We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. What to Buy Grilling & BBQ The 6 Best Electric Grills of 2024, According to Our Tests Bring high-temperature browning to your kitchen or outdoor space, no gas or charcoal required. By Laura Denby Laura Denby Laura Denby is a food writer and chef with six years of professional culinary experience. Find her work in Real Simple, Food Network, Better Homes & Gardens and more. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 21, 2024 In This Article Expand In This Article Our Top Picks ReviewsOur Favorite Electric Grill How We Tested Electric Grills Factors to Consider FAQ Other Electric Grills We Tested Our Expertise Photo: Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Electric grills mimic the experience and flavor of outdoor grilling in a more convenient, portable, and small space-friendly format. With just a balcony — or no outdoor space at all — you can make delicious grilled recipes any night of the week. These machines are simple, heat quickly, and don't require an open flame, but the best electric grills can still achieve the crusty caramelization, perfect char, and rich, smoky flavor of traditional grilling. We tested more than 20 of the best electric grills from brands including Weber and Breville, evaluating each model's design, performance, portability, and more. You may never go back to using a charcoal grill again. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Weber Q 1400 Electric Grill at Amazon ($329) Jump to Review Best Value: Presto Cool Touch Electric Indoor Grill at Amazon ($62) Jump to Review Best Splurge: Kenyon Floridian Electric Grill at Amazon ($1,400) Jump to Review Best Grill-Griddle Combo: Breville The Smart Grill at Amazon ($320) Jump to Review Best Smokeless: Hamilton Beach Electric Indoor Searing Grill at Amazon ($80) Jump to Review Best for Apartment Dwellers: Weber Lumin Electric Grill at Amazon ($449) Jump to Review Best Overall Weber Q 1400 Electric Grill PHOTO: Food & Wine / Greg Dupree $329 at Amazon $329 at Walmart $329 at Wayfair Pros This heavy-duty grill combines the convenience of electric heating with the functionality of an outdoor grill to yield consistent results with minimal cleanup. Cons It's pretty expensive, and for outdoor use only. Weber grills are known historically for their charcoal options, but this conveniently portable outdoor model is perfect for someone with a small space like a terrace or balcony. The porcelain-enameled cast iron cooking grates can reach temperatures over 600° F, achieving the same results as a gas grill or charcoal grill with no open flames to worry about. In our tests, we found that it created a deep sear, delivered caramelized and browned results, and produced consistently cooked foods with a nice sizzle and minimal smoke. The 6-foot cord provides enough length to reach an outdoor outlet and is a suitable choice for anyone living in an apartment or with a small yard that can't accommodate a larger grill. We love the removable drip tray for a fuss-free cleanup and how quickly it heated up. Overall, this grill makes it easy to have a flavorful barbecue every day of the week. However, it doesn't offer the convenience of a model you can use inside, and it was the third-most-expensive electric grill we tested. Dimensions: 23.5 x 27 x 14.5 inches | Weight: 28.5 pounds | Cooking Area: 209.5 square inches | Power: 1,560 watts | Grate Material: Porcelain-enameled cast iron | Cord length: 74 inches Food & Wine / Greg DuPree AllRecipes / Morgan Hunt Glaze AllRecipes / Morgan Hunt Glaze Best Value Presto Cool Touch Electric Indoor Grill PHOTO: Amazon $62 at Amazon $60 at Walmart $60 at Wayfair Pros This affordable grill heats up quickly and doesn't smoke or steam. It's lightweight, convenient, and easy to store. Cons It can only reach 400°F, which is rather low for grilling purposes. This portable grill is a fantastic option for any home cook looking to grill occasionally from the convenience of their kitchen counter. During our tests, we found that the body stays cool while the grates get hot enough to yield consistently caramelized foods with low levels of smoke. As a result, it's a safe and manageable way to bring grilling projects indoors. A slide-out drip tray allows fat to drip away, and you can even put the nonstick grate in the dishwasher. The whole thing is also light and thin for easy storage. Keep in mind, though, that the Presto can't get nearly as hot as a standard outdoor grill or even a portable gas grill. It can reach a maximum of 400°F — good enough for lots of purposes but not quite enough for something like reverse-searing a steak. Dimensions: 19.75 x 3.38 x 13.06 inches | Weight: 5.5 pounds | Cooking Area: 152 square inches | Power: 