Best Electric Skillet Buying Guide

Electric skillets are great cooking appliances for apartments, student dorms, RVs, and workplace break rooms. They are wonderful to use in the home kitchen using less energy than a cook top stove or oven. These come with their own heating source built inside using a heating element of various shapes. They have a plug-in device for temperature control that you select.

Since most stove top skillets are not as large as electric skillets, you will have a large cooking unit for larger amounts of food.

For a quickly made meal, an electric skillet is the ultimate tool to add to your kitchen appliances. You can cook or fry anything, making it the perfect accessory for parties and potlucks.

Below are 12 electric skillet reviews from which to select the ideal one for your needs. You will see which ones are dishwasher safe, sizes for you alone, or your family. Prices vary from $20 to $100 and up. Prices are lower on Amazon.com than at the brand website. All come with Warranties shown in my electric frying pan reviews below.

1. What’s an Electric Skillet Good For?

The advantage of using an electric skillet is that it can hold a steady temperature than a skillet, pot, or pan on the stove top or in the cook stove’s oven or broiler and they have no hot spots as do those you put on the stove.

You can make pancakes, fry donuts, chicken, fish, poultry, salmon cakes, and almost anything your heart desires. Asian dishes and stir-fry are super quick as tasty.

It cannot make waffles or pizzelles. For waffle makers and pizzelle makers check those out here.

These appliances are not a typical ‘slow cooker,’ yet you can cook slowly in it. An electric skillet and slow cooker or crockpot are two different appliances. They are good for one-pot meals and are timesaving kitchen appliances.

2. Are Electric Skillets Safe in the Dishwasher?

Electrical components should never get water into them. Be sure to read your specific skillet’s instruction manual for whether you can do so or not. If not, simply hand-wash but be sure it can be submerged under water; otherwise, you will have to put the skillet on the kitchen counter and gently wash. Lids can generally go into the dishwasher.

The skillets can be round, square, or rectangle in shape for what suits your needs and storage options.

3. What to Look for in an Electric Skillet

All the skillets and a few griddles listed below are non-stick. The #6 electric skillet is stainless-steel with no non-stick cooking surface because not everyone wants a non-stick surface.

You’ll want non-slip feet on the bottom to keep the skillet on the counter top and not on the floor. Lids come with them as well as handles that are cool to touch.

Some are dishwasher safe; some are not. Some have pouring spouts and foldaway handles. Some brands even provide a recipe book.

Be sure your choice is durable made of cast-aluminum, stainless-steel, and comes with a tempered glass lid for safety. Tempered glass will not shatter if dropped.

Most electric frying pans come with an analog control probe shown on the left where you turn the knob to change the temperature settings.

The #11 NUWAVE^® electric skillet reviewed below with a digital sensor control probe shown on the right for those who want a more exact temperature that you select in digits.

The #12 Cuisinart^® electric griller is also digitally controlled.

Cast-iron electric skillets are not available to my knowledge; however, if you need a cast-iron skillet, grill, or griddle, read my reviews for those here.

4. Electric Skillets or Electric Griddles

An electric griddle works the same as the electric skillet with differences in shape and cooking surface height.

The griddle is wider and is handy to have since a stove-top griddle cannot reach 2 cooking burners at the same time. Griddles are flat the same as the skillet but not pot shaped. The cooking surface has a short edge for easy flipping of pancakes and burgers. See #2 BELLA copper titanium coated non-stick electric-griddle below.

5. How to Use an Electric Skillet

Put a bit of butter, bacon grease, or olive oil in the bottom of the cooking pan for frying or making pancakes. You can stir-fry in the skillet, but for best stir-fry results a stainless-steel electric wok is wonderful to have if you make a lot of Asian dishes. Woks also come in non-stick electric and non-electric for a gas stove.

6. What About Wattage?

The more the Watts, the electrical power, the more power for your unit. For example, if your existing microwave is only 900-Watts, the power needed to cook food completely will usually be 1100-Watts or more, so you will have to cook it longer. Input Watts is different from output Watts what you need for cooking. Know the distinction—you want to know the output Watts—the power used for your cooking needs.

