Using the proper pizza utensils enhances the flavor of homemade pizza recipes. Pizza ovens are the ideal addition to any well-stocked outdoor kitchen and an effective way to make delicious pizza at home. Choose from a variety of styles, such as portable gas-powered pizza ovens, wood-fired units, and built-in brick ovens. High heat is essential for a decent pizza oven. You won’t get the proper bake for your dough if the frying surface isn’t heated to at least 700°F. In a pinch, traditional convection ovens work well for pizza, but excellent pizza ovens you can make at home can produce restaurant-quality pizza in your backyard.
Seek for a hot oven if you want to improve your pizza-making skills at home.portable, and easy to assemble or set up. To help you find the best pizza oven available, we tested some leading models, comparing 22 outdoor pizza ovens and pizza oven attachments. We cooked up dozens of pizzas back-to-back to assess pre-heating time, temperature consistency, general convenience, and ease of use.
1.Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven
After testing dozens of devices and hundreds of pizzas, the Ooni Koda 16 is the most dependable and user-friendly pizza oven available. It is now practically synonymous with tabletop pizza ovens. Simply take it out of the box and open the legs to make it one of the simplest versions we’ve ever used and assembled. We discovered that the heat was constant from the back to the front of the oven (a big order for most ovens) after it was connected to the gas and lit. The perfect temperature took roughly 25 minutes to reach, and we cooked our pizzas in a whopping 75 seconds — much faster than the 90 seconds that Ooni claims is the normal cook time.
This model has a huge oven aperture that makes it easier to handle the pies, but be careful while turning the pizza—those flames are HOT. For added heat protection, we adore Ooni’s pizza gloves (which also function as grill gloves). Compared to all the other models we tested, the Ooni Koda gave us significantly more control over the final product—an essential feature for a high-quality pizza oven. Even though it’s a powerful device, one person can easily move it because to its lightweight design. It’s a great choice for pizza lovers searching for their next best device, and its everyday usage simplicity is indisputable. For crust consistency, speed and heating power combined, and affordability, all at a respectable level price tag, nothing else quite compares to the Koda 16.
The Barbecue Lab’s favorite new cooking appliances is the Ooni Koda 16 gas-powered outdoor pizza oven. The best thing is that it’s portable, so we can still enjoy our delicious homemade stone-baked pizza at the party outside of our backyard!
We’ve been cooking pizzas on our gas grill for years, but this Ooni Koda 16 fulfilled my need for an outdoor pizza oven, which is something I’ve always wanted.
There are two sizes available for the portable gas pizza oven by Ooni Koda. Using a 13×13′′ pizza stone, the Ooni Koda 12 gas-powered outdoor pizza oven cooks 12-inch pizzas. Up to 16 pizzas can be made with the Ooni Koda 16 on a 16.5 x 16.5 inch stone baking board. The Ooni Koda 12 and Ooni Koda 16 have different opening heights of 3.22 and 4.37 inches, respectively. Therefore, the Ooni Koda 16 gas pizza oven is what you’ll definitely want if you enjoy making larger pizzas.
Pros
The larger opening on this model
it produced perfectly crispy crusts and melty cheese
Cons
This oven is lightweight but still on the larger side
2.Ooni Karu 12G Multi-Fuel
With its compact size and ability to run on wood, charcoal, or gas (with a burner adapter), this clever pizza oven from Ooni allows you to personalize your cooking experience. The 12G is an improved model of the well-liked Ooni Karu 12, with a borosilicate glass door, rubber foot grips, a cool-touch door handle, and an integrated temperature indicator. The oven can attain and maintain temperatures of up to 950°F when the door is closed and the chimney is open, while opening the door lets heat escape. The burner tray has been altered to promote airflow for charcoal and wood.
We turned the pizzas every twenty to thirty seconds to prevent them from burning because the stone gets quite hot. Even though the oven is small, we felt that the process was manageable because there is enough space for a pizza peel to slide in the drop-down door. Even so, we found that handmade dough worked better than store-bought, which required additional heat to properly cook. Like us, you’ll undoubtedly experience some learning curves with the cook time and heat control, but other than that, it’s simple to operate. It can be lit similarly to a grill. Ooni advises against using lump charcoal or wood without firestarters. To light a spark and add propane to the gas line, simply turn a dial.
Weighing slightly over 34 pounds, the Karu 12G is the lightest pizza oven we tested. Its legs fold down, but it’s not very compact because of the height of the chimney, so you might have to take it apart to store or transport. We liked the overall design and the chimney damper for controlling the heat better than the portable Roccbox. If you want a quicker solution, the propane burner adapter is worth purchasing even though it increases the initial cost.
The idea of burning with wood was new and not very practical when we first began testing the best pizza ovens available. The popular Karu 12 has been redesigned, and the Ooni Karu 12G brings that innovation into a useful form. Making traditional wood-fired pizzas in a portable pizza oven is now more feasible than ever thanks to features like an extra-large firepan, an insulated glass door, and a thermocouple to monitor the temperature of the pizza stone. We tested the Karu 12G using the optional gas burner (an extra purchase), but we were really impressed with the temperatures and cook times we could get using just wood. If you’re determined to make your own pizza in the Neapolitan style, this multi-fuel oven is your best bet to achieve that dream.
Pros
Hugely improved multi-fuel system
High output power
Cons
Controlling temperature takes finesse
3.Gozney Dome Dual Feual
If you want to fire up Neapolitan-style pizza at home, consider the beginner-friendly Gozney Dome your best bet. We love that this sizable oven gives us space to make multiple pies. Extra space also means more control over direct heat exposure because you can keep the pizza near the fire or move it to a slightly cooler part of the oven. It takes a long time to heat up but easily retains a consistent temperature throughout the cooking process. It produced pizzas with melted toppings and crisp crusts all around. Gas, of course, is still the fastest route to cooked pizza, and the dual-fuel Dome gives you that option with a gas burner and regular. We tested the propane version, but Gozney makes one for natural gas, too.
Throughout cooking, the Dome’s digital thermometer provides accurate temperature readings and controls air flow to provide enough ventilation. Its ceramic-bonded outer covering, which is UV stable and water resistant, is strong enough for outdoor use in any kind of weather. Remember that this is not a choice that is portable. You will need to buy the stand separately if you want it to be mobile. However, we found it to be simple to construct and operate despite its size. It’s a real upgrade if you’re serious about your pizzas and outdoor kitchen, but the price is as high.
While using an outdoor oven to cook with wood can be scary, Gozney excels in this area. With a plethora of add-ons, you can use the oven as a steam injection oven for baking bread or as a smoker for braising pork shoulder.
Like the restaurant ovens we’ve used in professional kitchens, the Dome has enough space inside to start a fire. The Dome’s fire is situated directly on the stone floor, in contrast to other wood-fired pizza ovens that use a separate chamber at the back for wood. The airflow control dial allows you to adjust the fire’s temperature once the unit has warmed up.
If you intend to utilize this cooking method frequently, we advise getting the wood rack because it helps to keep the fire in place and promotes airflow throughout the entire ember bed.
The arched roof design of the oven produces a tower of captivating flames that roll over the ceiling and cover the entire oven when it is powered by propane or natural gas. Not only does that look great, but it also uses a warmed stone to puff up the dough and heat the pizza toppings from above.
With this fuel, controlling the flames is as simple as turning the dial; the oven can reach temperatures of up to 950°F. Don’t worry if you unintentionally set it down too low and the flame goes out—the unit includes an integrated pilot light that relights the instant you turn up the gas.
When using the oven for the first time, you should preheat it for 30 minutes on medium-low to cure the stone. This step should also be repeated, they say, if the oven has been dormant for an extended period.
