Ambiano 6-Cup Rice Cooker [2022]

Aldi’s 6-Cup Rice Cooker and Steamer

The Ambiano 6-Cup Rice Cooker and Steamer will be available as an Aldi Find the week of 4/13/2022. For just $16.99. This little rice cooker will cook up to 6 cups of rice (3 cups uncooked) and steam some veggies at the same time. You can find similar sized rice cookers pretty cheap but none of them look quite as good as this little guy. Aldi’s price is also a bit less than the competition (as usual).

Looking for the 20-Cup Version? Check out the Ambiano 20-Cup Rice Cooker Here.

Details

• Price: $16.99 (2022- prices may vary)
• Cooks rice and steams vegetables at the same time
• Easy to use one-touch operation
• Automatic keep-warm function
• Removable steamer basket to steam vegetables or other foods while your rice cooks 
• Aluminum non-stick cooking pot with built in measurements
• Includes a dishwasher-safe measuring cup and dishwasher-safe spatula
• Makes up to 6 cups of cooked rice (3-cups uncooked)
• Available in Black or White
• Aldi Product Code: 14647

Is the Ambiano Rice Cooker a Good Deal?

The Ambiano Rice Cooker in this week’s Aldi FInds will give you a nice looking but fairly simple rice cooker. That is what I would expect to get for a rice cooker this size and in this price range. It just turns on when you press a button and switches to keep warm when the rice is done. It also works as a steamer but again most rice cookers like it will do that as well. If you cook rice semi regularly a decent rice cooker is very handy and more versatile that you may expect. Just look up rice cooker meals or rice cooker recipes for some inspiration. If you cook a lot of rice or multiple different types of rice this may not be for you. When comparing rice cookers be sure to check if it is listing cooker capacity or uncooked. Typically rice doubles when cooked so a 6 cup rice cooker like the Ambiano would have a 3 cup uncooked capacity. Some brands list both but some just list cooked or uncooked.

The Direct Competitor: Aroma 6 Cup Rice Cooker (ARC-743-1NG)

Aroma is a pretty popular brand in the budget rice cooker market and this Aroma 6-Cup Rice Cooker for $20 is pretty similar to the Ambiano. Just a simple on/off button and keep warm function. Overall it looks very similar to the Ambiano but does have a nice steamer that sits above the cooker instead of inside which I would prefer. I would pick up the Aroma over the Ambiano if you plan on doing a lot of steaming otherwise it is a toss up between the cheaper and nicer looking Ambiano or the well know and well reviewed Aroma.

The Budget Upgrade: Aroma 8 Cup Professional Version (ARC-954SBD)

I used to own one very similar to this or possibly this exact model and really liked it. It cost about $40 and is a bit bigger at 2.5 quarts (4 cups uncooked/8 cups cooked rice).The main draw is it adds functions like slow cooker, saute, oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa. This makes it more versatile and lets you cook a bunch of different grains, soups, ect without much extra effort. I prefer appliances that serve multiple purposes so I can save some space and this worked well. Think of it as a cheaper Instant Pot but without the pressure cooking that is good at cooking rice (I have never figured out how to make good rice in the instant pot).

The “Money Is No Object”: Zojirushi Induction Heating System Rice Cooker (NP-HCC10XH)

I feel a little silly putting in this $300+ rice cooker in a post comparing it to Aldi’s Ambiano Rice Cooker, but if you are serious about rice this thing is great. I have one that I think is basically the same as this one (same brand and induction heating but it is a Japanese version). It makes getting perfect rice super easy, I just eyeball all my measurements and it almost always turns out great.

That being said, I got this as a gift and don’t know if I could convince myself to buy it at this price without having tried it first. But since I have it and use it at least 1-2 times per week I feel comfortable including it in this post and recommending it. I use it to make a bunch of different types of rice: white, brown, sushi, sticky, broken rice and more and they all turn out great. We have also used the keep warm function to keep the rice at serving temp for more than a day without the rice drying out or anything which is really convenient if you forget to put it away or are going to have rice with two different meals during the day. This is not really a direct competitor to the Ambiano Rice Cooker but it is great and if you eat rice with a lot of your meals (or are just picky about your rice) you will love having it. Also to be fair this is not even the most expensive rice cooker made by that brand!

Reviews of Ambiano 6-Cup Rice Cooker [2022]