1,300 watts | Grate Material: Nonstick-coated aluminum | Cord length: 35 inches Food & Wine / Greg Dupree Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Best Splurge Kenyon Floridian Electric Grill PHOTO: AJ Madison $1,294 at Amazon $1,480 at ajmadison.com Pros This heavy-duty indoor/outdoor option yields high temperatures for nice grill marks with minimal smoking. Cons It's heavy, bulky, and very expensive. During our tests, this sleek stainless steel appliance reached temperatures over 600°F in just 5 minutes. We had no trouble grilling steaks and chicken. Even the zucchini developed dark grill marks and a tender center without overcooking. The Kenyon Floridian is a well-built machine with stay-cool handles that let you move it around even while hot. It's suitable for indoor or outdoor use, and we noticed minimal smoking in testing. The removable nonstick grates are a breeze to clean, and we like the added functionality of a tray beneath the heating elements that can hold herbs, spices, citrus, wine, or other ingredients to give a flavor boost to whatever you're grilling. This is a nice electric grill, but it's not a bargain. This is a very expensive appliance, it's pretty heavy, and it takes up a good bit of space for its relatively small cooking area. It's for serious grillers only. Dimensions: 12 x 21 x 9 inches | Weight: 32.4 pounds | Cooking Area: 154.88 square inches | Power: 1,300 watts | Grate Material: Nonstick-coated stainless steel | Cord length: 83 inches Best Grill-Griddle Combo Breville The Smart Grill PHOTO: Amazon $320 at Amazon $320 at Williams-Sonoma View on Breville.com Pros This three-in-one machine uses smart technology to adjust the temperature automatically for optimal grilling, griddling, or sandwich-pressing Cons It produced more smoke than others did, despite a lower maximum temperature. Breville's indoor machine is smart in part because it's a grill, a flat-top griddle, and a panini press all in one. The hinged lid opens up to give you double the cooking space, or it closes to smash and sear sandwiches between its removable plates. But what makes the Smart Grill smart is that it recognizes when you've put cold food on the surface and turns up the power to maintain temperature accordingly. It was extremely accurate in our tests, nailing the maximum setting of 450°F exactly (while many competitors were off by 50 degrees or more). It produced beautifully browned and caramelized foods. It's an efficient, functional machine that doesn't take up too much space on the countertop. Dimensions: 14 x 16.7 x 5 inches | Weight: 18.9 pounds | Cooking Area: 260 square inches (when open) | Power: 1,800 watts | Grate Material: Cast aluminum | Cord length: 36 inches Food & Wine / Greg Dupree Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Best Smokeless Hamilton Beach Electric Indoor Searing Grill PHOTO: Amazon $80 at Amazon $124 at Walmart $80 at Wayfair Pros We love this indoor grill's nonstick plates, convenient lid window, and budget-friendly price. Cons It's quite small, and can't achieve the high temperatures that other models can. As our favorite smokeless grill, this Hamilton Beach model earned high scores across all categories. It features nonstick grill plates, a large drip tray, and a built-in window on the lid that we found super-helpful to monitor food without letting heat escape. This grill's top setting is 450°F, but it only got to 400°F in our tests. The lower heat resulted in lighter caramelization, but we were pleasantly surprised with the defined grill marks and evenly cooked meats we got out of this machine. It's compact, inexpensive, and easy to clean, though its cooking space is rather limited. Dimensions: 12.4 x 16.73 x 6.81 inches | Weight: 8.1 pounds | Cooking Area: 114 square inches | Power: 1,200 watts | Grate Material: Nonstick-coated stainless steel | Cord length: 23 inches Food & Wine / Greg Dupree Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Best for Apartment Dwellers Weber Lumin Electric Grill PHOTO: Weber $449 at Amazon View on Weber.com $449 at Home Depot Pros This small-but-mighty machine brings real grilling to places you can't use gas or charcoal. Cons Tall items won't fit under the lid, and a lot of cleanup is necessary. Some landlords and condo associations ban open-flame grills for safety reasons, even on a balcony or patio. If you want true charred flavor but can't use gas or charcoal, the Weber Lumin is a great solution. It heated to over 600°F in testing, which is what you need for true grilling of anything, from grilled lobster to smoky mushrooms. And it did so in about 15 minutes, no propane tank or lighter fluid needed. The Lumin is compact and easy to move around, but the downside of that is its short lid. There