Best Electric Griddle 2023

This grill from Presto has as basic a design as is possible: the cooking griddle has the heating element inside and simply sits on the leg/handle assemblies. These clip off to make the base fit in most kitchen cabinets when turned upright, despite its relatively large size.

We can’t be sure how many times these clips can be taken on and off before they become unreliable, but the grill as a whole is reassuringly stable once assembled.

The removable handles also make it much easier to wash the plate in a sink, although you’ll have to turn the dirty griddle upside down to get at them. This will rarely be much of an issue, though: the high-quality non-stick coating facilitates cleaning and the surface is slightly textured to help food slide off more easily.

Decent Quality in an Economical Package

One nice feature of this griddle is the sturdy aluminum plate, which gets hot quickly and spreads power around fairly evenly. The area directly above the heating element does get noticeably hotter than the rest, but not disastrously so.

The thermostat also has a shorter cycle time than usual, allowing more accurate temperature control. As with any electric griddle, however, it’s still a good idea to allow enough preheating time before starting to cook.

Room for Improvement

One consequence of this Presto’s minimalist layout is that there’s no plastic or stainless steel body to prevent careless elbows from touching the hot cooking plate. People with small children or cats may want to look elsewhere due to this factor alone.

Also, while the grease tray works reasonably well and can be popped into the dishwasher, it’s on the small side and made of fragile plastic. Replacements are available from the manufacturer, but we would have liked to have seen a little extra effort spent on this simple yet important detail.

This GR-5B is basically an upgraded GR-4N (reviewed further down this page); it looks a little sexier and controls the temperature more exactly. It also shares some of the same flaws: the weight of the upper part is enough to crumple up delicate foods, while the button and clips that hold the grill plates in position seem a little rickety.

Good for Beginners

Simply put, the GR-5B can become your all-in-one solution for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s a good choice for inexperienced cooks who like precise settings that lead to predictable results and who might be intimidated by a machine that relies on a simple thermostat.

This is all down to its digital controls in the form of an LCD display backlit in stylish blue, which includes a preheating monitor that indicates when the grill is hot enough to start cooking. Significantly, this allows you to set the temperature much more exactly than when using a knob that’s only roughly accurate, and it also decreases the warm-up time to only 5 minutes or so.

Along with the built-in timer, this level of control makes anything from frozen burger patties to pancakes come out the same way each time. The manual includes a handful of recipes to help you get started.

A Couple of Nice Extras, and One Annoying Flaw

As with the GR-4N, you can buy waffle plates to extend this grill’s functionality. When cooking meat, you’ll also appreciate the automated sear function: instead of having to regulate the temperature manually, the machine can be set to go up to to 450 degrees for two minutes before backing down and continuing to cook at a lower temperature. This improves flavor remarkably and also ensures that you get those beautiful grill marks.

The timer only beeps, though, and doesn’t turn off the grill in case you’re busy elsewhere. Actually, “beeps” is being generous; the sound it makes is not far short of a shriek, which is something to consider when preparing breakfast while others are still asleep.

Another thing to mention is that though the lower half has a drip tray, the lip around the cooking surfaces isn’t very tall and there’s no way of leveling out the machine. This makes a spill more likely and limits its usefulness when cooking for a large number of people.

Still, this is without question something we’d buy. Assuming that you need a fairly capable grill that’s ridiculously easy to use, you won’t go far wrong with the GR-5B.

One question most people ask themselves when selecting a new appliance is: “How will this thing end up looking in my kitchen?” Appearance is also important when serving food directly from the grill at the table, or using it as a cook-your-own centerpiece, yet it’s not enough of a reason to settle for an otherwise inadequate machine.

One major advantage this Secura grill has over the Oster DuraCeramic CKSTGR3007 in terms of looks is the clear, hinged glass lid, which helps to prevent droplets of hot oil from being spit onto your guests and also keeps more of the heat inside (though not as effective as the Zojirushi Gourmet Sizzler’s lid). This allows you to add a little theater and interactivity to a meal, which is rarely a waste of effort.

