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Tried and Tested: For the best Oatmeal cooker option, we recommend our tried and tested multicooker, Aroma Housewares ARC-994SB. Featuring 4-quart capacity, one-touch operation, 7 preset controls and double nonstick coating this rice and grain cooker is the best contender amongs all the Oatmeal cookers.
For cooking oatmeals, you can use rice cookers, slow cookers, or pressure cookers. Other than cooking raw oats or steel-cut oats with these appliances, you have the freedom to cook rice, quinoa, and wheat porridge. After extensively researching and thoroughly reviewing over 30 popular brands, we’ve come up with the 9 best oatmeal cookers for making oatmeal breakfast. The list is based on features, performance price, and the recipes you can make using these cookers.
How to cook different types of oats in these cookers?
No matter if you want to cook raw oats, rolled oats, or steel-cut oats, their method of cooking is the same. First, measure the oats and ingredients with the ratio of 1:2. Note: If you like savory, use vegetable or chicken stock. If you want to make it sweet, use milk or a mixture of water and milk. Boil water/milk, then add oats and reduce the heat to a low flame. Cover and cook until the oats soak up all the liquid. Season it at per taste and preference.
9 Best Oatmeal Cookers in 2024: Tested and Approved
- Best Overall: Aroma Housewares ARC-994SB
- Best Budget: DASH Mini Rice Cooker Steamer
- Best Programmable: Hamilton Beach 37571
- Best Multipurpose: COSORI 5-Quart Rice Cooker
- Best Portable: Crockpot Portable 7 Quart Slow Cooker
- Best Digital: Toshiba TRCS01 6 Cups Rice Cooker
- Best Stainless Steel: COMFEE’ 6-in-1 Multi Cooker
- Best For Big Families: BLACK+DECKER RC516
- Best Instant Pot: Instant Pot Pro
Best Overall: Aroma ARC-994SB
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
The Aroma ARC-994SB is the best rice and oatmeal cooker featuring 7 preset settings and digital controls to cook oats, rice, quinoa, and porridge. If you are creative in trying different recipes, this model is a complete meal cooker for your needs.
I was impressed with its one-touch digital controls. The Keep Warm feature automatically turns off the appliance when the cereal is cooked to prevent food burning and keep the cooked meal warm. The two other cooking modes I like are Delay Timer to cook food according to a scheduled time and the Slow-Cook mode to prepare soups, stews, and slow-cooker beef recipe.
Its other accessories, I found handy, include a steam tray, and a spatula. Apart from all of its positives, I was disappointed with its 4-quarts capacity of uncooked rice making it a wrong option for making potluck dinners, or side dishes for a party.
Overall, the Aroma ARC-994SB is an ideal cereal cooker for small families. From cooking oats, to vegetables, and meat, this model delivers complete meal options.
Unboxing and Testing Video
You can also buy this cooker at Walmart – Sears
Best Budget: DASH Mini Rice Cooker Steamer
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
The DASH Mini rice cooker is the perfect option if you are looking for a small oatmeal cooker. The best part is that it is more than a rice cooker that you can use to cook pasta, soup, stew, oatmeal, and quinoa. Like its competitor, I like its warm feature to keep oats warm after cooking. As for design, it is available in different colors, but I love its white model to match with my kitchen decor. Besides, its compact size takes up minimum space on my kitchen counter.
Although my overall cooking experience with this cooker was good, I found that the pan produces a terrible smell while cooking which can be resolved by buttering the pan before cooking. The accessories like the measuring cup, removable pot, rice ladle and a recipe book add extra convenience. As for the price, this is the best budget oatmeal cooker priced under $25, so I would recommend this cooker for couples or small families looking for an affordable option for their small kitchens.
You can also buy this cooker at Walmart – byDash
Best Programmable: Hamilton Beach 37571 Programmable Oatmeal Cooker
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
The Hamilton Beach 37571 is the best programmable oatmeal cooker and food steamer you can use to cook oats while you are away. Built for smart cooking, it comes with a capacity of 4.5 quarts (10 cups of cooked oats). It is best for making small potluck meals for family festivities like Easter potluck.
With 14 preset settings, this multipurpose cooker lets you prepare simple oatmeal porridge or white rice, and you can also go for steamed vegetables, steamed chicken, crockpot beef stew, and broth. And it is not just for steel-cut oats or instant oats. With the setting of white rice, you can also cook rolled oats and achieve a morning breakfast cereal.
Thanks to its steam basket you can use Hamilton Beach 37571 for rinsing rice, cooking one-pot pasta, making vegan quinoa salad, or sautee meat. However, I found that its saute mode overheats the unit and any negligence may even burn the cooker. Second, the stay warm feature is comparatively less efficient than its competitor model Toshiba TRCS01. And, in my case, the rice were burnt when I left this cooker to stay warm mode.
