Outdoor grilling season is finally here, so if you’re shopping for a new propane gas grill for your backyard, deck or patio — or a grill you can easily take camping or quickly set up at your next tailgate — we’ve curated this collection of your five best options.
Compared to charcoal with wood-pellet grills, propane grills offer a handful of advantages, including convenience, more precise temperature control and ease of cleaning. Oh: And they also produce great tasting food. Depending on the model, some propane grills can cook different types of foods at once, each at a separate temperature. Plus, some of the latest smart grills take all of the guesswork out of grilling. This makes it almost impossible to overcook or undercook your food.
- Best propane grill overall: Weber Genesis SPX-435
- Best portable propane grill: Monument Grills tabletop propane gas grill
- Best value propane grill: Weber Spirit II E-210
- Best propane grill for families: Weber Genesis E-325s
- Best premium propane grill: Weber Summit S-470
For reviews, roundups and details on the best deals in consumer tech, tools and equipment, be sure to read our continuously updated tech and home, kitchen and outdoor coverage. Meanwhile, if you’re looking to give your entire patio a makeover, you’ll definitely want to read 10 ways to upgrade your patio with picks from Amazon, Walmart, West Elm and more.
Best propane grill overall: Weber Genesis SPX-435 smart grill
Perhaps the best-known brand in grilling offers a smart grill that takes the challenge out of preparing perfectly cooked meals, whether you’re grilling, searing, roasting, steaming or even stir-frying.
With this stainless steel smart grill, 994 square inches of cooking space is at your disposal. And the Weber Connect app tells you exactly when to flip and serve your food based on how you want it cooked. Plus, when you’re grilling at night, the SPX-435 has LED lighting, so you can clearly see the grill’s entire surface.
There’s a propane gas and natural gas version of the SPX-435. Some of the features we love include the built-in prep-and-serve table, expandable top cooking grate, an and integrated side burner.
You’ll get years of outdoor grilling out of this 48,000 BTU stainless steel smart grill. The mobile app provides real-time food temperature alerts, reminders, plus flip and serve notifications. Out of all the newer smart grills on the market, this one is hands-down one of the very best. The problem of accidentally overcooking or undercooking food is now a thing of the past.
Best portable propane grill: Monument Grills tabletop gas grill
What we love about this stainless steel outdoor grill is its portability and overall compact design. Yet, it offers an extra tall lid, which is useful with thicker steaks or ribs.
This grill offers 207 square inches of cooking space using two burners designed to provide evenly distributed heat. Between the two independantly controlled burners, you’ll enjoy 15,000 BTUs of cooking power.
Some of the convenient features include a thermometer on the lid and extra-large control dials on the front. The entire unit measures 18 x 18 x 13 inches and it weighs in at under 20 pounds. It comes with a four-foot hose for connecting the grill to a propane tank that’s sold separately.
Not only does this grill provide portability and easy setup, it takes advantage of sleek-looking stainless steel grates and burners. Plus, the lid has travel locks to keep everything in place during transport. For easy cleanup, it comes with a drip tray. Keep in mind, while this grill is small enough to fit on a kitchen countertop, it’s designed exclusively for outdoor use.
Best value propane grill: Weber Spirit II E-210
This two-burner, liquid propane barbecue grill from Weber measures 48 x 26 x 57 inches, so it’ll probably fit nicely on your porch or patio. And the built-in wheels make it easy to move around. Inside the grill, you’ll discover porcelain-enameled, cast-iron cooking grates.
The E-210 works with standard 20-pound LP propane gas tanks (sold separately). You’ll find a fold-down table built in, plus a fuel gauge, stainless-steel heat deflector and a thermometer. There’s also a handy warming rack. In total, there’s 450 square inches of cooking space.
You can definitely find less expensive propane grills from a wide range of brands, but we added this model to our roundup because it offers a really good value for the money, based on its overall construction, durability and ease of use. For the average family, it’s more than enough.
If you love the design of this grill, but would prefer a three-burner model, you’re in luck. The Weber Spirit II E-310 ($569) is another great grill option. It offers a full 529 square inches of cooking space and up to 30,000 BTUs of cooking power.
