The Best Electric Griddles for Crowd-Size Cooking

If you like cooking classic American breakfasts in your own kitchen, it may be worth considering purchasing an electric griddle. Electric griddles are a budget-friendly, at-home version of the flat-top cooking surfaces used by short-order diner cooks. They allow you to cook greasy-spoon staples like pancakes, bacon, French toast, fried eggs, and grilled cheese sandwiches in big batches, so you don't have to spend an eternity standing by the stove flipping two flapjacks at a time in a skillet. We tested a whole bunch. Here are our favorites.

The Winners at a Glance

The Best Electric Griddle: Presto Electric Tilt-n-Fold Griddle

Presto's Tilt-n-Fold model is very simple to set up and operate, and it has a compact design that makes it easy to store in kitchen cabinets when not in use. It has a large, smooth, nonstick cooking surface that heats mostly evenly, can be set at an angle to drain grease, and is easy to clean. We love the price, too.

The Best Affordable Electric Griddle: Presto 22-Inch Electric Griddle

Our other griddle pick from Presto is even more affordable! This lightweight model comes with fully detachable handles that make cleaning and storing it a breeze; it will easily slot into the cabinet and its nonstick surface has a textured crosshatch pattern that helps keep pancakes from sliding around.

The Griddle Upgrade: Broil King Professional Portable Nonstick Griddle

The Broil King was the top-performing electric griddle that we tested in terms of consistent heating and cooking results, turning out batches of perfectly browned pancakes. Like the Tilt-n-Fold, the legs of the Broil King can be adjusted to pitch the cooking surface, which helps drain fat into its grease trap.

The Unplugged Option: Lodge Reversible Cast Iron Stovetop Griddle

While this review focuses on electric griddles, it's worth noting that some may prefer to invest in a stovetop cast iron griddle instead. Given our testing, which revealed that electric griddles don't get hot enough to properly sear burgers or meats, a large cast iron cooking surface like this one from Lodge can give you plenty of real estate for larger batches of food while letting you decide just how scorching you want it to be.

Better Equipment for Better, Tastier Mornings