For the average person, most of their cooking happens in the kitchen. The stove and oven — along with appliances like microwaves, pressure cookers, and air fryers — do most of what you need for a typical meal. (A grill or smoker out on the patio is a nice extra.)
A griddle is a great kitchen accessory. I own a two-burner model that can sit on my stove, and it’s great for pancakes, bacon, or even over-easy eggs. Alternatively, if for some reason the stovetop is not an option, you can also hunt for an electric griddle.
I’ve seen electric griddles find use in all kinds of places. I know a church youth group that used multiple griddles as part of a pancake fundraiser in the church’s multipurpose room. I know a group of teachers that would use them in a classroom to make dinner while waiting to start parent-teacher conferences. I also know people who have carried them outdoors for camping or tailgating events where they had access to a proper plug.
They can be valuable appliances at the right time. Occasionally, Aldi sells one.
The Ambiano Electric Griddle (Product Code: 830003) is an Aldi Find. You can only find it in stores for a limited time, and once it’s sold out, you won’t be able to find it again until it comes back, whenever that might be. You can’t order it online if it’s sold out at your area store.
At the time of this post, we paid $19.99 for the griddle. That’s on the lower end of prices compared to what we could find on Amazon.
Unboxing and Features:
The griddle comes out of the box with the following:
- The griddle
- A power plug
- A drip tray
- The manual
- A warranty card
What’s in the box.
The warranty, incidentally, is backed by Protel, a common Aldi warranty provider, and is good for three years.
The warranty card. (Click to enlarge.)
There are few things to note about each of the components and their features. The plug contains the power level knob, which has 7 adjustable power levels. The gridle surface is 20.4 inches wide by 10.5 inches long, and it has a titanium non-stick coating on top and non-skid feet on the bottom. The plastic drip tray can be removed, and the manual says is dishwasher safe, although we plan on cleaning it by hand.
As you might expect for an appliance, the manual contains a number of instructions and, of course, warnings. We strongly suggest giving the manual a thorough reading before attempting any cooking, as it outlines everything from what to do before first use to how to troubleshoot certain problems. The manual also lists suggested temperatures for certain food types.
After taking it out of the box, I followed the manual’s instructions by cleaning the cooking surface with a damp cloth, carefully drying it, and then heating up the surface for several minutes to burn off any residuals from manufacture.
Putting it to Use:
We figured the best test for the griddle was breakfast food. To that end, we whipped up some pancakes (using this recipe) alongside some Aldi sausage patties.
First off, the nonstick surface is definitely nonstick. My pancakes did not stick. It was almost a little too nonstick, though, as I was fighting to get them onto my spatula. That relates to a second point: the lip isn’t terribly tall. To be fair, most other griddles like this that I see online have similarly small lips, but it’s also a departure from the stove griddles and skillets I’ve used that have better barriers to keep things from slipping off.
As for heat? It’s hot. In my view, that’s good, because you can always lower the temperature, but you can’t necessarily raise it past the highest setting. I used the highest heat setting on my sausages and pancakes: the sausages heated quickly from frozen, and my first pancakes got a little overcooked. To be fair I was following the griddle’s manual — in the future, I’ll probably use a medium or medium-high setting closer to what I might use on the stove.
The Verdict:
Aldi’s electric griddle isn’t half bad. It heats up nice and hot, the surface is nonstick, and it’s overall pretty easy to use. I wish the lip was maybe a little taller, and I’d say to take the suggested heat settings for foods listed in the manual with a grain of salt, but overall this is a worthwhile look for anyone who needs an electric griddle. The three-year warranty is a nice extra.
