What is summer without grilling on the weekend, enjoying time spent with friends and just having fun? What about when winter arrives and you just yearn to grill your food? Thinking of the taste of a grilled hamburger patty, yummy fish, or plant-based meat is enough to send your mouth watering and taste buds begging. Why let the weather spoil your grilling fun?
The solution is a smokeless electric grill you can use indoors, no matter whether it is heatwave hot or snowy cold.
The great thing about smokeless indoor grills is that when you grill, there is practically no smoke, making these grills suitable for small apartment living in the city. The heat source evenly heats up the grill plate, so your meat, veggies, or even desserts cook evenly. With the fat draining away, your food is healthy and tasty.
What is the best smokeless indoor grill to buy? Find out with our product reviews and in-depth buyers guide with the top features to keep in mind to easily find the right indoor grill for you!
| Product | Features | |
|---|---|---|
Best Overall |  George Foreman Indoor/Outdoor Electric Grill | |
Runner up |  PowerXL Smokeless Grill | |
Budget pick |  New House Kitchen Electric Smokeless Indoor Grill | |
Table of Contents
Are Smokeless Grills Good?
Smokeless grills are great for cooking meat and veggies. They do not produce smoke and ash like charcoal or wood-burning grills do. They also heat more evenly and cleanly, so they won’t leave any black marks on your food. They are better than gas grills because they are more energy-efficient.
Features to Consider
What are the features you should consider when looking for the best indoor smokeless electric grill? Let’s find out with this complete buyers guide:
Just How Smokeless is it? What type of technologies are used to keep it smokeless?
Most smokeless grills advertise themselves as being virtually smokeless. In general, they produce none to hardly any smoke in your indoor cooking area; however, if you grill protein sources that contain a lot of fat, this will produce more smoke.
The features that make grills smokeless include infrared heating, a water tray or drip pan, an inbuilt fan or extractor, and a hood. While there may be wisps of smoke, these won’t set off your smoke alarm. Some electric grills also use temperature control, a cool-air zone, and a splatter shield to decrease the chances of smoke.
Grill Surface
Ideally, the grill surface of your indoor smokeless grill should be non-stick, so you can easily remove your food from the grill. It should also have raised ribs on the surface that leave those char-grilled marks that are expected from grilled food.
Wattage, Heat Distribution, Temperature Adjustment, and Searing Capability
Ensure your indoor grill’s wattage is a maximum of 1780 watts as American wall outlets can only handle a max of 1800 watts.
You also want your grill plate and heating system to heat your food evenly, which helps your protein to sear well. An adjustable temperature knob and an LED display further give you more control over the grilling process.
Cleaning
You definitely don’t need an appliance that is difficult to clean, but lucky for you, most electric indoor grills are easy to clean.
Most smokeless units feature a water or drip pan to capture excess oil and fat, so this is something to look for. The grease management system should also be removable so you can wash it, either by hand or in your dishwasher. Many of the electric grills have removable parts that are safe to be placed in your dishwasher. This makes cleaning super easy.
The grill should also be non-stick coated so food doesn’t stick, and this also makes it easy to simply wipe or wash.
The other consideration is the lid. Grease may splatter onto the lid, so if you can get a lid that’s removable and dishwasher safe, then that’s the easiest way to go. But some lids are part of the grill body, so you’ll have to clean this by hand once the appliance has cooled down after your grilling session.
Ease of Use
You want your electric smokeless indoor grill to be easy to use. That means an adjustable temperature knob as well as a care and instruction manual.
Look for a grill plate that is non-stick, so that when you need to flip some fish, it doesn’t stick to the grill surface or break apart.
If your indoor grill can be portable, then that is also great as you can use it in the kitchen, on the patio, and even outdoors if you have an electrical outlet when you go camping or RV-ing.
Cooking Surface Area and Overall Size
In general, indoor electric grills are smaller than the grills you get for outside use because you can only generate a limited amount of heat from the standard electrical or power outlet.
Consider how much you need to grill. Do you have a small family, or do you also frequently cater for your family and friends at gatherings? Some indoor grills are perfect for a one-off meal for a family of two or three, while other grills can cater to large families with 12+ portions.
Then there is also the actual size of the appliance, not just the grill area. Ensure you have enough kitchen countertop space as some grills are quite bulky. If it is tall, make sure it will fit under your upper cabinets because you won’t be able to pull it forward too much. The overall size also affects where you will store the indoor grill when not in use.
Accessories
Some electric grills also feature other cooking functions, such as being able to dehydrate, roast, sauté, air crisp, and bake. With these functionalities, you may get various accessories like a crisper basket or cooking pot.
Other accessories to watch out for with your smokeless indoor grill are a cleaning brush to remove the residue from your grill plate, a window lid so you can watch as your food cooks, and a digital roast thermometer.
