Making pizza in a wood-fired oven in your own backyard may seem like a far-fetched fantasy, but it’s really very possible.
Until recently, the only outdoor pizza ovens available costing between $2,500 and $6,000 were the expensive, high-end versions built of brick and high-heat mortar. In contrast to their wood-burning predecessors, modern outdoor ovens tend to be countertop units that are considerably more portable, adaptable, and economical. These ovens will nevertheless allow you to offer the crispy and charred Neapolitan pizza you desire.
Discover the greatest outdoor pizza ovens available now if you’re serious about mastering the art of pizza making in your own kitchen.
Three Things to Take into Account
Location
Before investing in an outdoor pizza oven, there are many questions to ask yourself. Before settling on a final location, you should assess your current setup. You’ll probably need a prep table, a rolling cart, or a folding table to set your outdoor oven on, as they often don’t come with stands.
Pellets vs. Propane
The kind of fuel used is the primary distinction between various types of outdoor pizza ovens. Although most models operate on liquid propane, some also work with wood, wood pellets, and charcoal. The former provides a more robust smokey taste to your pizza, while the latter is often heated and used more quickly and easily by propane models. If you want to make pizza but don’t want to deal with the hassle of cleaning up ash or wood, we believe a gas-powered oven is a way to go. They are substantially more compact, provide consistent and accurate heat, and need less attention.
Bigger Equals Stronger
When deciding on the best outdoor pizza oven, you should give careful consideration to the oven’s maximum temperature and size. Any oven with a temperature of at least 500 degrees Fahrenheit will do. Traditional Neapolitan pizza needs an oven heated to more than 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
Some pizza ovens may only handle pies up to 10 or 12 inches in diameter, while others can hold pies up to 16 inches in diameter or even many pizzas at once. A bigger oven should be purchased in proportion to the number of people that need to be fed. Keep in mind that the pizza oven’s weight and mobility will vary depending on its size, so keep that in mind while shopping.
Discretionary Actions
We considered your requirements, price, and available space while choosing the best outdoor pizza ovens for you. Several hours were spent going through hundreds of customer and editorial evaluations of pizza ovens, and we also relied on the knowledge of our testing team and our sister site, Good Housekeeping, which has previously evaluated a variety of home pizza ovens using the following criteria.
- Possibility of quick and simple implementation and use
- In what lightning-fast time the ovens cooked both fresh and frozen pizza
- Extreme heat
- Equipment that comes with it.
Our top pick is a pizza oven that runs on propane, but we also included some of our favorite wood and wood-pellet-powered ovens in case you’re interested. We examined the highest temperatures achievable by different ovens and the times it took to reach such temperatures. We considered how they were constructed, what materials were used, and how big they were.
If this is your first time baking a pizza, don’t worry; we have the perfect outdoor pizza oven for your setup.
1. Ooni Karu Outdoor Pizza Ovens with 16 Multi-Fuel
Among outdoor pizza ovens, the Ooni Karu 16 is among the most adaptable options. You can cook pizza, bread, meat, and vegetables on it, and it works with gas, pellets, charcoal, and wood as fuel. The results from our tests really floored our evaluation team. A glass-hinged door provides better insulation and aids in maintaining stable temperatures, allowing the oven to rapidly achieve its peak temperature.
You can cook a fresh pie in as little as 60 seconds in this oven, and you won’t have to reload the wood and charcoal as often as you would in a conventional oven. The Karu has a wide aperture for big pies and a huge digital thermometer to help you keep track of the internal temperature, and we found that it provided effective airflow for properly cooking your pies.
Note that although the gas burner is not included, this Ooni oven may be used with charcoal or wood pellets. In any case, this stylish oven is a top pick among modern outdoor pizza ovens.
Fundamental Features
- Featuring a digital temperature gauge
- No pizza peel included
- This is a 16-inch pizza
- Charcoal and wood pellets may be used as fuel (gas-burner sold separately)
- Weight: 62 pounds.
2. Roccbox Outdoor Pizza Ovens – Gas Fired, Fire & Stone
As a propane-powered pizza oven, the ROCCBOX has a tiny footprint and retractable legs, making it somewhat more portable than other choices.
It stands out since it is one of the few outdoor pizza ovens that can be used with more than one kind of fuel. For those who like a smokey taste in their pies, you may get a wood burner that plugs into the unit’s base. The pizza stone is permanently affixed, making it impossible to lose or break.
In our testing, the Roccbox heated to 900 degrees Fahrenheit in only 15 minutes. The ROCCBOX is convenient since it includes a pizza peel, a sling for transport, and a thermometer. You can fit pies up to 12 inches in diameter, it’s simple to put together, and it does a great job of keeping food warm. Its body temperature is maintained at a safe level, preventing accidental burns.
Fundamental Features
- Unusually, the silicone body maintains a cold temperature
- With a strap for easy transport
- Fire pit sold separately
- Some soot from the propane burner is stuck to the front of the stove
- Pizzeria Standard: 12-Inch
- Gasoline, or propane, is the fuel of choice (wood-burner sold separately)
- Weighed 44 pounds.