are only a few inches of clearance, and you won't be able to close the top over a whole chicken or rib roast. Cleanup is also more labor-intensive than with a traditional grill: Temperatures don't get high enough to completely burn off oil and grease, so you'll have to scrub out the inside and wipe down the heating element periodically to avoid smoking. Compared to the Weber Q1400 above, the Lumin is about the same overall size but has a larger cooking area. Both were great performers in testing, and you couldn't go wrong either way. With the Lumin, you get your choice of five color options — if you like eye-catching appliances, that alone could make the somewhat higher price worth it. For additional editor testing insights, read our full Weber Lumin Electric Grill review. Dimensions: 25.5 x 25.5 x 21 inches | Weight: 36.5 pounds | Cooking Area: 242 square inches | Power: 1,560 watts | Grate Material: Porcelain-enameled cast iron | Cord length: 72 inches Our Favorite Electric Grill Overall, the Weber Q1400 Electric Grill topped our tests with true high-heat grilling temperatures, simple design, easy cleanup, and portability. For a more inexpensive option you can use inside, try the Presto Cool Touch Indoor Grill, a small machine that will give you great grill marks without leaving the kitchen. How We Tested Electric Grills MORGAN HUNT GLAZE / FOOD & WINE In our quest to find the best electric grills, we chose 22 models to examine side-by-side in our test kitchen. That included four outdoor-only models and four indoor/outdoor models, with the rest usable only indoors. We rated them on design, setup, ease of assembly, and portability, then put each one through an identical series of tests. *Editor's note: The Weber Lumin included above was released after our group test; we tested it individually with the same series of tasks. Temperature tests: We turned each grill to the lowest possible setting and let it preheat for 5 minutes, then measured the temperature of the grates with an infrared thermometer. We repeated the test at the middle and highest settings to measure total power as well as accuracy. Grill marks tests: To measure how well each grill's grates transfer heat to create proper browning and sear, we cooked slices of white sandwich bread for 3 minutes per side at low, medium, and high settings on each grill. We looked at the color and consistency of the grill marks produced to measure the effectiveness of the grates in transferring heat. Cooking tests: After preheating the grills to 450°F, we cooked flank steak, chicken breasts, and zucchini planks (5 minutes per side with the steak and chicken, and 3 minutes per side for the zucchini). We looked at how evenly each cooked, whether there was sticking when we flipped and removed the food, and how much smoke the grills produced. Cleaning tests: In between rounds of testing, we let the grill grates cool completely and washed them following the manufacturer's directions. (Most of the grills we tested have removable grates, but only some are dishwasher-safe.) We noted whether any bits stuck to the grates and if we ran into any design issues that made cleaning difficult. We also looked at the ease or complexity of longer-term maintenance tasks like cleaning drip trays and heating elements. After completing all of our other tests, we revealed the retail prices of each grill to consider value for money. Factors to Consider Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze Cooking Area When choosing an electric grill, one of the most important things to consider is how much cooking surface it provides. A small one might only hold a single steak, while others are large enough to fit a dozen burgers. Think about how many people you plan to cook for regularly, and go from there. A good way to estimate is that a single burger patty needs about 25 square inches. Storage Unlike a bulky gas or charcoal grill, an electric model generally isn't meant to stay set up all the time. Unless you intend to use yours every day, you'll probably want to put it in a cabinet or other storage location. Make sure you measure the space you have before you order a grill to be sure it'll fit. Most models can also be stored safely where there are temperature fluctuations, like in a garage, basement, or attic; just don't let an electric grill get rained on or submerged in water. Cleaning An electric grill will only fit seamlessly into your daily cooking practice if it is easy to clean. Look for units with dishwasher-safe parts, drip trays used to capture grease, and nonstick or seasoned grill plates that clean up easily. Then just follow the directions that come with your unit to keep it clean. One thing to pay special attention to is the heating elements and