Another thing that came up while testing Hamilton Beach 37571 was that it takes almost one hour to cook oats. However, if you soak your oats in warm water for an hour before cooking, the cooking time can be reduced to a quarter.
You can also buy this cooker at Walmart – Hamilton Beach
Best Multipurpose: COSORI 5-Quart Rice Cooker
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
Featuring an 18 in 1 function, this COSORI 5-Quart Cooker lets you cook different types of oatmeals, rice and grains. I like this multipurpose cooker with digital display which gives a freedom to try making endless recipes.
Its 5 quarts capacity allows you to cook food for the whole family. One of the best features of this multipurpose oatmeal cooker is the ease of cleaning, thanks to its detachable parts. Besides, the condensation collector lets you to have any drip around while opening the lid. Another thing I like is the fuzzy logic that adapts the cooking while making cereals.
I cooked different cereals by setting the texture without oil. Although, the oatmeals, I cooked, were comparatively drier at the bottom than the upper layer, they tasted delicious and came out without sticking. Overall, this is the best multipurpose oatmeal slow cooker that you can use even for commercial purposes.
Video Review
You can also buy this cooker at Sears
Best Portable: Crockpot Portable 7 Quart Slow Cooker
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
Crockpot Portable is simply the massive, and the best slow cooker for making crockpot dishes. This large oatmeal cooker can hold 7 quarts (20 cups) of uncooked rice sufficient to make any of your Mexican potluck dishes, or Italian Potluck recipes.
The best feature of this cooker is an automated cooking cycle adjustment so that the food you are cooking does not overcook or burn. Thanks to its tightly locked lid, the hot contents don’t spill. And the cool-to-touch handles allow you to firmly grip the pot while you carry the cooker from the kitchen to the table.
As for the drawbacks, it comes with a not retractable short cord, making it a problem for small kitchens with limited space or out-of-place electric sockets. All-in-all, this Crockpot cereal cooker can cook perfect oatmeals, fluffy rice, and tender yet most flavorful vegetables.
You can also buy this cooker at Walmart – Sam’s Club
Best Digital: Toshiba TRCS01 6 Cups Rice Cooker
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
Featuring Japanese 3D steam technology the Toshiba TRCS01 keeps the steam to make the perfect fluffy oats. Besides, you can also prepare cereals like oat porridge, wheat porridge, quinoa and rice.
Thanks to its Preset cooking settings, especially the Quick cook mode the TRCS01 reduces the cooking time to a mere 30-minute window. When the cereal is ready, the Keep Warm feature shuts off the cooker yet keeps food warm for the next 24 hours. The best thing is its lightweight design which lets you carry this cooker for picnics or camping tours.
While testing, I observed that sometime the oat porridge gets watery due to improper settings. So it is recommended to carefully select the settings and take care of the cereal-to-water ratio. Another issue is its not-retractable short cord which becomes an issue for people with small kitchens and compact counter spaces. Overall, I recommend Toshiba TRCS01 cooker due to its endless meal options, combined with time-saving and convenient cooking.
You can also buy this cooker at Walmart – eBay
Best Stainless Steel: COMFEE’ 6-in-1 Stainless Steel Multi Cooker
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
Comfee slow cooker is perhaps one of the best oatmeal cookers in the industry. While testing, I liked its touch and digital controls that are easy to use even for a novice chef to make one-pot oatmeals. Its six cooking preset settings (for white rice, brown rice, soup/stews, oatmeal, porridge, and quinoa) make it an ideal choice for students or homemakers who want to prepare meals in a short time.
Another important feature of COMFEE’ Compact Rice Cooker is its stainless steel body, which can be cleaned conveniently with a swipe of a damp cloth. Rest assured, the other components and accessories are dishwasher-safe.
Since this is a compact oatmeal cooker perfect for small families, it may not be the right option for making soups and stews due to the small bowl.
Overall, the Comfee Compact Cooker is the best option to cook cereals and grains of all type, thanks to its sturdy build and cooking preset settings.
You can also buy this cooker at Walmart – eBay
Best For Big Families: BLACK+DECKER RC516
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
The best feature of Black+Decker RC516 is its versatility in not only cooking rice but also oatmeal, wheat porridge, couscous, quinoa, and many others. Since oatmeal expands a lot during cooking, its cooking pot has a large capacity to hold 16 cups of cooked cereal at one time.
The Black+Decker RC516 comes with accessories likeincluding a measuring cup, a steam basket, serving spoon and a dishwasher-safe cooking pot. The best thing I like about this cooker its cooking settings; When the cereal is fully cooked, it shifts to the keep warm setting. The downside about this appliance is its lack of a one-touch display to show time and temperature settings. Besides, it also lacks preset settings for other cereals, and you’ll have to select from only two heat settings.
