HUB 02 · Rice Cookers
Can You Cook Pasta in a Rice Cooker?
Yes, a rice cooker can cook pasta, and in a dorm or a small kitchen with one appliance it is a genuinely handy trick. It is not quite as clean as a pot of boiling water, and boil-over is the thing to manage, but with the right amount of water it works. Here is how, and when something else is the better tool.
We earn a commission if you buy through our links. It does not change the price you pay, and it does not decide our picks — the scoring rubric is published in full, including what disqualifies a pick. How this works.
The short answer: yes, with caveats
A rice cooker heats water and holds it near a simmer, which is most of what boiling pasta needs, so the answer is yes. It is one of the more useful improvisations in what a rice cooker can cook, and for a student, an office, or a kitchen where the rice cooker is the only appliance, it is a real meal solution. It is just worth being honest that a rice cooker is not a pasta machine — it is a capable stand-in, and knowing its limits is the difference between good pasta and a starchy mess.
How to do it cleanly
Add the dried pasta to the bowl and pour in enough water to cover it by an inch or so, plus a pinch of salt. Run the standard cook cycleand stir once or twice early so nothing sticks to the bottom. Check it a couple of minutes before the box's stovetop time, since cookers vary; drain any excess water at the end. On a basic cooker that cuts off when the water is gone, you may need to top up with a little boiling wateror restart the cycle to finish the pasta — a fuzzy-logic cooker holds the simmer more steadily and needs less babysitting.
Watch for boil-over
The main hazard is the same starchy foam that makes rice cookers boil over: pasta water foams, and a rice cooker's vent is small. Do not overfill, keep the lid vent clear, and a drop of oil in the water helps knock the foam down. If it looks like it is climbing, cracking the lid briefly settles it. Because the water is not a rolling boil the way a stovetop pot is, expect the texture to run a touch softer than a firm al dente.
When something else is the better tool
Reach for a rice cooker for a single serving where it is the only appliance you have. For a big batch, a firm al dente, or a proper one-pot pasta dish with sauce, a pot of boiling water or an Instant Potdoes it better and cleaner — and if you are choosing between the appliances for everyday cooking, our rice cooker vs Instant Pot comparison lays out which earns the counter space. As a clever trick in a pinch, though, the rice cooker earns its keep.
The hardware
The cookers this page is about
The cookers referred to above, with prices pulled live from Amazon and dated on every card. Full rankings live in the roundups linked from this page.
680 W
Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker & Warmer, 5.5 Cup
The rice cooker every other one is measured against. Its Neuro Fuzzy microcomputer adjusts heat through the cook rather than running a fixed timer, which is the whole reason a $260 rice cooker cooks rice better than a $30 one. Made in Japan, 680 W, and the settings that matter are all there.
Wattage not published
Toshiba Mini Rice Cooker, 3 Cups Uncooked, with Fuzzy Logic
A small fuzzy-logic cooker for one or two people — the rare compact rice cooker that still senses and adjusts rather than running a dumb timer. Three cups uncooked, one-touch operation, and a 24-hour delay so rice is ready when you get home.
#ad · As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can you cook pasta in a rice cooker?
Does pasta boil over in a rice cooker?
Is a rice cooker or an Instant Pot better for pasta?
Keep reading