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Make every day a pizza party day! Adding an outdoor pizza oven to your backyard oasis instantly upgrades parties and weeknight meals. If you’re ordering pizza more than a few times a month, it might be time to invest in a pizza oven instead of delivery fees.
Pizza ovens reach higher temperatures in far less time than typical ovens. It’s that high heat that lands you the crispiest pizza crusts on easy pizza recipes that end up looking like straight from the pizzeria. A patio pizza oven can also make scores of other dishes from roasted veggies and bread to fish and meat and everything in between. Your best outdoor grill is getting a run for its money.
“Look for pizza ovens that are ready to use, or almost ready to use, and don’t require much assembly, says Chef Laura Pauli, of Cucina Testa Rossa. “Seek out pizza ovens that are heavily insulated and built with heavy-gauge stainless steel, stone or brick.” She suggests opting for, “Ovens that can heat up to or over 900°F.”
Choosing a fuel source like wood or charcoal imparts authentic pizza-shop flavor, but can be unpredictable and requires a bit more finesse. “Gas-fueled pizza ovens will get to 900° with a standard pound propane tank,” she says “And last about 20 hours without having to put much effort in.”
Don’t forget the best pizza-making tools to elevate pizza night!
We looked at a variety of outdoor pizza oven styles and considered design, affordability, ability to maintain temperature, real customer reviews and overall capacity.
On top of that, we considered each outdoor pizza oven’s fuel source since there are so many options. Some use gas, others use charcoal, and others require wood and wood-related fuel products.
We chose 12 of the best pizza ovens based on their ease of use and overall value because even upscale cooking items should offer a tasty return on investment. Get your pizza cutter ready!
The Ooni Koda 16 is easily one of the most popular outdoor pizza oven picks on the market, and for good reason. It’s the larger version of the brand’s propane-powered pizza ovens and features an ample 16-inch cooking area that out-measures the brand’s typical 12-inch offering. That means bigger pizzas and family-friendly feeding. This model allows pizzas to be cooked in a rear corner, so you can easily turn and rotate your pies with ease.
The best part? They’re fully cooked in a matter of 60 seconds and even vegan pizza gets crispy.
What we liked about the Ooni Koda 16
What to consider before purchasing the Ooni Koda 16
We were lucky enough to test out the Pi Pizza Oven firsthand, and it wowed us with its stylish design and even cooking. This pizza oven is made by Solo Stove, which is best known for its smokeless fire pits, and the appliance boasts the brand’s signature stainless steel exterior. You have your choice between a wood-fired oven or a dual-fuel oven that runs on either gas and propane, and in our experience, both options perform extremely well, reaching temperatures over 700ºF for fast cooking and crispy crusts.
What we loved the most about the Pi Pizza Oven is its extra-large panoramic opening, which made it much easier to launch and rotate our pies. The oven cooked pizzas in just a few minutes, and its convection-style design delivered impressively even results. Plus, after we were done, we were able to simply flip the baking stone over for a clean cooking surface.
What we liked about the Pi pizza oven
What to consider before purchasing the Pi pizza oven
Whether you’re low on space or just love the efficiency of a grill accessory that seamlessly turns it into a pizza oven, this KettlePizza device is definitely a genius consideration for charcoal grill users. It’s a stainless steel insert that transforms ordinary charcoal grills into a grill-top outdoor pizza oven almost instantly. It just plops on a grill grate and then seamlessly maintains and circulates heat from a combination of charcoal and wood fuel sources. Crispy pizzas are ready in five minutes or less.
What we liked about the KettlePizza
What to consider before purchasing the KettlePizza
This freestanding Esright pizza oven tops our list of the best wood-fired options thanks to its eye-catching steel encasement, modest price point and ease of use. The powder-coated surface is designed for maximum durability and corrosion resistance as well as impressive insulation that lets you fire this pizza oven up in all four seasons.
It comes fully equipped with two wheels for seamless movement in your preferred outdoor space, and the tall freestanding design makes it easy to cook at an ergonomic height. It also has a built-in thermometer and wood storage rack that make cooking all sorts of quick-cooked food a total joy.
What we liked about the Esright pizza oven
What to consider before purchasing the Esright pizza oven
This restaurant-grade Gozney Roccbox portable pizza oven features a dual-fire design that honors both propane and wood inputs for the pizza-cooking experience of your backyard dreams. This model reaches high temperatures of over 950 degrees to give you the ideal deliciously crispy-thin crust with puffy, charred edges. It takes only about 60 seconds to cook a small pizza in this bad boy, and it even comes with a five-year extended warranty when you register it after purchase.
Roccbox’s safe-touch silicone jacket makes it safer to touch than other pizza ovens, which also makes it an ideal model for entertaining and parties. It also comes with a variety of included kitchen gadgets that make churning out restaurant-quality pizzas easier than ever.
What we liked about the Gozney Roccbox
What to consider before purchasing the Gozney Roccbox
This portable BakerStone pizza oven sits nicely on outdoor surfaces and quickly works up to an impressive 800 degrees to make personal pies in about two minutes. The entire setup weighs around 45 pounds and includes an oven box, firebox with regulator and folding legs for simple transport. The oven component itself is removable for easy cleaning, and it’s something reviewers can’t stop raving about.
If you really want to impress your friends, it’s easily transported to someone else’s backyard to whip up brunch pizzas for the whole crew. Plus, it’s one of the few outdoor pizza ovens that comes as-is or with an upgrade option that includes necessary accessories.
