Portable electric burners have come a long way in the last century. Some are designed with the minimalist in mind, offering basic warming and cooking in small batches. Others are powerful, sturdy beasts that can handle large stockpots and other heavy loads.
Yet, there are other features to look out for when finding which one is right for your specific needs whether they are indoor or outdoor, large or small, low temperature, high temperature, or in the middle, and much more.
Best Overall
Cuisinart Cast-Iron Single Burner
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- Flat, easy-to-clean top
- Control knob stays cool
- Affordable
- Small burner size
- Metal body gets hot with extended use
Cuisinart’s portable burner is simple to operate, yet works well for a range of uses from family meals to a buffet spread. Its single knob turns on and controls the unit via six temperature settings. Like a waffle maker, lights tell you when the burner is on and ready to use. During testing, we found great success with everything from frying eggs and browning chicken to slow, controlled simmering in our in-home tests. The heavy cast-iron cooking surface holds heat very effectively and evenly, but we still found it quick to preheat—we also were able to use the hot burner to keep food warm after it was turned off, just like on a full-size range.
A negative with this burner is its relatively small size. We could effectively heat and use pans somewhat larger than the burner’s 7.5-inch diameter, but the whole thing is only 11.5 inches wide, so it’s not practical for enormous skillets or the largest stockpots. The body of the unit also gets quite hot after running at high temperatures for any length of time, though we were impressed that its little rubber feet both keep it in place effectively and insulate whatever surface it’s set on from the heat.
This machine might not be the prettiest thing in the world, but it’s a durable workhorse that’s easy to clean with a simple wipe-down, is small enough to be easily transported, and it comes at an excellent price for its quality.
Burner Type: Cast iron | Dimensions: 11.5 x 11 x 2.5 inches | Maximum Power: 1,300 watts | Number of Burners: 1 | Burner Diameter: 7.5 inches
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Best Compact
CUSIMAX Electric Hot Plate for Cooking
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- Compact size
- Safety features
- Reasonably priced
- Heat extends to body
- Only recommended for small loads
Despite its small size, Cusimax’s hot plate packs an impressive 1,500 watts of power. Paired with its heat-holding cast-iron material, that’s enough to get really hot…hot enough to effectively sear meats or stir-fry veggies. However, we found that the whole housing—including the temperature knob—got very hot with the burner turned to the highest and even medium-high settings, making it hard to use and a safety hazard, especially with kids around. We think the Cusimax is much better suited for lower-temperature slow-cooking or simmering, something it’s likely to do as an extra burner at Thanksgiving or a family reunion. And it carries a fairly moderate price tag for its power and features.
The whole unit is not much bigger than the burner, and it’s only 3.5 inches tall, easy to tuck away in the back of a cabinet when you don’t need it. Although the burner size is listed as 7.4 inches in diameter, Cusimax recommends using pans with a flat base, no larger than 7.1 inches, limiting your range of cookware options.
Burner Type: Cast iron | Dimensions: 11.3 x 9 x 3.5 inches | Maximum Power: 1,500 watts | Number of Burners: 1 | Burner Diameter: 7.4 inches
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Best Budget
Imusa Electric Single Burner
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- Small footprint
- Low cost
- Variable temperature control
- Coil burner is small and hard to clean
When cost is key, this small burner may be all you need. Its low price, simple design, and compact frame make it ideal for heating up a pot of soup for lunch at the office, making some late-night snacks in a dorm room, or cooking a quick dinner at an RV campsite or rustic cabin. One nice feature is its variable temperature control: You can set the knob to anywhere between low and high rather than choosing among a limited number of temperatures. It has a surprising amount of power for its size, too: 1,100 watts.
However, the burner is a puny 5.5 inches in diameter, which means you’re limited to small pans, and its coil design is much harder to clean than flat cast-iron burners. It’s not designed for long, slow cooking, as Imusa recommends against having it turned on for more than 60 minutes in a two-hour period, and the burner shuts off automatically when overheated.
Burner Type: Coil | Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.1 x 3.5 inches | Maximum Power: 1,100 watts | Number of Burners: 1 | Burner Diameter: 5.5 inches
Best Double Burner
BLACK+DECKER Double Burner Portable Buffet Range
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- Lightweight
- Cooking and warming modes
- Low cost
- Must unplug to turn off
- Challenging to clean
If you’re busting out the standalone burner—whether for a big family gathering, a full-size-stove breakdown, or a trip to a rustic location—chances are that a second element would be useful. For less money than many single-burner units, this machine offers a high-heat 1,000-watt burner alongside a 500-watt one for cooking delicate ingredients or keeping food warm. Each burner has a knob with eight temperature options, including minimum heat and a slightly higher “warm” setting. What they lack is an “off” setting: To completely turn off the burners, you have to unplug the device from the wall.
Despite its size, the Black+Decker only weighs around 3 pounds and moves around easily. Cleaning the coils can be a finicky process, though. Black+Decker recommends wiping the base and burners with a damp cloth once the unit has cooled and warns against submerging it or using abrasive cleaners.