interior of the unit beneath the grates; because electric grills don't get hot enough to burn off grease completely, you'll need to clean these areas periodically. Frequently Asked Questions Does food prepared on an electric grill taste the same as food made on a gas grill? John Somerall, editorial project manager at Food & Wine, admits that it’s not quite an identical dining experience. "Food prepared on an electric grill tastes similar to food prepared on a gas grill, but the main difference has to do with the heating element. Gas grills provide more heat which aids in the caramelization process and gas grills also allow flare-ups to occur during grilling. The open flame, although generally flavorless and odorless, has a noticeable effect on the flavor and aroma of the food being grilled. An electric grill is not going to be able to mimic these properties commonly found with open-flame cooking." How can you make food from an electric grill taste like it was made on a charcoal grill? "Charcoal grills add a very distinct aroma and flavor when used for grilling foods," Somerall says. "Two easy ways to make food cooked on your electric grill taste similar to foods cooked on a charcoal grill would be to marinate your food with a small amount of liquid smoke prior to grilling, or to wrap soaked wood chips in aluminum foil and place them near the heating element so they can steam and smoke while grilling. These two methods won't make your grilled foods taste identical to foods grilled over charcoal, but they will surely add flavors that will make them taste similar." Do electric grills use a lot of electricity? "It really depends on the wattage of the electric grill and the food being grilled,” Somerall says. “Most electric grills require 1,000 to 1,500 watts to operate, which is also the amount of energy required for adequately searing and cooking proteins including steaks, chicken, and fish. This amount of energy might be considered a lot if you use your electric grill all day, every day; however, given the frequency in which electric grills are used and how they are used, they're still considered an efficient and inexpensive tool to operate." Compared to an electric stove or oven that can draw several thousand watts, an electric grill uses less electricity, but it's also a lot smaller. MORGAN HUNT GLAZE / FOOD & WINE Other Electric Grills We Tested Strong Contenders George Foreman GGR50B Indoor/Outdoor Electric Grill (Amazon) We were impressed with how well this grill works — it produced deep, defined grill marks on all the foods we tested — and we love that it includes a removable stand so you can set it up on a patio. But the stand was wobbly and unsteady to the point where we worried that a gust of wind could knock it over. Zojirushi EB-CC15 Indoor Electric Grill (Amazon) This grill gets hot, but it doesn't get as hot as some of the other grills we tested, and controlling the temperature was difficult. In terms of design, the edges of the grill are lower than the grates, so it's easy to burn yourself and drop food between the crevices. Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill (Amazon) This multipurpose gadget can grill, dehydrate, roast, bake, and air-fry. However, we found that the fans that runs while grilling makes this more like a convection oven than a grill, with inconsistent and innaccurate temperatures. Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Patio Bistro Electric Grill (Amazon) This outdoor grill looks like a classic charcoal model but plugs into the wall for its heating power. We like the design, but this model took a particularly long time to heat up, couldn't get hot enough for dark grill marks, and had problems with food sticking. What Didn’t Make the List The grills we tested that didn't wind up among our favorites include models from Techwood, De'Longhi, and Cuisinart, as well as a George Foreman and a Weber model that didn't do as well as their cousins above. The common drawbacks of these models were inaccurate temperatures, light or uneven grill marks, and high levels of smoke. Other issues that prevented grills from earning our badge of approval included difficult assembly, unsteadiness or high weight, and poorly designed controls. We stand behind our top picks and believe they are truly the best electric grills. Our Expertise This piece was written by Laura Denby, a food writer and product reviewer with a degree in Culinary Arts from the Institute of Culinary Education. A former chef, Laura has worked in professional kitchens for over five years. She uses her culinary knowledge to guide her product reviews, which you can find more of in FoodNetwork.com, Real Simple, Southern Living, and more. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit