15 non-rice meals you can make with a rice cooker

This might be the easiest cake recipe you'll ever find. You stir a mixture of flour, sugar, milk and eggs together in a bowl (I personally add a dash of vanilla extract, but that's just me); pour the batter in your rice cooker; and press a button. That's it. A half-hour or so later, you have a cake that is moist and perfect every time. There's no excuse not to try this one. You can follow along with the full recipe here.

Perfect for a luxurious Sunday brunch, this rice cooker polenta recipe is creamy, rich and luscious, featuring a blend of cheddar and Parmesan cheeses. The recipe recommends cooking chopped onions and garlic in the rice cooker for 15 minutes before preparing the polenta itself, in order to soften them and allow them to melt into the polenta, deepening the flavors. Follow along with the full recipe here.

This recipe comes from a somewhat unlikely source — a popular Japanese cartoon show called "Yakitate!! Japan." The show is an over-the-top cooking program that focuses on bread-baking, and one of the episodes contains two-minute step-by-step instructions on how to make a light, fluffy round of bread in your rice cooker in just a few hours. Written instructions can be found on wikiHow.

Just Bento has this wonderful recipe for a frittata that is perfect for home cooks for whom kitchen space might be sparse. Because of the way the rice cooker, well, cooks, this veggie frittata won't have crusty brown edges but will instead be light, moist and fluffy the whole way through. Simply stir the eggs, vegetables and spices together in the rice cooker; push the button; and when the cycle finishes, you'll be rewarded handsomely. Step-by-step instructions can be found here!

For this recipe, the rice cooker is used as a kind of pickling jar to create a flavorful and tart kimchi. Sure, this takes some time to ferment (24 hours in the rice cooker, to be exact), but you don't even have to turn it on! After the day passes, simply transfer the cabbage mix to an airtight jar and let it sit for a few more days to complete the fermentation process. Recipe can be found here..

If you have a rice cooker but not a slow cooker, it might surprise you to know that the rice cooker is equally capable of making a game-day chili. Really, the rice cooker works with any chili recipe (yes, even your famous chocolate chipotle beer chili), whether you're dealing with steak, ground beef, turkey or even vegetables. This specific recipe, courtesy of kitchenability.com, however, is a classic chicken chili, and there are step-by-step instructions there that you can follow along with. 

Yes, you read that right. No, I'm not joking. You can, very easily, make tender and juicy beer-braised ribs in your own little rice cooker. After browning the ribs on the hot cooking surface, simply add beer, stock and your favorite barbecue sauce. In an hour, you'll be rewarded with the easiest rack of barbecued ribs you're ever likely to make. Follow along with the full recipe at Food.com.

It just so happens that a rice cooker is the perfect vessel for making one of the most delicious and elegant desserts you're liable to cook. Luckily, it's also one of the easiest. Simply put your pears in the rice cooker, and using the steaming function, allow them to poach in the poaching liquid of your choice. This recipe, via Aroma Housewares, is for port-poached pears, but it can be modified for different poaching liquids (and even fruits)! Follow along here.

Since rice cookers are built to make rice, it might not be a surprise to learn that they're equally capable while preparing other grains or even cereals. The Kitchn has a simple, foolproof recipe for set-and-forget oatmeal that can be found here.

Speaking of grains and cereals, your rice cooker is a perfect vessel for cooking quinoa as well. Simply throw your quinoa into the rice cooker with a liquid of your choice (personally, I love cooking quinoa in a mix of chicken broth, lemon juice and pickle juice) at a ratio of one part quinoa to two parts liquid, and then press the start button. In 15 minutes, you'll have a protein-packed and gluten-free delight perfect for use in salads, side dishes or simply for eating on its own. Step-by-step quinoa prep instructions can be found on momadvice.com.

The great thing about cooking pasta in the rice cooker is that it's a one-pot affair. The rice cooker allows you to cook the meat, the pasta and the sauce in the same pan, causing the flavors to meld together and stick to the pasta itself. As an added bonus, you only need to wash one pot! Follow along with the simple recipe here, but feel free to add your own twists to it, adding and removing ingredients as you see fit.

The word "epic" gets thrown around a lot these days, but in this case, it's warranted. Look at that thing. The recipe is simple; all that's necessary is making pancake batter according to the box recipe and pouring it into the rice cooker. You can even add chocolate chips, berries, bananas or any of your other favorite pancake ingredients to take your epic pancake to the next level. Take a look at the full recipe here.

If you live somewhere with a finicky oven, next time you make cupcakes, consider using your rice cooker. On the steam setting, you can actually bake up some deliciously moist steamed cupcakes using boxed cake mix. All you have to do is set your cupcake mold in the steam tray of your rice cooker and bake according to the on-box instructions. Full instructions can be found at Aroma Housewares.

Yes, you can cook an entire pork roast in your rice cooker. Much like cooking in the oven (or the slow cooker), the key is applying consistent heat. This recipe, via Japanese-kitchen.net, adds Chinese flavors by coating the pork in a mixture of hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sugar, though you can improvise your sauce as you see fit. Full instructions can be found here.

This recipe takes a little more effort than most of the others, but it's well worth it for a one-pot shepherd's pie. Sure, your guests might not believe you when you tell them that the tiny little rice cooker over on your counter prepared these hearty, delicious little ramekins full of beefy goodness, but that's their problem, not yours. You can follow along with the full recipe over at Loft48.