As a long time food writer who specializes in Asian cooking, I’ve tried a lot of rice cookers, and I’ve never seen anything like this one. The Aroma Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker truly lives up to its name. And while it may look like an ordinary rice cooker, it does SO MUCH MORE than you’d ever imagine. Let’s talk about why this powerful little machine is set to take the place of your current rice cooker and a few of your other trusty kitchen appliances as well.

About Aroma Housewares Co.

For over 40 years, Aroma Housewares has been making high-quality kitchen appliances with a focus on reliability and affordability for home cooks everywhere. Based in sunny San Diego, California, they proudly offer a large range of products that are easy to use and built with integrity. Whether you’re looking to make sushi rice, jasmine rice, or trying out different types of grains, Aroma offers the best rice cookers for your needs. I personally LOVE that they are committed to crafting BPA-free and PFOA-free cookware, two things I don’t have to worry about when feeding the family.

And Aroma does so much more than just rice cookers. They also offer everything from multicookers to electric skillets, all designed with the same attention to detail and affordability. Many of their products feature smart technology like SmartCarb® (that actually reduces the amount of carbs in your rice!) and Sensor Logic® to ensure better rice and improved ease of use without breaking the bank.

What I love perhaps most about Aroma is that they’re big on giving back to their local and global communities. Their involvement includes supporting women’s shelters in San Diego and providing financial assistance to organizations abroad. They’re a company that actually cares about community, quality, and their customers. 

The ARC-5200SB Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker

Aroma’s ARC-5200SB Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker is the kitchen tool you didn’t even know you needed. As a rice cooker, it can cook from 4 to 20 cups of white rice, brown rice, or any type of rice! And its digital controls make cooking rice, grains, or even risotto super simple with just the press of a button. Plus, the automatic Keep Warm function means your food stays hot without the risk of overcooking.

But the ARC-5200SB isn’t just your basic rice cooker. It’s a slow cooker, food steamer, and rice cooker all in one. Yep, you can even steam vegetables and meats on the included steam tray while your rice or grains cook underneath. And if you’re a fan of meal planning, this multicooker is a game changer. The 15-hour Delay Timer allows you to set everything up in the morning and come home to a ready-to-eat meal. (I especially love this because sometimes the last thing I want to do after a long day is make dinner.)

Its accessories include a non-stick inner pot, rice measuring cup, serving spatula, and steam tray, all of which are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. AND, it comes with a Sauté-then-Simmer® function, which allows you to tackle more complex meals like jambalaya, oatmeal, or soup without even breaking a sweat.

With Sensor Logic® technology, this multicooker automatically adjusts cooking times and temperatures, so you get perfect rice every time, no matter if it’s short grain, long grain, or even sushi rice. It handles different kinds of rice and grains flawlessly, so you can feel confident with whatever you choose to cook. The Aroma Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker is the best option for anyone who’s looking to whip up better quality rice without the fuss.

Some of My Favorite Things About this Multicooker

The Pros:

Super Versatile: You’ve never had a rice cooker do so much. This multicooker can make the obvious, like a variety of rice and risotto, and the less obvious, like oatmeal and soup, but it can also do things you’d never expect it to be able to do. For example, would you expect this little machine to be able to make CAKE? Probably not, but it does indeed have a cake function! What about steam meat and veggies WHILE it cooks rice underneath? Yep, it can do that too! By also acting as a steamer and slow cooker, the Aroma Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker gives you endless possibilities, including making hard-boiled eggs, stew, pasta dishes… the list goes on and on! It’s your dedicated rice cooker and so much more.

Compact: You might think, with all it can do, that it would have to be a rather large appliance, but it’s actually no bigger than your average rice cooker. There’s nothing like a compact kitchen tool that takes the place of multiple other appliances without compromising kitchen counter space real estate. 

Ridiculously Easy to Use: Sure, it does a lot, and that probably means it’s complicated to work with, right? Wrong! For most meals, it’s a 2 button process. Power. Setting. Done. That’s it! It’s very straightforward to use, and the control panel couldn’t be simpler, which makes it an essential tool for older folks who don’t want to deal with a huge digital learning curve. 

The Sauté-Then-Simmer Function: Can we talk about the incredible STS function for a second? This setting is like MAGIC. It allows you to cook your food at a high heat, senses when you add liquid in, and then goes into simmer mode. It’s great for any dish where you’d need to sear meats or sauté veggies ahead of the boil, like soups, stews, pasta, pork roasts, you name it! And it’s a setting exclusive to Aroma cookers!

It’s Got a Condensation Collector: No more dealing with removing a drippy lid, burning yourself with hot condensation, and worrying about where to put the lid down without making a mess. Once you open the lid of this multicooker, it stays in an upright position and allows the condensation to drip down into a basin, where it’s stored safely until it cools down. 

Easy To Clean: The cleaning process is as easy as it comes. Simply remove the inner cooking vessel (the non-stick bowl), wash it out, and put it back in. Looking to do a deep clean? Just pull the inner lid and the condensation collector off and soak them in soapy water for an hour or 2, then rinse. Easy peasy!

Perfect for One-Pot Meals: Love making multiple servings without using a bunch of pots and pans? Looking to avoid a ton of cleanup? This is the perfect cooker for you! The one-pot cooking process in the Aroma Multicooker is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. In fact, we made a Creamy Alfredo Sausage Spaghetti Meal and were able to sear the sausage right in the pot before adding the other ingredients. Bet you’ve never done that with your rice cooker before! (Be sure to check out Aroma’s wide array of yummy recipes here!)

The Cons:

I honestly can’t think of one negative aspect to this amazing appliance. A cooker like this would usually cost an arm and a leg, especially since it replaces a wealth of other cooking tools. But at an affordable $65 price point, it’s a splurge-worthy appliance doesn’t actually require you to splurge.

We Whipped Up A Delicious Aroma Recipe

We decided to take the Aroma Multicooker for a test drive and make one of their incredible one-pot recipes, Creamy Alfredo Sausage Spaghetti! Not only was it delicious, but it was ridiculously easy to make! 

Most one-pot meals require you to cook something and then remove it from the pot or pan to cook another thing, and then add all the ingredients back into the pan at the end, which I’ve always felt kind of defeats the purpose of it being called a “one-pot” meal. It’s more like a one-pot and a bowl and a plate and maybe even another pot meal. But when Aroma says one-pot, they really do mean one-pot!

We started this meal off by browning sliced chicken apple sausage right there in the pot! (I didn’t know you could even do that with such a cooker!)

Once it was browned, we just threw in the rest of the ingredients, including the spaghetti, and closed the lid. That’s all it took.

The cooker did the rest and even told us when it was done and set itself to the Keep Warm setting. It could not have been more simple!

Check Out the ARC-5200SB Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker in Action!

The Only Rice Cooker You’ll Ever Need

By now, I’m sure you can see why Aroma’s Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker is the best rice cooker on the market today. It can do a whole lot, requires minimal storage space, and is super easy to use. What would you make in this incredible cooker?

Looking to get one of your own? Head here to purchase your own Aroma Multicooker! And don’t forget to keep up with Aroma’s wide array of amazing appliances by following them on Facebook and Instagram.

Aroma Rice & Grain Multicooker Review and Giveaway

Enter to win below.