George Foreman Evolve Grill Review

I love to cook and try out new kitchen gadgets. So when the Family Review Network asked if I would like to a review the new George Foreman Evolve Grill, I was very interested in giving it a whirl! The Evolve is a new product in the George Foreman grill line, and what makes it unique is that the Evolve also comes with a deep dish plate that actually allows you to bake as well as grill. The model that I received came with two grill plates, one deep dish pan, and one mini-burger insert. Additional plates can be bought separately, including a mini-muffin pan. (I wanted to look up the cost of the additional plates that you can buy for the grill, but I couldn’t seem to locate them on their website anywhere.)

When my Evolve grill arrived, I was eager to put it to the test. After flipping through the manual and scanning the recipes, I decided to make lasagna in the deep dish pan for dinner; so I set about assembling the grill. My biggest critique with this product is actually the manual: The instructions are very sparse, confusing, and at times, contradictory. A lot of important information is not included, leaving some of the assembly and operation down to guesswork. Fortunately, the grill operates in a fairly straightforward manner, so it was not difficult for me to figure out on my own.

The other thing I noticed upon setting up the grill was how short the electrical cord was. The plug on my coffee maker is actually longer than the cord on the Evolve, which limits your options as to where you can place it on your counter.

There is a recipe for spinach lasagna provided in the manual, which I adapted to suit the ingredients I had on hand. I also modified the quantity after seeing Wrestling Addicted Mommy’s tweets about making lasgana in her Evolve grill. She posted some photos of the lasagna overflowing all over her counter, so I decided that it would be best to make the lasagna with 6 noodles instead of 9, as called for in the recipe. I normally stuff my lasagnas to the gill, so I tried to under-stuff this one, bearing in mind that it might spill over. So here’s my spinach lasagna recipe for the Evolve grill:

Click on the thumbnails above to see images full size

First, I cooked 6 lasagna noodles in a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes. I drained the stockpot, then layered the deep dish pan with 3 noodles. I took a small can of tomato sauce, and spooned half of it over the noodles. Then I added a layer of frozen spinach, a layer of shredded cheddar cheese, and covered with the remaining three noodles. I “tucked” the ends of the noodles into the pan so that nothing would overhang. After that, I added the rest of the tomato sauce, sprinkled on a very small amount of frozen spinach, then topped with cheese. There were two ripe baby tomatoes in my garden, so I added those on top for the finishing touch.

I inserted the dish into the grill, set it for 20 minutes, and cooked it around 375 degrees (the recipe in the booklet listed two temperatures, so I just went with the lower one so that I wouldn’t burn it!). Here is the finished product:

Perfection! It smelled delicious and not a drop got on the counter. I was so glad to have the heads-up from Wrestling Addicted Mommy that it could potentially spill – under-stuffing the lasagna and using less noodles really paid off.

The lasagna was absolutely delicious! The next time I make lasagna, I will definitely do it in the Evolve. The cooking time is speedy, and you don’t have to turn on the oven to make it – not only does this save energy, but this would be perfect for days when you don’t want to heat up the whole house by using the oven. I definitely think we will be making use of this grill next summer! What I also like is that the grill is nonstick, so there is no need to add oil or butter; it also cleans up easier because of the nonstick surface.

We had a little lasagna left over, so I simply left it in the deep dish, covered it with cling film, and stuck it in the fridge. Re-heating leftovers in the Evolve is a breeze – I just removed the saran wrap, popped the pan back into the grill, and cooked it at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes. Delicious!

I decided to make paninis for lunch the following day as my next experiment. We love paninis, so I was looking forward to making my own! I had half a loaf of homemade french bread left over from our lasagna dinner, so I sliced that up, added some of my .04 cent ham, and topped with cheese.

I wasn’t clear on how long I should cook these for or what temperature to use, so I just took my best guess. I started these at 375 with around 8 minutes of cooking time (I’m still figuring out how to factor in time for preheating), and kept checking the sandwiches and adding more time. I like my paninis to be crisp and golden, which is why I left them in longer. Next time, I will start them at a higher temperature for less time, as they were a bit dried out. But they still tasted good!

That evening, I made fajitas for dinner as my last experiment. I was really looking forward to cooking meat on the George Foreman grill – this is what these grills are famous for, and I was excited to read how quickly it can cook meat. One of my kitchen paranoias is under-cooking meat: Years ago, when I was first living on my own and starting to cook a lot, I made chicken for dinner that was raw inside. Ever since then, I’ve had the tendency to overcook meat that I prepare because I don’t want to ever eat raw chicken again! So I really liked the idea that I could pop a cut of meat into this grill and have it cooked thoroughly in short period of time.

To make my fajita filling, I sliced up a green pepper and a yellow squash, layered the veggies on the grill, and topped them with beef strips. I sprinkled on chipotle seasoning salt for extra flavor, and started cooking.

Ta-dah! It looked delicious, and I couldn’t wait to try it. I set it on the table with flour tortillas and cheese, so that we could assemble our own fajitas.

I cooked this for around 10 minutes (I don’t remember exactly – I should have written it down), and if anything, it was a bit overcooked. The meat was a little tough and chewy, although we still enjoyed the dinner; the next time I grill such thin strips of meat, I won’t cook it for as long.

The drip tray worked perfectly – the extra juices dripped right off the grill and collected in the dish. Just make sure you place it close enough under the grill to catch the grease! I think it’s neat that you can cook food without using oil – and this doesn’t seem to detract from the recipes. In fact, when we were eating the lasagna, Jai thought it was so rich that he asked: “Mmm, is there a lot of butter in this?” I know the George Foreman grill is meant to be used for healthy cooking, but honestly, all this food turned out so good that we’ve been eating a little too much lately. 😉

I am pleased as punch with my George Foreman Evolve Grill, and was pleasantly surprised by its versatility and speed in preparing food. I think this is a great addition to my kitchen that we will continue to enjoy for some time!

To learn more about the George Foreman Evolve Grill, check out George Foreman Healthy Cooking.

This post was written for Family Review Network & George Foreman Healthy Cooking who provided the complimentary product in exchange for my honest review.