If you have a griddle you love and you wonder why you’d ever trade it in, you have to take a look at the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe. This griddle doesn’t just make pancakes; it makes pancakes and bacon at the same time, sears steak, fries up a great burger, and makes the perfect panini. I tested out the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe for two weeks, using it almost every day, and there’s nothing this griddle can’t handle. It also has a few convenient features that make it a go-to small appliance you will use every day.
Appearance and features of Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe
The Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe is a foldable grill. It has a 240-inch non-stick cooking surface and it weighs 7.48 kg.
- Gives you six ways to cook including contact grill, full griddle, full grill, half grill/half griddle, Panini press, and top melt
- Dual-zone temperature control so you can set the temperature for each side of the grill
- SearBlast button will sear your steak or crisp your bacon
- Family-sized grill makes pancakes and bacon or bacon and eggs at the same time
- Panini-press can be set by height so you can press down on your sandwich or just melt the top
- Grease trap catches all grease and is easy to clean
- Removable and reversible grill/griddle plates are dishwasher safe
Testing Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe
I’ve had the same griddle for at least 10 years, but I never thought much about upgrading it until I tried the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe. I had no idea a griddle could have so many different functions, and I made use of them every day I was testing it.
Reversible grill plates
If you have a standard griddle the way I do, with a long flat surface, you wipe it clean before you put it away. If it becomes really dirty you will have to scrub at it to get it clean, and over the years it’s become more difficult to get it really clean as food accumulates in the gaps between the grill and the casing.
With the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe, the grill plates are removable. You just press on the sides to pop them off. Even better? They are dishwasher safe so you don’t have to scrub at them.
Removing the plates means you can switch up how you cook. Instead of cooking bacon and eggs or pancakes on your griddle and having the bacon grease drip into your eggs, everything can be kept separate. You can have pancakes on one side, bacon and eggs on the other.
Different temperatures for both sides of the grill
You can adjust the heat on both sides of the grill, and this is a fantastic option if you’re cooking a family-sized brunch. Normally we cook pancakes on our griddle and bacon in a pan or in the oven. I could easily fit six medium-pancakes on one side of the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe and 5 pieces of bacon on the other, and having them all cook together at the same time on the same grill meant that a full breakfast was served all at once instead of in stages. I love the adjustable temperature for both sides, because I tend to cook bacon at a higher heat than pancakes.
We cooked bacon at 375 to 400 and it came out perfect. We did try the sear function on the bacon because my son loves crispy bacon. He liked how it turned out, but you really have to watch over it while searing. SearBlast will turn up the temp to 500 for about 2 minutes, so if you’re not hovering you’ll end up with really crispy bacon.
I also loved how the surface of the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe was very flat and level when it was extended into a full griddle. That meant the eggs I cooked didn’t leave a long trail of egg white the way my grill does when I cracked them right on the surface.
The Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe is not just for breakfast
If you only used the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe for breakfast, you’d be missing out on some amazing lunches and dinners. It can sear steak to perfection, leaving those great grill lines on the meat, and it works just as well with chicken breast. I experimented with the flat grill surface and the griddle, turning SearBlast off and on depending on how far into the cooking process I was. I found I liked how the griddle would cook chicken, but the steak was pretty great on the flat surface too.
I think comes down to a matter of preference, but after using the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe I feel like I’m a flat surface girl for burgers and a griddle for steak and chicken.
A better grease trap for easy cleanup
The grease trap on the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe sits between the grills. While my own griddle has a grease trap, it’s attached to the appliance and sits at the front end. That makes clean up more difficult because you have to wipe an attached basket out. With the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe, the grease trap fills up and you just slide it out and wipe it down. It’s a small convenience, but I love it.
Panini anyone?
The Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe makes Paninis so well my entire family is asking me to upgrade to this grill. I could make four small Panini or two large and one small Panini at the same time, so there was no waiting for grilled cheese. We got creative with our sandwiches too, so it was a fun family dinner.
You can adjust the top grill so it closes right down on your sandwich or micro-adjust it so you only get a light press. We propped it at up at the top spot for a top-melt sandwich and it was so good, with the bottom bread lightly toasted and top cheese melted.
