Is any backyard truly complete without adding one of the best pizza ovens into the mix? We think not, and so we've been hard at work putting bestselling outdoor pizza ovens from Gozney, Ooni, and more, through their paces to see if they are up to the task of delivering restaurant-quality pizzas at home.
From the ease of set-up to pre-heating times and the length of time it takes to cook your pizza from scratch, we've put these models to the test, reviewing wood-fired, gas-fired, and multi-fuel options that will get your Margherita toasted to perfection.
What's more, these pizza ovens open up plenty more alfresco dining options than just pizza. Most are perfectly equipped to grill or bake fish, roast vegetables, slow-cook or barbecue meats, and even bake bread, cookies, or cakes. In fact, they give some of the best grills a run for their money. They're such good all-rounders that they make a brilliant addition to any outdoor space.
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You can’t beat the flavoring of a wood-fired pizza, but it takes time and care to start a fire, keep it going, and then clean up the mess after. Ooni has simplified the process by adding a gravity-fed pellet hopper to its Ooni Fyra pizza oven which feeds hardwood pellets to the flame and creates that delicious wood-fired charred flavoring.
As one of the leading brand names in the world of pizza ovens, we were keen to put this Ooni model to the test, and we can confirm we only have good things to say. Not only is it affordable, but it's also easy to use, looks great, is portable, heats up fast – in 15 minutes the oven can reach 950 degrees and can cook pizza dough in just 60 seconds – and it makes incredible tasting pizzas, too.
Our reviewer has been testing it for the last two years, cooking more than 100 pizzas in it during that time. She loves how simple it is to use, and pizza parties are a regular occurrence in her backyard, and not just during sunny summer weather.
A 20-lb bag of wood pellets offers about 2-3 hours of cooking time (with the wood pellets leaving behind much less ash than wood), and with its stainless-steel body, this pizza oven holds heat very well. It features a custom-designed fuel tray to allow maximum airflow, and we found it easy to clean. The lightweight design also has foldable legs and a detachable chimney and pellet hopper for easier storage. Our reviewer found it stacked neatly in the corner of her garage during winter, taking up minimal space.
It doesn't include accessories or a carry strap, but other than that this wood-fired pizza oven ticks all of our boxes.
Gardeningetc rating 5 out of 5 stars – read our Ooni Fyra pizza oven review for more details.
Ooni also impressed us with the sleek and stylish Ooni Karu 12 Outdoor Pizza Oven, which fast became our top pick for best multi-fuel pizza oven.
Larger and more expensive than the Ooni Frya pizza oven, the multi-fuel Ooni Karu gives you three times more versatility, allowing you to slow cook with charcoal, create an authentic wood-fired pizza, or embrace the convenience of gas.
That said, it doesn't come with the gas attachment as standard, so you will need to buy this separately to use that functionality, which is a little disappointing considering its higher price tag. However, we did find the oven temperature easier to control when fuelled by gas, so it's a worthwhile investment in our books.
In terms of practicality, the Ooni Karu is as easy as it gets to use. Keep an eye on your pizza as it cooks and spin every 20 seconds or so for that perfectly cooked crust and bubbly mozzarella, or close the door to save on fuel and keep the oven temperature even. Assembly is a breeze, so you can have it up and running in a matter of minutes. And, like the Fyra, you can either buy a bespoke portable table for your Ooni to live on or place it on an existing surface in your garden. It weighs only 12kg, so it's perfectly portable.
Whether this pizza oven is the right one for you really comes down to whether you want that gas fuel versatility – if you're happy using wood pellets – then the Ooni Fyra is the better value for money.
Gardeningetc rating 5 out of 5 stars – read our Ooni Karu pizza oven review for more details.
You will spend big bucks on the Gozney Dome, but if you are a serious outdoor chef, it gives you so much more versatility than a regular pizza oven. Sure, it cooks an amazing pizza in no time at all, thanks to reaching (and retaining) temperatures of up to 950˚F, but it also smokes, steams, roasts and bakes. So if you love to cook and entertain outside, then you really can make every meal alfresco.
You can use gas or wood with this oven, and if you prefer, there is a wood pellet attachment too. Thanks to some very durable and high-quality materials, the thermal retention is great with all fuels, so even after the fire has died down, you can keep on cooking with residual heat. This does make the oven rather heavy – and we very much consider it a more permanent backyard fixture – but you can invest in a trolley with wheels to make it more portable.