Nearly as Good as a Gas Grill

Although the body is made from plastic, it’s fairly rugged and remains cool enough to carry from place to place. The griddle plate, too, is reassuringly solid and heavy, and has the heating element cast in. Both of these factors contribute to even heat distribution, while 1,800 watts of power spread over a relatively small area makes this grill capable of perfectly cooking almost anything you would normally place on an outdoor grill.

Though the reversible grill/griddle plate is coated with some kind of non-stick substance, this is easily scratched with metal utensils. The manufacturer recommends that you season it as needed, especially before using it at high temperatures.

This isn’t difficult: simply brush or wipe down the entire surface with a little oil, turn up the heat for a few minutes and let it cool down again. This process seals off the microscopic pores in the surface and makes food much less likely to stick; it’s also something you shouldn’t try with a ceramic surface like those on Oster products.

A Couple of Minor Annoyances

Although the lid is a feature many people will appreciate, condensation steams it up very quickly, and when it’s opened the droplets don’t all fall into the grease tray. There is, at least, a fair amount of vertical space underneath, so you can close it when making baked potatoes or corn on the cob.

The dripping pan, although large, is easy to position incorrectly. You also have to wait for the appliance to cool down before you can empty it – unlike gas grills, you can’t use this model continuously for a whole afternoon (our best gas grill of a previous review, among others, can empty the dripping pan while in use).

Considering the uses for which this grill is intended, this isn’t that much of a flaw, and the relatively low price is enough to make us overlook the somewhat shoddy performance of the non-stick coating. A much bigger problem is that of storage: storing it vertically will make the lid, drip tray, and cooking plate fall out if it tips the wrong way.

If you’ve never encountered raclette before, your world is about to get a little bigger. A traditional dish from the Alps, raclette involves melting cheese in a special pan and pouring the gooey deliciousness over small boiled potatoes or fresh bread, along with pickles, meats, and assorted vegetables.

This kind of meal can easily last for hours, with plenty of drinks and laughter along the way. Since all the ingredients are pre-sliced and cooked by the diners themselves, there’s also no pressure on the host.

Only Barely an Electric Grill/Griddle

The way raclette is usually served is to cycle food through the grill continually as individual portions of cheese melt. This machine is geared entirely toward this way of cooking: the upper portion consists of a nicely heavy plate divided into grill and griddle sections, while the included cheese trays rest below while heating. This raclette level is accessible from all sides, though things will get a little crowded when all eight trays are in use simultaneously.

This is fine as far as it goes, but this grill, in addition to having to distribute heat both upwards and downwards, is really not the most powerful beast on the block. It takes its time getting hot, and will struggle with items such as grilled cheese sandwiches and whole chicken breasts even after lengthy pre-heating.

Not a Jack-of-All-Trades

It is, in fact, a good idea to slice any meats and vegetables destined for this grill very thinly and even pre-cook some of them. In addition, there’s no drip pan included, so fatty cuts might be problematic. This Hamilton Beach product is really meant to be used as a raclette station, though it can function as a grill in a pinch.

A couple of other things that bother us are that all the loose pieces, plus the machine’s basic size, make it difficult to find a place to store it between uses, while the plastic handles on the somewhat flimsy raclette trays can’t be expected to last forever. The power cord is also ridiculously short considering that this appliance is otherwise perfect for use on the dinner table.

So, to sum up all of the above: this appliance is well worth owning for the novelty factor and the hours of fun it can provide you. If you’re looking for a generic electrical griddle, however, you can find better.

Speaking in general, we at All the Stuff aren’t huge fans of single-use appliances: if something is going to take up space in a kitchen, it had better earn its keep in more ways than one. We are, however, willing to make an exception for a gadget that triggers serious cuteness overload.

