Best Pizza Oven
There’s something special about hot, fresh pizza topped with veggies, meat and melted cheese. It’s a comfort food that we crave all year round, even in the heat of summer.
Making a pizza in your regular oven when it’s hot outside can turn your kitchen into a sauna. That’s where the genius of a pizza oven comes in. These handy small appliances fit conveniently on your kitchen counter and in just a few minutes bake your pizza up nice and crispy without generating the heat of a full-sized range.
During the fall and winter when there’s lots going on in the main oven, you can avoid being disappointed by turning to your pizza oven to cook up some mouth-watering pizza.
Inside your home or outside in your outdoor kitchen, a pizza oven brings comfort food to a whole new level. Imagine, you’ll never have to say ‘no’ to a pizza craving again.
We narrow down the five best pizza ovens you can buy online. Read on to find the one that’s right for you.
Top Pick Best Compact: Continental Electric PS-PO891 Pizza Oven
You’re all about pizza, any way you can get it – take-out, delivery or frozen. What you’re really looking for is a way to bake frozen pizza at home so it cooks evenly and tastes like freshly baked. You also want something portable so you can take it into your dorm when you go back to college.
If you’re looking for a compact pizza oven to cook frozen pizza, quesadillas, cookies and more, we recommend the Continental Electric PS-PO891 Pizza Oven.
This pizza oven heats to 430-460 degrees and cooks a 12-inch pizza just right in eight to 10 minutes. It preheats quickly and has a 30-minute timer to remind you that the food is ready. Features include a removable, pullout crumb tray, adjustable heat control to set to your taste, and a top and bottom-heating element for even baking.
Made from durable stainless steel, it has a cool touch handle. Measuring 20.45 inches x 8.95 inches x 17.95 inches, this mighty kitchen tool has 1450 watts of power and will fit nicely on your counter. Now you can have crispy, evenly baked pizza any time you want.
Pros:
- Compact
- Has top and bottom element for even baking
- Pull-out crumb tray for easy cleaning
- Bakes up to a 12-inch pizza
Cons:
- Cannot use rising dough pizza in this oven
Top Pick Best Budget Friendly: Betty Crocker BC-2958CR Pizza Maker
Sometimes you crave a home-baked pizza but you live in a small space and your kitchen nook is only equipped with a stovetop and no oven. Plus, you’re on a budget and can’t spend too much on another kitchen appliance. Nonetheless, that’s no reason to not have freshly baked pizza!
If you’re looking for a pizza maker that fits on your kitchen counter and won’t burn a hole in your wallet, we recommend the Betty Crocker BC-2958CR Pizza Maker. This pizza maker that comes in an eye-catching red, provides a fast, fun and energy-efficient way to create homemade pizza or flatbreads using your own fresh toppings.
You can use fresh dough or a frozen pie – the choice is yours. With 1440 watts of power, this unit turns out 12-inch pizza with a delicious, crispy crust every time. Non-stick coated baking plates ensure your pizza will slip out easily and not stick, making clean up easy, too.
Other features to take the guesswork out of cooking the perfect pie include a self-regulated thermostat to ensure the pizza crust consistently reaches golden, crispy perfection and illuminated Power On and Ready-to-Bake indicator lights so you know exactly when to drop in your favorite ingredients. The compact design and sturdy construction makes this dynamic small appliance easy to tuck away when not in use. The cord-wrap keeps things neat and simplifies storage even more.
Next time you’re craving pizza, don’t think about turning on the oven – just reach for this pizza maker instead. Makes a great wedding or birthday gift for the pizza lover in your family.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Non-stick surface
- Bakes 12-inch pizzas
- Bake homemade or frozen pizza
Cons:
- Not dishwasher safe
Top Pick Best Outdoor: Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven Black + Pizza Peel Combo
Outdoor cooking – there’s nothing like it. You love to BBQ often and it’s the usual fare of steaks, hamburgers, hotdogs, chops, fish and grilled vegetables. Lately you’ve been thinking a lot about making your own pizza, but are not keen to use the kitchen stove. You’d consider an outdoor pizza oven but you’re not willing to shell out thousands of dollars. If you’re looking for an outdoor pizza oven that won’t break the bank, then this is the model for you.
We recommend the Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven Black + Pizza Peel Combo. This portable outdoor pizza oven cooker can be used with charcoal, wood, pellets or a gas burner attachment (sold separately) to give you authentic wood fire and gas brick oven pizza.
Weighing slightly more than 32 pounds and with a 12.5-inch wide x 13.5-iinch deep cooking surface, this unit is lightweight and extremely portable, so you can achieve restaurant quality results anywhere you like: your backyard, at a friend’s home, at a campsite, at the cottage or for a picnic in the park. Imagine hot fresh pizza in the park!
Able to reach heats not possible in your kitchen oven – over 940 degrees Fahrenheit – you know your pizza is going to be cooked to perfection. Comes with a cordierite stone, wood chip/pellet scoop and wood/charcoal/pellet tray and a pizza peel.
