The 3 Best Instant-Read Thermometers for 2024, According to Our Tests.

How to Use an Instant-Read Thermometer

What do you use an instant-read thermometer for?

Use an instant-read thermometer whenever you need a quick, accurate snapshot of the current temperature of food. Most people understand their utility for grilling or roasting meats, but you can also use them in sauce-making where you need to know the temperature, like when tempering custard, or for scalding milk in cheese-making. 

Most people think of using a thermometer to test how hot something is, but you can also use an instant-read thermometer to measure if something is cold enough, like whether your ice cream base is ready to spin. There’s also a place for instant-read thermometers in food safety, checking if the food you’ve set out on a buffet is outside of the microbial danger zone, or if the braised meat you just labored over (and which is always better when you let it cool in the cooking liquid overnight) is cool enough to safely store.

How far do you insert an instant-read thermometer?

Upon examining the five instant-read thermometers in my kitchen (I test cooking products for a living, OK?), all share a common trait. Their probes have a thinner, needle-like tip to make insertion easier that broadens about an inch from the end. Ideally, you should insert the thermometer’s probe far enough to cover that narrow end that houses the sensor. Expanding a little from that, you should insert the probe until the tip is in the middle of the food, provided the piece of food you’re testing is a uniform thickness. Because nature doesn’t often create uniform food, take a chicken thigh, for example, you should forgo the center as a target and insert the probe into the thickest part of the food, away from any bones, which are fantastic heat conductors and will give you an inaccurate reading.

How We Tested Instant-Read Thermometers

We tested each instant-read thermometer to measure two key points: their accuracy and their response time. To evaluate these, we put them each through three tests.

Sous vide test: We set up an immersion circulator (the heat-control portion of sous vide cooking) to bring a water bath to 134°F. We then tested each thermometer's response time and temperature, repeating the test three times. In these tests, we noted any temperature variation from the immersion circulator and any deviations in the instant-read reports. We then averaged the instant-read temperatures and response times.

Boiling water test: To test higher temperature thresholds, we performed the same tests as the sous vide portion, using water at a full, rolling boil. Again, we recorded and averaged the response times and temperature readings.

Baked chicken test: With this test, we sought to put the thermometers through a more practical application. We baked chicken thighs and tested each thermometer's usability. First, we checked for proper doneness at 165°F and then judged them on how easy they were to insert into the chicken without completely removing the baking pan from the oven and how easy they were to read in the oven’s lower-light environment.  

At the end of these practical tests, we rated each thermometer on value to retail price. We continued using them for six months, checking in after two to see if any performance issues arose after longer-term use.

Other Instant-Read Thermometers We Recommend

Kizen Digital Meat Thermometer

Orig. $18 $13 at Amazon $15 at Target Orig. $17 $15 at Walmart

The Kizen delivers the features you need at a fraction of the price of our favorite, albeit with some design sacrifices. This thermometer registered within one degree of accuracy in our sous vide testing and dead-on in our boiling water test, with a three-second response time. The Kizen has a fold-out probe that started to stick during our long-term tests, but that’s not a disqualifier at the price. This thermometer had a large, backlit display that functioned well in the limited light of the oven. We found the body design a little awkward to hold when inserting it into chicken thighs to get a reading without removing the baking pan from the oven.

Cuisinart CSG-200 Infrared and Folding Grilling Thermometer

Orig. $40 $32 at Amazon $32 at Target $32 at Wayfair

With this Cuisinart thermometer, you get two heat-measuring needs met in one device. In addition to being an instant-read, it's a point-and-shoot infrared thermometer, which you can use to assess the surface temperature of your grill or skillet before cooking and then use the probe to spot-check your food’s internal temperature. 

The instant-read thermometer performed very well in our boiling and sous vide testing, giving spot-on accuracy in about two seconds. There were a few nit-picky issues with this thermometer, in that the display doesn’t rotate to orient with the direction you’re holding the base, the backlighting could be brighter in a low-light oven, and the infrared thermometer isn’t as easy to aim as its dedicated competitors. But, you get two good thermometers for far less than the cost of buying them separately, so we consider that a win.

Our Expertise

Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with four decades of experience in the food industry. His written work appears in Food & Wine, Food Republic, and other publications. In addition to writing over 30 articles on grilling and barbecuing, he’s tested wireless thermometers, cutting boards, wood-burning and gas pizza ovens, a kamado grill, and more.