Best Indoor & Outdoor Electric Grills

UPDATED: 5/15/2026

We are BBQ people, which means electric grills do not get a free pass around here. A real charcoal fire, a clean-burning wood fire, or even a good gas grill brings a kind of flavor and heat behavior that countertop electric grills usually cannot touch. That is just the truth.

From our 2026 electric grill evaluation — IR heat checks, steak, broccoli, cleanup, and outdoor comparison testing.

But that is not really the job of most electric grills. The real question is whether an electric grill can solve a problem. Can it let you cook indoors without smoking out the kitchen? Can it help an apartment or condo cook get something closer to grilled food? Can it work on a balcony, patio, RV pad, or small outdoor space where open flame is not allowed?

That is the standard we used for this update. Our former top pick, the Philips Avance Smokeless Indoor Grill, is no longer reliably available new, so we rebuilt the list around current products that still make sense to buy. We added new hands-on testing with the Ninja Sizzle GR101 and the Ninja Woodfire OG321, updated the Weber Q-2400 to the Weber Lumen. Testing included IR-gun heat checks, max-heat steak and burger cooks, broccoli and cheese testing, a low-and-slow pork butt on the Woodfire, smoke observations across all indoor units, and cleanup notes on each.

Best Electric Grills Test Results

1. Ninja Sizzle GR101 Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle

Best Indoor Electric Grill w/ Griddle

Ninja Sizzle GR101 Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle

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The Ninja Sizzle GR101 moved into the top position because it gave us the most complete case for a true indoor electric grill. It is not the most serious grill in the article, and it is not trying to compete with charcoal, wood, or a proper outdoor setup. What it does well is more practical: it gets hot, it keeps smoke surprisingly controlled, it gives you both a raised grill grate and a flat griddle plate, and it cleans up easily enough that you might actually pull it out again.

How the Ninja Sizzle Works

The Sizzle is a countertop indoor grill and griddle with two interchangeable plates: a raised grill grate and a flat griddle plate. The lid is removable and vented. It does not have a top searing element. Think of the lid as a splatter shield and heat-retention lid, not a second cooking surface. The unit itself is light, and the plates are lighter than expected. The front dial area stayed surprisingly cool during testing, while the side vents and grate edges were hot enough to require attention.

The biggest knock the unit includes two plates — the second one needs a separate storage spot.

Cooking the Steak

For the steak test, we used a T-bone and ran the Sizzle at the max dial setting for the entire cook. We gave the raised grate a full lid-down preheat — that is important because the raised grate did not behave like something you should rush. In our heat testing, the griddle plate climbed past the 500°F range after several minutes, and the raised grate reached its highest readings after a lid-down preheat.

The steak was better than we expected. It had areas of true crust, not just decorative grill marks. The flavor landed closer to grilled steak than pan-seared steak, even though it did not have the deep crust or live-fire character you get outside. Compared with older indoor electric grills we have used, the Sizzle’s raised grate made a real difference.

Cooking Broccoli and Testing the Lid

The broccoli test gave us a better feel for everyday indoor cooking. We started at a mid-range setting, then turned the dial up to get more browning. The finished broccoli was good: lightly crisp florets, browned cut edges, and no soggy texture. We also tested the lid by adding thin sliced mozzarella over part of the broccoli. The cheese melted, but not instantly — it took long enough that you would not mistake the lid for a broiler. The cheese stuck to the broccoli and not the grate, which was another point in favor of the nonstick surface.

Cleaning

Cleanup is where the Sizzle quietly beats both the Hamilton Beach and the PowerXL. There is no separate drip tray to deal with — the aluminum grate has a built-in lip that catches grease, so you pull one piece, rinse it under hot water, and you are done. That is it. The PowerXL requires you to deal with the fan area and the mess that collects underneath the grate. The Hamilton Beach adds a second piece to the equation. The Sizzle is one item, one rinse. Melted mozzarella released cleanly with the broccoli and did not stick to the grate. We would hand-wash rather than dishwasher to keep the nonstick coating in good shape longer, but the day-to-day cleanup story here is the easiest of the three indoor picks.

Smoke Production

The Ninja Sizzle is not smoke-free. Steak fat still creates visible smoke when it hits a hot surface. But compared with cast iron, the smoke was surprisingly mild and short-lived. The burgers we cooked on it smoked more than the T-bone did, even with 93% lean burgers, but still didn’t fill the kitchen up with smoke. Broccoli was even easier — it produced no real smoke worth reporting, even after steak grease had been left in the grooves.