Pros:
- Portable
- Lightweight
- Can be used with charcoal, wood, pellets or gas attachment (sold separately)
Cons:
- Expensive
Top Pick Best Stovetop: Pizzacraft PC0601 Pizzeria Pronto Stovetop Pizza Oven
Pizza is your passion. You love making the dough, covering it with toppings and cheese, and then pulling out the final hot and delicious product. But it takes a long time to get your oven to heat up to the right temperature, and frankly, it’s not really as hot as you’d like it to be. If you’re looking for a portable pizza oven that fits on your gas stovetop and reaches temperatures of up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, then consider this model.
We recommend the Pizzacraft PC0601 Pizzeria Pronto Stovetop Pizza Oven to make all of your pizzas right in the comfort of your home. This cute item, which fits on top of a gas-stove burner, heats up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit in less than 15 minutes, cooking a pizza in only six minutes.
The oven’s heat-efficient design traps and reflects heat to create the optimal pizza-cooking environment. Dual cordierite baking stones absorb the direct heat from the flame and redistribute it evenly, eliminating hot spots. The pizza stones are separated by a layer of air to diffuse heat, and the bottom stone has a cutout for improved airflow. The built-in thermometer lets you know when it’s time to cook, and the moisture vent in the top prevents your pizza from becoming soggy.
Measuring 14.25 inches x 6.69 inches x 16.93 inches and weighing only 14. 65 pounds, this handy pizza oven fits most, but not all gas stovetops. Is not compatible with electric ranges.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Portable
- Fits on a burner on the stovetop
- Heats up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit
- Cooks pizza in six minutes
Cons:
- Can only be used on a gas stove
Top Pick Best Authentic Outdoor: Cuore Ovens New Model 1000 Plus Gourmet Wood-Fired Oven Kit
You love home improvement projects and you love pizza. You’re a real DYIer and recently you’ve been thinking about how amazing it would be to build an authentic outdoor pizza oven in your backyard. As handy as you are, you prefer to find something that is not too complicated to build. If you are looking for a modular-type pizza oven that you can assemble in your backyard, then this is the model for you.
We recommend the Cuore Ovens New Model 1000 Plus Gourmet Wood-Fired Oven Kit has the best option for a modular assembly wood-fired oven for your outdoor kitchen.
Using a smart blend of materials and careful craftsmanship, together with tried-and-true traditional oven design, this pizza oven kit will produce the best pizza you’ve ever made. The kit consists of seven refractory prefabricated parts plus the oven mouth cover and a thermal insulation blanket. Designed with a 36-inch cooking surface that can be finished in almost any way imaginable, it comes with step-by-step instructions to install it yourself, or, if you prefer, you can hire someone to do it for you
Once installed, you and your family can enjoy endless days of feasting on delicious, wood-fired pizza, any time you want.
Pros:
- Modular kit is easy to assemble
- 36-inch cooking surface
Cons:
- Expensive
Things to look out for:
Consider these things when looking for a pizza oven so you will choose the one that best suits your needs:
Use
The first thing to consider is what you need the pizza oven for, and how you will use it. If you want it to turn frozen pizzas into delicious, crispy pies, then you can consider a countertop model. If you like the idea of a pizza oven but don’t think you will use one that often, again, you may want to consider a countertop model. For the more serious pizza maker who wants to fire up the oven a few times a week for authentic pizza, then it’s worth spending the money on a larger model that has more special features.
Size
Obviously, if you live in an apartment, you’re not looking for a large outdoor pizza oven. However, there are many models that are compact and portable that produce delicious, hot crispy pizza. There are models that fit nicely on your countertop, while others work on the burner of your gas stove. If you have an outdoor kitchen, then there are many different models to accommodate a larger, outdoor space, and you may want to consider one of those.
Cost
Like most things, pizza ovens come in a range of prices, from very affordable to super expensive. It’s never a good idea to spend more than you can afford but luckily, there is probably a model that would suit your needs and your budget. When deciding how much you want to spend, consider how often you will use your pizza oven. Spend less if you’re going to use it just now and then, and spend more if it will become a well-used oven, making it a worthwhile investment. Also, the more features the pizza oven has, the more it will cost.
Function
Before you choose a pizza oven, read the specs to learn how it operates and how hot it gets. Learn how long it takes the pizza oven to preheat, heat up to the desire temperature, and how long it takes to bake a pizza. Can you fit one pizza into the oven, or more than one at a time?
Some models are easy to use, portable and handy, and just plug into the wall. Others fit onto the stovetop, but may be specific to a particular make or size of burner.
You can find a pizza oven that work as an insert to your BBQ. In this case, different inserts fit into different grills, so you need to get the one that matches yours.
There are pizza ovens that belong in an outdoor kitchen and function similar to a real brick wood-fired oven found in pizzerias. These get very hot, sometimes up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and can cook multiple pizzas very quickly.