Verdict
Head-to-head · Best Smokeless Indoor Grills

Hamilton Beach Searing Grill with Lid Window 25361 vs Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101 comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.4 vs 4.5). The gap is mostly about Small kitchens that need one appliance to cover both grilling and griddling — burgers on Saturday, pancakes on Sunday — and households where a smoke alarm is linked to an alarm system or shared with neighbours. Under eight pounds, so it genuinely goes back in the cupboard. — read the strengths below before deciding.

Hamilton Beach Searing Grill with Lid Window 25361
Ranked #3 in Best Smokeless Indoor Grills
Hamilton Beach Searing Grill with Lid Window 25361
2 sourcesall derived$76.77

Two independent test kitchens reached the same conclusion about this grill from opposite directions. Serious Eats made it her budget pick after testing eight smokeless grills, praising a dial that was hot when it needed to be and stayed that way. Reviewed, testing nine indoor grills, called it their first choice for anyone set on an open grill and got deep grill marks on burgers, chicken and fish. Both flagged the same flaw: the underside of the plate is uncoated and traps food.

Strengths
  • Serious Eats' budget pick out of eight smokeless grills tested, and Reviewed's first choice among open grills after testing nine
  • Grate perforation is the mechanism Serious Eats found actually reduces smoke, and this grill has holes between the ridges so fat leaves the element quickly
  • Removable lid traps smoke, steam and grease splatter when closed, then comes off so skewers and long cuts fit with the sides open
Watch-outs
  • The underside of the grill plate is not coated in the same nonstick finish as the top, so food and oil stick there — a real nuisance if you hand wash
  • Serious Eats found the lid clunky to operate
  • A rotary dial gives no numeric feedback, so you cannot set a specific temperature the way you can on a grill with a digital readout
Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101
Higher ratedRanked #1 in Best Smokeless Indoor Grills
Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101
2 sources1 derived$149.95

The Sizzle is Ninja's dedicated indoor grill rather than a multi-cooker with a grill mode, and that focus shows. Real Homes cooked kielbasa, burgers, crepes, pancakes and eggs on it and reported not seeing smoke once, scoring it 4.5 out of 5; Girls Can Grill got grill marks she compared directly to an outdoor grill. Ninja achieves the low smoke through recommended per-food temperatures rather than hardware, which works but means following the chart. The seven-minute preheat has no alert.

Strengths
  • Real Homes' tester observed no smoke at any point across kielbasa, tomatoes, cheeseburgers, crepes, pancakes and eggs, and rated it 4.5 out of 5
  • Interchangeable grill and griddle plates mean one appliance covers steak and pancakes without buying two
  • Reaches 500°F and cooks up to six burgers or six pancakes at once despite weighing under eight pounds
Watch-outs
  • Seven-minute preheat with no completion signal — Ninja's own quick start guide says "For best results preheat for 7 minutes," and both reviewers had to time it themselves
  • No storage provision for whichever plate you are not using
  • Real Homes found the outer corners of the griddle cooked more slowly than the centre when making crepes and pancakes

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

Hamilton Beach Searing Grill with Lid Window 25361

Serious Eats ranked this second behind the Zojirushi EB-CC15 Indoor Electric Grill, and the tiebreaker was cleaning: the Zojirushi's grate is nonstick on both faces, this one only on top. In exchange the Hamilton Beach has a lid the Zojirushi lacks, which contains smoke and speeds cooking, and every removable part goes in the dishwasher. It is far simpler than the Breville BGR820XL The Smart Grill and well under half the price of the Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101, and unlike the Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill AG301 it does one job only.

Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101

The Sizzle is the newer, purpose-built answer to the Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill AG301 — no air fryer, no crisper basket, no eight-minute preheat, and a fraction of the counter space. Against the Zojirushi EB-CC15 Indoor Electric Grill and the Hamilton Beach Searing Grill with Lid Window 25361 it adds a griddle plate for pancakes and eggs, which neither of those can do. It is dearer than both and well under half the price of the Breville BGR820XL The Smart Grill, and it was designed as a smokeless grill from the start rather than acquiring a smoke-reduction mode later.

Specs side-by-side

SpecHamilton Beach Searing Grill with Lid Window 25361Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101
Grill TypeOpen electric searing grill with removable lidSmokeless indoor grill and griddle, interchangeable plates
Temperature Range200–450°F
Plate TypeCeramic nonstick, removable14-inch interchangeable nonstick grill plate and flat griddle plate
Smoke ReductionPerforated grate over drip tray; lid contains smokeChef-set per-food temperature guidance; perforated mesh lid
ControlsRotary dial with preheat indicator light
Dishwasher SafeGrilling plate, drip tray and lidMesh lid; plates hand wash recommended
Dimensions16.73 W × 12.4 D × 6.81 H in
Weight8 lbUnder 8 lb
Voltage120V120V
Model25361 (retail SKU 25361MN)GR101
Cooking Surface118 sq in, serves up to 6
Power1500W1450W peak
Warranty1 year limited1-year limited
Max TemperatureUp to 500°F (recommended stops 325 / 375 / 400 / 500°F)
CapacityUp to six burgers or six pancakes
Preheat7 minutes
← See the full ranking of best smokeless indoor grills