Best Smokeless Indoor Grill Reviews
Ninja Foodi AG301 5-in-1 Indoor Electric Countertop Grill
Looking for the distinctive grill flavor that a traditional outdoor grill gives you on a summer’s day? The 500 degree grate ensures your food gets those char-grilled flavors and marks of love. And the 500 degree cyclonic air sears your meat, browning it, and helps with charring with no worries about food burning. Its completely food-safe, nonstick, ceramic-coated grill grate measures 10″ by 10″, which is just right for 2-4 people.
The Ninja Foodie AG301 offers you 5 cooking functions with a 15-recipe book in a neat stainless steel appliance. Besides the char marks and the grill flavor, if you forgot to defrost your dinner, you don’t need to worry. Simply place your meat or veggies in the Foodie, and it’ll be chargrilled in less than 30 minutes. There’s a 6 quart cooking pot and it even has a crisper/roasting basket so that you can air fry things like french fries using much less oil than you would be deep frying. The other 3 cooking functions are bake, roast, and dehydrate.
Easy to clean, it comes with a cleaning brush. Its 1760 watt power is as good in performance as an outdoor charcoal grill.
Pros:
Cons
PowerXL Smokeless Grill
The PowerXL grill is family size, so you can grill a meal for your whole family with this appliance. The smart, mess-free drip tray catches extra fats and oils, and it’s removable, making cleaning a breeze. It is compact and portable, so you can even take it with you when you go camping or want to grill outside.
The Cerami-Tech non-stick coating on the die-cast grill grate ensures your food doesn’t stick and fish doesn’t fall apart. The grill surface gives your meat the authentic char-grilled marks and flavor. With the flat griddle plate, you even have a professional breakfast-making station available.
Pros
Cons
CUSIMAX Smokeless Indoor Electric Grill and Griddle
The CUSIMAX is ideal for indoor use, ensuring you can easily grill your lunch or dinner for up to 4 people at a time. Just like the outside BBQ experience, your food has grill marks thanks to the perforated grill plate, and it also filters out any extra oil. Using the smart LED display, you can adjust the heat from 200℉ to 450℉. The unit works on 1500 watts of power.
There’s a water tray for excess fat collection and the built-in turbo smoke extractor sucks away smoke before it can fill up your kitchen and the design makes it easy to set up a Korean barbecue. For other types of grilling, you may want to use the detachable tempered glass lid.
Cleaning is easy, with most parts being detachable and dishwasher-safe.
Pros
Cons
Techwood Indoor Smokeless Grill
It comes with a roller vane to absorb most of the smoke and a removable water tray under the grill plate. With this smokeless technology, there is virtually no smoke in your kitchen while the appliance is in use. It is also easy to use and if you want to cook a lot of food at once, this is ideal.
There’s a nice safety feature where an automatic shutoff is built in to prevent the internal temperature from getting too high.
The removable glass lid, non-stick grill plate, and drip tray are dishwasher-safe, making cleanup easy.
Pros
Cons
George Foreman 12+ Servings Indoor/Outdoor Electric Grill
This is the most powerful grill on this list, with a wattage of 1600 and the ability to adjust temperature between 250 degrees and 500 degrees F.
For a grill that can be used inside and out, the George Foreman is great. The other main benefit is grilling meat and veggies for a large group of people, which eliminates cooking in batches. The adjustable temperature control probe comes with 5 heat settings so that you can grill anything you want. The high-domed lid works very well for convection-type grilling.
The non-stick coating is easy to clean and durable, and it also means you don’t need to worry about using oil or butter.
Pros
Cons
Best Smokeless Indoor BBQ Grill Under $100
New House Kitchen Electric Smokeless Indoor Grill
The New House Kitchen is an indoor grill with an integrated 1200 watts heating element that heats up fast. While this may not be powerful enough for getting a sear on steaks, you will be able to get the grill marks on fish, chicken, and veggies. For such an affordable smoke free indoor grill, you can’t really complain.
The grill’s cooking surface includes 3 different heat zones to allow grilling of a variety of foods and ingredients simultaneously. Additionally, it shuts off automatically when the temperature increases beyond its maximum.
The cooling drip pan, when filled with water, collects any excess oil and fat, so your food is healthy and it doesn’t get a chance to produce smoke. During cleanup, the grill top and water tray can easily be removed and cleaned in the dishwasher or washed by hand.
Pros
Cons
Hamilton Beach Electric Indoor Searing Grill
With the window in the lid, you can watch while your food is grilling, and with the lid closed, you also get the signature grill marks on your protein and veggies. There are power and pre-heat lights so you don’t need to rely on guesswork to get your food just right.
The hood, grill plate and large drip tray are all dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. The combination of hood and drip tray prevents smoke from spreading.
Pros
Cons
