5 Things You Can Make In a Rice Cooker (Other Than Rice)

To some, a rice cooker might seem like a uni-tasker, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you eat a lot of rice. But it can also serve many other purposes, whether you're stuck in a kitchen-less studio, need an extra "burner," or just want the convenience of making dishes with minimal supervision. Read on for five good uses for a rice cooker, and share your own experiences in the comments!

• Steel-cut oats. If your rice cooker has a porridge or congee setting, you can use it to make steel-cut oatmeal, too. You'll probably have to play around with the ratio to get it just right, but you might start with 1 part oats to 3 parts water. Add nuts, dried fruit, or cinnamon, if you like (just clean the pot thoroughly as it might flavor your next batch of rice). Soak the oats overnight and then turn the cooker on in the morning while you're getting ready – or set the timer if the cooker has one, and you'll have breakfast as soon as you wake up. Here's a recipe from the Zojirushi site: Steel Cut Oatmeal.

• Risotto. OK, so technically this is rice, but we thought we'd include our post on How To: Make Risotto in a Rice Cooker. No stirring!

• Polenta. Like risotto, polenta usually requires a lot of stirring, but you can use a rice cooker for more hands-off cooking. Here's a recipe for Rice Cooker Polenta with herbs.

• Beans. The exact time and proportions will depend on the beans and your model, so you might have to play around a bit. We make lentils in the rice cooker using a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part beans. You can also use the low heat of the rice cooker to simmer bean soups and stews.

• Frittatas. Use your rice cooker to make an easy and filling brunch or dinner. Here's a recipe for Frittata in a Rice Cooker.

Have you ever made these or any other non-rice foods in a rice cooker?

(Image: Flickr member hellomomo licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (37)

I make jambalaya in my rice cooker!

@clampers Recipe?... please?

here you can find a recipe for a tarte tatin 'baked' in a rice cooker (thir recipe): http://www.cavolettodibruxelles.it/2010/02/tatin

Congee, pho, chicken noodle soup, heating up pasta sauce, fondue, quinoa... anything that can be boiled and steamed can be done with the rice cooker.

I make quinoa in my rice cooker. Mine also has a little rack for steaming vegetables, but I've never used it.

Not really so much of a recipe, just throwing a bunch of stuff into the rice cooker, but here's the gist:

Poach some chicken legs first (or you can do shrimp/crawfish, you don't have to cook those first though since they cook fast)
2 C. brown rice
a stick of butter cut up
chopped onion
chopped pepper
2 t. Cajun Seasoning
2 t. cumin
2 t. black pepper
1 t. chili powder
2 t. garlic powder, or 2 cloves minced
2 t. cayenne pepper
2 C. chicken stock
whatever else you want

Throw it all in and start her up!

You can also make burgers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMKJ7rjhhAg&feature=player_embedded

I make farro and hot cereal in mine. Although, I made the farro the other night and it took 2 hours! Good thing I wasn't in a hurry...

You can also cook potatoes.

Dice potatoes to 1/2 in. cubes. Cover with water. Cook 20-25 minutes (depends on rice cooker). You may also add the steamer expansion and put up to three additional cubed potatoes in there (dependent upon size of potatoes). Add an additional quarter cup for each potato steamed this way.

I heard you can make bread, although I haven't tried. It might be the next thing I try!

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=5778136

You can also make applesauce - http://themodestkitchen.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/warm-cinnamon-applesauce-in-a-rice-cooker/

I make a combo of the above oatmeal and beans and other grains to make my baby's breakfast porridge. A big batch lasts at least a week!

Thanks for this post! I really love my Zojirushi, but I have felt like I haven't used it enough.

I've found several recipes for pasta, though it takes longer to cook than on the stove top so I don't see the point. It works, though!

Also, it is good for some types of custard or pudding, like rice pudding or tapioca. I've done both successfully.

For the record, some models of rice cooker will do bread or cakes and whatnot, and some won't. Generally, only the more expensive models are capable of these things. I know mine is smaller and I have to be careful how much I put into it, lest I have to clean out the steam vent again.

I had a girlfriend who would put a small plate (something sturdy that can stand to get hot) over a small tea cup set in the bottom of the cooker. She'd pour water on the bottom of the cooker (eyeball it), and put frozen dumplings on the plate. You can get these at local supermarkets or at your nearest Asian foods market. The water in the bottom steamed the dumplings without getting anything dirty other than the plate! It was a SUPER easy, a great snack, and tasty to the max. Just cook until they're hot all the way through. They're pre-cooked so no big deal if they're not perfect. It's a fast & tasty treat.

One pot meal
-marinated (soy sauce, salt, rice wine, little sugar, oil) chicken thin strips, fresh shiitake mushroom strips and some ginger
-put all the ingredients above when the rice is almost absorb all the liquid, close the top and cook until the rice is done. If you are worry it is not fully done, let it steam for 5-10 more minutes. Mix and serve.

For nonstick rice cookers, if you see deep scratches or patches that are missing from inside, you need to replace the inner pot. It will stick and not good for you. It is just like a nonstick pan. Beware :-)

My model is as basic as it gets, with just one button to turn it on. Can I do any of the above recipes given that I don't have different settings?

Also, I love the model in the photo-what cute little butterflies. That would make me smile every time I use it.

