If you’re into cooking outside, a grill may be an easy sell, but an outdoor griddle just might be more useful. I am a professional product tester and minimalist, so I don’t like too much of anything. I used to believe I could achieve everything I wanted outdoors with a grill — maybe a pizza oven if I was feeling fancy. But after testing seven of the best models on the market for weeks, I'm convinced every outdoor setup needs one.
Our top picks
- The best outdoor griddle overall: The Solo Steel Fire
- The best budget outdoor griddle (it's portable too!): Blackstone 2 Burner Propane Griddle
A flat-top griddle doesn’t just cook food differently than a grill does; it offers an entirely different experience. Unlike a grill with open grates and hot spots, a flat top offers a large, even cooking surface that can handle any meal. You can make eggs, toast buns, sauté vegetables alongside steaks, and cook an entire diner-style breakfast for a large crowd without juggling pans in your kitchen. Once you get the hang of cooking on a griddle, the convenience and possibilities become addictive.
What surprised me most after I completed the formal parts of my testing was how often I chose the griddle over my grill. The flat cooking surface retained heat well, and cleanup was much faster than scrubbing grill grates or cleaning splatter off my cooktop. It's better for foods that are difficult to cook or messy on the grill, like bacon, stir-fries, and smash burgers (if you’ve ever tried to smash a burger on grill grates, you know the mess I’m talking about). Even weeknight cooking felt simpler because I could complete an entire meal in one space without dirtying my kitchen. That versatility is what ultimately won me over.
Still not convinced? Read on to see how testing went and why an outdoor flattop is a must for any serious cook looking to level up their setup.
Best outdoor griddle overall: Solo Steel Fire Griddle
Pros and cons
Pros
- Required little assembly
- You don’t need to season it
- You can remove the cooktop for easy cleaning
Cons
- It has round corners, which can be difficult to reach with square tools.
- The cart isn’t as sturdy as other bases.
Specs
Size: 59" x 12.62" x 33.75"
Weight: 59 lbs
Material: Stainless steel
Griddle area: 486.47 square inches
Most of the outdoor griddles I’ve encountered, both in this review and elsewhere, have been made of cast iron or carbon steel, so the Solo Steel Fire’s stainless steel construction is intriguing. Add the fact that you can basically pluck it out of the box, wash off the dust, and fire it up, and it’s a slacker’s dream. But it performs well enough to compete with brands with longer track records.
What we love: It comes in two sizes (22 and 30 inches). The smaller Solo uses a camping-size propane tank, which can easily sit on a tabletop. The smaller Solo is a great choice for smaller spaces. The larger size could technically go on a tabletop or a heat-safe surface if you want to maximize your outdoor cooking space. It uses a standard-size propane tank, though, so you’ll need to find somewhere to put it. Solo sells a stand for the griddle, though it's expensive at $300.
The Solo shone in the pancake test. My flat top experience has primarily been with carbon steel or cast iron, so I was worried about a lot of sticking on a stainless-steel cooking surface. However, when I went to flip the pancakes, they were so slippery that they practically skated across the cooktop. It may have been the most nonstick of all the surfaces. Even more astounding, it required no seasoning. This alone makes it the best outdoor griddle for people who don't want to season anything. Who wants extra homework? It’s also notable that this is a good choice for cooks in more humid climates, where carbon steel can rust.
Clean-up was also the easiest with this brand among others. You really just need to wipe up the crusty bits and shine it with a paper towel. If you're a little more detail-oriented, one of the best features is that the cooktop comes out of the unit so that you can wash it in the sink. That's especially useful for households with food allergies that need deeper cleaning to avoid cross-contamination.
Finally, you can't mention Solo products without discussing their design appeal. This was one of the sleekest-looking griddles in the test, and it definitely matters if your setup is a point of pride that is visible year-round.
What we’d leave: The Solo is one of the priciest models in our test, and that's before you add the cart, which is an extra charge. The cart can feel a little flimsy compared to one-piece griddles, but it doesn't bother us much. Some users may find the rounded corners of the grill strange at first if they are used to rectangular-shaped grills. But I didn't have any problem during cooking or cleaning.
The best budget griddle: Blackstone 2-burner "On The Go" Outdoor Griddle
Pros and cons
Pros:
- It gets super hot super fast.
- It’s portable and foldable.
- It has excellent heat consistency.
Cons:
- It has less cooking surface area than others.
- Some holes could have been machined better.
- It can rust.
Specs
Size: 39" x 43" x 24"
Weight: 85 pounds
Material: Cold-rolled steel
Griddle area: 360 square inches
While it may seem odd that a portable unit won a top spot overall, it’s a carbon-steel griddle that's easy to maintain. While it may be designed for tailgating and camping, it’s just as at home in a permanent outdoor cooking setup.
