The Best Outdoor Griddle for 2024

The outdoor griddle is a hot commodity in the outdoor cooking space, and it's time to determine who makes the best outdoor flat top griddle. We recently put 8 different brands to the test.

Why Trust Our Review

We have personally used every outdoor griddle mentioned in this article. Not only have we used each one, but we also used each one side-by-side so that we could best compare similar qualities. Don't just take my word for it. The evidence is in the pictures and video.

This article was not written by AI; it was written by real humans who have actually used these products.

We have run each outdoor gas griddle through the same series of tests and will let the data speak for itself.

Though the flat top griddles themselves were supplied to us for free for this video and article, none of the manufacturers have paid to be involved or "win" this review.

We are affiliates, however, and will earn a small commission if you purchase any of these gas griddles using our link. That is one of the ways we are able to continue doing what we do, so we do appreciate your support in that way.

Our Quick Picks

The Grilla Primate, Traeger Flatrock, Halo Elite 4B and the Weber slate all passed the wind test with flying colors. I would cook in the wind with any of those models. The Grilla Primate had the best bacon cook this year followed by the Traeger Flatrock and the Halo Elite 4B.

The Blackstone struggled to cook the bacon closest to the fan, very similar to the cook we got from the Loco griddle. The Pit Boss was very much affected by the wind. The Camp Chef Gridiron showed us an even gradient from fully cooked at the farthest away to barely cooked closest to the fan.

Cooking Space

I’m sure you noticed there is a wide range of flat top griddle sizes in our comparison, with the largest being 37" and the smallest coming in at 28 inches. You can see the breakdown in griddle sizes here, but basically there’s a group of griddles that range from 28-31 inches, and another group that range between 36-37 inches.

The Weber and Blackstone are also available in larger sizes as well as what you see here. 

So what’s the difference in capacity between a 28” and a 37” griddle? Let me show you in pancakes.

Capacity

Melissa made a batch of her homemade buttermilk pancake recipe on each of these griddles to see how many standard size pancakes could fit, as well as if the grease drain impacted the capacity at all. We were able to fit 15- 1/4 cup size pancakes on the Blackstone, Traeger, and Weber.

The larger griddles all comfortably fit 18 pancakes with no trouble at all.

Cooking Height

Cooking height is something to strongly consider if you’re very tall, or more on the petite side. Melissa is 5’2” and I’m 5’11” so what’s comfortable for me probably feels too high for her and vice versa. There's about an 8 inch difference in cooking height between these models, with the Loco having the highest cooking position at 40 inches and the Blackstone with the lowest cooking height at 32 and a half inches high.

Low temperature test

We get a lot of questions about how low of a temperature each flat top griddle can run, so we tested each griddle using the Thermoworks IR Gun and the Pro Surface Thermapen. The Pro Surface Thermapen has a flat swivel tip on the end designed for flat surfaces, and was perfect for this test as long as we stayed under 572 degrees. Once we got over that, I switched to the IR Gun which can handle over 1,000 degrees.

We ran each griddle on low for 15 minutes and even though I felt that 15 minutes was a fair test, in reality, if I'm cooking for a crowd, I want my griddle to continue to run low as long as I'm cooking, so I let the test run all the way to the 30 minute mark, and here's how the numbers changed for each griddle. 

The Loco had the lowest consistent temperature of the testing group by almost 100 degrees at 247.5 degrees. At the 30 minute mark, it actually went down about 10 degrees in temperature, so there’s amazing low temperature control with the Loco. The Halo Elite 4B had the highest low temperature at 469 degrees, and at the 30 minute mark, it was 540 degrees.

High Temperature Test

At this point, the griddles were already warmed up, so it seemed logical to run a high temperature test and see how hot these guys would get if I gave them 15 minutes set to full power. The graph above shows the highest average temperature measured across the entire griddle surface for each griddle in the testing group.

The Weber Slate takes the prize for a high temperature of 650 degrees, almost 200 degrees hotter than the high of 480 degrees for the Loco Series II.