Overall, the Black + Decker is the most recommended oatmeal cooker with large capacity and additional accessories that you can use to make every type of meal. It reduces kitchen time and improves the overall cooking experience.
You can also buy this cooker at Walmart – Kohl’s – Macy’s
Best Instant Pot: Instant Pot Pro
Features & Specs:
Pros
Cons
With Instant Pot Pro, you can make healthy and delicious oatmeal recipes in no time. Thanks to its nonstick cooking pot and dual power setting options, you can cook oats, rice, vegetables, pasta, steamed chicken, etc.
What I like about this cooker is its timer settings and the nonstick coating to prepare healthy, low-fat foods. With the nonstick coating it becomes easier to clean the pot as no food gets stuck to the base.
Its convenient size fits in small spaces. So, if you feel that the COSORI 5-quart Rice Cooker is too big for the countertop, you can replace it with a Instant Pot Pro.
As for the downsides, I noticed that the Instapot Pro’s silicone gasket can sometimes fail to seat properly, causing pressure issues and delays in cooking. Secondly, its stainless steel pot builds up starch while cooking rice, requiring extra cleaning effort.
Takeaway: While the Instapot Pro is an effecient cooker for overnight oats, it requires careful maintenance and cleaning for optimal performance.
What to Look for in an Oatmeal Cooker
Before you go out and buy a cereal or rice cooker, consider the following points and keep in mind your individual preferences and your budget.
1. Capacity
The first thing to look for in any cereal cooker is its capacity. Most of the models range from 2-8 quarts capacity. A 2-quart appliance will suffice a small family, a camper, a student, or an RV owner. However, with more members and a busy schedule, you’ll require a cookpot over 6-quart capacity.
Considering the features, I recommend going for the Crockpot Portable 7-Quart Slow Cooker, which can hold up to 20 cups of uncooked rice. With its big cooking pot, you can make a large batch of soups and stews for a family dinner.
2. Multipurpose
An oatmeal cooker should be equipped with different preset time and temperature settings to cook more than one cereal like white and brown rice, quinoa, steel-cut oats, rolled oats, soups, etc. Remember that the Steel-cut oats take longer to cook than rolled ones. I would recommend Hamilton Beach 37571 in terms of multipurpose cooker with 14 preset settings.
3. Ease of Cleaning
Homemakers do not spend as much time cooking as they do cleaning the mess which is why an oatmeal cooker should come with a nonstick cooking pot for easy cleaning. Even, the components should be dishwasher-friendly. For this purpose I recommend buying Aroma Housewares ARC-994SB thanks to its stainless steel exterior that can be wiped with a damp cloth.
4. Price
If you are low on budget, you can choose a cooker with a smaller capacity. On our list of oatmeal cooker, the best budget options are COMFEE’ 6-in-1 Stainless Steel Multi-Cooker and Hamilton Beach 37571.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can these cookers be used for other recipes?
Of course! you can use these cookers for recipes other than cooking oatmeals. Apart from making breakfast oats you can also use these cookers to prepare a variety of dishes such as rice, soups, stews, steamed vegetables, quinoa, and even some desserts. However, before making any decision make sure to check the model specs for its preset features.
What maintenance do these cookers require?
Although you don’t need any special maintenance effort, cleaning the inner pot after each use is recommend to ensures that all parts are dry before reassembly. Besides, you’ll also need occasional descaling the cooker to remove mineral buildup. Although most parts of oatmeal cookers are dishwasher-safe, I always recommend going through the manufacturer’s instructions for specific care guidelines.
How We Tested These Oatmeal Cookers?
While recommending a kitchen appliance to our readers, we always perform fundamental research, trial and testing procedure, and selection criteria. To test the Oatmeal cookers, we selected some high-end brands and the most recommended models. Our team consulted renowned culinary experts and professionals who shared their experience and thoughts about the popular brands and their performance. The crew cooked oatmeal, rice, porridge, and other cereals under various time and temperature settings. They also made oatmeal breakfast recipes with steamed vegetables, broths, and soups. The preparation and cooking times were noted, and the quality of the cooked cereal was maintained to achieve the best results.
Cleaning the cooker was also assessed. In this list, we’ve also added oatmeal cookers with strain-resistant body and dishwasher-friendly components. Other essential features, we noted include auto shut-off, voltage, spill-proofing, and cool-to-touch exteriors. We have enlisted only those products that passed all the trial and testing procedures and met the criteria.
Why Trust AHealthyBowl?
With so many Recipe Websites recommending the best and most economical appliances, why would a reader trust us? We are here to recommend based on personal experiences. We have a whole team of professionals behind us who give us information about their first-hand experience with any product we recommend. Our job is to assist you in purchasing the best product according to your individual preferences and needs. We care for our readers to prevent them from spending money on useless appliances or facing performance issues afterward.
