The 6 Best Sandwich Presses of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

Best Overall

Cuisinart Elite Griddler

View On Amazon $167 View On Home Depot $200 View On Target $200

Cuisinart's Elite Griddler has pretty much every bell and whistle a sandwich press can offer. You control the temperatures of the upper and lower plates separately, and both plates flip over to convert from flat griddle to grill grate. The hinge height adjusts with a slider, which gives you precise control over just how hard the press smushes your sandwich. There's even a sear mode that gives the plates a two-minute burst of extra heat for quick browning. If you want to throw a panini party, this machine can cook four sandwiches at once.

But it does a lot more than press sandwiches. You can flip the lid all the way open for a double griddle that has enough cooking space for about eight pancakes or four good-sized steaks. If you set the upper plate to hover just above the food, it'll act as a broiler with the lower plate turned off, or as an oven for homemade pizza with the lower plate turned on. And when you're done, the cooking plates can go right in the dishwasher.

We tested the Elite Griddler with traditional grilled cheeses, speck-and-mozzarella sandwiches, and an assortment of panini—and it toasted all of them perfectly. It heats up impressively fast and comes back to temperature quickly between rounds of cooking. We also made steaks on the grill plate, which cooked evenly and got nice grill marks from sear mode. We were skeptical about its ability to bake pizza, but we got a crunchy crust and browned cheese in 10 minutes. And none of our testing produced much smoke, which is often an issue with indoor grills.

The big problem with this machine is price: It's the single most expensive model we tested. It's also heavy and takes up a lot of space. If you're a pressed-sandwich fanatic, though, we still say it's worth it. This is a great item to put on a wedding registry or your birthday/holiday wishlist.

Dimensions: 14.65 x 16.22 x 8.11 inches | Cooking Area: 120 square inches (closed), 240 square inches (open) | Power: 2,400 watts | Weight: 21 pounds | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes

Best Overall, Runner-Up

Breville Sear and Press Countertop Electric Grill

View On Amazon $200 View On Williams-Sonoma $200 View On Sur La Table $200

Breville's high-end countertop grill is just as fancy and multifunctional as Cuisinart's, with the same price and much of the same functionality. It has flipping grill/griddle plates, independent upper and lower heat control, a sear mode, an adjustable hinge, and the ability to lay flat for twice the cooking space. To those, it also adds automatic presets for panini and burgers, which control both heat and timing for fast but even cooking. Our test panini took almost exactly four minutes every time, with nice deep grill marks, melty cheese, and a hot interior.

With one exception: Our very first test sandwich cooked unevenly. It turns out that you need to run the brand-new machine for a few minutes before you cook anything to burn off oils used in manufacturing. (The manual makes one quick mention of this, but we didn't notice.) However, that's a one-time problem, and an easy one to solve, at that.

The other place the Sear and Press didn't quite keep up with the Elite Griddler in our test was its adjustable hinge. Both models can move to accommodate almost any size item and smoosh it to your preferred level of flatness, but the Breville's adjustment slider is a little more awkward to deal with and tough to pop out of one setting and slot into another properly. You also need to make extra-sure the lid is locked firmly: It came open once when picking the machine up in testing, which could have been a disaster.

Dimensions: 13.8 x 14.8 x 8.5 inches | Cooking Area: 120 square inches (closed), 240 square inches (open) | Power: 1,800 watts | Weight: 17.1 pounds | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes

Best Budget

George Foreman 2-Serving Classic Plate Electric Indoor Grill And Panini Press

View On Amazon $22 View On Wayfair $25 View On Wayfair $20

George Foreman's first tabletop grill came out nearly 30 years ago, and the ex–boxing champ's compact, inexpensive appliances are still a favorite in dorms, offices, and small kitchens everywhere. This model is just 3 inches wide, made to flip sideways and tuck away in a cabinet or between other appliances. You can close the top to flatten pressed sandwiches, but you can also leave it open and use it as a classic Foreman grill.