Ambient Temperature Test

I also wanted to test the temperatures around the flat top griddle to see how hot it got where we stood as well as how hot it gets on each of the side shelves while cooking. We ran this test alongside the lowest and highest temperature test, so for the first 30 minutes the griddle was set to low, and for the last 15 minutes, it was set as high as it would go. 

During our testing, the Loco side shelves were the least affected by the griddle heat, staying under 114° for the entire 45 minutes.

The Camp Chef Gridiron shelves were the most affected, reaching temperatures as high as 200° when set to high.

The Results of Our Flat Top Grill Testing

How To Choose The Best Flat Top Griddle For You

We did a full week of testing 8 griddles and in the process, we were able to conclude what our favorite (or favorites) were from the bunch. The thing is, we don't necessarily use outdoor gas griddles the same way you might. And the things we care about might be different from the things you care about. So you and I might look at the exact same data and reach different conclusions about which flat-top we prefer.

Here are a few questions we recommend asking to help you decide which griddle is right for you.

How much cooking area do I need?

Outdoor gas griddles come in a variety of sizes and it can be difficult to decide what the perfect size might be for you. You don't want to go too big and have a cooking appliance that takes up too much patio space, but you also don't want to go too small, limiting what you can cook on your new griddle.

Before you commit to a particular griddle size, I recommend making a list of 5-10 foods or meals you plan on cooking on your griddle. Does your list consist of mostly single-course foods or do you find that you're wanting to cook full meals?

In our experience, we often run out of space when cooking a full meal on a griddle, so more space is better for us.

What is the heat source for a flat-top grill?

Most flat-top grills on the market are heated by propane or natural gas burners below the griddle surface. These burners can come in all shapes, sizes, and BTUs.

Sometimes the arrangement of burners results in hot spots and cold spots that present challenges when cooking. Other times the arrangement is just right for even cooking front to back and side to side.

When shopping for your next outdoor gas griddle, take a look under the hood to see what the burner situation is.

How is grease managed?

Flat-top cooking often produces grease and food debris that needs a place to go, so manufacturers have designed their griddles to channel grease into some type of removable grease tray. The location of the grease trap varies from griddle to griddle; some in the front, and some in the back. As you compare each grease management system here are some things to consider:

1. How much cooking surface is lost to the grease trap and does it look like food might accidentally get lost down that hole while cooking? There's nothing worse than accidentally knocking a shrimp down the grease trap.
2. Is the removable grease tray exposed to the elements? If the griddle is left uncovered and it rains, will the grease tray collect rainwater?
3. What's the capacity of the grease tray? Will it need to be emptied after every cook?

How will the flat-top grill perform in windy conditions?

Not all outdoor gas griddles perform equally in windy conditions. Many griddles are built with a gap between the griddle surface and the burners below for airflow. These griddles struggle to perform well in windy conditions.

There are some flat-top grills available with a recessed griddle surface, protecting the burners from exposure to the wind. These flat-top griddles perform equally regardless of the wind.

I highly recommend choosing an outdoor griddle that will perform well on a windy day.

How much prep and storage space will I need?

Griddle cooking is typically hot and fast. Emphasis on the fast.

It is important to have all your ducks in a row before you start cooking because you can't generally leave your food on the hot griddle surface and run back inside to grab something. Not only do you need to have all your ingredients and cooking utensils ready, but you also need to have your clean dish or dishes to transfer the cooked food into when it's done cooking.

This is why sufficient shelf space is absolutely critical in my opinion. Unless you want to have to set up a table every time you cook on your griddle, your griddle shelves need to be able to accommodate the tools and ingredients for the job.

Do I need to season my outdoor gas griddle before I use it?

Most carbon steel outdoor griddles will need to be seasoned before use unless clearly labeled "pre-seasoned" in the manual. Stainless steel griddle surfaces do not require seasoning.

The seasoning process will help your griddle develop a non-stick cooking surface as well as help protect your griddle from rust, extending the life of your flat-top grill.

What griddle care and maintenance is required?

Treat your carbon steel griddle surface the same way you would your favorite cast iron pan. Season it with oil (several layers) before first use, don't wash with soap, but instead, use water and an abrasive scrub tool to remove any food debris, and reseason with oil after each use. Failure to reseason your griddle surface after each use may result in rust developing.