Ninja Sizzle Pro XL 20-Inch Indoor Griddle & Grill Review: Heat, Sear, Cleanup

We judge an indoor griddle on four things: how hot and even the plate gets, how well it sears, how much smoke it makes, and how much work cleanup takes. Heat and sear come first, because a griddle that cooks unevenly is not worth the counter space no matter how easy it is to wash.

For heat, we check how much the surface temperature varies from the center to the corners. After a ten-minute preheat, the center reads about 502F and the areas toward the edges read between 480F and 491F. That is close enough that food never needs rotating. For sear, the benchmark is a thick bone-in ribeye, followed by breakfast foods and ground beef.

Smoke and cleanup get the same attention as heat. We look at how much smoke reaches the room, whether food sticks, and how quickly a plate rinses clean. Each of those gets its own section below, including the weak spots.

The GX101 measures 15.22 inches deep by 20.83 inches wide and 5.87 inches tall. Its cooking surface is a 20-inch plate, about 40% larger than the one on the smaller Ninja Sizzle. That means room for 10+ burgers at once and enough surface to feed 8 to 10 people in one round.

The plates are ceramic nonstick and PFAS free. The box also includes a detachable ventilated lid, a removable grease catch, and a quick start guide with five recipes. Weight varies by listing, so plan on around 20 pounds and check the box if you need an exact figure for a shelf.

Grill Plate vs Griddle Plate

The two plates are what make this one flexible. The grill plate has ridges for sear marks and lets fat run off, which suits steak, chicken, and burgers. The griddle plate is flat, which suits pancakes, eggs, bacon, and smash burgers.

Swapping them takes about five seconds, so you can grill steak for dinner and switch to the flat plate for breakfast. Anything fatty benefits from the draining grill plate, while batter and eggs belong on the flat one. If you only plan to cook one style, a simpler appliance would cost less.

Controls and Temperature Range

Temperature runs from 250F to 500F through ProTemp IQ control, and you can cook with the lid up or down. That range covers low and slow breakfast eggs through a hard sear. The main limit is that there is no dual-zone control, so the whole plate runs at one temperature.

The 31-inch cord is short, so anyone with a counter far from a socket should plan the placement first. We would not run an extension cord to an appliance drawing 1,790 watts.

Getting the grill ready takes only a few steps. You seat the plate you want, attach the removable grease catch, set the temperature, and wait for the unit to come up to heat. A ten-minute preheat brings the plate to the readings described above.

The quick start guide has five recipes, which is enough to get through the first night without hunting for instructions. The smaller Ninja Sizzle gave off some smoke on first use that faded to very little on later cooks. Run the GX101 once with the window open or the vent fan on before the first real dinner, as you would with any new nonstick appliance.

Steak on the Grill Plate (500F Sear)

The headline claim is a 500F sear, and it holds up. A 1.5-inch bone-in ribeye takes about four minutes per side to reach medium-rare, with a dark crust on the grill plate. That is a real sear, not the gray, steamed look cheaper indoor grills tend to give. If you cook to a doneness target, check it with a thermometer rather than going by time alone.

Breakfast on the Griddle Plate

The griddle plate is where the size pays off. It holds 6 bacon slices, 8 pancakes, and 4 fried eggs at once, with even browning and no scorched centers. That means a family breakfast comes off in one round instead of three batches, and nothing sits cooling while the last pancake finishes.

Burgers and Chicken

Two pounds of 80/20 ground beef cook with minimal smoke, and the vented hood keeps glazed-chicken splatter off the backsplash. For burgers, the 20-inch surface is the advantage: 10+ patties fit in one go, so you can feed a table without holding food warm in the oven. The smaller 14-inch Ninja Sizzle fits about six burgers by comparison.

Edge-to-Edge Heat Evenness

This is the result we care about most. The plate comes up quickly and stays even, with about 502F at the center and 480 to 491F toward the edges after a ten-minute preheat. The roughly 20-degree spread across a plate this size is small, and food at the corners browns like food in the middle. For a 20-inch surface, that edge-to-edge heat is the main reason to buy this model over a cheaper, smaller one.

Ninja markets the Sizzle line as low smoke, and that is the accurate way to describe it. With the lid up, smoke stays low. With the lid down, the unit can smoke, so we would not call it smokeless. Steak and ground beef produce minimal smoke, but a very fatty cut at full heat in a small kitchen will still trip a sensitive alarm.

Our advice is to cook with the lid up for high-fat foods, use the vent fan, and keep the grease catch from overfilling. The ventilated lid does its job on splatter. It is the better tool for keeping a backsplash clean than for removing smoke entirely.

Easy cleanup adds to this model’s appeal. The removable cooking surfaces wipe clean easily, and hand-washing a plate takes under two minutes because food releases without scrubbing. That is the kind of easy cleanup that decides whether an appliance stays on the counter or ends up in the cabinet.

The coating needs some care, and the rules are simple. Do not plunge hot plates into cold water, because that risks warping the plate and damaging the coating. Do not use aerosol cooking spray, because it leaves a sticky residue that is hard to remove. Wooden or silicone tools protect the ceramic finish.

We do not have long-term coating wear data or confirmed replacement-part availability, so we make no claims about how the plates look after years of use. The 1-year limited warranty is the only guarantee we can point to.

Dishwasher Safety and Plate Care

The maker does not confirm that the plates, hood, or grease tray are dishwasher safe, so check the manual before you load the dishwasher. Since hand washing takes under two minutes, we would wash the plates by hand and put the hood and grease tray in the dishwasher only if the manual allows it.

Buy it if you cook for four or more, want an indoor cookout in winter or in an apartment, or like to cook a full breakfast in a single round. The 20-inch plate, the quick swap between grill and griddle, and the easy cleanup make it a good fit for busy family kitchens.

Skip it if your counter or cabinet space is tight, because the storage footprint is big. Skip it if you want separate temperatures for different foods, since there is no dual-zone control. And skip it if you need a truly smokeless appliance, or if you only cook for one or two people, where the smaller Ninja Sizzle is a better match.

Several other models are worth a look before you decide, and our guide to the best Ninja indoor grills covers more of the Ninja range.

vs Ninja Foodi Smart XL Indoor Grill

The Foodi Smart XL is a 6-in-1 with air crisp, roast, bake, broil, and dehydrate modes, and its grill grate fits up to 6 steaks. It also has a Smart Cook thermometer. It costs more, its metal grill pieces can chip and break down early, and its temperature calibration is inconsistent. Choose it if you want an air fryer-style machine that also grills. Choose the Sizzle Pro XL if you mainly want a big, flat, even cooking surface.

vs Original Ninja Sizzle

The original Sizzle GR101 has 14-inch plates that reach 500F and fit about six burgers, feeding four to six people. The Pro XL is about 40% larger. The GR101 is a better choice for small kitchens and smaller households, and it usually sits lower in price. The Pro XL is the one to buy if you regularly feed more than four.

vs Cuisinart Griddler FIVE

The Cuisinart Griddler FIVE is a different style, a 5-in-1 contact grill with reversible plates that reaches 450F and carries a 3-year warranty. Its plates are not perfectly level for oil drainage, and the floating top needs a hand adjustment on uneven food. It is a fair pick for panini and contact grilling, but it does not match the Pro XL for open-surface cooking.

Which one fits depends on your kitchen. If counter space is the limit, the Sizzle GR101 gives up surface area but keeps the 500F sear and costs less. If you want an air-crisp machine that also grills, the Foodi Smart XL is the better match, though it costs more.

Sales come around often, so watch the price for a dip before you commit.