Best propane grill for families: Weber Genesis E-325s
For an average family with a backyard, porch or patio, the Weber Genesis E-325s propane grill offers a generously sized sear zone, along with plenty of room to cook multiple steaks, burgers or other foods at the same time. In fact, you get 641 square inches primary cooking space (787 square inches total), along with porcelain-enameled, cast-iron cooking grates that do a marvelous job retaining heat for more efficient searing and cooking.
The three main burners can generate up to 39,000 BTUs of cooking power, while the sear zone burner provides 13,000 BTUs of power.
One benefit of investing in a Weber grill is that the company offers a nice collection of optional accessories that can expand your cooking repertoire. The company’s custom-fit “grillware” includes a pizza stone, griddle, dual-sided sear grate, a Dutch oven option and more.
Built into this freestanding grill are two side tables that are great for food prep. Meanwhile, the built-in warming rack its ideal for keeping food warm, toasting buns or grilling smaller foods. As with all propane grills, the required propane tank is sold separately.
Best premium propane grill: Weber Summit S-470
If you couldn’t tell already, we’re huge fans of Weber grills, particularly the newest Weber Genesis SPX-435. It’s the smart grill we ranked as one of the best in our recent roundup. However, if you don’t want technology interfering with your own skills as a barbecue master, we recommend the Summit S-470.
This is a well-made, four-burner grill that offers 580 square inches of stainless steel cooking space. Built into the grill is a side burner, tuck-away rotisserie system, LED fuel gauge and lighted control knobs.
For whatever you plan to cook, this grill gives you 48,800 BTUs of power to feed up to 10 people at once. The grill is fueled using a 20 pound LP tank (sold separately). When closed, the S-470 measures 50.5 x 66 x 26.5 inches. Not only will it perform beyond your expectations for many years to come, it’ll also look great on your patio or in your backyard.
How to choose a propane grill
With so many options when it comes to propane grills, here are a five things to consider:
- Size: Make sure your grill will fit safely within your outdoor space. It could pose a fire risk if it’s set up too close to your home, decking or overhanging trees.
- Cooking space: This impacts how much food you can make at once. Keep in mind that some grill brands include the warming rack in their calculations for overall cooking space. For a family of four, 400 to 500 square inches of cooking space is adequate. For eight to 10 people, you’ll want 650 and 800 square inches of primary cooking space. A wider cooking space is best for preparing a rack of ribs. If you plan to grill a large turkey, also pay attention to the height of the cooking space.
- Grill grates: Most grill grates are made from stainless steel, porcelain-enameled cast iron, or porcelain-enameled steel. All of these of these options are durability and easy to clean. When cooking steak, these grate materials create impressive sear marks.
- Materials and durability: For the main housing of a propane grill, you want a material that’s durable and that retains heat well. Stainless steel, cast iron, enamel or sheet metal are the most common options. Out of these, stainless steel is the strongest material. It can withstand outdoor conditions the best.
- Ease of cleanup: Select a grill that offers a design and uses materials that are easy to clean, but be sure to follow the cleaning instructions in the owner’s manual to prevent damage or the possibility of accidentally mixing harmful chemicals into your food.
Don’t forget the propane tanks
All of the propane grills on the market need to be connected to an external propane tank that’s sold separately. You can order empty tanks from Amazon and then have them filled locally. Here are a few options:
- Flame King 20 pound steel propane tank cylinder with gauge level: $73.78
- Flame King 20 pound steel propane tank cylinder with Type 1 overflow protection valve: $57
- Bernzomatic 20 pounds grilling propane tank: $59
- Flame King 10 pound steel propane tank cylinder: $69 (Ideal for occasional grill use.)
- Flame Kink 100 pound steel propane tank cylinder: $232 (Ideal for frequent grill use.)
- Coleman propane fuel (case of 6): $47 (Perfect for portable propane grills. These come filled with propane.)
And to make moving these heavy and bulky tanks easier, we suggested using the Hensita propane easy cart portable LP tank dolly ($80). It’s a folding hand truck designed for carrying 20-pound propane tanks. It comes with a tank fuel gauge, but the tanks are sold separately.