Once you start making Panini with the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe, you won’t want to stop. There are so many combinations, and because the grill is so large you can make a weeknight dinner in no time at all.
The sky’s the limit with the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe
After so long with my long, flat griddle, the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe has made me realize it’s way past time for an upgrade. I love the dual temperature options, the removable and reversible grill plates, and the adjustable Panini press options. I can’t believe I can say I love a grease trap, but it’s so nice to be able to pull off the trap and clean the grease out.
This griddle folds up for easy storage, heats up in a hurry, and is so versatile. My husband loved making weekend pancakes, eggs, and bacon on it, and the entire family has really enjoyed the Panini press.
If you’re looking for a grill/griddle upgrade, I can’t recommend the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe enough. This great double-duty small appliance is available right now on Best Buy
Burgers…lamb burgers specifically 🙂
Turkey, Havarti, and Cranberry Panini
I would like to try making some grilled chicken and pineapple burgers
Thanks for the review! I would love to make a grilled chicken Panini with avacado, tomatoe and garlic mayo!
Would be nice to prepare brekky on this for a big family.Bacon,sausages,toast n pancakes.
Would griddle some Kaathi rolls(tortilla rolls) and pancakes and toast .yummmm
French toast and paninis 🙂
Yes please.I would love to griddle the bacon n some sausages.
Quesadillas
I think banana bread french toast would be delicious on this awesome grill!
Grilled fruit, pineapple, watermelon.
It would be perfect to replace my Foreman grille for hamburgers and searing tuna steaks
I’d like to try to grill eggplant on this machine
i would love to make some pancakes with this griddler
I would love to make Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese with Apples, Walnuts and Brie.
chicken salad with cranberries and apples
Grilled portobello mushrooms with bacon and grilled onions.
I would make a great big 12″ pizza sub with all the fixin’s for my grandson and one for me too of course. I make them on our BBQ in the summer but they would be so much better on the Griddler!
I would make a grilled peanut butter, bacon and banana sandwich.
eggs, bacon and french toast
Grilled cheese
I thin k I’d try to make a deluxe omelette first
I didn’t know that we can make omelettes, I’ll definitely will do !
I would like to make omelettes
I will make omelettes
I would make garlic and herb marinated lamb chops
Grilled maple bacon and cheddar sandwiches.
Gluten free vegan banana chocolate pancakes! Yum!
I’d use it to make pancakes.
I would make butter broiled lobster
Since I don’t own or cannot have a BBQ on my balcony – I would enjoy making stuffed jalapenos and cheese burgers. Garlic toasted buns, some grilled onion with more cheese on top. Yup! I need a burger now…
Plan to Press and Grill Chinese Pork Bao.
I would make a prosciutto and pesto panini sandwich for lunch and have a light green salad on the side.
Breakfast for supper.
I would make tons of pressed paninis with the Cuisinart griddler !
Grilled portbello mushrooms with cheese on top.. yumm…
I’d use this to make pancakes.
I would make my breakfast, fried eggs, and bacon!
I’d make homemade cheese and jalapeno hamburgers!!
A grilled cheese sandwich with swiss, edam and bacon.
We’re nearing that time of year when my garden explodes with delicious tomatoes and I have to be creative in how I use them. One of my family’s favourites is BLTs. I could use the griddle to make some crispy bacon and then use the panini press to make the delicious sandwich! Fast, convenient, and super yummy.
First the bacon then turn that into a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich
With the dual sides I would grill vegetables on one side and burgers on the other. Perfect for empty nesters!
I would make Cajun Shrimp.
We love breakfast anytime of the day so blueberry pancakes, hash browns, and BACON, BACON, BACON!
This would be awesome for making our Sunday morning waffles!
I think I would try to make a grilled cheese & ham sandwich in the new grill.
Bacon and eggs!
I would make a grill cheese, bacon and tomato sandwich.
I would make omlets on one side and ham slices on the other. Would be awesome as 2 things at once with the different temperatures and plates.
Comments are closed.