Top 10 Best Electric Skillets and Griddles

1. Presto^® Electric Foldaway^® Skillet, 16-Inch

The Presto^® with removable base for easy cleaning and storage, model 06857, comes in black with silver-colored trim and is the top selling best electric skillet on the market at Amazon.com.

You’ll find this skillet is ideal for a perfect roast, frying, grilling, making stews, baking, and one-meal dish casseroles. Lasagna comes out luscious, moist, and tender. Grilled cheese sandwiches come out melted inside and toasted brown outside.

Its huge 16-inch base and high sides make it handy with extra cooking space.

Use it right at the dining table, take with you to other places and plug in to keep hot. The tempered glass lid allows you to see what’s cookin’ without removing it.

The Presto^® Control Master^® heat control automatically maintains the desired cooking temperature. The high temperature on the dial is 400-degrees F.

The inside and outside has the Whitford^® (not Teflon^®) non-stick finish for anything cooking not to stick and is easy to clean.

Its heavy cast-aluminum will not warp. It has phenolic plastic sides. You will save energy using this skillet rather than your oven or cook top.

The skillet pan and lid can be put into the dishwasher or washed by hand being fully immersible in water after you remove the heat control and cord.

The skillet has a built-in spout to pour liquids

and to also act as a spoon or spatula rest.

The fold-down cool-touch handles will remove

from the skillet pan from the base.

With handles folded in, the base nests

inside the skillet pan for compact storage.

The dimensions are 19.81-inches x 12.25-inches x 8.06-inches tall. The cooking pan dimensions are 15.75-inches x 11.87-inches x 2.87-inches deep and the unit weighs 8.55-pounds empty.

California residents click here for Proposition 65 warning.

Plug the UL^® listed power cord into a USA 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz outlet. It is not wireless and does not use batteries. It operates at 1500-Watts power.

You will receive a User’s Manual, skillet, cord, and 1-year Limited Warranty.

The design, marketing, sales, and distribution of this product takes place in the USA. The actual manufacturing is done in China. Quality Testing is done in both the USA and China.

Presto Foldaway Skillet Review: Meal Prep in Less Time!

2. BELLA Copper Titanium Coated Non-Stick Electric-Griddle, 20-Inch

The BELLA, model 14606 ceramic copper titanium 10.5-inch x 20-inch best electric griddle is affordable at under $25. It has a ceramic non-stick coating that is 8 times more durable and cooks up to 30% faster than standard non-stick coatings.

It’s also available with a spatula in sizes of 12- x 12-inches and 12- x 16-inches.

The coating is covered with titanium for outstanding durability and resistance to metal utensils.

The copper-colored coating contains no lead or cadmium and is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and bisphenol A (BPA)-free.

The griddle plate can be used in the dishwasher or washed by hand being fully immersible in water after you remove the base, heat control, and cord.

Make a stack of luscious tender-inside with crispy-edged pancakes dripping with butter and pure maple syrup with a side of bacon, sausage, and eggs.

The cooking surface for the 10.5- x 20-inch griddle will let you make up to 6 pancakes and 10 eggs at one time with bacon in between these.

Grilled French toast turns out perfectly with this griddle. Grilled cheese or grilled peanut butter sandwiches with butter on all bread slice bottoms are to die for.

Grill burgers and meat, fish, hot dogs, salmon cakes, and more cook quickly with no mess.

The electric cord with control starts at warm up to 400-degrees F. The metal end probe is removable for cleaning the skillet.

The handles are cool to your hand and the griddle has a ledge extending taller than its base for easy flipping of pancakes so not to slide off.

The cool thing about this unit is its slide-out tray for collecting grease and oil for healthy meals and easy clean up.

You will save energy using this griddle rather than your oven or cook top to do the same thing.

The dimensions are 23.15-inches wide x 11.42-inches front-to-back x 2.7-inches tall and weighs 3.88-pounds.

Plug the UL^® listed power cord into a USA 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz outlet. It is not wireless and does not use batteries. It operates at 1500-Watts power.

You will receive a User’s Manual in English and Spanish, griddle, cord, and 2-year Limited Warranty. It is made in China.

