We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.
Your breakfast is about to get super delicious. 35 electric griddle
Jonathan Bender is an ecommerce food writer, who is constantly looking to find better tools and methods in the kitchen. He was previously the food editor for Kansas City PBS and is the author of Cookies & Beer, and Stock, Broth & Bowl. He is open to sandwich recommendations.
Perfectly crisped bacon. Gooey grilled cheese. Gently browned buttermilk pancakes churned out until everybody pushes back from the table and raises their hands in blissful surrender. All of this and more is possible with the right electric griddle. But what makes a griddle great? I set out to find out by putting some of the most popular options to the test.
Essentially flat-top cooking surfaces that can be plugged into the wall, electric griddles free up your stove and can even be taken on the road. While in the midst of a kitchen renovation with no working appliances, I had the perfect opportunity to determine the most reliable griddle for daily cooking tasks. After making 42 grilled cheese sandwiches, 88 slices of bacon, and nearly 200 pancakes, I rated each griddle on the quality of the design and materials, cooking efficiency, and overall value. Since I also only had access to the smallest sink in our home, ease of cleanup was a key metric as well.
If I was able to find a favorite while cooking on a bench in my living room, you can certainly count on one of these picks to help you make breakfast for a crowd. Read on to discover the best electric griddles—backed by my testing.
To get a sense of each model's strengths and weaknesses, I cooked like I was feeding a crowd by making grilled cheese (a pair of American cheese slices placed between butter-slathered white bread), center-cut bacon, and pancakes.
Over the course of three weeks, I made 42 grilled cheese sandwiches, 88 slices of bacon, and enough pancakes (close to 200) to feed a small elementary school. I also learned the maximum number of grilled cheese sandwiches you can give your neighbor for lunch is six sandwiches. As I cooked, I took notes on each griddle, observing the following:
Why It's Great: Heats evenly; comes with a lid and spatula; high sides prevent splatter; disassembles for easy cleaning
Grain of Salt: Requires more storage space; doesn't include a drip tray
Zojirushi took the top spot thanks to its solid cooking performance and foolproof cleanup. Though it has a slightly higher price tag, this griddle comes with a very real benefit: you don't have to watch your food as closely or rotate it as often to achieve the even browning you're looking for in pancakes and grilled cheese. During tests, cheese didn't stick to the cooktop and pancakes were easy to flip. It has a temperature range of 176°F to 425°F, so you can keep food warm or fry an entire 16-ounce package of bacon. While the grates do leave a distinct, dimpled pattern on the food you cook, it doesn't impact the taste or texture.
When I cooked bacon, the extra room (it's 12.5 x 19 inches) and the higher sides of the cooking surface helped keep the strips from drowning in grease and splattering off the table, but the lack of a drain and drip tray meant that bacon grease had a tendency to pool. Still, the bacon was crispy and cooked evenly. After the griddle cooled, it was simple to remove the cooking surface and pour the grease off into an empty yogurt container. You can disassemble this easily for cleaning.
It's heavier than other models at 12 pounds, but not bulky, and definitely requires storage space. It also has a cord that's just a little more than 6 feet long, which is convenient if you don't have an outlet directly next to your cooking space. A lid (an effective way to keep pancakes warm) and stainless steel spatula are included with the griddle, but I'd opted for using a silicone spatula to maintain the nonstick surface as long as possible.
The Details: 12.5 x 19 inches; 12 pounds; 425°F maximum temperature; no drip tray included
Why It's Great: Portable and convenient to store; ample cook surface for a compact griddle; has adjustable legs and a drip tray
Grain of Salt: Cool center spot; slight learning curve
If your griddle story is one of possibility, then the Presto Tilt-n-Fold is the versatile tool you'll want tucked away in your cabinet; it's just that convenient to store. At less than seven pounds and with legs that tuck neatly beneath the cast aluminum base, it's an easy, portable cooking tool that will have you thinking about making breakfasts at a lake house or a cozy cabin.
While the griddle is compact, the cooking surface area is well-sized at 15 x 14 inches and big enough for families. However, I did notice a cooler spot in the center of the griddle, so you'll need to rotate your pancakes through the space like players on a volleyball court for even browning. Still, the heat is consistent enough to thoroughly melt the cheese in a grilled cheese and deliver bread that has a nice toastiness.