Cooking Surface and Flavor Retention

One thing worth calling out that separates the Sizzle from both the Hamilton Beach and the PowerXL: the juices and rendered fat stay on the grate. There is no drip tray pulling everything away from the cooking surface. That means when you cook something fatty — a burger, a steak, marinated chicken — the grate retains that flavor, and anything you cook after it picks up some of that character. Throw broccoli or mushrooms on after a steak cook and they are going to be better for it. That is how outdoor grilling actually works, and it is not something you get from appliances designed around draining everything away. For indoor cooking where you are working with a smaller surface and cooking in sequence, that carryover flavor is a real plus.

Final Take

The Ninja Sizzle makes a strong case for anyone who needs a capable indoor cooking option. It is not just a grill — the same unit that cooks a steak also works as a flat-top griddle for breakfast, a sandwich surface, a vegetable cooker, and a quick weeknight tool that doesn’t require going outside or lighting anything. For apartment cooks, condo dwellers, or anyone cooking in a space where charcoal and gas are off the table, that kind of versatility at this price point is genuinely reasonable. You are not buying a single-use appliance. If indoor electric grilling is what you need, this is the one worth having around.

2. Hamilton Beach 25361 Electric Indoor Searing Grill

Hamilton Beach 25361 Electric Indoor Searing Grill

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The Hamilton Beach is the kind of product that is hard to beat for the price. It heats up, it makes grill marks, it handles, burgers, chicken, and veggies, and it does under a hundred bucks. If you are looking for a simple indoor electric grill and do not want to spend more than you have to, this one is serviceable.

That said, we would rather have the Ninja Sizzle. Not because the Hamilton Beach is bad — it is not — but because the Sizzle gives you more for a modest step up in price. The sear here is okay but not impressive. You get grill marks and some browning, but the crust is not really there.The heat recovery after cold food hits the grate is slow. It does what a sub-$100 indoor grill should do, which is cook food through with some visual evidence of grilling. It just does not do it with any authority.

The lid is worth understanding before you buy. Cooking with the lid closed traps moisture and turns into more of a steam situation than a sear (which is another case for the Sizzle with it’s perforated mesh lid). For most cooks — burgers, chicken, steak — you are better off leaving the lid open or only closing it at the end to finish. The glass viewing window is a nice touch and the indicator light that tells you when the thermostat is cycling is useful. But the lid itself is not adding much to the cooking process, and the exterior gets hot.

Cleanup isn’t bad. The removable grill plate and drip tray come out easily, and for chicken or fish that’s usually all you need. Where it gets annoying is after fatty cooks or anything with a sugary marinade — the plate stains, the lid gets greasy, the plastic drip tray is questionable, and the nonstick coating looks pretty cheap.

This grill is for the person who wants simple indoor grilling, does not want to spend much, and is not expecting a restaurant sear. It handles weeknight dinners for a few people but so does your stovetop. It’s a budget indoor grill, and it performs like one. Fine for the money but maybe just spend a little more on the Sizzle.

3. PowerXL Smokeless Grill 110SI

Not Great

PowerXL Smokeless Grill 110SI

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The PowerXL 110SI is one of the top-selling indoor electric grills on Amazon, which is the main reason it is on this list. We are not here to tell you to buy it. We are here because a lot of people are going to search for it, and they deserve an honest take.

The concept is straightforward: a convection fan and a water tray work together to pull smoke away from the cooking surface and trap grease before it burns. That is the best thing about this grill, and it is a real feature — not a gimmick in theory. In practice, it does reduce smoke compared with a hot open-plate grill, especially on leaner foods like salmon. If your smoke detector is your biggest kitchen enemy and you mostly cook chicken or fish, the PowerXL has a case. That is a narrow case, but it is a real one.

Outside of that, we struggle to recommend it. The sear is weak. Cook times are long — chicken legs can take upward of 45 minutes, which is not what most people picture when they think about grilling. The heat is uneven, so you end up rotating food to get consistent results. And the “smokeless” claim is fine — it produced less smoke than Hamilton Beach. At the price point, you are paying a premium for the smoke-control system, and that system still has limits.

