AROMA ARC-363NG Review: a cheap little rice cooker that mostly just works

I’ve been using the AROMA ARC-363NG 3-cup (uncooked) rice cooker for a few weeks now, mostly for weeknight dinners and quick lunches. I bought it because I was tired of burning rice in a pot and wanted something small that didn’t take over my counter. This one is about as basic as it gets: one button, one light, and that’s it. No menu, no programs, no app, nothing fancy. If you like simple, you’ll probably like that part.

In day-to-day use, the main thing I noticed is that it really does make rice easier, especially if you’re cooking for 1–3 people. I can dump in rice and water, press the switch, and walk away. It flips to warm by itself, so I’m not hovering over the stove anymore. The results are generally good: white rice comes out fluffy enough, not restaurant-level, but totally fine for normal meals. Brown rice also works, but you need to play with water and timing a bit.

Where it’s less impressive is the “multi-cooker” side. Yes, you can cook oatmeal, soups, and basic one-pot things, but the lack of settings means you have to babysit it a bit more for anything that isn’t plain rice. It’s easy to overshoot and end up with slightly stuck food on the bottom, especially if you leave it on Keep Warm for a long time. It’s not a disaster, just something you learn after a couple of tries.

Overall, my first impression is: it’s a small, no-frills cooker that mostly does what it says. It’s not perfect, it has some design annoyances, but for the price and size, it gets the job done. If you’re expecting a smart cooker with tons of options, this isn’t it. If you just want something cheap that makes rice without thinking too hard, it’s worth a look.

In terms of value, the ARC-363NG sits in that low-budget zone where you’re mainly asking, “Does it work reliably?” rather than “Does it have every feature?”. For the price range this usually sells at, I’d say you’re getting a pretty solid deal if your main goal is simple rice. The 4.5/5 average rating from over 25,000 reviews on Amazon lines up with my experience: most people are satisfied because it does what they bought it for without much fuss.

Where you clearly see the cost-cutting is in the details: short side-mounted cord, no OFF switch, no steaming tray, slightly hard-to-see water lines, and basic accessories. If you compare it to more expensive digital rice cookers with multiple settings, timers, and thicker pots, you obviously lose features. But those are often double or triple the price, and if you’re not using all the advanced functions, you’re just paying extra for stuff you don’t need.

For a single person, a couple, or a small family that eats rice a few times a week, the cost-to-utility ratio is good. You get: decent rice quality, small footprint, easy operation, and acceptable cleaning effort. If you’re on a tight budget or in a small space (dorm, studio, RV), it makes sense. If you cook big batches or want to steam veggies on top or need programmable timers, you’ll outgrow this fast and may be better off spending more upfront on a mid-range model.

So in plain terms: as a cheap, basic rice cooker that also doubles as a mini pot for oats and simple soups, the value is solid. It’s not trying to be a high-end multi-cooker, and you shouldn’t expect that. It’s more like: pay a modest amount, get a small appliance that mostly just does its one main job without drama.

Design-wise, the ARC-363NG is compact and pretty plain. It’s a small white cylinder with two indicator lights and a lever on the front, and a glass lid on top. It fits easily on a crowded counter and is light enough (around 2.8 pounds) to move in and out of a cabinet with one hand. If you care about looks, it’s neutral enough to disappear in most kitchens. It doesn’t look premium, but it also doesn’t scream “cheap toy”. Just a basic appliance.

The first design issue I noticed is the power cord. It’s short and comes straight out of the side of the cooker, not the back. In practice, this means you have to angle the cooker on your counter in a slightly weird way, or use an outlet that’s very close. If your outlets are behind your counter or you like everything lined up straight, this is a bit annoying. A back-facing or slightly longer cord would have been much more practical.

The glass lid is handy because you can see what’s going on without opening it, but it has a small vent hole that lets some starchy steam out. If you fill close to the max and cook very starchy rice, a little water can bubble up and leave some residue around the edge. It’s not a big mess, just something you’ll wipe down once in a while. The handle on the lid stays reasonably cool, so lifting it mid-cook isn’t a problem.

Inside, the pot has measuring lines, but like one Amazon reviewer mentioned, they’re not the easiest to see, especially in dim light or if there’s condensation. You sometimes find yourself tilting the pot near a window or under a bright light to check the water level. Not a deal-breaker, but if you have weaker eyesight or a darker kitchen, it’s slightly irritating. Overall, the design is functional but not thoughtful in every detail. It works, but you can tell they cut a few corners to keep the price down.

The outer shell feels like standard lightweight plastic, and the inner pot on this model is aluminum with a ceramic-style nonstick coating (AROMA calls it CoreCoat). In the hand, the pot feels light but not flimsy. It’s not thick, heavy metal like you’d get on a pricey cooker, but for a small 500W unit, it’s enough. Heat seems to spread evenly enough for basic rice; I didn’t see hot spots that burned half the batch while the rest stayed raw.

As for the coating, after several uses and handwashing, it’s held up fine. Rice releases pretty easily as long as you rinse it before cooking and don’t scrape it with metal utensils. I did one lazy test where I left rice on Keep Warm for a couple of hours. It formed a thin, slightly crispy layer at the bottom that peeled off mostly in one piece. It wasn’t baked on like concrete, but you do need a soft sponge and a bit of soaking if you really overdo the warm time. Compared to old-school uncoated pots, cleanup is clearly easier.