As for the tilting part of this equation, the legs can also be adjusted to allow the grease from bacon to drain naturally into the drip tray. It's a nifty function that takes a bit of practice—definitely lock the legs in place before you start cooking—but the pay-off is crisp bacon and less grease to wipe off the cooktop. We'll take it.
The Details: 15 x 14 inches; 5.65 pounds; 400°F maximum temperature
Why It's Great: Inexpensive; lightweight; border channel captures grease
Grain of Salt: Short cord; somewhat uneven heat
The Black+Decker isn't flashy. If it were a car, it would be an older family sedan—it will get you where you're going as long as you talk it through the drive a little, which is really all you need in such a budget-conscious option.
One big setup note is that without an extension cord, you'll have to plug this in right near an outlet. Once I got it cooking, I found that the grilled cheese sandwiches were properly melty inside and had a nice distribution of toasting, even if the bread and edges weren't as crispy as they were with some other griddles. The pancakes sat in that good spot between chewy and fluffy with a color you could easily call "pancake brown." Rotating each pancake 180 degrees as I flipped them ensured a more even cook.
A small border channel helped capture some grease, but evenly cooked bacon required a game of musical tongs. That said, the bacon—with a bit of extra work—was the kind of crisp headliner you'd love to see in the middle of a BLT sandwich.
The nonstick surface was quick to clean. The entire griddle (minus the heating element) is only a little over 5 pounds and can be washed in the sink. The drip tray was also up to the task, even if sliding it in and out was a bit precarious. Cooking bacon left more splatter on the tabletop than other models, as grease managed to leap over the edge opposite the drip tray.
Some models come with a warming tray, but I'd look for the griddle without the undersized plastic tray (give away the early pancakes to whoever is hanging around the kitchen) and a lower price tag.
The Details: 10 x 20 inches; 5.12 pounds; 400°F maximum temperature
Why It's Great: Preheat light indicator; easy-to-read temperature knob; quick and even heating up to 450°F
Grain of Salt: Expensive; heavy
While you can't ignore the weight or outsized price, the Wolf is a flat-top fit for serious cooks. It was the only model we tested that had a preheat light indicator. The cast-aluminum, nonstick surface heats quickly and evenly up to 450°F, which means it's likely one of the few griddles that can actually sear your burgers.
Some griddles are meant to be tucked away in cabinets, but that won't be the fate of the Wolf. The stainless steel griddle with the signature red temperature knob is a sleek and powerful appliance that also clocks in at 21 pounds (nearing carrying-a-stand-mixer-with-two-hands territory).
Despite its weight, it's slightly smaller than other models at 12 x 17 inches, but that was still enough space for eight saucer-sized pancakes and six sandwiches with room to spare. It produced golden grilled cheese with the butter glistening between crisp edges and pancakes that were uniformly browned. The crispy bacon was definitely brunch-worthy.
The half-inch rim on the griddle easily contained bacon grease and was a nice buffer for wiping up crumbs when it came time to clean. Cheese droplets and a few pancake drips were easy to sweep off the surface. The griddle also comes with a stainless steel lid and drip tray, which is dishwasher-safe. Considering the steep price, we'd recommend this griddle for those who would use a griddle regularly. It would also be wise to watch out for sales and deals.
The Details: 12 x 17 inches; 21 pounds; 450°F maximum temperature
The world of electric griddles is vast, but we gave the Zojirushi Gourmet Sizzler Electric Griddle the top honors for its even heat distribution, ease of cleaning, and high sides that resist splattering. For those on a budget, you can't go wrong with the Black+Decker Family-Sized Electric Griddle; it can feed your family easily, cleans up well, and won't break the bank.
Electric griddles are portable, flat cooktops with a temperature control dial often inserted for cooking and then removed when stored. Most of them can plug into a standard outlet and pre-heat in around 10 minutes. You can use them to cook anywhere where you have power readily accessible. Case in point: I did most of my testing on a coffee table and piano bench. (Pro tip though: if you're going to want to cook outside, use an outdoor griddle.)
You're likely going to use an electric griddle for batch cooking. Definitely get an electric griddle with a nonstick surface—it's a standard option—and consider what you're cooking and subsequently how often you'll need to clean your griddle. Take a look at the drip tray, if one's included, to make sure it's wide enough or deep enough to handle greasy foods like bacon or burgers.