We cooked everything from steak to fish, veggies, and, of course, pizza in this oven with amazing results using gas and wood. Our only complaint is that we would have liked the oven opening to be a little taller so we could cook a whole chicken or turkey in there! It's arguably the best outdoor oven that we've tested, but it is an investment, so we think the Ooni options above will suit you better if you already have a grill or smoker you love.
Gardeningetc rating 4.5 out of 5 stars
We think the Ooni Koda 16 is the ultimate gas pizza oven, serving up 16in sharing pizzas that are perfect for feeding a crowd in just 60 seconds.
Our reviewer found the L-shaped flame of the Ooni Koda 16 took a little getting used to, but once she'd perfected the technique of rotating the pizza every 20 seconds for an even cook, the results were well worth it. That said, you will need to buy a pizza peel separately, as Ooni doesn't include one in the box, and it's essential for getting your pizza in and out of the oven, as well as rotating it once it's in to cook. Not many ovens come with a pizza peel as standard, however, so it's an expense you'll likely face whichever option you go for.
Once tried and tested, we loved the Ooni Koda 16's performance, our only other gripe being the lack of in-built thermometer which makes it hard to guage when the oven has reached the optimum temperature for pizza cooking. Again, you can buy this separately, but we would have liked to see one included in the build which is why this oven didn't quite achieve full marks. However, it still makes a great investment for your outdoor kitchen in our book.
Gardeningetc rating 4.5/5 stars – read our full Ooni Koda 16 pizza oven review
The Gozney Roccbox may look small but it packs a big punch of high-quality pizza-making power. This restaurant-grade pizza oven has a stone floor and can reach up to 950 degrees which you can monitor with the built-in thermometer. Even so, the silicone exterior makes it safe to touch throughout the cooking process.
With heat like that, you can cook a 12in Neapolitan pizza in just 60 seconds. A gas burner attachment is the default, and it’s designed to replicate a wood flame. However, if you want the authentic wood-fire pizza experience you’ll have to purchase the wood burner attachment (which is well worth it!).
Roccbox does save you some money by including a pizza peel in the box which makes it easy to get the pizza in and out of the oven, which you don't get with Ooni's. We also loved the look of this oven and appreciated the choice of colors, so it ticks a lot of boxes aesthetically. When you’re done using the pizza oven outdoors, you can retract the legs, loop the Velcro carrying handle around the middle, and carry it inside or to your next pizza-making destination.
Gardeningetc rating 4 out of 5 stars
Most people love the versatility of a grill, and while pizza ovens can bake other foods besides pizza, they can take up space and aren’t entirely necessary – especially if you purchase the BakerStone Original Box Kit Pizza Oven. This box converts most charcoal, pellet, and the best gas grills into a pizza oven.
It basically raises the temperature of the grill so that the oven box reaches temperatures of 600-800 degrees, which allows you to cook a gourmet pizza in two to four minutes. Since it’s a compact box, you can easily take it camping or on vacation, and it won’t require any additional clean up beyond that which is required of the grill itself.
The kit also includes a wooden pizza peel and metal pizza turner so you can have a true at-home pizza-making experience. We think it is an affordable way to get a taste of at-home pizza if you don't have room for a separate pizza oven but do have a good grill to put into greater service.
We are currently testing this pizza oven to update this review.
How to choose the best pizza oven
First, you need to decide how often you think you will use a pizza oven at home. The prices range from a couple of hundred dollars, into the thousands so you will want to ensure you get a good cost per use.
If this is your first foray and you are wondering are pizza ovens worth it, try one like the Bakerstone grill attachment that works well on the grill. Alternatively, choose an affordable wood-fired oven like the Ooni Fyra which makes pizza a bit of an event and is something different from your average barbecue night.
For those who love cooking outdoors and don't already have an up and running outdoor kitchen, the Gozney Dome is a great choice. As it can do everything a smoker and pizza oven can do, and so much more, it could be the center of your alfresco dining set up and while pricey, replaces the need for other cooking options. After all, the list of what you can cook in a pizza oven is long, making something like this option a versatile culinary product.
What's the best fuel type for a pizza oven?
This is a big decision. Wood or charcoal is perhaps the most authentic choice, and can make for the cheaper initial investment, but a gas-fired pizza oven is potentially the quicker and easier option, with gas providing more of a consistent heat and reducing warm-up times. You’ll generally pay more for the versatility of a multi-fuel option, but you get the best of both worlds.