The lid is tempered glass with a plastic knob. It feels sturdy enough for daily use, and the rubber ring around the edge sits well on the pot. I didn’t see any wobble or steam leaking out the sides. The plastic spatula and measuring cup are basic but usable. The cup is the typical “rice cooker cup”, smaller than a standard US cup (about 3/4 cup). If you’re picky about coatings and PFAS, Aroma advertises this ceramic coating as made without PFAS, which is a plus if you’re trying to avoid that. Just keep in mind: you still shouldn’t scratch it up or throw it in the dishwasher if you want it to last.

Overall, materials feel like what you’d expect from a budget rice cooker: light, functional, not luxury. If you take normal care of it (no metal spoons, no harsh scrubbers), I’d expect the pot to last a decent amount of time. If you’re rough on your gear, you’ll probably wear the coating down faster. It’s not built like a tank, but for the price bracket, it’s pretty solid.

I obviously haven’t had this exact unit for years, but based on a few weeks of regular use and reading through a bunch of long-term Amazon reviews, I have a decent idea of how it holds up. The basic heating element and switch design are pretty simple, which usually means fewer things to break. People mention using similar Aroma models for years without the mechanics failing. The main wear points seem to be the nonstick coating and the external plastic getting scuffed.

After several cycles, I didn’t notice any peeling or discoloration inside the pot. I always used the included spatula or a silicone spoon and washed it by hand with a soft sponge. If you toss it in the dishwasher regularly or scrape it with metal, I wouldn’t be surprised if the coating starts to dull or chip over time. The manual says hand wash, and honestly, with how small it is, that’s not a big chore. A quick soak and light wipe usually does the job, unless you’ve seriously overcooked something.

The outside plastic body feels stable, no creaks or hot spots. It gets warm while cooking, but not so hot that you’re scared to touch it. The glass lid also feels sturdy enough; dropping it would obviously be a problem, but normal use is fine. The only part that feels a bit "cheap" in terms of durability is the short cord. It’s not detachable, and because it comes out the side, I can see people bending it awkwardly over time to reach outlets. If anything fails first, I’d bet on the cord or the coating before the heating element.

Given the price, I’d say durability is acceptable. This doesn’t feel like a 15-year heirloom appliance, but it also doesn’t feel disposable. If you take basic care of it and don’t abuse the pot, it should last several years of normal use for a small household. If you’re using it daily and being rough with it, don’t expect miracles, but it’s not fragile junk either.

On performance, this thing is clearly tuned for rice first. For regular white rice (I tried both long-grain and jasmine), the results were consistently good once I locked in my ratio. Using the included cup, I did 1 cup rice to the matching water line in the pot, rinsed the rice first, and just hit Cook. It usually finished in about 20–25 minutes for 2 cups uncooked. The rice came out fluffy, not overly sticky, and fully cooked through. It’s not restaurant-level perfection, but for everyday meals, I was happy with it.

For brown rice, you need more patience and water. I had to ignore the printed lines and add a bit extra water, then let it sit on Warm for 10–15 minutes before opening. Once I did that, the texture was decent: not crunchy, not mushy. The downside is that brown rice tends to leave a bit more residue on the bottom, especially if you leave it on Warm too long. I wouldn’t call it burnt, but you get a slightly chewy layer that you either eat or soak off later.

Oatmeal and soups are possible, but they’re more hands-on. Steel-cut oats cooked fine, but they like to bubble and stick around the edges. You definitely don’t want to fill this to the top for anything that foams; it’ll make a mess. For soup, it’s basically a tiny electric pot: it heats, simmers, and keeps things warm. I did a small lentil soup batch and it worked, but you need to stir occasionally to avoid anything thick settling at the bottom and sticking.

The Keep Warm feature is both useful and a bit of a trap. For 20–30 minutes, it’s great: rice stays hot and ready to serve. If you forget it for 1–2 hours, you start to get that thin crust at the bottom, and the texture of the top rice dries out a bit. Also, there’s no OFF setting on the front. It’s either Cooking or Warm, so to fully stop it, you have to unplug it. Not a huge deal, but slightly old-school. Overall, performance is good for rice, acceptable for other stuff, as long as you understand its limits.

Out of the box, the AROMA ARC-363NG is very straightforward. You get the cooker base, a removable inner pot, a glass lid with a vent hole, a small rice measuring cup, and a plastic serving spatula. That’s it. No steaming tray, no fancy accessories. The capacity is 3 cups of uncooked rice, which turns into about 6 cups cooked. In real life, that’s enough for 2 hungry adults with leftovers, or a small family of 3–4 if rice is just a side.

The controls couldn’t be simpler. There’s a single switch: down is “Cook”, up is “Warm”. When it’s cooking, the Cook light is on. When it’s done, the switch pops up and the Warm light turns on. There’s no timer, no delayed start, no way to adjust the temperature. If you’re used to digital cookers with presets, this will feel a bit primitive. On the other hand, if you just want to press one thing and walk away, it’s pretty convenient.

In terms of what it can cook, the manual suggests rice (obviously), oatmeal, soups, stews, chili, and simple one-pot dishes. I tried white rice, jasmine rice, steel-cut oats, and a basic chicken-and-rice mix. Rice worked the best, oats were okay but needed stirring and watching, and the chicken-and-rice was decent but stuck a bit at the bottom when I left it on Warm too long. So yes, it’s “multi-use”, but it’s clearly optimized for rice first.

So, presentation-wise: it’s a basic 1.5-quart rice cooker with a couple of extra tricks. No hidden surprises, good or bad. Just be aware that the “6 cups” they advertise is cooked volume, not what you pour in raw. If you cook big batches regularly or have a large family, this will feel small fast. For singles, couples, or someone in a dorm or small kitchen, the size actually makes sense.