3. Ooni Fyra Portable Hard Wood Pellet Pizza Oven
In case you like a smokey flavor in your meals, the Ooni Fyra is the oven for you. To put it simply, it’s one of the best pizza ovens money can buy and it’s surprisingly cheap. Wood pellets are burned in the Ooni Fyra, which can achieve temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A fire pan and chimney are used to generate heat; this process typically takes 15 minutes.
The Fyra can only handle pies up to 12 inches in diameter, whereas the Ooni Koda 16 can handle pies up to 16 inches in diameter. Thankfully, it can still heat them up in a mere minute and a half (the same time needed for the Koda 16). This oven is lightweight (only 22 pounds), with foldable legs, and a removable chimney for convenient storage.
Although the Fyra pizza oven took a few more minutes to heat up and required fewer pellet refills than the market leader, the Big Horn Outdoors, it quickly became clear that the Fyra was the superior product. Fyra is a far better alternative than the Big Horn, in our opinion, despite the fact that it is more expensive. Several customers have complained that the Big Horn’s door handle broke after just a few usages.
Fundamental Features
- Miniature and simple to put together
- Having a place to put ashes is a great touch
- Needs a spark lighter and pellets to light
- There are temperature swings
- Pizzeria Standard: 12-Inch
- Using wood pellets as a fuel source
- Weight: 22 pounds.
4. BakerStone Portable Gas Pizza Oven – Best Outdoor Pizza Ovens
The $250 BakerStone pizza oven will pay for itself in less than a year for many individuals, given that the average cost of a large pizza in the United States is about $16. This oven is less expensive than others of its kind without compromising on quality. It can heat to temperatures of up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit, has a large interior that can accommodate pies of up to 14 inches in diameter, and has foldable legs for compact storage. The folks at Good Housekeeping assured us that this little pizza oven packs a big punch; they stated it just takes 20 minutes to heat up and can cook a pizza in under 5 minutes.
The oven is detachable, which simplifies cleaning, and Bakerstone offers a plethora of add-ons to broaden the range of possible uses for the appliance. Cast iron cooking grates and a griddle are available for purchase. In conclusion, the BakerStone is a reliable (and inexpensive) outdoor pizza oven that offers the best value for the money.
Fundamental Features
- Economical
- Preheating takes longer
- Subpar support for customers
- Dimensions of a 14-inch pizza
- Propane is used as the fuel
- Displacement: 40 lb.
5. Koda Outdoor Pizza Ovens
Our budget selection, the Ooni Koda 12, is almost similar to our top pick, the Ooni Koda 16, but it can only accommodate pizzas up to 12 inches in diameter and costs less. In order to give you an idea of scale, a large pizza from Pizza Hut is 14 inches in diameter and often has 12 slices.
The Ooni Koda 16 has a bigger cooking area, making it suitable for pizzas of a more substantial size, and a more robust burner. It’s true that you can’t make a pie in a traditional oven in 60 seconds, but the Koda 12 is still a terrific oven. We like that it only took the oven 15 minutes to heat up and that the gas ignition was so simple to operate.
Price and portability are two areas where the 12 excels above the 16. It’s a great option to think about if you want to save money without sacrificing quality on pizza night and make restaurant-style pizza at home. Finally, it’s important to note that the Ooni Koda 12 does not sell a converter that would allow you to connect the pizza oven to a natural gas line.
Fundamental Features
- Pizzas are ready in a flash
- Mobile and reasonably priced
- Problematic when trying to shuffle pizzas around
- It is not compatible with a gas line that uses natural gas
- Pizzeria Standard: 12-Inch
- Propane is used as fuel
- Approximately 20 pounds in weight.
6. Portable Gas Pizza Oven For Authentic Stone Baked Pizzas
Instantaneously prepare excellent Neapolitan-style pizzas with the help of the Ooni Koda 16, a portable oven fueled by propane. It works well, has a large cavity that can fit pizzas up to 16 inches in diameter, and is very simple to use. The Ooni Koda resembles a spaceship because to its igloo design, three collapsible legs, and carbon-steel exterior. It is portable enough to be stored in a vehicle trunk and taken to a friend’s home.
Tests I ran showed that in approximately 20 minutes, the oven could achieve temperatures of nearly 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Pizzas baked in a very hot oven may be ready in 90 seconds or less. The Koda 16 blew me away with how evenly and deliciously it cooked pizzas. Also, the side knob for regulating the flame’s intensity was a nice touch.
As a propane-fueled grill, the Koda 16 requires less effort to set up and clean. It’s a little more pricey and bulkier than the Ooni Koda 12, but I believe it’s worth it since it’s still easily portable and can hold pizzas of a greater size.
Fundamental Features
- Quickly generates heat
- In the absence of assembly
- No pizza cutter or cover included
- This is a 16-inch pizza
- Propane is used as fuel
- Total 40 lb.