BELLA Electric Griddle demo video—do not use metal spatula like the video woman does!

BELLA homemade pancakes video.

3. BELLA Electric Ceramic Titanium Skillet, 12-Inch

This model 14607 BELLA electric skillet, not a griddle, is ceramic on the inside and is 12- x 12-inches square.  You can grill cheese sandwiches and make pancakes in this top-rated electric skillet.

The coating is covered with titanium for outstanding durability and resistance to metal utensils.  The non-stick coating is 8 times more durable and cooks up to 30% faster than standard non-stick coatings.  It has a durable cast-aluminum base that gives you even cooking.

The copper-colored inside coating contains no lead or cadmium and is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and bisphenol A (BPA)-free.

Fry, roast, sauté, and steam with the non-stick surface and cover your food if you want with the glass lid with cool handle on top.

Remove the electric probe from the skillet and serve it right at the table.

It’s an ideal non-stick electric skillet for single people and family meals like omelets, ratatouilles, risotto, paella, tomato sauce with meatballs and spaghetti, and can cook 10 chicken drumsticks at once. The non-stick ceramic coating allows for no fuss cooking and cleanup is just a quick wipe away.

The small electric skillet is fully immersible for cleaning in the kitchen sink with its dishwasher safe glass lid. Do not put skillet in the dishwasher!

Plug the 30-inch, 2-prong polarized UL^® listed cord into a 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz receptacle.  It does not work on 220/240-Volts outside the USA or Canada so buy an adapter.  It operates at 1200-Watts.

The dimensions are 16.73-inches long with handles x 12.2-inches wide x 7.87-inches tall and weighs 4.74-pounds.  It is 2.50-inches deep inside.

You will receive a User’s Manual, and a 2-year Limited Warranty from Amazon.  It is made in China.

BELLA unboxing video.

4. NESCO^® Electric Non-Stick Skillet, 8-Inch

This black model ES-08 small electric skillet by NESCO^® is perfect for making smaller dishes of food.  It’s available in this 8-inch as well as a 12-inch, but I find the 12-inch price is rather high yet it’s about as high as a Dutch oven.

The 8-inch small electric skillet is perfect for apartments, dorm rooms, and RVs.

So, on with my review of the 8-inch die cast aluminum pan with non-stick interior, and this skillet is so affordably priced on Amazon.com.  It is 1.75-inches deep x 8-inches square inside.  The glass lid has a vent hole and a cool touch handle and the side handles are heat-resistant.

The inside bottom is smooth with no ridges that I don’t like.

The lid can go into the dishwasher but not the skillet.  Do not submerge the skillet in a sink full of water!  Wash it with a soapy dish cloth, rinse and towel dry.

Roast, fry, sauté, steam, and cook all the items you prepare with other skillets. The 8-inch electric skillet with deep interior is wonderful for roasting or frying in small portions.

Plug the 38-inch, 3-prong grounded UL^® listed cord into a 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz receptacle.  It does not work on 220/240-Volts outside the USA or Canada.

All NESCO^® products are made 120-Volt and they do not recommend using converters.  The use of converters may void the manufacturer’s Warranty.  It operates at 800-Watts.

The temperature probe goes from, 275 to 425-degrees F. to give you crispy fried potatoes with onions!

The pan itself is 8- x 8-inches. With the handles you can add about 3-inches outside and it’s 2-inches deep weighing 3.5-pounds.

You will receive a User’s Manual and a 1-year Warranty.  It is made in China.

5. Zojirushi America Corporation Gourmet d’Expert^® Electric Skillet, 10.5-Inch

The Gourmet d’Expert^® small electric skillet, model EP-PBC10, is a multi-functional electric skillet with a large cooking pan and an Amazon Choice product in light gray.

It’s superior for stewing, grilling, frying, sautéing, burgers, sandwiches, and more. The temperature settings are adjustable, and scrumptious recipes are included with your purchase.

Cook right at the table and not in the kitchen with your family or dinner guests so that everyone can prepare their food to their liking.

Never burn your hands with its stay-cool handles and tempered glass lid knob.