Limited but Adorable

Single people fanatic about their favorite kind of snack will love this little machine, which could easily find its way into a work break room, dorm, or hotel room or, alternatively, make a much-appreciated gift for the right person. You could, for instance, buy the set of three and give two of the machines away, or choose between a miniature grill, griddle, or waffle maker.

The word “bite-sized” definitely applies: it’s only large enough to cook a single hashbrown, burger patty, pancake, cookie or fried egg at one time. The cooking surface is slightly too small to accommodate a slice of bread unless you slice the corners off, which is mildly annoying.

It Has One Job

As long as you’re cooking for one, the Dash Mini Maker is super-convenient and easy to incorporate into your morning or coffee break routine. Each unit has to be purchased separately: the pans are not interchangeable, which may actually be a good thing as far as reliability and even heating is concerned.

It takes only a few minutes to get to operating temperature, while the non-stick coating is impressively durable. Be prepared for some mess, though. With no provision for grease to drain off and an interior space that has only about half an inch of headroom inside, it will struggle to cook a thick, juicy hamburger patty without spilling some grease onto the counter.

It won’t, in other words, do all of what you would expect from a high-end model like the Oster DuraCeramic CKSTGR3007, but it’s perfectly satisfactory at the task it was designed for.

This product is superficially similar to the Cuisinart GR-5B in that it’s a contact grill that can fold open to double your cooking area. It also has a digital interface rather than an analog thermostat, which is very handy if precise control is important to you.

Apart from simply being larger, this model distinguishes itself from the GR-5B by allowing you to control the temperature of the two cooking plates independently. You can, for instance, use one side as a griddle for pancakes while grilling sausages on the other. These dishwasher-safe, reversible grill/griddle plates also have the heating element inside, for faster preheating and to maintain their set temperature more consistently.

Useful Features all Around

Like the GR-5B, this grill’s control panel allows you to select a sear function when cooking meat. This simply raises the temperature to as high as 500°F for 2 minutes on both or either plate.

A function like this makes it easy to slightly char meat so that it’s properly browned on the outside, then cook it more gently to reach pink doneness in the center. If you’ve had trouble getting thick steaks or chops the way you like them on an electric grill, this may be exactly what you need.

One welcome improvement over the GR-5B is the ability to adjust the distance between the top and bottom plate to keep a thick sandwich from being crushed, or alternatively to use the top as a kind of broiler to toast the upper surface of open-faced sandwiches. Contrariwise, it’s not possible to buy waffle plates for this model due to the electrical heating element being integrated into the plates themselves.

Worth Paying Extra For?

Like the other two Cuisinart products we’ve chosen to feature here, the GR300WS is solidly constructed without going overboard. That having been said, it takes a little dexterity to use, as installing the plates correctly and using the stand-off lever can be tricky. Just be patient and don’t try to force them. The top plate also doesn’t “float” too well to remain aligned with the bottom, meaning that you might need to use an oven mitt to nudge it into position.

Again like the GR-5B, this grill has a preheat indicator, though (like with most indoor electric grills) it pays to wait a few minutes extra for the plate to heat evenly over the whole surface. Something that will be a concern for some people is its sheer size: not only does it take up almost 4 square feet when folded open, but low cabinets may also get in the way of the handle when using it as a contact grill.

Oster, a respected name in the world of appliance manufacturing, seems to share some of its customers’ misgivings about the possible dangers of plastic non-stick coatings. The notion that Teflon and similar substances release dangerous chemicals is still far from proven, but many people are saying “better safe than sorry” and opting for ceramic cookware instead.

The Pros and Cons of Ceramic

We’re hesitant to say that ceramic griddle plates are universally better or worse than those with a non-stick coating. Each has its advantages, while the quality of non-stick materials varies greatly between manufacturers. What ceramic does have going for it is that it doesn’t wear, chip, or flake off even with extended use, it conducts heat a little better, and all things being equal it is just as easy to clean as high-grade Teflon.