What we love: I was surprised by how much I liked this little portable Blackstone because it’s smaller (and cheaper) than most of what I tested. It's the perfect amount of cooking space for most households of four and incredibly convenient because it collapses and has wheels, so you don't always need to leave it out if you're the type who wheels out a griddle for a sleepover breakfast.
It was hard to deny how much more evenly the heat was distributed on this Blackstone during pancake and burger tests compared to others like the Coleman. One criticism I've read about larger Blackstone units is that the temperatures at the perimeter and center are uneven. The smaller size of this particular cooktop, though, helps solve that problem (smaller cooking surface = less opportunity for temperature deviation).
One of the most convenient things about this Blackstone is that it uses camping-size propane tanks, so you don't have to deal with the larger ones. It retains heat very well, and since it is smaller, it is easy to clean, and actually performed better than the larger Blackstone.
What we’d leave: When I was assembling the Blackstone, I discovered some of the leg holes were not machined correctly (senior editor Noah Kaufman has discovered this is actually a pretty common problem on less expensive outdoor cooking equipment). Once I MacGyvered the construction, it performed exceptionally well in every test. I got a great sear on burgers and a beautiful golden color on pancakes.
The size of this little guy works against it when exposed to windy conditions because it has smaller wind screens, and the smaller burners keep it from recovering as quickly, but that's the case with many portable griddles. Luckily, this has a well-constructed lid that will protect the cooktop from temperature.
How we tested outdoor griddles
First, I had to set all of these up. Many of the flat tops I tested were incredibly heavy and required special delivery. Others took about an hour and a half to build, while the overall winner, the Solo Stove, required little to no setup beyond the cart it came with. If you live alone or don't have much help, I don't recommend getting a large griddle because setup is a major consideration, and many of these outdoor griddles require at least two people to lift. An ideal outdoor griddle should take between 30 minutes and an hour to set up. Anything more than that is excessive.
Part of the setup involved seasoning with a layer of oil on high heat (neither the Solo nor the Weber required seasoning). I noted the seasoning's effectiveness and the cooktop's appearance afterward.
To investigate how evenly the cooktops heated, I cooked buttermilk pancakes and a round of beef and turkey burgers. I looked for similar browning on items cooked all the way across the surface and for any sticking when flipping. I also did some one-off cooking tests that revealed some interesting issues. For instance, I made Korean bulgogi on the Weber Slate to see how marinated meats fared, and the infrared thermometer showed a temperature drop on the cooktop, which struggled to recover once the meat was added.
The last thing I evaluated was how well and how easily these were to clean and maintain. Many were easy to clean with simple methods: boil off the charred bits in water (you can use a steam cleaner for this), wipe them with paper towels, and apply a final layer of seasoning oil. Some had grease reservoirs that were more difficult to clean. The Traeger is one such griddle, with a shiny stainless-steel spout connecting the cooktop to the hanging bucket. You have to stick your fingers in there to get the grease out so it doesn't stick, which can be quite awkward given the angle. Storage is a concern, so we looked at models with covers or that were easy to roll out of the elements in inclement weather.
What to consider when buying an outdoor griddle
Cooktop surface material
This affects everything: heat retention, rust resistance, and long-term performance. Carbon steel is the industry standard because it's both durable and responsive, but because it can rust easily, stainless steel is gaining popularity among people who prefer less maintenance.
Heat Performance and distribution
Many griddle reviews focus on BTUs, but that doesn't give you the full picture. A superior griddle will heat evenly across a cooktop, recover quickly after cold food hits the surface, and maintain consistent temperatures without major hot spots.
Size and number of burners
This determines how many people you can realistically cook for and how versatile a griddle feels during real-world testing. If you have a larger cooktop with multiple burners, it's much easier to cook different foods at different temperatures simultaneously. I find that two burners are best for households of two to four people, while larger households prefer more burners, such as a three- to four-burner cooktop.
Build quality and design
A good griddle is sturdy, weather-resistant, and includes practical features like shelves for storing items while cooking, seamless grease Management Systems, functional wind guards, and easy-to-move lids. Cheaper construction often leads to uneven heating due to the thinness of the cooktop surface and to more maintenance due to rust.
Maintenance and upkeep
Outdoor griddles do require more care than grills, especially carbon steel and cast iron models, which need to be seasoned and maintained more often. If you don't love upkeep, pay attention to the cooktop material, since ease of maintenance has become a major differentiator across model types and the market.
Other flat top griddles I liked
Traeger Flatrock 2‑Zone Griddle
This performed very well and was easy to use. I didn’t find any cold spots, so handles a lot of food at once. It does not lose heat once ingredients are added to the cooktop. Its lowest setting is actually lower than others, such as the Blackstone, which runs hotter. The Traeger’s controls are more sensitive to variations so that cooks can temp things more accurately.