I use my rice cooker to make polenta and also amaranth and quinoa.
I couldn't live without my rice cooker, and I don't even have one of those fancy ones (although I'd love to have one -- they're just not available in Europe).

I'm with rosebud, my rice cooker has an on switch, and that's it. It takes awhile to heat up too. I would like to try to make steel cut oats in it. What is the difference with the "Porridge" setting, does it cook longer, or at lower heat, or what?

You can steam veggies or any other food in it. I also steam dumplings and stuffed buns in mine. Mine has only one button and it cooks quinoa perfectly.

I like to steam corn on the cob - just put a little water at the bottom, stand the corn on end, and let it go!

Just had claypot chicken with rice without the claypot last night--used the rice cooker instead. It also uses chinese sausages and shitakes--delicious and very comforting.
Here is the recipe I used:
(I did add some 5 spice powder to the recipe and omitted the salted fish )
http://rasamalaysia.com/claypot-chicken-rice-without-claypot/

In response to alphaville they do make those fancy type of rice cookers in Europe in France we have this :
http://www.delicook.fr/
in the UK they have this :
http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/kitchen-appliances/morphy-richards-intellichef-9-in-1-multi-cooker.asp

they are both expensive but not more so than a Japanese one and they have loooots of functions like grilling, slow cooker or bake mode ..
I think you could make a gratin dauphinois in the rice cooker if you have a slow mode... I'll have to try XD

I cook barley in mine - its the one button version and its comes out great!

To rosebud and MegP - I have the same situation here.
So far I've done mixed rice, and am debating whether I want to do risotto or pilaf this weekend.
What I discovered is that I need to increase the liquid I use, when I add ingredients to the mixed rice.
I also keep the cooker on keep warm mode a few minutes longer, when I've put in too much liquid, whether I'm cooking regular mixed rice.
It's all in the rice (type you use)!

I cook a lot of stuff in my rice cooker, mainly because 3 of the burners on my stove have stopped working. (I know, right?) Living in Peru, we have rice with almost every meal, and I use just about every night, too. Apart from that, I've made spaghetti sauce, macaroni and cheese, boiled my corn on the cob, made stew, cooked beans and lentils... the list goes on. And I use it to make Peruvian style arroz con pollo, too.

I have two of the one-button rice cookers, a big one and a little one. They both have separate metal lids. I have used them to steam (Chinese filled buns (both frozen and homemade). I have also steamed tamales in them... works really well, with the little steaming rack that comes with the rice cooker or with an improvised rack on the bottom. My little rice cooker has a steamer that sits on the top of the pot, my big rice cooker has a steaming tray that sits on the bottom...

I have never tried anything like soup before... that would be interesting, I can't quite see what the advantage would be. Mine turn themselves off when the water gets boiled off (when steaming), or absorbed (when cooking rice)... I wonder how long they would continue to cook with soup in them?

I have not been successful in making congee (jook) in the rice cooker even though it has a setting for it. It always turns itself to keep warm before it gets to the texture I want......
It turns out much better in a crock pot...........

Does anyone know who makes the ADORABLE butterfly rice cooker? I want one!

how do you make congee? what do you put in it?

chibby- here is a good recipe for congee:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chinese-Chicken-and-Rice-Porridge-Congee-103051
Your preference but, I use short grain rice rather than the long grain rice called for in the recipe......I also add a thousand year old egg (available at any Asian grocery)cut into quarters during the last few minutes of cooking. -sounds nasty but is really good.........

curmmer---The brand of rice cooker in the picture is Weking.
It is a Chinese brand.

Just to add I've also used a combination of water and doctored up store bought stock and/or added bouillon and shredded leftover rotisserie chicken when I don't have stock or I'm in a hurry.

You can make all sorts of things in a rice cooker! My freshman year of college, i would make hard-boiled eggs in mine, along with oatmeal, chicken, fish etc.

One thing not to try: cooking frozen dumplings rice. I was feeling "on top of my game" one day and tried to get my rice cooker to multi-task. Threw some rice in as usual, and topped it off with some frozen dumplings. Ended up with something that looked like brains and tasted like old gym laundry. My zojirushi ("roosh") has yet to forgive me, and will now only respond to my wife's commands.

There are lots of recipes you can do with the rice cooker. 300 recipes in this cookbook coming in Fall 2010 (August 2010). Stay tuned.

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Rice-Cooker-Cookbook/dp/1440502331/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265377941&sr=8-1).

Just one word: CAKE!

You can cook lots of things in a rice cooker, we recommend this book to our customers from Amazon UK (Amazon US also sells it) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Rice-Cooker-Cookbook/dp/1558322035/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265534849&sr=8-1-spell. Although a lot of the recipes in it are for the higher spec fuzzy logic rice cookers but it does tell you which types of rice cooker each recipe works for.

We cook steel cut oatmeal, rice pudding, jambalaya, risotto and cheesecake in our Zojirushi. There is also a setting for mixed rice where you put in all the veggies (and meat if you want it) and spices into the rice with the water, then it's just a one pot meal all ready to eat when the cooking cycle is done. As someone else says just remember to clean the pot and inner lid properly when you used the rice cooker to cook something other than rice!

We have put lots of recipes on our website - www.yumasia.co.uk/recipes.html which are great made in a rice cooker.

Someone mentioned that the 'fancy rice cookers' can't be found in Europe - this is untrue, we sell the top Japanese brand Zojirushi's as well as having lots of recipes!