Pros
Versatile
Large cooking area
Cons
Not portable
4.Gozney Arc
Gozney reduced the Dome’s size and eliminated its wood burner and flue in favor of a more compact design with the Arc. The primary benefit of a gas pizza oven is faster cooking; the Arc’s convenience is further enhanced with controls for gas flames and igniting. Compared to the brand’s Roccbox, which we rated as a serious rival, we found it to be easier to operate. The temperature is clearly indicated by the digital thermometer at the front, and heat and smoke are released through an open damper.
In just 24 minutes, the stone reached 750°F, and pizzas cooked in no more than 4 minutes. We rotated the pizza in our experiments every 20 seconds because the flame is located on the left side of the oven. a mouth that nearly as wide as the Dome’s — a 1.3-inch difference — leaves room for this. The Arc’s results were some of the most consistent in our tests. Mozzarella and ricotta both browned evenly, pepperoni crisped without burning, and vegetables roasted nicely. The crust turned golden and developed spots on the top, but the bottom of every pizza looked pale. Homemade dough cooked better than store-bought.
Although the Arc is small, its 47.5-pound weight (which makes it heavier than the typical portable barbecue, for example) and the requirement for a propane tank prevent us from using it as a conveniently portable choice. We tested it using the Arc Pizza Oven Stand from Gozney, which allowed us to move it with ease. The stand’s height for reaching the oven is ideal for us, and a lower shelf protects the propane tank out of reach of kids and dogs.
A pizza oven for true pizza connoisseurs is the Gozney Arc. Nestled between the more affordable Roccbox and the business’s original Dome series, the new Arc and its larger sibling, the Arc XL, utilize the latest insights from the industry to create amazing pizzas at home.
By connecting to widely available propane (LPG) bottles, the Arc and Arc XL make use of the convenience and efficiency of gas and allow you to fire up your oven in a matter of minutes. The Arc and Arc XL are larger ovens that provide superior temperature stability, better flame control, and the capacity to cook larger meals than the Roccbox. However, they require you to turn them on at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Pros
Larger pizzas
More stable temperatures
Cons
Not portable
5.Everdure KILN S Series
Everdure produces some of the most stylish outdoor appliances available, and we’ve been watching for new models ever since we tested their portable charcoal barbecue. The futuristic-looking Kiln, the brand’s first pizza oven, is ready to use right out of the box. It took some trial and error to find the ideal flame adjustment, but the settings are simple to operate. The Kiln is more than half as expensive as the Gozney Dome, despite having a similar shape and size. We’re not shocked that Gozney ovens provided us with superior results overall, considering the price differential. Nevertheless, the design of this newcomer and its generally reliable performance make it a good option.
We wish there was a temperature gauge to read the stone integrated into the Kiln. Instead, to decide when to stack the pizzas, we utilized an infrared thermometer. Although we intended to pre-heat it to 750°F, we followed the manufacturer’s directions to reduce the heat after 30 minutes on high, and we did so at 693°F after 30 minutes. It’s one of the slower gas ovens; the pizzas cooked in 3 minutes 56 seconds to 6 minutes 8 seconds with the flames decreased. The crust cooked the least in the area just beneath the sauce and the most around the edges, which wasn’t as we had hoped it would. We were happy with how well the vegetables burned, the pepperonis cupped, and the ricotta browned.
Pros
Beyond its good looks
the Kiln scored well in our tests
Cons
It fell short with temperature control
How We Tested Pizza Ovens
We have tested twenty-two outdoor pizza ovens since 2022. We can’t wait to bring new models—including upgraded iterations of pizza ovens we’ve tested—to our outdoor lab so we can contrast them with our longtime favorites. The results of our original testing of 17 outdoor pizza ovens are combined with the latest releases from Gozney, Ooni, Everdure, Alfa, and Empava to create this list of the greatest pizza ovens.
Each one has been scored based on how well it cooks, how well it is designed, and how simple it is for us to build, operate, and clean. This time, we utilized store-bought and handmade dough instead of the standard and whole-wheat dough we used in our initial tests. We found that homemade dough worked best in all five of the pizza ovens we tested. This is how we divided our testing rounds.