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
crispy wraps.
I would like to try steak tacos with fresh green and red peppers and onions and corn.
Grilled Vegetables and Goat Cheese Paninis.
I would like to try burgers
I would make pannina
Bacon-Wrapped Burger Roll
Okonomiyaki – savoury Japanese pancakes with shrimp, octopus, chopped cabbage, cheese, noodles…
I would make a hot italian salami and mozarella cheese panini sandwich .
My famous panini. I can’t tell you what’s inside, it’s a secret 🙂
Spinach and ricotta grilled cheese sandwiches.
I would have Pancakes for breakfast, grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. There’s 2/3 meals right there, all done on the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe!
On my Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe I would make toasted polenta, covered with melted blue cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms. It will be so delicious.
a full English breakfast!!
I would make a cheese and bacon panini
I would make crab cakes.
I would use this to grill veggies like peppers and eggplant then use it to make paninis with the veggies and cheese!
I think I would try to make a grilled cheese & ham sandwich in the new gril
The Cuisinart Griddler would be fantastic to use to make bacon and eggs for breakfast (or supper if you like!). Thanks for the opportunity!
Shrimp Po Boy… yum
I love to grill my wraps so that’s what I would do!
I would make paninis, stuffed with all sorts of vegetables.
grilled breakfast Panini sandwiches! yummm
I would make rainbow trout and a side of grilled veggies on the new griddle.
I think I would try french toast
I would definitely try pancakes on the flat side
This just calls for bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers grilled
Pancakes….you talking about my world famous (to my grankids) style of flapjacks right ??? Mine are nice fluffy and good for you
Hamburgers fro my husband and son! Thanks
With my Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe I would grill baby potatoes. I would slice the potatoes with a ripple effect, sprinkle on some salt & pepper. Also add some fresh onions from the garden to add that summer vibe . Mmm good.
I would love to make a panini with some Italian cold cuts, a slice or two of provolone and some basil. Yum. Breakfast for dinner would be our go to though!
Breakfast pinini
Breakfast panini with bacon, eggs and veggies
Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches!
I think I would try to make a grilled cheese & ham sandwich in the new grill
I would use the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe to make fun pancake breakfasts for my daughter 🙂
This would be great for a weekend brunch with the family – we could cook sausages, hash browns, eggs, bacon, and toast all at the same time. How awesome would that be!
I would grill some bacon and cheese sandwhich
I would love to grill some vegetables!
I would grill a swiss cheese sandwich with grilled apple slices on the side.
I would grill some breakfast sausages and cook blueberry pancakes on the griddle for breakfast.
I’d love to have this to make some mean grilled cheeses!
I would make some philly cheesesteak sandwiches, utilizing the griddle to cook the veggies and steak, then switch to the panini press to finish preparing the sandwiches.
If I win, I would make a grilled cheese sandwich.
I would make a nice steak and some grilled chips. That grill sounds amazing due to how versatile it is.
Grilled-cheese!
Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe would have me grilling just about anything. I think I would grill steaks and pork chops all year as I wouldn’t have to freeze outside.
Grilled lobster with garlic butter mmmmm.
The Cuisinart Griddler would make me start grilling chicken and shrimp more frequently and would save me from buying a grill separately. The Griddler will be used in place of the pan for pancakes or (south indian) dosas, which I am sure will turn out tasty on this.
Cheese burgers.
Philly cheese steak
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