What we liked about the BakerStone
What to consider before purchasing the BakerStone
This domed Italian-style Lisboa brick pizza oven is capable of churning out some of the best homemade pizzas you’ve ever tasted in 90 seconds or less. It also has a rotisserie-capable component that makes it ideal for an internal fire spit and family get-togethers. The square-shaped door opens with ease and lets this backyard conversation piece become an ambience-setting fire feature.
Each oven has an inner layer of real brick and mortar, which is then covered with refractory cement for top-notch insulation and true restaurant quality. It’s a pricey piece, but very well may be passed down to future generations.
What we liked about the Authentic Pizza Ovens Lisboa
What to consider before purchasing the Authentic Pizza Ovens Lisboa
Yet another wood-fired outdoor pizza oven made our list of the best, and this time it’s the Alfa NANO Copper, a portable take on the classic wood-burning method. This model is set apart from others because it prefers tiny logs. Really, really tiny logs—no more than two inches thick.
With just about four pounds of firewood, you can cook all evening long. That makes this one of the most efficient wood-burning models out there, and a fun choice for campsites and other places where you may be more likely to find dried sticks than giant stacks of pre-seasoned wood.
What we liked about the Alfa Nano Copper
What to consider before purchasing the Alfa Nano Copper
Attention Amazon shoppers! The Big Horn Outdoors pizza oven not only tops our list as the best Amazon outdoor pizza oven, but it’s easily one of the most budget-friendly options as well thanks to a modest price point of around $200 and top-notch construction.
We love that it uses easy-to-find-and-maneuver wood pellets as its fuel choice, and the sturdy and compact size still manages to reach up to 860ºF quicker than you can spread your dough.
It does require a small amount of assembly with tools though, so it’s better suited for slightly handy types who don’t mind having a 15-minute project ahead of several seasons of mouth-watering pizza.
What we liked about the Big Horn Outdoors pizza oven
What to consider before purchasing the Big Horn Outdoors pizza oven
You may end up loving this Torino 300 wood-burning pizza oven more than your oven (and it might cost more). It rolls into your backyard or patio like a shiny red fire engine and then goes to work bringing the heat and elegance thanks to its Italian-made design and parts.
It’s a large-capacity pizza oven that can hold four large pizzas at once, or a mixture of pizzas and breads, veggies, and meats or whatever else you’d like to cook to perfection. Reviewers note the 24-inches by 32-inches of cooking surface being an ideal size for large groups, and can’t stop raving about how easy it is to transport this heavy-duty piece thanks to the wheels that allow it to roll.
This is the Ferrari of outdoor pizza ovens, and should be maintained that way. Premium fuel and premium care deliver a premium pizza experience.
What we liked about the Torino 300
What to consider before purchasing the Torino 300
If you’re new to the world of pizza cooking, you might be intimidated by high-temperature pizza ovens that cook your pie in a matter of seconds—after all, there’s often a steep learning curve. For beginners, we recommend the Cuisinart 3-in-1 Pizza Oven Plus, another model that we were able to test firsthand. This multi-functional appliance serves as a pizza oven, propane grill and griddle, and it’s much easier to operate and cook with than other pizza ovens we’ve tried.
This propane-powered pizza oven comes with a 13-inch cordierite pizza stone, and it has a special front door that you can open to access your pie. Because it only reaches temperatures up to 700°F, the oven does take five or more minutes to cook your pizza, but in our experience, this reduces the chance that you’ll accidentally burn the crust or toppings.
Plus, on those nights when you want to grill burgers or vegetables, the design has a secondary lift-up lid that lets you access the 230-square-inch cast iron cooking grates and grill up a storm. All the accessories store nicely underneath the cooking chamber, and you can’t beat the Cuisinart’s low price point, either!
What we liked about the Cuisinart pizza oven
What to consider before purchasing the Cuisinart pizza oven
The stainless steel encasement on the portable Vevor outdoor pizza oven makes it seem like a higher-end purchase than it really is, and with a below $200 price point, it’s an absolute bargain.
It features a 12-inch cooking space that makes mouth-watering dinners for two in a jiffy, and is lightweight enough to tote from your yard to on-the-go parties in need of tailgating recipes without putting your back out. It also features convenient ash-dumping, and the wood pellet fuel source imparts unbeatable flavor on your baked items, steak, chicken, fish and veggies.
What we liked about the Vevor pizza oven
What to consider before purchasing the Vevor pizza oven
Leaving a pizza oven outside indefinitely depends on the type of oven you invest in. If you choose a sturdy brick oven or stone-encased model, leaving it outside through all four seasons should be fine so long as you’re prepared to clean it before use. For other styles, like portable outdoor pizza ovens and rolling-cart models, you’ll want to use a cover and protect it from the elements. These more fragile designs should be treated similarly to your favorite grill or BBQ setup.
Pizza ovens require ventilation and space because after all, they contain fire—and smoke! That means you’ll want to place your pizza oven several feet away from your home or any flammable items like patio furniture and seat cushions, and far enough away from guests that they’re not inhaling smoke and ash.
That depends on how you plan to use your outdoor pizza oven! If it’s just an occasional pizza adventure, adding a grill attachment may be the most practical choice. However, if you’re the host of every family gathering and typically feed a small army, investing in a large-format wood-burning pizza oven probably makes the most sense.
Taste of Home writer Camryn Rabideau contributed to this article.
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