If all goes well, all you should need to do is wipe down the surface with a damp cloth or sponge when you’re done. If this doesn’t work, unfortunately, you’re not supposed to use anything more abrasive than baking soda. Many buyers of this product have found that their otherwise pristine white griddle gets stained permanently and quickly, especially around the area where the heating element is located. This quickly ruins the appearance of what is otherwise a very stylish appliance.

All we can say is that you should be aware of this possibility and follow the instructions in the manual to the letter. Metal spatulas, for instance, are a no-no, while proper pre-heating is a must. Use as little oil as possible (in many cases, you won’t actually need any), steer clear of cooking sprays that contain who-knows-what, and make sure to clean the appliance after every use.

Warming Rack for the Win!

Assuming that you can live with the ceramic cooking plate, this is a good option for people who often serve a leisurely Sunday breakfast. This is due to its warming rack, which effectively doubles the amount of space available to you.

Ironically, considering the ceramic griddle, the warming platter is actually made of some kind of plastic. Apart from any health concerns, this makes it and the drip tray as well somewhat flimsy and easy to dislodge accidentally. This product is therefore not entirely suitable for use at the table itself. The Hamilton Beach 38518R Durathon doesn’t have this problem, and also uses a brownish ceramic surface that will show any burnt-on stains less, but unfortunately lacks a warming rack.

Joking aside, Japanese cuisine is about a lot more than sushi and sashimi. An electric griddle does have its place in the Land of the Rising Sun, right between the pressure cooker and steamer. They’re not necessarily used in the same way as in the West, though, which leads to some interesting differences in this Zojirushi product.

An Exception to Some Rules

For one thing, there is no drip tray or provision for grease to drain off. This, along with the high lip running around the sides, makes it possible to use this electric griddle for stirfries that include sauce, but cooking up a whole pound of streaky bacon will leave your rashers swimming in a lake of fat.

Another feature unique to this grill is the lid. Unlike that on the Secura GR-1503XL, this closes tightly to seal in heat and eliminate droplets of liquid splattering all over your countertop and walls. With only about two inches of space underneath the lid, you might have trouble fitting in some objects, but the ability to cover your food as it’s cooking is a definite plus.

Elegantly Engineered

Zojirushi is known for its thoughtful design and high-quality appliances, and this electric griddle is no exception. It does contain some plastic parts that will most certainly break if abused, but in general, the build quality is very high.

The non-stick treatment is worth a mention: made of a Teflon-like substance over a layer of ceramic, it’s extremely durable and resistant to food buildup. The surface is slightly textured, which supposedly helps food to slide off, though we couldn’t tell you exactly how this works.

Although the element isn’t incorporated into the cooking plate itself, hot and cold spots don’t seem to be much of a problem. The handles remain cool and, along with the non-grease-trap design, make it easy to move your meal to the dinner table to finish cooking in front of your guests.

In contrast to many electric indoor griddles, the power cord is about 6 feet long, eliminating the need for an extension cord in some settings. The body can be washed with water, though not the tray containing the electrical element.

If there is one major criticism to make of this otherwise great appliance, it is that controlling the temperature is not at all easy. The pan gets very, very hot, and turning down the dial doesn’t seem to reduce the heat in the way you’d expect.

Depending on what they’re cooking, this shouldn’t be a catastrophic problem for experienced chefs, but people who prefer to follow recipes that give clear instructions on time and temperatures would do better with a model that offers digital controls. Perhaps the Cuisinart GR-300WS Griddler Elite.

A venerable old workhorse that has graced many thousands of kitchen counters over the years, the Cuisinart GR-4N is many a cook’s idea of what an electric grill should be.

Its most important design feature, which it shares with the GR-5B and GR-300WS Elite from the same manufacturer, is that it has two cooking surfaces. It can be used either side by side, or to cook food from the top and bottom simultaneously. Each cooking plate can be reversed to switch between a grill or griddle surface, making this a pretty versatile machine that becomes a waffle maker once you purchase some extra accessories.

