You may know that in addition to living up to its name, the rice cooker can also be used to steam buns or warm last night’s leftovers. You may have gotten it as a Christmas present, or just thought that you should have one but never really bothered to use it because you don’t need to cook rice everyday. Here comes the surprise: a RICE COOKER does not only make RICE!

Previously, we have presented a simple Rice Cooker recipe — pork ribs and lotus root soup, a keynote dish of Hubei cuisine. As an update, here is a list of 21 more things that you can make with your rice cooker. And let’s face it, there are dozens and maybe hundreds of innovative recipes out there for your discovery. Read, create, and experiment!

Via BuzzFeed. 

1. Tofu and Asparagus

Put the ingredients in, turn on the rice cooker, come back 15 minutes later and you have a meal. Find the recipe here.

 

2. Mac and Cheese

 

Using chicken stock makes for some interesting mac and cheese. Find the recipe here.

 

3. Chocolate Lava Cake

Yes, you can even make delicious chocolate cake. Recipe here.

 

4. Pomegranate And Quinoa Salad

No more burnt quinoa! Find the recipe here.

 

5. Cheesy Jalapeno Bread

Find the recipe here.

 

6. Black Bean Chili

Find the recipe here.

 

7. Poached Pomegranate Spiced Pears

Rice cookers are surprisingly great for poaching fruit. Find the recipe here.

 

8. Lemon Risotto with Shrimp

So easy! Find the recipe here.

 

9. Mahi Mahi

Find the recipe here.

 

10. Steel Cut Oats

Recipe here.

 

11. Balsamic Dijon Chicken With Farro And Mushrooms

A complete meal in one pot! Find the recipe here.

 

12. Banana Bread

Find the recipe here.

 

13. Wheat Berry Salad

Find the recipe here.

 

14. “Stir Fry” Cabbage

Other veggies would be good too. Find the recipe here.

 

15. Rice Cooker Bibimbap With Salmon and Spinach

Get the recipe

 

16. Banana Pudding With Caramel Sauce

Making caramel in a rice cooker is seriously impressive. Find the recipe here.

 

17. Vegetable Frittata

Recipe here.

 

18. Apple Upside Down Cake

This is brilliant. Find the recipe here.

 

19. Vegetable Hot Cake

This is kind of like a big vegetable pancake. Find the recipe here.

 

20. Rice Cooker Chicken Biriyani With Saffron Cream

Get the recipe

 

21. Japanese Anime Bread

This video is from the end of an episode of the popular Japanese manga turned anime series Yakitate!!, about a boy on a quest to create a national bread for Japan. Get the full translated recipe at WikiHow.

Written by: Ariel Knutson