Cleanup is where it really loses us. The removable parts are fine, but there are a lot of them. The fan is the bigger concern — grease will likely finds its way into it over time, and cleaning it makes the whole thing not worth it. If you lose the nonstick coating on the grill the whole experience gets worse. I feel like this is the kind of appliance that works well enough out of the box and becomes more annoying the longer you own it.

We included it because it is a top seller and people are going to buy it regardless of what we say. If smoke control is genuinely your deciding factor and you cook mostly fish, chicken, or lighter proteins, it is worth considering. If you want something that actually grills well, spend the money on one of our other top picks instead.

Now Heading Outside — Our Top Outdoor Electric Grills

The grills below are for balconies, patios, RV pads, and outdoor spaces where open flame is not allowed. They are not indoor grills. If you are shopping for a countertop indoor unit, the top three picks above are your lane.

🔥 #1 Outdoor — Outdoor BBQ Pick

4. Ninja Woodfire OG321 Outdoor Electric Grill

Shows Potential

Ninja Woodfire OG321 Outdoor Electric Grill

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Of all the outdoor electric grills we looked at, the Ninja Woodfire OG321 is the one that actually smells like BBQ when it is running. That alone puts it in a different category. It has a dedicated pellet smoke system that uses hardwood pellets, and the results on chicken, steaks, and a slow-cooked pork butt were impressive, for an electric appliance. We stuck to what we could verify — steak, chicken, vegetables, and a low-and-slow pork butt — and did not run through every cooking mode the unit offers. It can grill, smoke, air crisp, roast, bake, broil, and dehydrate, and those functions probably work, but we are reporting on what we actually cooked.

The pellet smoke system is the reason this grill leads the outdoor section. Half a cup of hardwood pellets produces real smoke, and the food shows it — the pork butt came off with a light but noticeable smoke ring and pull, and the chicken had actual bark and smoke color. That is not something you get from a chip tray or a smoke box. It gets closer to real BBQ than anything else on this list, and for an electric appliance, that matters.

It is still not a charcoal grill. There is no fat dripping and vaporizing back onto the food, no live-fire character, and the smoke ring is lighter than what you would get from a real wood or charcoal cook. But if you go in understanding what it is — a compact outdoor electric smoker that can also grill — it delivers on that promise better than expected.

The Pellet Smoke System

About half a cup of pellets produces roughly 45 minutes of dense smoke. The key is letting the unit complete its ignition cycle before adding food. The initial smoke during startup is the thick bitter smoke you don’t want, so don’t rush it. Once the ignition phase settles, the smoke is the lighter blue colored smoke you’re looking for.

One thing that caught us off guard: this grill cooks fast. Faster than you expect. We had to dial back both temperature and time compared with what we would use on a conventional grill — if you go in with the same settings you use on gas or charcoal, you will overshoot. Wings come together quickly. The pork butt we ran was a low-and-slow cook and came out well, and took about 10 hours. The Woodfire’s speed varies enough with temperature, wind, and food thickness that your cook will likely differ. Cook to internal temperature, not to time.

Searing and Grilling

The Woodfire is not a great searing grill. It tops out around 520°F, which is lower than the Weber Lumin’s ceiling, and the grate behaves more like a grill pan than an open-flame grill — there is no fat dripping and vaporizing back onto the food the way there is on charcoal or gas. You can get grill marks and some browning, but if a hard sear is the goal, the Weber Lumin or a cast-iron pan will do it better. Where the Woodfire makes up for it is the smoked-then-finished approach: smoke the protein first, then hit it with grill mode to crisp the exterior. That combination produces better results than trying to use it as a pure searing grill.

Grill mode also wants the lid closed, which makes monitoring harder and makes traditional quarter-turn grill-mark technique more trouble than it is worth. Think of it as a smoker that can also grill, not a grill that can also smoke.

Smoke and Neighbors

The Woodfire is outdoor-only, and it is not automatically neighbor-friendly just because it is electric. Inital smoke is alot — enough that we recommend running a fan to push it away from the immediate area during startup, especially on a small balcony. Once past the ignition phase, smoke levels drop. But if you have a small enclosed balcony with neighbors directly above or beside you, test it before committing.

Controls, Settings, and the Learning Curve

There is a real learning curve here, and it starts before you even cook anything. The Woodfire has multiple cooking modes, temperature settings, smoke levels, and configurations — more than most people expect from an appliance this size. If you are used to turning a dial and walking away, this is not that. You will need a cook or two just to understand how the modes interact and how the grill behaves at different settings.

