Name: Cuisinart Griddler Electric Grill & Griddle
Brand: Cuisinart

Summary

A large 1800W contact grill and flat griddle with two independent thermostats, a 240-square-inch open cooking surface and a 500°F two-minute sear. Before you buy, check the model suffix on the bottom label, because the discontinued GR-150 and GR-150P1 and the current GR-150NAS do not carry the same plate coating.

Strengths

The two dials let you cook eggs on one flat plate and hotter bacon or burgers on the other.
Tested even, quick browning across burgers, chicken, salmon and panini in an independent comparison of indoor grills.
Removable plates, a removable grease tray and a six-position floating lid make it a genuinely multi-purpose appliance.
A 240-square-inch open surface holds roughly six patties closed or twelve when fully open.
Parts are published by the manufacturer, so a damaged plate or tray is replaceable.

Weaknesses

The hinge leaves a gap between the griddle halves, so you cannot pour one continuous sheet of pancake batter.
Heat-up can run to 12 minutes, and the 500°F sear is limited to two minutes.
It shuts off after about two hours of heating without adjustment, which interrupts long meal preps.
The unit is large and heavy, and a 1800W load on a 15A circuit leaves little room for another heater.
A replacement cooking plate is $98.95, so a scratched surface is expensive to renew.

Verified specifications

Power	1800W for US household mains, a nominal 15A at 120V.
Cooking surface	240 sq in fully open, about 120 sq in per side.
Modes	closed contact grill, panini press, fully open grill, fully open griddle, half grill and half griddle, and elevated top melt.
Temperature	Warm to 450°F on each dial; SearBlast pushes the selected plate to 500°F for a maximum two-minute sear.
Preheat	up to about 12 minutes depending on the setting.
Auto-off	the unit switches itself off after about two hours of heating without a dial adjustment.
Indicators	red while heating, green once the plate reaches the setting.
Plates	two removable reversible plates with a ribbed grill face and a smooth griddle face; the current GR-150NAS is ceramic nonstick.
Cleaning	plates, grease tray and the plastic scraper are top-rack dishwasher safe; the powered base is wipe-only and never immersed.
Cool-down	wait at least 30 minutes before touching or removing hot plates.
Dimensions	the legacy GR-150 brochure lists 14.61 × 15.67 × 7.56 in; the current GR-150NAS page lists 15.98 × 14.6 × 7.87 in. Budget about 16 by 15 in of counter space plus room to open the lid flat.
Weight	13.3 lb on the legacy brochure, 17.7 lb in the Kohl’s GR-150NAS listing, which may be a shipping weight.
Warranty	three years limited household warranty.

Full research notes and sources

Two zones and the sear button

Each plate has its own thermostat, and the lid floats at six height settings, so a thick sandwich does not get crushed while a cheese toastie still gets pressed. The top also lifts into a top-melt position for broiling, which is the one job the open configuration cannot do.

The SearBlast button takes the upper and lower plate to 500°F for up to two minutes. Independent testers liked using it for burgers. It is a short burst, not a second normal cooking temperature, and the manual says the button preheats to its setpoint first.

Heat-up, indicators and auto-off

Preheat can take about 12 minutes depending on the setting, and the green indicator means the thermostat is at temperature, not that the food inside is done. Use a separate thermometer for thick steaks and chicken breasts.

The unit switches itself off after about two hours of heating with no dial adjustment, and turning either dial wakes it back up. That trips up people slow-cooking or batching meals. By itself, it is not a sign of a failed heating element.

Grease, gap and the open griddle

Grease runs back to the removable rear tray, which you empty once it has cooled. Only the plates, tray and scraper go in the dishwasher; the base gets wiped with a damp cloth and never soaked. The manual asks for a 30-minute cool-down before you handle hot plates, and no metal utensils or harsh pads on the coating.

The hinge gap in the fully open griddle is the main limit. It suits bacon, burgers, shrimp and a row of small pancakes, but not one large flat pancake or a fish fillet that needs an unbroken surface. Grilling fatty meat still makes smell and splatter, so keep an exhaust fan running.

Running costs

There is no subscription, no filter and no proprietary oil. Electricity is the recurring cost. Running the full 1.8 kW for 30 minutes three times a week comes to about 140.4 kWh a year, which is $28.08 at an assumed $0.20 per kWh. Thermostat cycling usually cuts that. A full-load hour every day would be 657 kWh a year, or $131.40 at the same rate, which is an extreme ceiling rather than a normal household pattern.

The bigger long-term cost is the coating. One replacement plate is $98.95, and Cuisinart publishes no replacement interval, so treat a plate as a cost you may or may not meet.

Replacement parts and repairs

Cuisinart sells four official parts for this family: the reversible grill and griddle plate GR-150RGP at $98.95, the integrated grease tray GR-150IDT at $16.95, the drip-tray holder GR-150DTH at $20.95, and the plastic cleaning scraper GR-150SC at $13.95. Replacing both plates at list price runs $197.90 before tax, more than a discounted new unit. A third-party parts site lists these spares as no longer available, so confirm at Cuisinart checkout before relying on one.

Do not open the housing yourself on a mains-powered 1800W heater.

One owner reported in July 2025 that the upper dial LED blinked red while switched off and the upper plate would not heat until the power was disconnected and reconnected, while the lower plate kept working. Another commenter reported the same symptom. Cuisinart collected, repaired and returned that unit under warranty in about three weeks. Nobody has published how often this happens, so treat it as a known fault with a known route to a fix rather than a defect to expect.

A separate 2019 consumer report claims the appliance overheated and heated its cord after 35 minutes. That is a single allegation, not an adjudicated finding that this model routinely overheats, and it is not a recall. If you see a hot or melted cord, a burning smell or uncommanded heating, unplug the unit safely and contact the manufacturer.

Is it worth it?

At or below $120 new, a complete unit with working dials is an excellent deal. Between $121 and $150 it is strong if you need the larger plates and two-zone temperature control. Between $151 and $180 it is fair, because the smaller Cuisinart Griddler GR-4NNAS is $99.95 direct from the manufacturer. Above $180 the value is poor unless the larger open surface, the top-melt position and the timed sear matter to you, and the $240 to $280 band is hard to justify.

Cuisinart lists the GR-150NAS at $179.95 with free shipping and 30-day returns. Home Depot listed the GR-150P1 at $174.95, with an older snapshot of the same product at $199.95, and advertises 90-day returns. Kohl’s listed the GR-150NAS at $179.99 against a $224.99 regular price, Abt had it at $179.95, Macy’s had the older GR-150 at $179.95, and Ace Hardware quoted the GR-150P1 at $279.99.

For a used unit, check that both dials heat independently and reach green, both sear buttons work, the lid adjustment engages, the coatings are unbroken and the original grease tray is present. A missing plate can make a bargain pointless at $98.95 a plate.

Which model this is

This page covers the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe family: the discontinued GR-150 and GR-150P1 and the closely named GR-150NAS still sold by the manufacturer. The older documents describe removable traditional nonstick plates, while current GR-150NAS marketing specifies ceramic nonstick. That difference decides which replacement plate fits, so read the model number on the bottom label or the box before ordering parts. This is not the smaller GR-4N or GR-4NNAS, and it is not the GR-300 Elite.