The non-stick surface is titanium and ceramic coated for a better cooking experience.

This unit is extremely versatile! Check out all that it does:

The dimensions are 15-1/4-inches wide x 13-7/8-inches diameter x 7-3/4-inches tall and weighs 9-pounds. The cooking surface is 10-1/5-inches diameter x 2-1/4-inches deep.

California residents click here for Proposition 65 warning.

Plug the UL^® listed power cord into a USA 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz outlet. It is not wireless and does not use batteries. It operates at 1300-Watts power. The unit is ETL (Edison Testing Laboratories) certified for safety.

You will receive a User’s Manual in English, Korean, Japanese, and traditional Chinese, recipes, skillet, lid, cord, and 1-year Limited Warranty. It is made in China.

Zojirushi Gourmet d’Expert^® Electric Skillet demo video.

Japanese Sukiyaki recipe video.

6. CucinaPro^™18/10 Stainless-Steel Electric Skillet, 12-Inch

The CucinaPro^™ stainless-steel electric skillet, model 1653, is perfect for those cooks who do not like non-stick surfaces. The 12-inch diameter skillet will serve 4 people. This is also available on Amazon in 16-inch at about $10 more.

You will cook evenly in this highly polished and crafted 18/10 (thickness) stainless-skill skillet that is one-piece with no base or insert.

Use it as you use your stove top skillets and save energy.

It has a vented tempered glass lid to lock in heat and is see-through, with riveted handles on the lid and skillet.

Set the temperature control from warm and cook from 200- to 400-degrees F.

Make omelets, fry chicken and steaks, fish and poultry. Create Asian stir-fries, make crispy or soft fried potatoes with onions, fried apples, and whip up bacon, sausage, and eggs for Sunday breakfast, and do other tasty cooking.

The dimensions are 12-inches diameter x 3-inches deep inside with a domed lid and it weighs 8.85-pounds.

Replacement lid and cord are available.

It’s dishwasher safe and can be washed by hand. Remove the probe first. If food sticks, fill the skillet with water, let it boil a few minutes, turn off heat, let cool, and scape out with a wooden spatula.

California residents click here for Proposition 65 warning.

Plug the UL^® listed 4.5-foot power cord into a USA 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz outlet. It is not wireless and does not use batteries. It operates at 1500-Watts power, 12.5-Amps.

You will receive a User’s Manual, skillet, lid, cord, and 1-year Limited Warranty. It is made in China.

CucinaPro^™18/10 Stainless-Steel 12-Inch Electric Skillet, video by Phi Hùng Ngô.

7. DēLonghi Electric Skillet, 16-Inch

The DēLonghi, model BG45 almost square electric skillet is an Amazon Choice unit inexpensively priced with a tempered glass lid and adjustable steam vent holes in black. The body is die cast-aluminum.

The embedded heating element guarantees the most efficient and even cooking in the shortest time from 200- to 400-degrees F.

It has a built-in drip tray to catch grease and juices that is removable to clean. The handles are cool to touch, and the temperature gauge is variable with an on/off switch.

The skillet is easy to clean with dishwasher-safe lid and non-stick skillet base, or hand wash in the sink with dish detergent.

This skillet will make delicious breakfasts, lunches, and dinners along with snacks.

Make grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, sausages, bacon, eggs, casseroles, fried chicken, pork chops, steaks, and crispy coated fish.

The dimensions are 19.29-inches long x 11.81-inches wide x 8.47-inches high weighing 8.89-pounds.

California residents click here for Proposition 65 warning.

Plug the UL^® listed 3-foot power cord into a USA 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz outlet. It is not wireless and does not use batteries. It operates at 1500-Watts power.

You will receive a User’s Manual, skillet, lid, cord, and 1-year Limited Warranty. It is made in China.

8. Hamilton Beach^® Durathon^® Ceramic Electric Skillet, 15-Inch

The Hamilton Beach^®, model 38529, holds 4-quarts and is an Amazon Choice bronze ceramic electric skillet also available in a 3-inch deep electric rectangular skillet in copper of the same size. The copper is $10 less and the only difference in the two skillets is the color.

