Featuring smooth cooking surfaces that allow you to take just about any recipe outside, flat-top grills offer unparalleled versatility. On these outdoor griddles, you can fire up everything from buttermilk pancakes and bacon to smash burgers and flaky fish—and they’re a cinch to use. Out of the very best flat-top grills available in 2024, we believe the top option for most people is the Blackstone Culinary 4-Burner Griddle, a durable model with generous cooking and prep space.
The Blackstone flat-top grill offers a generous 720 square inches of cooking space, making it ideal … [+] for preparing breakfast for the family or grilling burgers for a group.
ILLUSTRATION: FORBES / PHOTO: RETAILERS
Even if you don’t have much experience firing up grills, know that “anyone who has ever cooked anything in a pan or on a stove is qualified to cook on a flat-top grill,” says Paul Sidoriak, author of The Flippin’ Awesome Backyard Griddle Cookbook. “With traditional grills, you cook over an open flame, which can be very intimidating to novice cooks. But with a flat top, those flames are contained.” And because flat-top grills don’t have grates like standard grills, they’re ideal for cooking smaller, delicate foods that might otherwise fall through the grates—think shrimp, asparagus and eggs. Ahead, here are our favorite flat-top griddles currently on the market.
A Reputable Model With Four Cooking Zones And Ample Prep Space
Ace Hardware
Blackstone Culinary 4-Burner Griddle
Dimensions: 62 x 22 x 36 inches |Weight: 120 pounds |Total cooking area: 720 square inches |Cooking power: 60,000 BTUs
This Blackstone flat-top grill offers a generous 720 square inches of cooking space, making it ideal for preparing breakfast for the family or grilling burgers for a group. The grill features four independent cooking zones, allowing you to cook vegetables in one area, sear steak in another, sizzle fish in a separate space and even keep cooked foods warm. The four burners provide consistent heat across the griddle, so you won’t have to worry about cold spots.
Additionally, the grill includes two spacious prep tables and a large shelf underneath, providing ample space for ingredients and cooking supplies. Its powder-coated frame ensures durability, making it suitable for outdoor use
Best Budget Flat-Top Grill
An Affordable Option For Less Than $250
Amazon
Nexgrill Daytona 3-Burner Propane Grill
Dimensions: 27 x 17 x 36 inches |Weight: 120 pounds |Total cooking area: 630 square inches |Cooking power: 45,000 BTUs
Priced at $325, this Nexgrill offers great value. With 45,000 BTUs, it may not be the most powerful grill on the market, but it’s more than sufficient for most home cooks. The grill features three separate burners and 630 square inches of cooking space, providing ample room to cook for a family of four in a single session. Despite its affordable price, this Nexgrill includes side and bottom shelves, as well as six hooks for storing grilling essentials. Its four-wheel design makes it easy to move around.
Best Upgrade Flat-Top Grill
A Spacious Model With Loaded With Thoughtful Features
Amazon
Pit Boss Ultimate Outdoor 5-Burner Gas Griddle
Dimensions: 57 x 26 x 22 inches |Weight: 172 pounds | Total cooking area: 647 square inches |Cooking power: 50,000 BTUs
This Pit Boss flat-top grill is a powerhouse with five stainless-steel gas burners delivering 50,000 BTUs. It boasts a generous 647 square inches of cooking space, along with folding side shelves for prep work and a full steel cabinet for storing tools.
Beyond its impressive size, the grill offers practical features like a porcelain-coated cooking surface, which prevents food from sticking and makes cleanup easy. Additional useful features include a paper towel holder and a trash bag opener, elevating its convenience for outdoor cooking.
Best Combo Flat-Top Grill
A Versatile Model Offering The Best Of Both Worlds
Wayfair
Royal Gourmet Silver 4-Burner Liquid Propane Gas Grill
Dimensions: 66 x 22 x 36.5 inches |Weight: 82 pounds | Total cooking area: 606 square inches |Cooking power: 48,000 BTUs
Not sure whether to go for a traditional or flat-top grill? The Royal Gourmet combo grill offers the best of both worlds. With four independently controlled burners, it features a 292 square-inch gas grill and a 314 square-inch flat-top griddle, allowing you to sear asparagus and char steak simultaneously. Built to last, the griddle is made from ceramic-coated steel, protecting it against oxidation and extending the life of your grill.