Several Points in its Favor

The value of being able to use it in the flat, open grill position, with the upper part resting on its handle, or to close it up when needed, shouldn’t be underestimated. You can, for instance, use one section for meat and the other for a vegetarian dish without worrying about the juices mixing, or prepare a hot sandwich in half the time by heating it from both sides. This kind of design is also much easier to store.

When used as a press, the top stays roughly parallel to the bottom, allowing you to cook a thicker item without crushing it on one side. As far as sandwiches go, the weight of the lid is enough to apply some pressure and will squeeze the cheese out of an overstuffed sandwich. On the other hand, it will not squash a panini into crispy perfection – you’ll have to keep a hand on the handle if you find this more authentic.

But Not what Everyone Will Want

If you’re looking to buy your first electric grill, and your favorite kitchen appliance at present is a microwave, you will probably be better off with the very similar GR-5B model below or even something like the Dash DMS001AQ Mini Maker. Using most electric grills, though less complicated than making a soufflé, still requires a bit of experience and judgment. This model is meant to help you cook breakfast, not do all the work for you while you get ready for your day.

The thermostat control, like that found on most electric grills, simply switches on the element until it gets hot enough before turning it off to cool again. This leads to a wide variation in temperature that the cook has to compensate for, while pre-heating it properly will take at least 15 minutes.

Quality about Par for the Course

While this isn’t the best electric griddle you can buy, you can expect to get several years of satisfying use out of it, assuming that you’re willing to get used to the knob controls and a few other quirks.

The non-stick coating works well enough, though you will probably want to spray or oil this grill before use. The top half doesn’t get quite as hot as the bottom one, and we have some doubts about the durability of the mechanism that keeps the reversible plates in position.

On the positive side, the stainless steel body, grease trap, and dishwasher-safe cooking panels make cleaning up afterward a breeze.

Overall, though, the GR-4N’s design is now a little bit dated and has been superseded by the GR-5B, which is physically similar but doesn’t require the same amount of care and attention to produce the best results.

Like the Presto 07061, this product from Hamilton Beach is straightforward and uncomplicated to use. It measures a little smaller than the Presto and uses a ceramic cooking plate instead of aluminum with a nonstick coating, which will most likely be the major factor when deciding on one over the other.

The Perfect Start to the Weekend

Cooking a variety of foods for breakfast becomes easy with this griddle: the surface heats up evenly and is large enough to serve about four people simultaneously. Curiously, it seems to get hotter than other grills even at the same temperature setting, perhaps because the ceramic surface conducts heat better. You will probably want to set the temperature for your favorite recipes about 50° lower than you normally do, or risk food burning and sticking.

If this should happen, you do have a problem. The cooking plate is not meant to be cleaned with scouring pads or similar implements, which leaves soaking as your only option. Fortunately, the whole thing except for the power cord and temperature controller can be submerged, while the copper-colored griddle is less likely to show stains than the white surface on the Oster DuraCeramic CKSTGRFM18W.

It simply takes some time to learn the ropes of a ceramic griddle: as long as you clean it immediately after use, you should have a good experience, especially as ceramics tend to do a good job of spreading heat around evenly and mostly eliminate pesky hot spots.

Somewhat Portable, Somewhat Durable

Though you may have to tilt the machine slightly to let bacon grease drain away, the ceramic surface repels oil, making low-fat cooking easier. This griddle also manages to avoid a flaw that’s unfortunately common among others of its type: the grease tray is not too finicky or likely to spill. This, along with its cool-touch handles, makes it easy to carry to the breakfast table to keep your eggs and bacon warm.

Overall, despite the plastic body, this is an economical, high-quality product that does exactly what it claims to, but little else. It’s not designed for heavy use, but shouldn’t break as long as it’s treated with respect. If you’re not familiar with ceramic cookware and don’t want to take a chance, however, you might be better off with something like the Presto.

We thought that we should at least feature one product which is similar to, but still quite different from, the flattops you’ll find in restaurant kitchens. Though not rated, at least for warranty purposes, as a commercial-grade appliance, this griddle’s designers have considered function a lot more important than appearance.