Burner Type: Coil | Dimensions: 20.2 x 11.1 x 3.5 inches | Maximum Power: 500 and 1,000 watts | Number of Burners: 2 | Burner Diameter: 5.3 inches
Best Infrared
Ovente Electric Infrared Burner
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- Heats quickly
- Works with all cookware
- Base stays cool
- Small-diameter pans recommended
- Heat can be hard to control
Like a ceramic stovetop, this infrared burner uses radiant coils to heat food quickly and efficiently. Unlike an induction burner, which can’t use aluminum, glass, ceramic, and other non-magnetic pans, infrared works with any material you can put on a standard stovetop. (For best results, Ovente recommends using pans with a flat bottom, close to the 7.5-inch diameter of the burner.) The device’s flat glass surface holds all the heat and, as a bonus, simply wipes clean.
The 1,000-watt burner offers six temperature settings. Even at the highest one, the infrared technology focuses the heat on the cooking surface, which helps keep the base and housing cooler. With this style of burner, the heating element cycles on and off during use.
Burner Type: Ceramic glass infrared | Dimensions: 12.2 x 11.4 x 3.7 inches | Maximum Power: 1,000 watts | Number of Burners: 1 | Burner Diameter: 7.5 inches
Final Verdict
The Cuisinart Countertop Single Burner has enough power for everyday cooking needs at a reasonable price and is our No. 1 pick. If you’re looking for a bare-bones-but-capable burner at a bargain-basement price, we recommend the IMUSA GAU-80305 Electric Single Burner.
What to Look for in an Electric Burner
Burner Size and Capacity
You’ll get the best efficiency and most even cooking if the burner diameter is close to the base diameter of the cookware you want to put on it. Portable electric burners are usually smaller than built-in stovetop burners, with a diameter in the 5- to 7-inch range, and aren’t equipped to handle huge sauté pans and stockpots. If you’re looking for a camping stove or auxiliary Thanksgiving burner, a small one might work, but if you’re looking for a burner for making soup or even brewing beer, you probably want a larger size, like 9 inches or more. There are also some models that include two separate burners, though the individual burners are usually pretty small. Another consideration is the weight capacity of the burner. More cheaply constructed burners might not be able to hold a heavy, full pot without breaking, even if the pot can physically fit on top.
Power
Electric appliances of all kinds measure power in watts: Higher wattage means more power. Of course, wattage isn’t everything, as the burner’s design also affects how efficiently it heats. Minimum power also matters; some burners can supply a small amount of power consistently to maintain a simmer, while others have to cycle on and off and can’t hold a temperature as consistently. No matter which portable electric burner you choose, it won’t be as powerful as a full-size electric range, which uses a special high-powered outlet instead of a normal 110-volt wall plug.
Burner Type
The least expensive portable electric burners have a coil-shaped heating element, which is a perfectly good way to heat a pot but is difficult to clean if anything drips on it. A flat cooking surface—either in the form of a heavy cast-iron plate or smooth tempered glass—is easier to clean but adds cost. Beyond shape, there are also multiple burner technologies; both coil and cast-iron burners use a standard electric heating element, while more advanced (and more expensive) cooking methods include infrared and induction, both of which cook on a flat, glass surface.
FAQs
How does an electric burner work?
Most electric burners rely on coils, either exposed or beneath a glass or cast iron surface, which heat up when electricity passes through them. When you put a pot or pan atop the hot coil, cast-iron plate, or glass surface, it absorbs heat directly. Infrared electric burners work similarly to coil ones but are designed to radiate heat into the cooking vessel more quickly and evenly. An induction burner uses electromagnetism to directly heat up magnetic materials like cast iron and steel without heating up the surface of the burner itself; this is more energy-efficient but can’t heat up non-magnetic cookware.
How do you get melted plastic off an electric burner?
Removing melted plastic from a burner can be a stinky process, so you’ll want to set up your portable burner outside before you start this process. For a coil or cast-iron burner, turn on low heat just until the plastic starts to soften, and then scrape it off with a wooden or heat-proof silicone spatula. Once you’ve removed as much as you can, turn the heat to high and let the rest burn off. For a glass-top burner, start with low heat and scraping as above, but then shut off the heat and scrub with baking soda to remove any remnants.
Will a portable electric burner boil water?
You can boil water on any portable electric burner—the question is how much water do you want to boil, and how long will it take? Obviously, the larger, more powerful, and more efficient the burner, the faster water will boil, but there’s a limit on how much water any burner can heat up to boiling at once. To speed up the boiling process, put a lid on your pot, and remember that water boils at a lower temperature at high altitude, which affects cooking in lots of different ways.
Is there anything you shouldn’t use on an electric burner?
Standard electric burners, whether portable or built-in, can handle all types of metal cookware. Aluminum heats and cools quickly, while cast iron heats more slowly but is better at retaining heat. (Stainless steel falls somewhere in between.) Glass-top burners are prone to scratching, so you should use cast iron, ceramic cookware, and heavy pots with care and lift them off the burner rather than sliding them across. Nothing plastic should ever touch an electric burner, and glass cookware should only be used if it’s safe for a standard stove. With an induction burner, avoid aluminum, glass, and other non-magnetic materials. There’s really no safety danger with putting induction-unfriendly materials on an induction burner, though; they just won’t heat up at all.