On the plus side, the smart features are genuinely useful once you understand them. The built-in thermometer probe takes the guesswork out of doneness, and the temperature monitoring helps with the fast-cooking issue — you can catch a steak before it overshoots. Whether the controls feel like a feature or a frustration depends on the person. If you like dialing things in and experimenting, you will probably enjoy it.

One practical note: the power cord is short, and for most outdoor setups you will need an outdoor-rated extension cord to reach a standard outlet. At around 1,750 watts, this is not a job for a light-duty extension cord. Use a 12-gauge outdoor-rated extension cord and keep it as short as your setup allows. A 14-gauge cord will work in a pinch for shorter cooks, but for a long smoke you want the heavier gauge to avoid heat buildup in the cord.

Cleanup and Storage

The grill grate is easy — it is lightweight, has a quality nonstick coating, and a quick rinse handles most cooks. For outdoor smoking, you’ll want empty the pellet hopper after each session so stale pellets don’t wreck your next smoke and check to see if the drip tray needs to be empted.

If you are storing the unit in a garage or cabinet, you’ll want to wipe of the interior walls and and rince the drip tray with hot water.

Final Take

The Ninja Woodfire is not a grill we would reach for when we want a great sear or traditional grill marks. It will not replace a real charcoal or wood fire, and it is not the right tool if you want a simple plug-in-and-grill experience, for this I’d recommend the Weber Lumin. Where it makes a case for itself is versatility — it smokes, grills, air crisps, roasts, and bakes in one compact unit. That is the argument for choosing it over a dedicated outdoor electric pellet smoker or a standard electric grill if you have limited outdoor space or situation.

5. Weber Lumin Portable Electric Grill

Best Outdoor Electric Grill for Searing

Weber Lumin Portable Electric Grill

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The Weber Lumin is the outdoor electric grill we would point to if someone said they just want a clean, reliable electric grill for the balcony or patio — no smoke mode, no learning curve, just a Weber that plugs in. It has porcelain-coated cast-iron grates, a straightforward design, and the kind of build quality you expect from Weber. For a pure searing outdoor electric grill, it is the stronger pick on this list.

If this were only a searing contest, the Lumin would be the top outdoor pick. The reason it sits below the Ninja Woodfire on a BBQ-focused site is simple: smoke flavor and BBQ versatility matter here, and the Lumin’s smoke story is secondary. The smoke tray is a nice addition but it is not the same as the Woodfire’s pellet system. The Lumin is a cleaner, more focused outdoor electric grill — it just does not have the same BBQ personality.

Heat management is worth noting. The Lumin performs better with the lid closed and loses temperature faster than you might expect when the lid is open. Treat it like a Weber — preheat fully, keep the lid down when you can, and do not rush it. For steaks, burgers, chops, and vegetables on a patio or balcony where open flame is not an option, it is a genuinely good electric outdoor grill.

6. Cuisinart FlavorBoost CEG-1302 Outdoor Electric BBQ Grill & Portable Smoker

Best New Outdoor Electric Smoker-Grill Combo

Cuisinart FlavorBoost CEG-1302 Outdoor Electric BBQ Grill & Portable Smoker

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The Cuisinart FlavorBoost CEG-1302 is the new outdoor electric smoker-grill combo we are keeping an eye on. It checks a lot of boxes: pellet smoke, a built-in probe, multiple cooking modes, and a portable format that works for patios, RVs, and small outdoor spaces. The feature set is exactly where the outdoor electric grill category needs to go.

The honest caveat is that it is new. Most of the feedback we found comes from early owner reviews and Vine-style testing rather than long-term use. Early reports are generally positive — owners mention good results with chicken, ribeyes, vegetables, and even cornbread — but we do not have the same depth of real-world evidence that exists for the Ninja Woodfire or Weber Lumin. It is a premium-priced product, and at that price point we want more proof before moving it up the list.

If you like being early on a well-designed product and the feature set appeals to you, it is worth a look. If you want the safer outdoor electric BBQ pick today, start with the Ninja Woodfire.

7. George Foreman 15-Serving Indoor/Outdoor Electric Grill

Large Indoor/Outdoor Electric Grill

George Foreman 15-Serving Indoor/Outdoor Electric Grill

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The George Foreman 15-Serving grill stays in the list because it still fills a real role. It is large, simple, familiar, and easier to understand than most of the newer multi-mode outdoor electrics. The stand can be somewhat wobbly if you use the stand version, though you can set the grill on a tabletop. It also takes time to heat — in our notes, it took around 10 minutes to reach roughly the mid-300s.

The ceramic-style heat plate can keep longer cooks from drying out or scorching too badly. A whole chicken cooked low stayed juicy where it remained in contact with the plate. But that same surface does not give you the crisp, crusty sear we want from a grill. The Ninja Sizzle’s raised grate produced a much better sear comparison.

What Happened to the Philips Smokeless Indoor Grill?

The Philips Smokeless Indoor Grill was our former top pick, and we still understand why people liked it. Its infrared design made clean-looking grill marks and kept indoor cooking fairly controlled. The problem is availability. The popular Philips smokeless models are not reliably available new through normal retail channels, and we do not want to send readers toward inflated resale listings, used units, or discontinued inventory.

That is why the 2026 update moves on. The Ninja Sizzle is not the same kind of appliance as the Philips, but it is current, versatile, easier to buy, and backed by our fresh hands-on testing. If you already own the Philips and like it, there is no reason to panic. If you are shopping now, we would start with current models instead.

Are Electric Grills Worth Buying?

They are worth buying if they solve a specific problem. If you already have a good outdoor grill and can use it year-round, you probably do not need one. But if you are cooking in an apartment, a condo, a place with flame restrictions, or anywhere that a real fire is not an option — an electric grill starts making sense.

They’re Easy to Set Up and Start

Plug it in, turn a dial, wait for it to heat. No chimney, no propane tank, no lighter cube, and no standing outside in January. That is the whole pitch for indoor electric grilling, and it is a legitimate one.

Indoor Grills Give You More Control

The Ninja Sizzle’s dial was more useful than we expected, and the Hamilton Beach’s thermostat light is a simple but helpful signal that tells you when the element is actually cycling. Just remember that a dial is not magic — the surface still drops when cold food lands on it, and recovery takes time.

They Can Be Affordable

Some are inexpensive. Others — especially the outdoor smoker-grill combos — are not cheap at all. Value matters more than price. The Ninja Sizzle makes a strong value argument because you are getting a grill and a griddle in one unit. The Woodfire makes a different argument: you are getting a smoker, a grill, and an air fryer. Whether either of those is worth it depends on what you actually cook.

They’re Smokeless, Sort Of

“Smokeless” almost always means reduced smoke, not no smoke. Steak fat still smokes on a hot surface. In our Ninja Sizzle testing, steak produced visible smoke briefly — especially after a flip — but it was much less than a hot cast-iron skillet and it cleared quickly. Broccoli produced almost nothing, even after steak grease was already in the grooves. The word “smokeless” is marketing. The reality is closer to “lower smoke with the right foods.”

Drawbacks to Electric Grills

Electric grills are compromise cookers. The good ones make the compromise easier to live with. The bad ones remind you that grill marks do not equal grill flavor.

They Lack That “Grill Flavor”

Charcoal and wood create smoke, combustion gases, radiant heat, and fat vaporization that electric grills cannot replicate. The Ninja Sizzle steak tasted closer to grilled than pan-seared, which is a win for an indoor appliance. But it did not taste like a steakhouse steak, and it did not beat a real outdoor grill. The Woodfire gets closer than anything else on this list, and it still is not the same thing.

They Don’t Always Give a Beautiful Sear

Electric grills can brown food, but hard crust is a different story. The surface cools when cold food lands on it, especially on indoor countertop models. Preheating longer than you think you need to helps. Thicker cuts often do better than thin ones because they give the surface time to recover before the food is done.

They Require Power

Electric grills need an outlet, and short cords make that more annoying than it should be. The Ninja Sizzle’s cord was the first practical complaint we had about it. The Woodfire draws enough power that you need to think about your circuit and your extension cord gauge. Outdoor models also need to be used according to their manuals — weather, cover, storage, and cord safety all matter more than people expect.

They’re Small

Most electric grills are smaller than a real outdoor grill. If you are cooking for a crowd, electric grilling gets slow fast. For one to four people, the size usually works. For anything bigger, you will be cooking in batches.

Best Practice Tips for Cooking with Indoor Electric Grills

The same habits kept coming up across all our testing. Electric grills work better when you treat them like their own category instead of asking them to behave like a charcoal grill.