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How to choose the best mini cooker in Singapore for easy, fuss-free meals
Your guide to an all-in-one kitchen appliance that can boil, fry and steam foods
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PHOTO: CORNELL, BEAR
Published Feb 27, 2026, 04:00 AM
Updated Feb 27, 2026, 04:00 AM
If you dislike doing dishes, are short on time to whip up meals from scratch and are usually cooking for one, this is your sign to invest in a mini cooker.
The compact kitchen appliance is ideal for making small servings and versatile enough for boiling, frying and steaming various foods.
Whether you love having an at-home mini hot pot or want an
without having to toil over a stove, learn how to pick the best mini cooker to suit your needs.
In this article
What is a mini cooker?
What can I cook in a mini cooker?
What to look out for when choosing a mini cooker
Best mini cookers to buy in Singapore
What is a mini cooker?
A mini cooker is an all-in-one appliance designed to prepare foods in a variety of ways, with minimal cleanup required. It comprises an inner pot that is heated up by an electric heating element.
Mini cookers can hold up to 1.5 litres, depending on their model. They are small, lightweight and portable, so they can be easily stored away with other pots and pans.
They are also easy to clean and have simple, user-friendly controls that let you switch between low and high cooking modes.
What can I cook in a mini cooker?
PHOTO: BEAR
Mini cookers are best for small households that prefer to have freshly-made food every day. To get a quick, fuss-free meal, just add ingredients and wait.
For example, ingredients for one-pot dishes like stews and soups can be added in the morning and slow-cooked for hours, before a meal later in the day.
Chinese New Year only comes around once a year, but the love for having steamboat transcends the festive season. Instead of preparing a meal with a full-sized
, you can have a single-person mini hot pot meal at home.
Here are some other ways you can use your mini cooker:
Make a 1- to 2-person serving of rice or porridge
Heat or warm items such as dumplings and buns
Stir-fry vegetables and meats
Boil pasta or noodles
Poach chicken and fish fillets
Make desserts like banana cake
What to look out for when choosing a mini cooker
It’s not the size of the appliance but how it can perform in the kitchen - and it’s clear the mini cooker comes out top. When shopping for one, here are some factors to consider before making your purchase.
1. Mini cooker capacity
This might sound like counterintuitive advice, but you don’t want a mini cooker that is too small.
A 1-litre mini cooker will save countertop space, but is unlikely to be large enough to comfortably accommodate a packet of noodles and ingredients like a handful of fishballs.
If having a mini hot pot is your priority, look for one with at least a 1.5-litre capacity. There should be space for the soup to boil without bubbling over.
2. Dual power settings for cooking and keeping food warm
Ideally, you want to be able to cook your food over a precise and adjustable temperature range. However, most mini cookers have extremely simple settings. The most basic and affordable ones only have an on/off switch.
To get the most use out of your mini cooker, choose one that has a low and high power cooking mode. A low power mode allows you to simmer broths and keep food warm; a high power mode lets you quickly boil soups and stir-fry vegetables.
3. Material of your mini cooker’s inner pot
Depending on your preference, choose a mini cooker with an inner pot made of ceramic, stainless steel or one with a non-stick coating.
Stainless steel pot: Food tends to cook more quickly, but if you aren’t careful, ingredients can get stuck to the bottom.
Ceramic pot: The natural non-stick material is easy to clean, but the pot can break more easily than one made of metal.
Metal pot with a non-stick coating: Less oil is required to cook food and cleaning the pot is effortless. However, with repeated use and high heat, the coating does degrade over time. Furthermore, the non-stick coating can be damaged if scratched by metal utensils.
4. Features of the mini cooker
Most importantly, you want to safely cook without tripping the circuit breaker. Look for a pot with auto-shut off safety features in case of overheating or spills.
For those intending to eat straight from the pot - like in the case of a mini hot pot - choose one that has a cool-touch exterior. This way, you can comfortably and safely eat without worrying about accidental burns.
Also, a removable inner pot and power cord would make cleaning more convenient.
Best mini cookers to buy in Singapore
Mayer Personal Electric Cooker With Ceramic Pot, $38.90
This small and compact mini electric cooker quickly heats up and cooks food evenly. For best results, do not fill the ceramic pot to the brim to prevent liquid from bubbling over.
As you eat, toggle the settings to “keep warm” to ensure your meal remains hot. The 600ml mini cooker also comes in white.
This Bear mini cooker has a ceramic coated inner pot that heats up quickly. You can move the cooker around safely by grabbing it securely but the large handle on the side.
Additionally, it comes with overheat protection, so you can simmer your stews and boil your soups for hours without worry.
This 1.6-litre mini cooker from La Gourmet multi cooker comes with a stainless steel inner pot and steamer tray.
Monitor your food as it cooks, by looking through the transparent tempered glass lid. You can safely move the appliance around via its ergonomic bakelite handle.
Boil, steam, or have a steamboat with this durable 1.5L mini cooker. Easily transfer your meal into a bowl or move the pot around using the long handle.
The double-wall cool-touch feature ensures that no accidental burns happen if you touch the cooker’s surface.
Switch between the 2-level temperature controls in this IONA mini cooker. The inner pot is made of non-stick ceramic and it comes with a stainless steel steamer rack.
While the fast boiling option does heat up water in the inner pot quickly, some users have left reviews saying there is no auto-off safety function should the liquid bubble over.
The 1.5-litre pot is made of stainless steel and can get water boiling in just three minutes. It comes with a steam tray which can hold a small amount of food.
When you’re not using the mini cooker for steamboat, you could use it to whip up a variety of dishes - cook noodles, saute vegetables, make fried rice and more.
For those who want a larger cooker, consider this Simplus model. It’s the perfect size for a mini hot pot for two.
This titanium-infused non-stick ceramic pot heats up quickly, thanks to the upgraded heating plate. To keep cooking safe, it comes with dry-burn prevention and high-temperature power-off protection features.
can double up as a mini cooker if you treat it as a hot plate with one fixed temperature.
But a mini rice cooker is a specialised tool made to cook rice efficiently. Not only are you more likely to get perfectly cooked and fluffy rice every time, but the rice is also likely to cook faster than if you used a mini cooker.
I have been a Calorie Restriction (CR) practitioner since 2007. My BMI on the 28th of each month has been in the healthy range of 22.99 < BMI>18.50, except on 5 occasions. Since February 2016, I have changed my diet from mainly plant-based to a mix of both plant-based and non-plant based. Now my daily diet normally includes one or two eggs, soya beans, wholemeal breads, sliced cheese, etc. My daily healthy supplements include Multivitamins, Vitamin C 1000 mg, B-complex 100, Vitamin D 10,000 IU, Biotin 10,000 mcg, Calcium 500 mg and Zinc 30 to 50 mg. I am A non-smoker. I do not take alcohol. I believe in "You are what you eat. You are what you do. You are what you think. You are what you feel." If you feed about 37.2 trillion cells (previous figure 60 trillion cells) of your body with healthy food, you would have a healthy body! [Note: Last update on 2022-10-28 and 2021-06-22]
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