These gadgets reach high temperatures to deliver an evenly cooked crust. And they’re great for outdoor entertaining.
In the late aughts, Ooni revolutionized homemade pizza making when it introduced the first outdoor, portable pizza oven. Since then, with popularity soaring, it’s been hard to keep up with the number of new pizza oven brands and models. Testing them, we’ve learned as much about making pizza as we have about the ovens you use to cook them—and in the process, we’ve made pizza night an event the entire family looks forward to.
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What makes these ovens so great? Many are able to reach much higher temperatures than a regular oven and in less time. That high heat is exactly what’s needed for a perfectly cooked pizza crust, and they can be done in as little as 60 seconds. If you’re hoping to replicate your favorite restaurant’s pies, you’re aiming too low. You can make even better, artisan pizza at home with your own personally selected toppings. Plus, many outdoor pizza ovens can cook other items, such as fish, meat, roasted vegetables, or even bread, making them a versatile tool for anyone who loves entertaining.
Take a look below at quick info on the best outdoor pizza ovens, then scroll down for buying advice and in-depth reviews of these models.
The Best Outdoor Pizza Ovens
- Best Overall: Ooni Karu 16
- Best Gas Oven: Alfa Nano Outdoor Pizza Oven
- Best for Neapolitan Pizza: Ooni Karu 12
- Best Looking: Gozney Roccbox
- Best Value: Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven
- Most Versatile: Cuisinart 3-in-1
- Best Dual Fuel: Bertello Grande Outdoor Pizza Oven
- Best Pellet-Fired Oven: Ooni Fyra 12
- Best Value Pellet-Fired Oven: Big Horn Outdoors Pizza Oven
- Excellent Gas Burner: Ooni Koda
- Budget Pizza Oven: Vevor Wood-Fired Pizza Oven
- Biggest Pizza Oven: Camp Chef Italia
What to Consider
Wood is the traditional fuel of choice in pizza ovens, favored for the smoky flavor it imparts to the pizza. However, a wood fire takes longer to heat up and requires more attention to maintain the temperature. If you’re only making a couple of pies, that may not be an issue for you.
Propane has the advantage of being able to heat up a pizza oven quickly with just the turn of a knob. The convenience of firing up the oven on high and being ready to cook a pie in 15 minutes is hard to deny. As is the ease of clean-up, with no firebox to empty.
You’ll also want to consider the size of the oven, which will dictate how large your pies can be, and the maximum temperature the unit can reach. Many ovens are designed to make 12-inch pies, which we’ve found to work well when making pizzas for a group or family. The pizza cooks quickly, and you can make a few with different toppings a lot quicker than the pizza parlor.
Pizzas are typically cooked at a minimum of 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Classic Neapolitan pizza requires temperatures over 900 degrees–those are the ones you see in Instagram posts, with golden crusts, mottled with dark leopard spots. So, be sure to get an oven that will meet your expectations.
How We Test
Before testing these pizza ovens, we heated them each for 30 minutes to season them and burn off any oils or contaminants from manufacturing, then let them cool completely. Firing up each oven on high using their propane burners for 15 minutes, we measured the temperatures on the pizza stones with an infrared thermometer. Then, we made pizza in the ovens from the same dough.
This ensures that any difference in how the pizza cooked came from the ovens, not the recipe we used. For fuel, we burned propane and oak firewood (for the models that burn wood). During cooking, we noted how well each oven performed, the differences between them, and their ease of use. Finally, and most enjoyably, we assessed (read: ate) the pizza
When choosing outdoor pizza ovens for this list, we wanted to offer a variety of choices that will fit both your needs and your budget. Small, basic pizza ovens start around $200, but large models can cost over $500. We included options at both ends of this range, as well as a few middle-of-the-line choices. Further, we selected pizza ovens that use a variety of fuels, including gas, charcoal, and wood, and of course, all the products included are highly regarded among reviewers for their ability to produce a delicious pizza.
We tested the Ooni Karu 16, Ooni Karu 12, Gozney Roccbox, Bertello, Bertello Grande, Alfa Nano, Camp Chef Italia Artisan and Cuisinart 3-in-1 Pizza Ovens. We’ve also recommended additional pizza ovens based on our experience testing and reviewing similar models, research into the market, and consulting reviews that customers have left on retailers’ sites. Although we haven’t tested their performance, they have compelling price, design, or features that may meet your needs.
Over a decade ago, Ooni built its first portable pizza oven, using a design that many have mimicked. The Karu 16 is the newest model, capable of making 16-inch pizzas fired either with propane or wood. In testing, we liked the new locking door with a glass window, which kept temperatures in the oven consistent. On the Karu 16, Ooni added a digital thermometer that monitors air temperature in the oven. While using the propane burner was super easy, we appreciated the large firebox for wood that provided a lot more flame across the top of the oven.
Though the Roccbox is different in shape, it still functions similarly to other ovens designed to make Neapolitan pizza. Gozney supplies the Roccbox with a gas burner for propane, although a wood burner is available as an accessory. Heating up the oven, we easily reached temperatures over 900 degrees on the pizza stone in 15 minutes. (There is a small thermometer on the side of the oven body to confirm this, although it seemed to lag about 5 minutes behind our measurements directly of the pizza stone.) Although inside the oven gets very hot, we were happy to find that outside body did not.
You can actually touch the green oven body—on the silicone—without getting burned. Functionally, the Roccbox performed well, and we were able to make outstanding pizza in it. The one drawback we noted was that the propane burner left a fair amount of soot on the front of the oven, above the door. While it was harmless, it did take us some time to clean it off—which was important when we needed to handle the oven to put it away.