Hamburgers for a Horde

This particular machine features very solid construction and will stand up to hours of continuous use, even outdoors. To this end, it’s based on a heavy (4 lbs) cooking plate into which the electrical element is integrated for more efficient heating.

Unlike any of the other griddles we’ve selected, this Broil King’s rear legs can be adjusted to make grease flow into the slide-out drip tray a little faster. The whole setup seems to work pretty well even when cooking a mass of fatty bacon.

Complete novices at grilling might have some trouble, though. The low lip around the cooking area makes it possible to spill food, while the non-stick surface will not stand up well to scraping and scrubbing. The idea is obviously to not burn the food you’re cooking to begin with; luckily, this griddle lets you use plenty of lubrication if you feel the need.

It’s also necessary to allow this machine plenty of time to get hot. While the temperature becomes fairly even over the entire plate given time, this is certainly not the case when it’s just been turned on.

Easy to Clean, but Buyer Beware

Another useful feature is the stainless steel spatter guard that pops in at the rear to keep your kitchen’s paintwork from becoming an Impressionist painting. This also allows you to use your griddle on one side of a counter or table while serving people opposite. When you’re done for the day, the entire unit can be immersed in water (your sink at home is probably not large enough to do so easily, though).

Sadly, although this model of griddle has received good reviews from several cooking magazines, reading about the experience of some customers gives us the impression that Broil King’s quality assurance is not all it should be. There have been numerous complaints about glaring manufacturing errors with regards to the cast aluminum cooking plate and the temperature controller on the power cord. This is especially ironic considering how proud this company is to manufacture its products in the United States.

Like the other Oster product on our list, the DuraCeramic CKSTGR3007 uses a proprietary ceramic coating instead of plastic to create a non-stick surface. This is just about all the two have in common, though, with the lack of a warming tray on this model being the most important difference.

As with all natural ceramic grilling surfaces, this one requires a bit of special care: if your grandmother is used to saucepans that can be used with any kind of oil and scrubbed to within an inch of their lives, this will not make a good birthday gift for her.

Good for Barbecue

When it comes to electrical grills, heat and power output are acquainted with one another, but they’re not quite married. A great deal depends on how energy actually travels from the electrical heating element to the food itself.

A ceramic cooking surface helps here, as it will cool down less at the moment a cold steak or pork chop is put down on it, making it easier to achieve the best kind of sizzle right from the start. More significantly, many electric grills are laid out with the heating element separate from the cooking plate, meaning that heat has to travel through the air in between before getting to where it’s needed.

This grill does not have that problem: with multiple heating elements distributed across the entire cooking surface and embedded right into the plate material, you can expect the even, robust heat that larger cuts of meat need to shine. You’ll still need to let this pre-heat for at least ten minutes or so, however; a grill like the Presto 07061 is a better option for making a quick breakfast.

A Couple of Troublesome Aspects

The removable plate, base, and dripping tray are all dishwasher safe, though it’s not possible to empty the grease catcher without taking everything apart. You’ll have to store the cooking plate separately unless you have the cupboard space for it to sit horizontally, which few people do have.

It’s also necessary to take some care when positioning the drip tray. Or risk making a mess, as the grease holes don’t always align properly.

On a similar note, though we like the uncomplicated design, a lid or splatter guard would have been useful, especially for grilling meat. The lack of this feature is why we prefer the Secura GR-1503XL for barbecuing. The latter, like this Oster, has a cooking plate that can be reversed to become a griddle, though this is coated with Teflon rather than ceramic.

Aside from the lack of a lid, the electrical plug is also an area of concern on this model. It’s just not very sturdy when inserted and, like most thermostat probes, allows the temperature to vary around the setpoint by a noticeable amount. This means that you’ll have to stand by your food while it’s cooking; if you’re in search of something more automated, the Cuisinart GR-300WS Griddler Elite is worth a look.