The Foreman panini press heats quickly and is able to toast a sandwich in just a few minutes, but the temperature is not very even between the top and bottom. You'll want to flip your sandwiches two or three times during cooking to ensure everything browns and melts evenly. The lid also isn't adjustable and applies different levels of pressure to different thicknesses of foods. We found that it helps to press down on the lid a little bit while cooking to ensure even results.

As a grill, this model works as well as other Foreman grills, which is to say surprisingly well for its price. In grilling mode, the legs flip down to hold the grate at an angle and drain off fat. The cooking surface is awfully small, however, and the lid does not hinge all the way open to act as extra grill space. Nothing is dishwasher-safe, but the grates feature an extra-durable nonstick coating that makes them simple enough to wash by hand.

Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.5 x 3.1 inches | Power: 760 watts | Weight: 3.7 pounds | Dishwasher-Safe: No

Best Compact

Chefman Electric Panini Press Grill

View On Amazon $28 View On Walmart $35 View On Home Depot $35

Chefman's panini press can easily toast a pair of sandwiches at once, but it has a small enough footprint that it will still fit in a cramped kitchen or even a dorm room. It's a simple and inexpensive machine that does a great job at grilling and pressing sandwiches, if not much more than that.

Probably the most impressive feature in this low-priced model is that you can adjust the angle of the grates as well as the height of the hinge to accommodate any thickness of sandwich. It took us a time or two to figure out how best to set things up in testing, but after that we got nice even browning and thorough heating. The Chefman doesn't have any cook settings besides on and off, taking about two minutes to preheat and six minutes to grill a sandwich.

Like many other models, this grill opens flat to provide a double-sized grilling surface. Unfortunately, it's not very powerful in one-sided grilling mode: It took longer to cook shrimp than it would have in a pan on the stove, and we didn't get good grill marks or browning.

For cleanup, there's a removable drip tray, and the plates are quite effectively nonstick. However, they're not removable, which means you need to wipe them down manually after every use. (This also means that the plates have only a grill-grate side and no option to cook with a flat griddle.)

Dimensions: 10 x 12 x 5 inches | Cooking Area: 48.1 square inches (closed), 96.3 square inches (open) | Power: 1,000 watts | Weight: 4 pounds | Dishwasher-Safe: No

Best Multipurpose

Cuisinart Contact Griddler with Smoke-less Mode

View On Amazon $108 View On Wayfair $130 View On Walmart $130

Cuisinart's Contact Griddler is pretty similar to our overall fave the Elite Griddler, but it's a step down in size and features—and price. The top and bottom plates both flip from flat griddle to grill grate, and you can independently set the temperatures for each to anywhere from 175 to 425 degrees. Plus, there's an extra-hot sear mode to get good browning. The lid also opens all the way flat to make a larger grill/griddle space.

We tested this machine with meat, cheese, and pickled onion Cuban-style sandwiches, which came out nicely melty and toasted but not smooshed quite as much as we would have liked. The hinge and lid height aren't adjustable on this machine; if you want a flatter sandwich, you'll have to hold the lid down through the full several-minutes-long cooking process.

As an open griddle, this machine worked really nicely to cook eggs and sausages, and the flipping plates are helpful to switch from griddling breakfast to grilling steaks. And because they're removable, the plates are also dishwasher-safe. The Contact Griddler offers a smokeless mode, which doesn't involve any ventilation but moderates the temperature and sets the plates at an angle to drain off fat. To be honest, we're not sure if the setting makes much difference, but we also didn't have any issues with smoking in our standard-mode tests.

When it comes to price, the Contact Griddler is significantly less expensive than the Elite Griddler but still quite pricey for a sandwich press. It might be a good option if you'll use it fully opened as an indoor grill as much as you'll use it as a sandwich press. It's smaller than the Elite, but keep in mind that it's still fairly bulky. The handle sticks out and can make it tough to fit the machine under or inside a cabinet.

Dimensions: 12 x 13 x 7.5 inches | Cooking Area: 100 square inches (closed), 200 square inches (open) | Power: 1,500 watts | Weight: 12.8 pounds | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes