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Head-to-head · Best Smokeless Indoor Grills

Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill AG301 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 clear margin (4.1 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.

Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill AG301
Ranked #5 in Best Smokeless Indoor Grills
Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill AG301
4 sources2 derived$219.99

The AG301 grills by blowing 500°F air down onto a hot grate rather than by heating it from below, and reviewers split on whether that counts. Reviewed tested burgers, chicken, salmon and strip steak and was "very impressed," reporting it "entirely smokeless throughout." Real Homes scored it 4 out of 5 and found very little smoke or cooking smell. Serious Eats, testing eight smokeless grills, concluded it behaved more like an air fryer than a grill and did not produce good grill marks. All three agree it is bulky and slow to preheat.

Strengths
  • — Three separate testers reported essentially no smoke — Reviewed called it "entirely smokeless throughout" its grilling tests
  • — 1760 watts driving a 10-by-10-inch ceramic-coated grate, with LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH and MAX settings running 400°F, 450°F, 500°F and up to 510°F
  • — The air fryer is genuinely good and preheats in about three minutes, against roughly eight for the grill
Watch-outs
  • — Serious Eats disagrees with the other testers outright, finding that on the grill setting "it just didn't provide good grill marks"
  • — The grate leaves curved grill marks rather than straight lines, and because the lid does not press down it only marks one side at a time
  • — Preheat is long — Reviewed measured about eight minutes, Real Homes seven to eight, The Spruce Eats five to eight depending on setting
$219.99 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →
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
$149.95 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →

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

Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill AG301

The AG301 is the multi-function outlier here and the Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101 is Ninja's own answer to its biggest problems — no eight-minute preheat, a fraction of the bulk, and grill marks nobody disputes. Against the Zojirushi EB-CC15 Indoor Electric Grill and the Hamilton Beach Searing Grill with Lid Window 25361 it costs two to three times as much and cooks by circulating air rather than by direct contact heat. The Breville BGR820XL The Smart Grill is the alternative if you want one appliance doing several jobs but want real contact grilling.

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

SpecNinja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill AG301Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle GR101
Grill Type5-in-1 indoor grill, air fryer, roaster, baker and dehydratorSmokeless indoor grill and griddle, interchangeable plates
ModelAG301GR101
Power1760W1450W peak
Voltage120V120V
Grill Temperature SettingsLOW 400°F, MEDIUM 450°F, HIGH 500°F, MAX up to 510°F—
Grill Grate10 × 10 in ceramic-coated, PTFE and PFOA free—
Crisper Basket4 qt—
Cooking Pot6 qt—
Smoke ReductionCyclonic Grilling Technology — 500°F circulating air with a lid-mounted splatter shieldChef-set per-food temperature guidance; perforated mesh lid
Dishwasher SafeGrate, pot, basket and splatter shieldMesh lid; plates hand wash recommended
Warranty1 year limited1-year limited
Max Temperature—Up to 500°F (recommended stops 325 / 375 / 400 / 500°F)
Plate Type—14-inch interchangeable nonstick grill plate and flat griddle plate
Capacity—Up to six burgers or six pancakes
Preheat—7 minutes
Weight—Under 8 lb
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