The 7 Very Best Portable Grills
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With the Fourth of July — the biggest grilling holiday of the year — nearly here and the rest of the summer still ahead, it’s a good time to consider your mobile grilling options.
Whether you’re headed to the beach, a campground, the park, or a tailgate, a portable grill is one of the easiest ways to cook away from home. Even compact models offer enough cooking space to sear burgers, steaks, chicken, and vegetables for two. Add a lid, and you get much of the versatility of a full-size grill in a smaller package.
When it comes to grilling on the go, we prefer charcoal over propane. Charcoal grills are less expensive, easier to store for occasional outdoor cooks, and, most important, they excel at searing burgers, steaks, chicken, and vegetables, imparting that classic smoky flavor and announcing dinner’s ready with the smell of charcoal smoldering — things a gas grill can’t do. But portable propane grills are great too, and they ignite with less fuss, heat up faster, and offer temperature control at the turn of a knob.
We’ve found great options whatever you prefer, so read on for the best portable charcoal and gas grills.
Thebestportablegrills
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A portable, easy-to-cook-on-and-store take on Weber’s classic kettle grill is our favorite overall.
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The high-end propane grill from Heston Blumenthal’s brand gives you great gas grilling on the go.
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Don’t grill often? A single-use recyclable grill may be just what you need.
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Cooking space
A portable grill has a small cooking surface, so if you have a big group, you’ll either need to cook in batches or tailor the menu to foods like burgers, hot dogs, and chicken thighs instead of large steaks or rib racks. Most portable charcoal grills offer between 100 and 300 square inches of cooking space, with a design you can get in and out of the trunk of a car and walk to wherever you plan to cook. Beyond about 300 square inches, you’re generally looking at models mounted on wheels.
One of the easiest ways to gauge a grill’s capacity is by thinking in burgers. According to Barbecue Hall of FamerMeathead Goldwyn, a standard four-inch burger requires about 20 square inches of cooking space. Divide your grill’s primary cooking area by that number for a reasonable estimate of how many burgers it can handle at one time.
Gas or charcoal fuel?
There are great portable charcoal and gas grills out there, but both types have their advantages and disadvantages.
Portable charcoal grillsare typically inexpensive, have few parts that can fail, and (most important) reward you with the unmistakable flavor of cooking over live fire. The trade-off is that you may spend 20 minutes waiting for the coals to heat up and will have to deal with hot, messy ash afterward. Larger portable charcoal grills (like our top recommendation) have enough space to set up a two-zone fire for more cooking versatility, while all of the smaller gas grills we looked at are limited to single-zone cooking.
Charcoal is susceptible to moisture, so if you don’t grill often, you won’t want to keep a big bag around — but it’s easy enough to pick up almost anywhere on your way to your campsite, cookout, or the beach.
Since when it comes down to it, a charcoal grill is just a contained campfire in a box, the design opens up some interesting options. In a pinch, many can even double as a campsite firepit. And for the very occasional cookout, single-use disposable charcoal grills made from cardboard are available.
Portable gas grills,which run on propane, offer push-button ignition and easier temperature control, meaning there’s no waiting — fire up the grill and you’re ready to start cooking. That makes them great for campground use, serious and frequent outdoor cooks, and events where you want to cook several batches to serve a bigger crowd. You can even find models that come with a rolling stand, making them much more comfortable to cook with.
The downside? You’ll miss out on the classic smoky flavor, and propane models are generally more expensive, bulkier to pack, are limited to single-zone cooking, and require fuel canisters. On that note, you shouldn’t keep the one-pound propane bottles in the house — not great for apartment dwellers.
Stability and safety
Unlike a full-size grill, most portable models don’t have a cart or legs that raise the cooking grate to a comfortable working height. Whether you plan to grill on the ground—grass, sand, or a campsite—or on a picnic table, the legs should feel stable enough that you never worry about the grill tipping over, taking your dinner and a bed of hot coals with it.
Most manufacturers also warn against placing charcoal grills on combustible surfaces. Weber, for example, advises against using the Smokey Joe within two feet of combustible materials. While manufacturers don’t generally endorse them, afire-resistant grill matcan provide a protective barrier when grilling on surfaces that could be damaged by heat or stray embers.
Convenience features
Portable grills are simple, but you’ll want to look out for a few design details that can make them easier to use and more versatile. The greater the distance between the charcoal grate — or, on some models, the bottom of the firebox — and the cooking grate, the more flexibility you have to adjust the amount of fuel or switch between briquettes and lump charcoal.
A grate that’s flush with the rim of the grill body makes it easy to accidentally push food over the edge when you’re trying to flip burgers or turn sausage, so we looked out wherever possible for models that recessed the grate surface about a half-inch to create a lip that keeps your food contained as you slide a spatula underneath.
