Black & Decker 14-Cup Rice Cooker

A big-batch cooker that keeps it simple

I put the Black & Decker cooker through several weeks of weeknight dinners and weekend meal prep to see where a basic, large-capacity rice cooker fits into a modern kitchen. Its promise is straightforward: cook a lot of rice without fuss, keep it warm when it’s done, and offer a quick way to steam vegetables with the included basket. If you want bells and whistles, this isn’t that. If you want uncomplicated, family-size rice with minimal button pressing, this is very much that.

Design and build

The footprint is reasonably compact for the capacity: about 10.5 by 10.5 inches at the base, 8.8 inches across the body, and 10.5 inches tall. At 5.4 pounds, it’s light enough to shuffle in and out of a cabinet without strain. The removable nonstick inner bowl is the hero of cleanup—thick enough to feel sturdy, smooth enough that rice releases easily, and dishwasher-safe if you’d rather not hand wash.

Up top, a tempered glass lid lets you keep an eye on bubbling starch; the locking mechanism does a decent job limiting splatter and stabilizing the lid when you move the cooker. The controls are refreshingly old-school: a single lever that toggles between Cook and Keep Warm, with a warm indicator light to let you know it’s in holding mode. The power cord is fixed (not detachable), so you’ll want an outlet within reach.

The included plastic steamer basket nests at the top for vegetables or dumplings. It’s not large enough for a full family’s worth of broccoli when the pot is near max capacity, but it’s fine for side portions or for steaming while rice cooks below.

Setup and ease of use

There’s no learning curve here. Rinse your rice, measure water, drop the bowl into the base, and press the lever down. The cooker auto-switches to Keep Warm when it finishes. There’s no on/off button—when you’re done warming, you unplug it.

The inner bowl’s capacity is advertised at 14 cups (cooked), and for best results I found it sensible to avoid pushing it to the absolute brim. Ten to twelve cups cooked leaves enough headroom to reduce boil-overs and yields more consistent texture. Graduated markings inside the bowl are easy to see against the nonstick, and the glass lid helps you spot foaming starch early—a quick stir, a drop of oil, or rinsing more thoroughly beforehand can help tame that.

Cooking performance

• White rice (long-grain and jasmine): With a rinse and a 1:1.2 to 1:1.25 rice-to-water ratio, the cooker turned out fluffy, separate grains in about 25–35 minutes for typical family quantities (2–4 “rice-cooker cups” uncooked). Texture leans classic rice-cooker: the top is airy, the bottom slightly more compact. I didn’t see scorching unless I forgot to rinse or overreduced the water.

• Medium/short-grain: Using a touch more water (about 1:1.3), I got a cohesive, tender pot suitable for bowls and sushi rice prep. Letting it sit on Keep Warm for 10 minutes before fluffing improved uniformity.

• Brown rice: There’s no dedicated brown rice mode, but with a 1:1.8 ratio and patience, it finished reliably in ~50–60 minutes for moderate quantities. The chew was good, though the very bottom layer can compact slightly if left on warm too long.

The Keep Warm mode maintains a safe, steady temperature without aggressively drying the rice, but like most simple cookers, it benefits from timing. Within 1–2 hours, moisture and texture hold up well. Beyond that, you’ll notice the outer grains firming and a bit of condensation collecting under the lid. If you’re meal-prepping, I’d suggest portioning to containers soon after it switches to warm.

Steaming with the basket

The basket is handy for quick sides. I often steamed green beans, broccoli, or carrots while white rice cooked below. Timing matters: broccoli florets go from crisp-tender to mushy fast, so I’d start steaming 8–10 minutes before the rice is due to finish rather than from the beginning. Condensation occasionally drips from the lid, which can carry a hint of starch; that didn’t bother me, but if you want pristine vegetables, steam them with water only or line the basket with parchment perforated with a few holes.

Capacity and real-world constraints

Marketing a “14-cup” capacity sounds generous, but any basic rice cooker operates best with margin. I’d call this a comfortable 10–12 cups cooked for optimal texture and minimal mess. Pushing to full capacity amplifies bubbling and can lead to minor starchy sputter under the lid rim. For big family dinners or weekly batch cooking, it’s still an asset—just plan a little headroom.

Cleaning and maintenance

The nonstick bowl wipes clean with a sponge, and stuck-on bits (rare for me) released after a short soak. Being dishwasher-safe adds convenience, though I still hand-washed it to preserve the coating. The glass lid and locking ring are straightforward to clean; the ring collects a bit of starch film after large batches, so a quick scrub around the gasket area is smart. Wipe the heating plate and the little condensation channel in the base to keep everything tidy and smelling fresh.

What it doesn’t do

This is a single-minded cooker: no presets, no delay timer, no sauté or multi-grain programs, and no audible end-of-cook chime. It won’t replace a multi-cooker or a fuzzy-logic model if you want fine control, porridge programs, or timed starts for morning congee. You also can’t switch it fully “off” without unplugging.

Reliability and warranty

I experienced one reliability hiccup during my time with the unit: on a weeknight dinner with a mid-size batch, the Cook light didn’t engage on the first press. Reseating the inner pot solved it that evening, but a few weeks later the lever failed to latch entirely and the cooker wouldn’t heat. I exchanged it under the 2-year limited warranty and the replacement has functioned normally since, but the incident dents my confidence for daily, high-frequency use. The warranty coverage is reassuring; just keep your proof of purchase and test your unit thoroughly during the return window.

Who it’s for

• Families or meal-preppers who want a big-batch, low-friction rice cooker for white and brown rice.
• Cooks who value a dishwasher-safe nonstick bowl and a see-through lid.
• Anyone who appreciates a simple Cook/Keep Warm workflow and doesn’t need timers or advanced programs.

Who should look elsewhere:

• Daily rice eaters who want consistently perfect texture over long warm-holds, or advanced programmability.
• Users who prioritize rock-solid durability above all else.
• Kitchens where a detachable cord and a true “off” switch are must-haves.

Pros

• Large capacity in a compact, lightweight body
• Easy, one-lever operation with automatic Keep Warm
• Nonstick, dishwasher-safe bowl simplifies cleanup
• Tempered glass lid and locking ring reduce splatter and let you monitor cooking
• Included steamer basket adds versatility for quick vegetables

Cons

• Basic feature set: no timer, modes, or off button
• Texture dries at the edges if kept warm for long periods
• Best results below max capacity; full 14-cup fills can sputter
• Fixed power cord
• Reliability concerns based on my experience, mitigated by the 2-year limited warranty

The bottom line

The Black & Decker cooker nails the brief of a straightforward, big-capacity rice cooker that keeps dinner moving with minimal thought. It reliably cooks white and brown rice, holds temperature safely, and makes cleanup painless. The ability to steam vegetables while rice finishes is a nice bonus for weeknights.

However, the simplicity comes with trade-offs. Without a timer or cooking modes, you’re driving the process the old-fashioned way, and long warm-holds aren’t this cooker’s strong suit. More importantly, the reliability issue I encountered gives me pause if you plan to use it hard, day in and day out.

Recommendation: I recommend this cooker cautiously for households that want an uncomplicated, family-size machine for occasional to moderate use and value an easy-clean nonstick bowl and see-through lid. If you expect heavy daily use or need rock-solid reliability and programmability, I would not recommend it—in that case, investing in a more robust, feature-rich model will serve you better over time.