The non-stick surface made of Hamilton Beach^® Durathon^® is 4 times more durable without peeling or cracking than the typical black non-stick surfaces of other skillets.

The bronze-colored coating contains no lead or cadmium and is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and bisphenol A (BPA)-free.

Set the dial on the control to what your recipe needs from 200- to 400-degrees F.

This deep-dish skillet will let you prepare French toast, eggs, sausage and perfect lasagna. With its deeper capacity, you can make casseroles as well as grilled sandwiches such as gooey melted cheese, burgers, hot dogs, and more.

The recipes for the pictures below are available at the Hamilton Beach^® website.

Its cooking pan is removable for easy cleaning and all parts of the unit are dishwasher safe with the cord removed.

It has a tempered glass lid with steam vent that can go into the dishwasher too.

The dimensions are 20-inches wide x 12.5-inches front-to-back x 6.5-inches deep weighing 8-pounds.

The plug can be attached to either side of the skillet for convenience to your wall receptacle.

Plug the UL^® listed 2-foot power cord into a USA 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz outlet. It is not wireless and does not use batteries. It operates at 1500-Watts power.

You will receive a User’s Manual, skillet, lid, cord, and 1-year Limited Warranty. It is made in China.

9. DASH^® Rapid Electric Skillet, 14-Inch

The DASH^® model DRG214AQ family size rapid heat round electric skillet plus hot oven cooker, is an Amazon Choice unit affordably priced under $40.

The aluminum base 14-inch diameter 2.5-inch deep inside cooking surface is ceramic coated non-stick and easy to clean.

Create pizza, burgers, pancakes, fajitas, cookies, breakfast, lunch and dinner with this 20-cup (5-quart) skillet.

Scramble eggs, make them sunny side up, stir-fry vegetables, fry potatoes and hash browns, braise, sauté, sear, rice, jambalaya rice dish, and fry. It will cook enough food to feed about 6 people.

The temperature is up to 450-degrees F. and cooks faster that the oven or stove top.

See what’s cookin’ with the tempered glass lid with vent hole that keeps the heat and flavors in. It is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)-free for safety.

Serve at the dinner table using the cool-to-touch handles and lid knob. It holds steady with its anti-slip feet.

The skillet does not separate for cleaning, but it is super easy to clean by hand. It cannot go into the dishwasher or the electronics will be ruined. Do not immerse in the sink of water.

Plug the UL^® listed 3-foot power cord into a USA 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz outlet. It is not wireless and does not use batteries. It operates at 1440-Watts power.

You will receive a User’s Manual, skillet, lid, cord, recipe book, recipe database access, and 1-year Limited Warranty. It is made in China.

10. Cuisinart^® Electric Digital Griddler^® FIVE, Stainless-Steel, 16-Inch

Cuisinart^® has redesigned their iconic electric Griddler^® with a more current style without changing the performance of this griller to die for. It has 5-in-1 cooking functions and the model GR-5B is available for you or for gifting on Amazon.com affordably priced. This is one of the best electric frying pans available today.

It has an LCD (Liquid Crystal Diode) display and digital controls show function, temperature, and time. It will sear and do even more. The floating cover and reversable plates are easy to remove so that you can use it as a griddle for pancakes and a grill for meats and sandwiches.

Use it as a panini press, full grill, contact grill, full griddle, and half grill/half griddle. It is truly versatile for all of your cooking creations.

Heart healthy recipes and gourmet recipes can be viewed at Cuisinart Recipes by category and other filters for your needs.

It has a drip tray that slides out and in very easily and can be washed in the dishwasher along with the grill plates.

Its temperature range is from 175- to 450-degrees F. The plates are non-stick and dishwasher safe.

The handle bar, top cover, and control panel are stainless-steel and are beautiful. It is bisphenol A (BPA)-free.

The dimensions are 8.75-inches long x 16-inches wide x 13.75-inches high weighing 12-pounds. If cubic feet are needed, that is 1.11.

Plug the UL^® listed power cord into a USA 110/120-Volt, 50/60 Hz outlet. It is not wireless and does not use batteries. It operates at 1500-Watts power at 12-Amps.