Any lid will trap enough heat to melt cheese on burgers, but if you plan to roast foods like chicken quarters, look for a lid with an adjustable vent, along with lower vents, to help regulate temperature. A secure lid latch or locking mechanism is worth seeking out. It keeps the grill together during transport and prevents sooty interior parts from shifting — or rattling apart — inside your vehicle.
And removable, dishwasher-safe components also simplify cleanup — and make stowing away your grill until the next time you need it less messy.
Best overall portable charcoal grill
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Cooking space:147 square inches |Material: Enameled steel body with aluminum legs and ash catcher; plated steel grate |Extras: Locking lid that acts as a lid rest when cooking and vents above and below the grate make controlling temperatures easier
If you’ve cooked on a full-size Weber kettle, the Smokey Joe will feel instantly familiar. The design is refined with construction details that make cooking easier. The grate sits slightly below the rim of the bowl, making it easier to scoop up burgers without accidentally pushing things over the edge. While you’re grilling, the locking bar doubles as a lid holder, so you don’t have to find a place to set down a hot lid. With roughly 3.5 inches between the charcoal grate and the cooking grate (the grill holds about 45 briquettes — roughly half a standard chimney starter), there’s enough room to build either a single, even fire for burgers or a two-zone fire with a cooler side for finishing steaks after reverse searing. The burgers I cooked on the Smokey Joe had the classic charcoal flavor and look, and closing the lid did a nice job of melting the cheese.
My only real complaint is the ash-management system. The large metal tray beneath the bowl does a good job of shielding hot embers from the surface below, but it feels like more of a safety feature than an easy way to collect ash. I found it simpler to let the grill cool slightly, remove the grates, and tip the bowl over to empty it into a metal trash can. The air vents also get hot during cooking, so you’ll need tongs or heat-resistant gloves to adjust them.
If you regularly find yourself cooking for a bigger group, Weber also offers this grill as an 18-inchJumbo Joe, which works the same way but with about 100 more square inches of grate space.
Best less-expensive portable charcoal grill
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Cooking space: 190 square inches |Material: Powder-coated steel with 12-gauge galvannealed steel fire box |Extras: A pair of folding legs elevate the grill off the surface for cooking and fold up to secure the lid during transport.
Because of its shallow firebox — there are only about two inches between the charcoal bed and the cooking grate — the Charbroil excels at grilling foods quickly. The trade-off is that there’s not much room for larger briquettes or lump charcoal, though smaller hardwood chunks or wood chips will fit. Expect to use about 20 standard briquettes to fill the bottom of the grill. The legs lock securely for transport, and all three handles are generously sized and stay cool enough to move the grill comfortably. The grill’s rectangular shape and flat bottom make it easy to stack in the trunk of a car or pack alongside other gear.
The lid includes a vent to let smoke escape, but it’s not adjustable, so you have less control over airflow than on some competing models. Like those from the Weber, the burgers I cooked on this grill had that familiar charcoal flavor and looked the part.
The cooking grate has exposed ends that can be a bit pokey when you’re carrying or cleaning it. Because it sits nearly flush with the rim, there’s very little lip to keep food from sliding off, so you’ll need to be a bit more careful when moving your burgers around the grate.
Best disposable charcoal grill
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Cooking space: 112 square inches |Material: Cardboard and lavastone body with steel grate |Extras: Very lightweight and the lava rock can be used as a soil amendment for plants.
If you don’t grill often or simply don’t have the storage space, it may not be worth keeping even a portable grill around. Enter the CasusGrill, a disposable grill made from cardboard and designed to be recycled after use (you can even reuse the lava-rock insert once you’re done in your garden as a soil additive).
After I lit the corner bamboo-based charcoal briquette, the CasusGrill (we tested the dual-use version, which uses a metal grill — the original single-use version has a bamboo grill surface) was indeed ready to cook in about five minutes, just as the packaging claims. The charcoal pucks — about the size of mini doughnuts — sit snugly together in a lava rock tray, so lighting one causes the neighboring pucks to ignite, much like a charcoal snake in a kettle grill. You can speed up the process by lighting multiple pucks at once.
Fast start-up aside, the CasusGrill doesn’t hit the high temperatures of traditional charcoal grills and was the slowest of the models I tested to cook burgers, but it still got the job done. The burgers tasted every bit as smoky as those cooked over traditional charcoal, although the lower heat meant the cheese took longer to melt. It’s simply better suited to foods that cook more quickly, such as vegetables or hot dogs, than thick burgers. One pleasant surprise was that the cardboard base stayed relatively cool throughout cooking.
The company claims a one-hour burn time, and while the grill did stay hot for about that long, the heat decreases as the charcoal burns down, making it harder to predict cooking performance later in the session. If you’re planning to keep cooking after the initial burst of heat, stick to precooked foods that only need to be reheated or lightly cooked, such as hot dogs or s’mores, rather than anything that needs to reach a safe internal temperature.
The kit for the dual-use version includes enough wrapped charcoal pucks for two cooking sessions, but you’ll need to keep the reusable lava rock insert intact between uses. There’s also no practical way to extinguish the charcoal early — you simply have to let it burn out before disposing of the ashes.
Best single-use portable charcoal grill
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Are your grilling needs more one and done? The original single-use CasusGrill Instant Grill is perfect for impromptu urges to grill or cook outdoors when you don’t have a traditional grill handy.
I had it out of the packaging, set up, and heated within eight minutes. I had some small zucchini marinating in the fridge and grilled them to a very appealing golden brown in ten minutes. The Casus would also work well for hot dogs, vegetables, or other precooked items. Just an hour after I started, the bamboo charcoal ran its course, and the Casus was disassembled and headed for the recycling bin — its job complete. And if you’re cooking for a big group, the single-use CasusGrill isavailable in multipacks.
The most durable portable charcoal grill
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Cooking space: 147 square inches |Material: Enameled steel body with steel legs and ash catcher; plated steel grate |Extras: Latching lid and four legs for a sturdy footing on flat surfaces and a charcoal basket that makes it easier to set up a two-zone fire.
If you do a lot of on-the-go grilling, you may be looking for something really durable rather than something disposable. The Napoleon Legend is a more robust take on the classic Weber kettle design, with heavier construction, a higher price, and a generous ten-year warranty on most components. Its four-legged design feels especially stable on a level, noncombustible surface like a patio or picnic table, and that solid build makes it easier to transport. Three sturdy latches securely lock the grill together, making it unlikely to come apart in the trunk. Cooking will be familiar to anyone who has used a kettle grill, but Napoleon includes a porcelain-enameled charcoal basket with shallow sides that makes it easier to bank coals to one side and create a two-zone fire.
The grill also features adjustable top and bottom vents, with the upper vent using a molded handle that feels more substantial and easier to operate than the simple metal tab found on many competitors. My only real complaint is the lid hook mounted to the underside of the lid. When cooking taller foods, such as thick steaks or bone-in chicken, the hook can make contact with the food. The work-around is simple — you can rotate the lid so the hook hangs over an empty section of the grate or remove it altogether — but it’s an odd design choice on an otherwise thoughtfully engineered grill.
Best portable gas grill
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Heat: 10,300 BTUs |Burners: 1 |Cooking space: 103.85 square inches |Features: H-shaped burner for even heat and a lid that vents to maintain lower temperatures for roasting
Weighing just 24 pounds with a compact footprint of roughly 17-by-14-by-15 inches — about the size of a milk crate — the Everdure Cube Proflame 360 is perfectly sized for tailgates, beach days, camping trips, and park cookouts. But this is a serious grill that can deliver seriously good results: Beneath the lid is a powerful 10,300-BTU stainless-steel H-shaped burner that paints every corner in even heat, and a heavy-duty cast-iron cooking grate that looks more like a grill pan than the narrow bars you’d expect in a portable grill. Plus the short, stable feet let you set the grill down almost anywhere with confidence, and while the body gets hot during cooking, the handles stay cool enough to reposition it safely when needed.
The lid provides roughly five inches of clearance above the cooking surface and includes an adjustable top vent — an unusual feature on a gas grill — that gives you better control over lower roasting temperatures for foods like spatchcock chicken or thick steaks. Despite its compact size, there’s enough room to cook about five burgers at once. Out of the box, the Cube is designed for smaller camping propane canisters; you’llneed an adapterto connect it to a standard 20-pound propane tank. Another accessory worth looking into: agriddle platethat turns the grill into a breakfast station — perfect for camping.
Best stand-up portable gas grill
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Heat: 11,000 BTUs |Burners: 1 |Cooking space: 240 square inches |Features: Scissor stand for comfortable waist-height cooking; porcelain-enameled cast-iron grates
The Weber Traveler Compact delivers one of the most practical combinations of portability and real grilling performance in a portable grill. It’s not as compact as the other models we tested, but when folded, it’s just 32 inches wide, small enough to slip into the trunk of a compact car, and you can roll the grill to your campsite on its built-in wheels. Once you’re there, a simple one-handed lever action smoothly opens the cart into an upright position, creating a stable and comfortable grilling base that sits about 30 inches off the ground — slightly lower than standard kitchen countertops. It folds back down just as easily, with an auto-locking lid that keeps everything secure in transit and prevents the top from flopping open in transit.
With a single burner, the Traveler Compact — like most portable grills — is best suited for foods that finish around the same time rather than complex multi-stage grilling. Even so, it can reach temperatures up to nearly 600 degrees Fahrenheit, giving you enough heat to properly sear burgers and steaks over its porcelain-enameled cast-iron grates, which help retain and distribute heat more evenly than basic rolled-steel bars. A narrow side table provides just enough prep space for essentials like tongs, a spatula, or a small tray, making the setup feel more complete than its compact footprint suggests.
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