What Can You Cook on a Griddle?

We hope you love the products we recommend. SeriouslySmoked.com may earn a commission on qualifying purchases from Amazon Associates or other vendors. Read more here.

Last Updated on August 27, 2021

Annabelle Watson

Annabelle is an experienced food writer and editor. She focuses on common sense, easy to replicate recipes formulated to help keep things fresh and exciting while fitting into her day to day life as a wife and mother.

What Can You Cook on a Griddle? – Cooking Tips & Guide

Outdoor griddle cooking is lots of fun. Primarily reserved for camping or tailgating, it’s growing in popularity in backyards across the country as well. While the idea of griddling conjures up images of pancakes being cooked on electric griddles in your kitchen, gas grills are versatile enough to accomplish this fun and easy way of cooking in an outdoor setting, too.

While charcoal grills are generally considered favorites for barbecuing, baking, roasting, or braising, substituting a griddle top for the grill racks allows outdoor chefs to add extra flavor to their pancakes or eggs by infusing wood flavors into the food.

1. What are Griddles?

Griddles are specialized grill tops that excel at cooking a variety of foods. They’re large, flat surfaces that feature heating elements under them to cook the foods placed on the surface quickly.

There are different types of griddles. Some grills only feature griddle tops, like the ones you often see in restaurants. Others are cast-iron inserts that can be placed over stove burners or grill burners, while portable options are electric for easy countertop cooking.

2. Are Griddles Expensive?

When it comes to the price of a griddle, it depends on what type of griddle you’re purchasing. Larger gas grills with griddle tops can be in the thousands, while simple countertop gas grills may only cost a few hundred dollars. Cast-iron griddle pans and small, non-commercial countertop griddles cost even less.

3. Why Choose?

Delicious foods don’t always need to be flame-licked on charcoal grills. Sometimes grilling your favorite food using a griddle is more effective than pan cooking over your stove. It can be easier to retain moisture in your food while providing enough room to cook for more than 4 or 5 people at one time.

Griddles provide consistent heat across a large surface, and upgraded models often feature more than a single burner under the griddle surface, making temperature control super easy. You can cook anything on a griddle that you’d cook on a regular grill plate.

4. What you can cook on a griddle?

Just about any food can be cooked on a griddle making it one of, if not the most, effective grill tops available. You can’t pour batter over a grill grate, but by tossing a griddle top onto your grill, you transform it into a versatile cooktop that can handle just about any job.

A few foods are ideal for griddling, and they also happen to be tailgating favorites. Don’t feel confined to red meat and veggies for your griddle. Let your imagination run wild because this cooktop is so versatile; you can do just about anything with it.

Steaks – Steaks always taste great over a grill, and cooking them on a griddle doesn’t change much in that regard. Griddling a steak produces excellent flavor while protecting any marinade, moisture, or other seasonings you’ve added to it. Throwing a steak on a griddle may not produce sear marks, but the flavor is delectable.

Burgers – Burgers much like steaks, cook exceptionally well on a griddle top. The benefit here is that rendered fat doesn’t run off onto your burners because the griddle helps to lock in juiciness, moisture, and flavor while you flip them. It’s easy to keep track of doneness on a griddle by searing the outside and then moving the beef patty to a cooler section of your griddle to finish cooking to the desired temperature.

Sausage – No matter if you’re grilling links or patties, beside smoking it the sausage is another food that griddles well. You can slice your links down the center and grill them in a butterfly style or monitor them closely by turning them over on your griddle. Sausage patties griddle much like burgers but take even less time. It’s easy to see why this food is a favorite on the griddle.

Hot sandwiches – It could be grilled cheese, a Reuben, or a French dip that you want to cook. If it’s a hot sandwich, it griddles well. Throw thinly sliced steak on your griddle top, add provolone cheese, peppers, and onions, and you’ve got a delicious cheesesteak in no time. You’ll enjoy how easy it is to grill these sandwiches for customers or family.

Breads and Toasts – Toasting slices of bread, bagels, or buns on a griddle is easy. Just add butter to the bread and then lay it on the griddle and let the heat do the rest. You can also grill the meat or vegetables for your sandwich on the same griddle top.

Breakfast Foods – Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and breakfast sausages are a cinch on a griddle top. It’s easy to control your batter for pancakes or egg mixtures for scrambled eggs as they cook up on your griddle. You can also throw on hash browns or home fries to make a whole meal simultaneously. When it comes to griddling, breakfast foods are the best.

Chicken – Griddling chicken is one of the easiest ways to prepare grilled chicken for salads, sandwiches, or entrées. When you prepare chicken, it’s important to remember that it needs to be cooked to the proper temperature with no pink left in the middle. Use a meat thermometer to monitor doneness.

Fish – Some experts would advise against using cast iron to prepare fish since it can make the surface smelly. However, using a griddle top to cook some delicious fish can be a great idea because it helps to bake the fish while searing on the hot surface. Use your griddle top to sear a rare soy-sesame tuna or grill shrimp kabobs to perfection. If you love swordfish, a griddle is a perfect surface to cook your marinated lemon garlic swordfish steaks.

Annabelle Watson

The Takeaway

Using a griddle to prepare your favorite foods is an excellent way to cook at home or on-the-go. Griddle systems for tailgating, camping, or in your backyard are affordable and fun to use.

Even grilling at your restaurant is made easier with a griddle top. You can easily expand your menu and serve your customers faster with one of these versatile cooking appliances.

Read More About Griddles: