Whether you’re particular about the kind of pizza you like, or you’re just an outdoor cooking enthusiast, a pizza oven is a handy gadget to have in your backyard (or on your countertop). Most models on the market now can churn out wood-fired Neapolitan pies, crispy thin crust versions, and even decadent Chicago-style deep dish pizza.
There are also plenty of portable models small enough to take in the car for your next weekend camping (or glamping) trip, football game tailgate, or picnic lunch — just make sure you check the fire restrictions(opens in a new tab) in your area before cranking up the heat for a homemade pie.
How hot do pizza ovens get?
While the conventional oven in your kitchen probably only gets up to 500 or 550 degrees Fahrenheit, pizza ovens need extreme heat for quick dough rising times and optimal crust bubble-age. You can expect a good outdoor pizza oven to reach 900 to 950 degrees Fahrenheit, but you can still achieve charred leopard-spotted Neapolitan pizzas at 700 to 750 degrees Fahrenheit.
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How fast do pizza ovens cook?
Given that most pizza ovens run at an insane heat, cooking time happens FAST. We’re talking start to finish in as little as 60 seconds up to a few minutes. You definitely won’t have time to pop your pizza in and scroll on TikTok while you wait for it to cook. Cooking with a pizza oven requires dedicated attention due to the quick cooking times, and you’ll also have to learn how to manage the heat on your oven while you chef it up.
Gas vs. wood pizza oven
Most of the outdoor pizza ovens on the market run on either wood or propane gas, with a few natural gas options. A wood-powered stove will give you an amazing smoky taste, but it requires more work to maintain a fire while you cook. Gas-powered stoves, on the other hand, won’t offer the same smokiness but are generally easier to manage, and can easily be preheated before cooking. Gas pizza ovens also hold the temperature steady with little fluctuation.
If you’re looking for a pizza oven to use indoors, the pickings for quality ovens are pretty slim (with the exception of our pick, the Breville Pizzaiolo(opens in a new tab)). All indoor-friendly pizza ovens will be powered by electricity though, FYI.
If you’re ready to ditch the weekly Friday night Domino’s delivery, check out these hands-on tested pizza ovens to make your perfect slice at home.
How we tested
We hands-on tested each of the pizza ovens in this list, and each one was chosen because it had over a four-star user review rating and came from brands that are well known for making top notch pizza ovens and other kitchen essentials. We stuck mostly to wood- and gas-powered pizza ovens with one selection of an indoor-friendly model, but we stayed away from any pizza ovens that didn’t reach at least 700 degrees.
Some factors we considered while testing were:
Ease of use and learning curve: Trying out a pizza oven as a novice is not for the faint of heart. We tested gas-powered, wood-powered, and electric ovens to see how difficult they were to use and maintain heat while cooking. We also cooked multiple types of pizza and non-pizza meals in each oven to see how they fared in the high heat.
Fuel type: We compared the performance of each fuel type, including noting the differences for ovens that use both gas and wood.
Temperature: Using either integrated or external thermometers, we tested how hot each oven got and saw firsthand how heat affects pizza making.
You’ll also notice that this roundup is mainly made up of reviews previously published on Mashable. If you want to learn more about any of the products that have been previously featured on our site, click on the review link in the product cards to head to the full write-up.
