The Best Pizza Ovens For Every Type Of Home (And Budget)
Hot dogs and hamburgers are certainly beloved all-American foods, but there's only one combination dinner/snack that truly wears the crown of America's favorite meal: pizza. And while we'll gladly accept takeout and artisanal restaurants, there's nothing quite like making your own from scratch right in the comfort of your own home.
To assemble an at-home pizza and expect it to come out with any semblance of the real thing, one ingredient rises above all others: heat. New York pizzerias are still the gold standard (sorry, Chicago) not just because of their thin crust, flavorful sauce, and rich mozzarella but because their classic pizza ovens can often reach as high as 800 degrees. So, if you want to make your own pizza at home, your standard oven won't do. You need a special pizza oven designed to get as hot as possible.
We rounded up five of the best pizza ovens, each covering a different need. Some are powered by gas, while others are wood-fired, but all share one very important similarity: They are highly endorsed by the customers who bought them.
Scroll down to see the very best pizza ovens for your home.
Best Wood-Fired Pizza Oven
Slightly squat and angular, the Ooni Frya has a tall stovepipe chimney sticking out of the top, which gives it a very Old World sort of vibe. Running exclusively off wood pellets, this oven is for lovers of wood-fired pizza. It weighs a relatively light 22 pounds and is small, making it easy to transport. Plus, Ooni thoughtfully gave this oven a tripod design. Three short legs make it ultra stable on a variety of surfaces since it doesn't need to land squarely on four feet.
It can make pizzas up to about 12 inches across. The stove reaches a toasty 950 degrees in just 15 minutes and can cook a pizza in just one.
Best Portable Pizza Oven
Quality outdoor pizza ovens probably aren't more affordable than this. While this model costs about the same as a few trips to your local pizzeria, it makes pizzas up to about 14 inches wide at about 700 degrees, which it can reach in just 15 minutes.
It operates on a standard 20-pound propane tank and comes with the hose needed to get it up and running right away. This squat, round oven stands about a foot high and 18 inches in diameter, and it is open in front (where you'll also find the bright red propane control knob) for sliding your pies in and out. Pizzacraft explains that the domed shape of the oven is designed to reflect heat back down on the pizza for more even baking. A thermometer is built into the top of the dome for easy reference. Since it weighs 26 pounds, this oven is fairly portable; pack it and a standard propane tank in the back of your car for a camping trip, and Pizzacraft says you can make more than 200 pizzas.
Best Budget Buy
Perhaps the weirdest-looking pizza oven you'll ever find, the Presto Pizzazz looks like a cross between an iron and a lazy Susan. Designed as an indoor pizza oven that sits on your kitchen counter, you place the pizza on the circular tray that turns between a pair of over and under heating elements, cooking it from both sides. It's perfect for those who aren't looking for a big commitment; it can be tucked away when not in use and clocks in at under $100.
Though adorned with thousands of positive online reviews (at Amazon alone, it boasts more than 15,000 five-star ratings), it doesn't look much like a traditional pizza oven nor does it operate like one. The controller on top of the oven lets you control the upper and lower heating elements, and you dial it up on a scale of zero to 20 rather than selecting a specific temperature.
Presto doesn't specify how hot this oven gets, but it's likely no more than about 400 or 450 degrees. It measures just 15.8 by 14.5 inches and can make pizza up to about 12 inches in diameter. Along with being affordable, another big advantage to this pick is the visibility. Rather than peeking into a cavelike oven to check on the progress of your pizza, you can clearly see exactly how it's baking every step of the way.
Best Overall
Camp Chef says its Italia Artisan Pizza Oven is modeled after traditional wood-fired brick ovens and captures the same baking experience without the wood. This is a gas-fueled oven, and you can connect a full-size propane tank with the included 5-foot hose or mount a small, portable tank right to the side of the oven. Armed with the portable propane, you could easily travel with this Camp Chef oven, though it does weigh a bit more than other options at 36 pounds.
The stainless steel dome-topped oven is about 30 inches wide and 19 inches deep and is open in front for loading and unloading your pizzas, though you can seal it off with a ventilated oven door. Camp Chef says it has double-walled construction and specially designed burners to replicate the wood-fired oven design, and it easily reaches 700 degrees (which you can monitor from the top-mounted thermometer). The pizza itself cooks on a ceramic stone designed to draw out excess moisture from the dough, creating a crust that is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.
Best Hybrid Pizza Oven
If you're not sure whether to get a wood- or gas-powered pizza oven, consider Gozney's Roccbox oven, which is designed to switch between both. The oven comes gas-powered, but by adding the detachable wood burner (sold separately), you can easily oscillate between the two styles. This reaches 950 degrees and can cook a pizza in just 60 seconds.
On top of its duality, Gozney's pizza oven features a sleek, portable design. While it is on the heavier side of the list at 52 pounds, the oven disassembles — the three legs detract, and the burner detaches — so that it can be towed away for tailgates, camping trips, and everything in between. And as an added bonus, it's designed with a silicone jacket that makes it safe to touch even as pizzas cook.