11 Best Indoor Grills to Help You BBQ Any Time of Year
11 Best Indoor Grills to Help You BBQ Any Time of Year
One of the best parts about summer is heading outside to cook dinner on the grill. But not everyone has a backyard or deck for an outdoor grill. Whether you live in an apartment, condo, or want to fire up the BBQ no matter what the weather forecast looks like, our pros have a solution: An indoor grill. These gadgets are small enough to fit on your countertop and work great for burgers, chicken, vegetables, and more. Best of all, food will look (and taste!) like you grilled it outside. Here are the best indoor grills you can buy in 2021, according to testing and popular reviews.
1) Cuisinart Griddler FIVE
williams-sonoma.com
This highly rated and popular Cuisinart indoor grill can do it all. Our experts found the digital controls easy to use and appreciated being able to set a specific temp for more precise cooking, unlike many other models. Even better? The plates are dishwasher-safe for quick clean-up.
It also converts to a griddle (we cooked eight pancakes at once!) and you can buy waffle plates. We recommend placing foil or parchment paper under the back legs for less mess since the top plate can drip when cooking greasy foods.
2) Hamilton Beach Steak Lover's Indoor Grill
Hamilton Beach
amazon.com
As its name suggests, this Hamilton Beach model is the ultimate buy for anyone who loves steaks with picture-perfect grill marks. In our Lab tests, it made great marks compared to other indoor grills — at a fraction of the price. We also like the digital temperature control with a 90-second sear function. Keep in mind: The plates aren't removable, so our experts recommend using a wet towel while they are warm to loosen any stuck-on residue.
3) George Foreman Contact Smokeless Ready Grill
George Foreman
walmart.com
Great for anyone with limited counter or storage space, this George Foreman can be stored upright when you're not using it! George Foreman grills have performed solidly in all our evaluations for cooking, draining grease well, and ease of cleaning thanks to dishwasher-safe plates. The bottom plate on this model has higher edges that help to make a tight seal for fast cooking and drain holes built right in to help with smoky smells and cleanup.
4) T-Fal OptiGrill Indoor Grill
T-Fal/Wearever
wayfair.com
Our tests found this T-fal indoor grill is the perfect size for cooking a meal for up to two people – it can fit two paninis with the lid down and four burgers with the lid open and flat. It also scored highly for ease of use: the controls are clearly labeled and easy to read, the removable drip tray is wide enough to catch all drippings and splatter (making it the perfect indoor grill for bacon), and the plates and the drip tray are dishwasher safe.
One of our tester’s favorite parts is the automatic cooking sensor that can accurately detect the number of items placed on the grill and the thickness to automatically adjust the temperature and cook time. An easy-to-read and color coded indicator lights up to signify the level of doneness (rare to well done).
5) Dash Mini Griddle
DASH
amazon.com
This mini model from Dash is a dorm room or first apartment must have. Great for cooking for one, you can whip up a better-than-average grilled cheese in no time. While it's cute-factor is off the charts, don't expect too much in terms of bells and whistles — it doesn't have an on/off switch, timer, or temperature control. Plus, since it doesn't have a grease tray, our Lab pros say it's best to only use it for lean cuts of meat.
6) Ninja Foodi Smart XL 6-in-1 Indoor Grill and Air Fryer
Ninja
amazon.com
This do-it-all pick from Ninja does the work of many appliances in one: it's an air fryer and a seriously powerful indoor grill in one. The 500oF max temperature is great for grilling, and the brand claims you can fit up to six steaks or 24 hot dogs on the cooking surface. It comes equipped with a probe to insert into your meat as you're cooking for perfectly done (a.k.a. never overcooked) results. Ninja consistently performs well in our Lab tests, nabbing the top spot for the best air fryer, and the intuitive design and control panel here looks equally impressive.
7) Chefman Smokeless Indoor Grill
CHEFMAN
walmart.com
This lightweight Chefman model looks most like outdoor versions and has a supersized cooking area with zoned temperatures. That means you'll get a higher heat in the middle and gentler temps on the outer edges, great for delicate foods like fish.
Although this is called a smokeless grill, our Kitchen Appliances Lab found it still produced a small amount of smoke in our tests. Our pros advise adding water to the grease tray to prevent too much smoke. And while it isn't dishwasher-safe, we found it easy to clean.
8) Breville Smart Grill & Griddle
Williams Sonoma
williams-sonoma.com
The Breville indoor grill is worth the higher price tag because its unique features help your food cook – and therefore taste — better. The heating element and thermostat are built into the grill, allowing it to get hot and stay hot even when you place a cold steak on it. This is important because if the temperature of the grill were to drop, the steak would steam, not sear. Reviewers love that the drip tray in the front also sticks out a bit behind the grill to catch any drippings that fall down when you open the lid.
When working with the grill completely open and flat, you are able to easily control whether the surface is slightly tilted (for the juices to run down into the drip tray) or completely flat (for cooking runny foods, like pancakes or eggs). It comes with two removable and dishwasher-safe plates: A griddle and a grill.
9) Calphalon Even Sear Multi-Grill
calphalon
crateandbarrel.com
If you want an indoor grill you won't mind keeping displayed on the counter, Calphalon's sleek option can't be beat. Not only does it look great, it performed well in Lab tests, leaving impressive and even grill marks on burgers. We also like that its nonstick surface needs no oil and that the larger drip funnel catches grease well.
While it does offer better temperature control than others (50-degree increments) and removable plates, the plates aren't dishwasher-safe and we found the flexible hinge wasn't the best when cooking paninis.
10) Zojirushi Indoor Electric Grill
zojirushi
crateandbarrel.com
If you are looking for an experience most similar to grilling outdoors, the Zojirushi indoor grill is your go-to. Unlike most indoor electric grills, it does not have a lid that crushes your food or squeezes out any juices - perfect for grilling vegetables. It lays flat and features a removable drip tray under the grill that catches oils and juices.
Testers were impressed with how hot the grills got – the burgers we tested on them had great grill marks and cooked evenly. The heating element is built into the grill, which helps it get really hot, but it also means it can’t go in the dishwasher.
11) De'Longhi Livenza All-Day Grill
delonghi
crateandbarrel.com
Our pros can't wait to test this top-of-the-line model from DeLonghi — a true splurge for the home chef that has it all. This indoor grill comes with all the extras you could ever need (or want!), from dishwasher-safe waffle, grill, and griddle plates to a broiler function that allows the lid to float for perfectly melted cheese on burgers. Not to mention the there are separate temp controls for the lid and base plate.
The one downside? While it does offer a ton of cooking space, that means it also takes up more counter real estate than most other models.
You don't need a backyard (or nice weather!) to grill up burgers.