Storage is also an important consideration, and that means thinking about the weight and size of an electric griddle. The Black+Decker Family-Sized Griddle was the lightest model we tested at just over 5 pounds, while the heaviest—the Wolf Gourmet—was 21 pounds. If you're tight on cabinet space, you may want to consider a griddle with a smaller profile like the Presto Tilt-n-Fold, where the legs are stored under the cooktop surface. If you aren't using your griddle regularly, consider keeping it in the shipping box to protect the nonstick coating and keep it free of dust. Some electric griddles also include additional parts such as lids, drip trays, and warming trays.
If you cook for a crowd regularly, you'll want to look for a griddle that can accommodate big-batch cooking. But if you just need to feed a standard family of three or four people, then a standard-size griddle would work better. You could also always buy two budget-priced griddles to get the cooking surface you need if and when the time comes or you're cooking breakfast for company, for example.
The Presto 22-inch Electric Griddle produced nicely browned grilled cheeses with a melty pocket of American cheese but couldn't crisp up crusts or evenly brown pancakes. Bacon grease pooled on the textured, ceramic nonstick surface, which meant the bacon was a little chewy. Another strong contender that didn't make the list, the Oster DiamondForce Electric Griddle, produced beautiful golden pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches with nice color. However, like disappointing potato chips, the grilled cheese and bacon lacked proper crunch.
Although the Dash Everyday Electric Griddle had lovely rounded corners and gave crispy edges to grilled cheese, the temperature knob—which has settings from 1 to 5—made it hard to gauge the temperature. The Bella XL Ceramic Titanium Electric Griddle got top marks when it came to cleaning, as the cheese didn't stick or burn when it cascaded over the edge of the bread, and the titanium ceramic nonstick coating wiped down in less than a minute when I was done cooking. Unfortunately, it didn't fare as well in the cooking tests.
Unlike a range burner, the surface of an electric griddle is evenly heated throughout. They're the home cook's version of the flat-top cooking surface used in diners across the country.
The surface of a griddle is completely flat, without the ridges you'd find on a grill. This allows food to be cooked through evenly, which is why it's the appliance of choice for an array of breakfast foods, as well as burgers or grilled cheese.
Treat your griddle like a nonstick pan. Use a silicone spatula or tongs in lieu of metal cooking utensils, which can scratch the nonstick coating, and clean the surface with a soft cloth and mild dish soap.
Once you're done cooking, you'll want to unplug and let a griddle cool before wiping it clean with a soft sponge or dish towel. Before it was completely cool to the touch, I used a wet reusable dishcloth to wipe off crumbs and bits of bread that had burned slightly on the surface to keep them from hardening and sticking. For griddles with space between the frame and cooktop, I used a wet, folded paper towel to clean in and around the edges.
Some griddles, like the Zojirushi Gourmet Sizzler, include a detachable cooking surface that you can wash and rinse in the sink. Just be sure to keep the heating element dry and remove the temperature probe before you wash it. While a drip tray is often dishwasher-safe, it's worth rinsing it by hand to avoid the possibility of heat-warping the plastic.
Most cooks recommend frying bacon between 300 and 350°F, so 325 is a good sweet spot. You can always adjust from there if it appears the bacon is burning or taking too long to crisp. While preheating the griddle, let your bacon come to room temperature to ensure it cooks more evenly (this should take 10 to 15 minutes).
For perfectly brown but fluffy pancakes, the consensus is a bit higher: 375 to 400°F. Again, it will depend on the griddle and your preferences. Check the manual and the control panel of your griddle for model-specific recommendations and presets.
Most electric griddles on the market reach somewhere between 375 to 400°F, with some—like the Wolf Gourmet Electric Griddle—going up as high as 450, which is great for searing. You may find that you don't need quite that much heat, but we'd recommend looking for one that heats to 400 or 425°F to cover your bases.
extra large griddle electric Allrecipes is a community-driven brand providing trusted resources to our large network of home cooks. Jonathan Bender, an ecommerce food writer, cookbook author, and sandwich enthusiast, wrote this list after carefully researching the market and then testing top models side by side in his own home. He made enough grilled cheese sandwiches, bacon, and pancakes to feed the whole neighborhood and evaluated the griddles on quality, durability, performance, and ease of cleaning. Rachel Johnson, another product tester for Allrecipes, also contributed insights from an earlier test.