Best Large Flat-Top Grill
An Extra Big Option That Boasts 877 Square Feet Of Cooking Space
The Home Depot
Camp Chef 6-Burner Flat Top Grill
Dimensions: 78 x 20.5 x 37 inches |Weight: 160 pounds | Total cooking area: 877 square inches | Cooking power: 72,000 BTUs
Love cooking for a crowd? The Camp Chef six-burner grill has you covered. With an impressive 877 square inches of cooking space and 72,000 BTUs across six burners—more than any other grill on our list—this grill is perfect for feeding the entire neighborhood. Its pre-seasoned nonstick surface makes cooking and cleanup easy. For added convenience, folding side shelves offer extra prep space, while two large shelves below the griddle provide plenty of room for plates and grilling supplies.
Best Compact Flat-Top Grill
A Smaller Pick With A Folding Prep Table
Lowe’s
Char-Griller Flat Iron 3-Burner Griddle
Dimensions: 47 x 25 x 37 inches |Weight: 87 pounds |Total cooking area: 520 square inches |Cooking power: 36,000 BTUs
The Char-Griller is perfect for making backyard-cooking dreams come true, even in tight outdoor spaces. Despite its compact size, it offers a generous 520 square inches of cooking space on a heavy gauge steel cooktop, powered by three independent burners. It also includes a side prep table with utensil hooks that can be folded away for convenience. This smartly designed flat-top grill features wind guards on the sides to keep your food hot and comes with wheels and a handle, making it easy to move around as needed.
Best Portable Flat-Top Grill
A Tabletop Grill That’s Ready For The Road
Amazon
Captiva Designs Tabletop Griddle
Dimensions: 29 x 12 x 21 inches |Weight: 38 pounds | Total cooking area: 370 square inches |Cooking power: 24,000 BTUs
The Captiva Designs Tabletop Griddle is ideal for flat-top cooking on the go, perfect for tailgating and camping. While its 370 square-inch cooktop isn’t the largest, it’s spacious enough to cook a few pancakes or burgers simultaneously. The three stainless steel burners allow for different cooking zones, so you can prepare multiple dishes at once. Weighing 38 pounds, this griddle isn’t the lightest to transport, but it’s compact enough for most people to move around easily.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
Forbes Vetted’s home and kitchen editors bring years and years of experience covering all kinds of home products, including outdoor cooking staples. We’ve rounded up the best indoor grills and kamado grills, for example, and we’ve tested charcoal grills.
The author of this piece, Korin Miller, is a frequent contributor to Forbes Vetted who’s covered gas grills, pellet smokers and other outdoor cooking essentials.
We regularly update all our stories to ensure we continue to stand by our picks and that everything remains up to date. This piece was last updated in August 2024.
How We Chose The Best Flat-Top Grills
To determine the absolute best flat-top grills you can buy in 2024, we started by consulting five culinary and grill experts for their input on what to look for in these versatile machines. Then, we began on our search.
We scanned the market to identify top-rated and best-selling flat-top grills from trusted brands like Blackstone, Camp Chef and Char-Griller.
After noting which models met our standards for quality, we took a closer look at the griddles’ cooking area, BTUs, burners and add-on features.
Reviews from real users were also factored in to get a sense of how these grills perform in various households, as well as how they hold up over time.
Is A Flat-Top Grill Worth It?
In most cases, yes—but it depends how often you plan on using it. “There are some benefits of choosing a flat versus a regular grill [and] one of the advantages is versatile cooking,” says Alejandro Bonilla, head chef of Tribeca-based restaurants Tiny’s, Smith & Mills and Yves. “People may call them flat top ‘grills,’ but, with the right training and right accessories, these appliances can cook almost any style.” You can also cook more items at once with a flat-top grill, and you even have the option to cook multiple side dishes and protein while entertaining your guests outside rather than running back into the kitchen, he says. That said, if you crave a smoky or charred flavor for your meats and vegetables, it may be better to opt for a t
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