One thing I did not like about this griddle was the grease reservoir. It is an old-fashioned-looking matte-black bucket with a foil liner that hangs from its handle under the spout. I prefer integrated grease traps because they look neater. The Traeger’s price point is on the higher end, which is why I didn’t recommend it alongside the Solo, which is already on the pricier side.
Blackstone Iron Forged 28″ Griddle
It was difficult to choose between the two Blackstone griddles I tested. This one is larger and took a little more finessing to set the temperature right than the portable unit that won a top spot did. Still, I found it to be an exceptional unit for anyone who wants more cooking surface area.
Blackstone tends to put their grease trap holes at the back of the cooktops, which always frustrates me since much of the oil pools in the front. This is especially true for this model, where the excess oil that collected made cleaning a bit of a pain. When you’re cleaning, ensure the cooktop does not become disengaged from the base. You can remove it for deep cleaning, but doing so may cause it to move if it wasn't installed properly. So, check the cooktop is properly seated before use to avoid mishaps.
Weber 30” Slate Rust-Resistant Griddle
There is a lot to love about the Weber Slate. It’s natural-gas compatible, rust-resistant, and ready to go out of the box. Just wash the cooktop, no seasoning required. Its large side tables have removable parts for easy cleaning, but they are not retractable, so it has one of the largest footprints among the outdoor griddles I tested. It was one of the heaviest and most complicated to set up, as it arrived in many small boxes inside a single large and extremely heavy box.
The cooktop loses heat when cold items are added and takes longer to recover than others. However, the three zones provide more than enough coverage for most applications. It’s made by Weber, which is known for its durability and quality construction, so the brand is normally a safe bet for most outdoor products.
Flat top griddles I don’t recommend
The Coleman is large with its four burners, and well-suited for a true cookout, hence the name. Despite lacking a cover, the Coleman maintains strong low-end temperatures. Its heating pattern, however, proved inconsistent across the surface. Even during seasoning, I noticed the darkest spots were at the center, with little heat reaching the front of the grill by a pretty large margin.
It could be good for indirect heat (not a common use for a griddle, honestly), but I prefer more coverage and heat control instead. It is very large due to the four-burner construction. This could be good for large gatherings, but there are better outdoor griddles for day-to-day use.
The Pit Boss has a lot of extras going for it. It has a paper towel holder, a bottle opener, a trash bag holder, plenty of hooks for all of your things, a propane tank cover, and a match holder. You can detach it from the base if you want to take it on a camping trip. The lid, however, is very tough to use. It sticks and requires a lot of force.
The many features compete with one another, like the hooks placed right over the propane tank, so they are unusable. It has racetrack burners, a continuous loop designed to eliminate the cold spots straight burners create. They provide excellent heat retention on the Pit Boss, and its surface was incredibly nonstick after seasoning. The added features, however, are excessive and unnecessary.
What to ask before and after you buy an outdoor griddle
Are outdoor griddles worth it?
A good place to start. Our answer is yes because they offer more versatility than traditional grills. You can cook many different dishes on one surface without other cookware, and they let you keep cooking and smells outside the kitchen, which means less cleanup. That's something we can all get behind.
What size outdoor griddle should I buy?
The best outdoor griddle size for your household depends on how many people you typically cook for. I find that a two-burner griddle is ideal for most families of two to four. If you have a large family or find yourself batch-cooking for meal prep, you'll want to opt for a three- to four-burner model, since it provides more cooking space and multiple heat zones.
How do I season my outdoor griddle?
Before you use your outdoor griddle, clean it with hot, soapy water to remove any manufacturing dust, then follow the manufacturer's seasoning instructions. Most require you to do three to four rounds of seasoning, in which you apply a layer of cooking oil (many griddle makers sell their own), burn it off, and then wipe off the excess before repeating the round. This creates a non-stick cooking surface and helps protect the flat top from damage, such as rust caused by the elements.
How do you clean and maintain an outdoor griddle?
Most outdoor griddles need to be cleaned while they are still warm by scraping away food debris and steaming off any stubborn bits with water. You don't need to flood the cooktop, but squirting a bit of water helps it along. After you have removed the residue, dry the surface, then apply a thin coat of oil to help prevent rust. Carbon steel and cast iron griddles require occasional reseasoning, depending on their use.
What can you cook, and what should I cook first?
Griddles are extremely versatile, and you can cook all sorts of traditional and more challenging dishes on them. Smash Burgers, fajitas, pancakes, eggs, Hibachi dishes, and cheesesteaks are all easy to pull off.
What oil is best for seasoning a griddle?
Anything with a high smoke point is good for outdoor griddles, but canola oil is a good, cheap option. Most manufacturers caution against using any spray oils because they often contain other additives that can damage your cooktop.
What you'll need with your griddle
- The best grill brushes (including a griddle-friendly steam cleaner)
- The best grill gloves
- A giant spatula to fix your flipping problems