If you aren't bothered about the taste of wood-fired pizza (who are you?) save some dollar on a multi-fuel and just choose gas. They are fast, easy to use and you can get more pizzas out in a short time with better temperature regulation than wood.
For us though, a wood-fired pizza is the holy grail. The taste you get from wood firing on a stone is so unforgettable and, in our eyes, worth the extra effort. They are usually the most affordable too, so you can splash out on heat guns, fancy peels and other pizza oven accessories to level up your pizza experience. It is more involved, but if pizza party night is an event for you, a wood-fired pizza oven is going to make it feel more authentic.
Which pizza oven size should you buy?
Most pizza ovens offer a 12 or 16in cooking surface. The Gozney Dome has slightly more room, but you can't cook anything wider than 18 inches in it.
As pizza ovens can cook a pizza so quickly, we find a 12in oven is ample for most pizza oven recipes. And, if everyone wants to customize their toppings, doing lots of smaller pizzas will serve you well. However, if budget allows, reaching for a 16in oven offers you the potential to go bigger – and will be welcomed by hungry hoards.
There's top tips on how to use a pizza oven in our dedicated guide.
How can you tell when your pizza oven is hot enough?
You’re never going to get a good pizza if your oven isn’t hot enough. It will have a floppy base and take ages to cook. As it needs to reach at least 350˚C (660˚F) to cook a pizza, it helps to know at what point your oven is at the optimum temperature.
It’s often a guessing game and one that you will get better at the more you use your pizza oven. But if you want to take the guesswork out of the equation, a built-in temperature gauge is a handy extra. If your pizza oven doesn’t have one, you can always invest in the best pizza oven accessories and buy a separate thermometer.
How we test pizza ovens
The Gardeningetc team and their reviewers will never say no to a hot slice of pizza, so it is never hard to find someone to put an oven to the test. The pizza ovens are sent by the manufacturers (usually free of charge, though we will buy any we can't get hold of via loan or gift) to be tested over several weeks. These are no out of the box and done reviews – we want to try every function and cook a few different things in them to really get an idea of their scope.
Often, we are allowed to keep the oven after review which is good news for us and our pizza-loving friends. This means we can let you know how durable it is over time and update our reviews as needed.
Every pizza oven we test will be measured on a few key areas. Firstly we look at how easy it is to set up and light. Then we of course test the pizza cooking results. If the oven is suited to other dishes, we will cook a selection of other meals in it. And we also like to test how easy it is to clean the pizza stone and oven outer.
If the oven offers other selling points, such as being portable, we will try this out too. Finally, as the oven will be spending a lot of time out in our yard as we host, we judge how it looks.
Find out more about how Gardeningetc tests products.
Beth tested the Ooni Fyra with her husband and two children giving it the best review set up for a family home. As well as the modern looks and space-saving design, she loved how easy it was to set up. And, though it took a bit of getting used to cooking with wood pellets, she doesn't think you can beat that taste.
Alex is an award-winning Mixed Latinx author and freelance writer based in Dallas. She recently bought her first home, a green Sears & Roebuck house that's over 100 years old and sits on half an acre of land, so she had plenty of space to put the Gozney Dome outdoor oven through its paces, cooking up an alfresco storm for her family and friends.
Millie is loves to cook and has tested a number of pizza ovens across our home and garden magazines. She tested the Ooni Karu for us on Gardeningetc by taking it to her family home for a pizza party or three. Though it has no built-in temperature gauge, she loved how easy it was to use – particularly with gas – and the pizza was simply delicious.
Jason heads up all of the homes brands at Future Plc, including Gardeningetc, so there is little he doesn't know about building and furnishing your property. He was a long time pizza lover but first time pizza oven user when he was sent the Gozney Roccbox to test with his family. His design eye appreciated the appearance but he did find it a little tricky to fire up at first.
Laura is Content Director for Gardeningetc and our sister brands, Real Homes and Homebuilding & Renovating. She has been testing household appliances and DIY products since starting her career as a journalist 15 years ago. Laura lives with her husband and two daughters and is currently DIY-renovating a 1960s house – the garden is next on the to-do list. She’s a self-proclaimed pizza connoisseur and tested the Ooni Koda 16 over a four-month period.