You will receive a User’s Manual, Griddler^®, scraping tool, gourmet recipes, and 3-year Limited Warranty. It is made in China.

Cuisinart^® Griddler^® FIVE demo video.

Useful Cooking Tools

Egg Rings: Professional silicone egg rings for pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, eggs Benedict, omelets, corn fritters, burger patties, muffins, and more that are nonstick, mold ring round, red (4-pack).

Make the perfect kid-size silver dollar pancakes creating faces they love. Folding handles, and no-scratch rings are the perfect cooking tool to have. They are reusable and dishwasher safe.

Pancake Flipper, Burger, and Egg Turner: Perfect for non-stick electric skillets, the nylon round turner with broad surface is great for omelets, burgers, and more.

This spatula is dishwasher safe, sturdy, with metal accents on the long handle.

Steamer Racks: Will not fit to the edges of your electric skillet but are sure to steam your veggies the way you like—crisp tender.

Silicone steamer baskets are the best for your non-stick skillets so not to scratch them if made of metal. This one has high walls to contain your food and keep the food bottom away from the boiling water.

The handles are cool and this one will fit skillets 7-inches or more round, square, or rectangular. The handles are flexible so that you can use your lid; plus, it rolls up for storage. It’s dishwasher safe and costs about $12 on Amazon.com.

Tips Using Electric Skillets

Read the instructions before you use your electric skillet or electric griddle. Never put in the oven, broiler, or microwave!

• It’s best to put your electric skillet or griddle on the countertop and not on the stove top. When you are cooking other foods on the stove top, the cord could touch the burner or flame and cause a fire. If the handles get hot if made of plastic, they can melt.

• Be sure the unit is far enough back on the counter so that little kids can’t pull it off.

• Remove all labels. Wash in soapy water if immersible or on the counter if it cannot go into water. Rinse and dry thoroughly with a soft cotton cloth.

• Use medium heat for frying sautéing and searing. Low temperature is recommended for simmering and warming foods.

Kitchen Safety

• Plug in the temperature control to the skillet first and then into the electrical outlet.

• Never leave the skillet unattended on high heat or allow contents to boil dry because extended heating without liquid may cause permanent damage to your skillet.

• Be sure that all legs and handles are properly secured onto the skillet for your safety.

• Don’t touch the hot surface with your bare hands.

• Never submerge the cord or temperature gauge into water.

• Unplug it once you have finished using it and put the cord in a drawer.

• Do not use outdoors unless the manufacturer states you can.

• Do not move the skillet if there is hot grease or hot oil inside of it.

• Never operate the electric skillet with a damaged cord.

• If you need an extension cord, be sure it’s the correct gauge.

Utensils

• It’s safe to use high temperature nylon, silicone, wood, or bamboo tools for longer lasting beauty and to avoid scratching the cooking surface.

• Do not use metal spatulas, or anything metal in your electric skillet.

• Do not use knives, electric mixers to chop or mix foods in your skillet. Metal will damage the cooking surface.

Cleaning

• For best results, always keep your electric skillet clean and rid of grease.

• Let the skillet cool completely before washing.

• Submerging a hot skillet in cold water can cause it to warp.

• Do not use abrasive cleaners such as scouring powder, steel wool cleaning pads, or plastic scratchers.

• Doing so can cause damage to the interior and exterior of your skillet.

• Only put your skillet in the dishwasher if the instructions tell you it’s okay to do so.

• Don’t forget to remove the plug that plugs into the wall and plugging into the skillet before putting it into the dishwasher or sink of water for cleaning.

• If your coating begins to flake, it’s time to get a new skillet.

Caution

For safety, keep pet birds out of the kitchen. Birds’ respiratory systems are sensitive to many kinds of household fumes, including the fumes from extremely overheated non-stick skillets and pans.

Final Thoughts

When you own the best electric skillet or best electric griddle, you will be delighted with how well you can cook, fry, sauté, braise, and simmer anything. They are affordable with many features and are easy to clean; just read the best electric skillet reviews above if you didn’t already.

Please leave your questions or comments in the area below and I will reply to each of you. Happy shopping!