ever wanted to try to make split pea dal at home, this is how you do it. It’s flavorful and super easy. This vegan and vegetarian dish will delight even those that eat meat. Yellow Split Pea Dal is a very healthy dish that packs 23 grams of fiber in one serving. That’s enough for an entire day. 

13. Big Rice Cooker Pancake 

You no longer have to stand over a flat top and cook pancakes one by one. This big, thick pancake cooks all at once. It does have to cook for an hour, so start it early. But when it’s done, you’ll have a thick, fluffy pancake “cake” to share with the family. 

14. Moist Banana Cake

Another rice cooker cake is this moist banana cake. It’s got all the flavor of a banana bread, but with the texture of a cake. It’s perfect for a summer afternoon snacking cake or even a light dessert. Serve this with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for an extra decadent treat.

15. Soft and Fluffy Rice Cooker Bread

Soft and Fluffy Rice Cooker Bread is a vegan delight. Made with vegan butter and oat milk, this bread is smooth and soft with a tender crumb. It makes the perfect dinner roll or sandwich for leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It’s also a quick bread, even though it’s made with yeast. It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. 

16. Vegetable Frittata

Vegetable Frittata works for breakfast or dinner. If you need a low-carb meal, this will suffice. If you’re into higher carbs, you can spruce this up with some potatoes or serve it alongside breakfast muffins. This is a great recipe to use up any leftover veggies sitting in the fridge. 

17. Creamy Mushroom Risotto (Vegan!) 

Mushroom risotto is known for being deliciously creamy. But this creamy mushroom risotto is vegan and still creamy! By using white wine, vegetable broth, and almond milk, you can get a fantastic base to make a creamy risotto. A sprinkle of Follow Your Heart Parmesan cheese over the top of this dish is a delicious finish. 

18. Hard Boiled Eggs

Like an instant pot, you can make hard boiled eggs in a rice cooker! It saves you a good amount of time because you don’t have to babysit a boiling pot of water. It does take about 21 minutes from cooking to chilling, but with them safely in the rice cooker, you can walk away and get another task done. 

19. Apple Yogurt Cake

If you can’t tell, cakes work well in rice cookers. This Apple Yogurt Upside Down Cake is super moist, beautiful in presentation, and has the perfect amount of sweetness to top off the night. No one will know it’s from a rice cooker with the way it turns out so prettily. 

20. Rice Cooker Chicken Sausage Jambayala 

If you’re in need of some southern comfort food, but don’t want to spend hours on a dish, let your rice cooker do the work with this chicken sausage jambalaya. It turns into a beautiful one pot dish that will feed a crowd. It’s filling, hearty, and right up a Southerner’s alley. 

21. Steamed Dumplings

Steamed dumplings are little pockets of soft wontons that hold a delicious meaty filling. These would make a fun date night in dinner for two. You and your significant other can spend some time piecing these together, then enjoy a glass of wine while the rice cooker steams away. 

22. Rice Cooker No Soal Lo Ma Gai (Chinese Sticky Rice)

Chinese Glutanious (sticky) Rice is often served for breakfast or brunch. It’s packed with veggies and sticky sweet sauce. Pair this with a Thai grilled chicken and you’ve got a fantastic filling meal. And, you don’t have to soak the rice! You can use pepperoni slices instead of the traditional Chinese sausage if you don’t have access to it. 

23. Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hainanese Chicken Rice is a Singaporean dish. To keep it close to traditional, top it with a garlic ginger chili sauce and soy sauce. Other than that, it’s a very simple recipe that ends up with a lot of flavor. It’s a great easy, weeknight meal when you want to keep it healthy but flavorful. 

24. Rice Cooker Ribs and Rice

Ribs and rice – just look at it! It looks absolutely amazing. You know this meal is going to be one where you need to go back for seconds, so make sure to cook a large batch. Ribs are marinated in soy sauce before being cooked with peas, rice, carrots, mushrooms, and more sauce. 

25. Hearty Pasta and Lentils

This vegan protein-packed meal is sure to please even meat lovers. It’s hearty and filled with high-protein pasta and lentils. The rice cooker gives you soft lentils and al dente pasta all mixed into a tangy marinara sauce. Topping it with a bit of avocado or vegan cheese is the way to go. 

26. Steamed Salmon

If you want perfectly cooked salmon, the rice cooker is amazing at steaming fish. It will give you flaky, cooked-through salmon every time. The seasoning is up to you! You could go for a soy sauce, lemons and herbs, or a simple sugar-free chili sauce.  Either way, it will be delicious every time. 

This list of recipes will unlock the magic of convenience and help you reimagine what’s possible within the confines of your kitchen. Get ready to redefine your relationship with your rice cooker – it’s time to embrace its full potential and let it take center stage in your weeknight dinners.