There’s just something inherently special about making pizza from the privacy of your own home. No, we’re not talking about cooking up one of the many frozen pizzas that can be found in the freezer section of your local supermarket but are instead talking about the pizzas that you make and bake in your own oven. And there’s probably no oven that can do a great job of baking pizzas than an outdoor pizza oven.
Pizzas cooked in an outdoor oven come out better than pizzas cooked in any other way. Maybe it’s the way that they make the crust nice and crispy, or maybe it’s the way that the cheese comes out melted and gooey, but never burnt. There’s something truly remarkable about the whole experience. We love them so much we just couldn’t resist reviewing the models that we feel are the best outdoor pizza ovens available.
- Editor’s Choice
Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven (Amazon) – Review - Also Recommended
Cuisinart CPO-600 Portable Pizza Oven (Amazon) – Review - Also Consider
Bertello Black Pizza Oven (Amazon) – Review
Editor’s Choice: Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven
The outdoor pizza oven that worked its way up to the top of our list is this one from Camp Chef Italia. This is a stainless-steel oven that is powered by propane and it comes with a regulator and 5-foot hose that allows it to be used with a standard propane tank. Once set up, this pizza oven can produce up to 17,000 BTU an hour—which is more than enough to create that molten cheese that people expect from their artisan pizza oven.
The heat of this oven alone isn’t what creates that gooey cheese top, however. It’s also the shape of the double-layer ceiling that enhances the thermodynamics of the oven and allows it to do things that a person’s indoor gas oven could never be capable of doing.
A pizza isn’t all about the perfect molten cheese topping, however. The way a pizza oven cooks the crust is important as well. Fortunately, this oven doesn’t ignore the needs of the pizza crust but instead uses a pizza stone that creates that perfect artisan crust every single time. The stone in this oven is approximately 13.25-inches by 20-inches and is designed to improve the thermal dynamics underneath the pizza. The result is a picture-perfect pizza that will make everyone in the neighborhood envious.
This outdoor oven is approximately 15-inches by 26-inches by 16-inches, and it had an opening of 22.25-inches by 4.25-inches. It only weighs a little bit under 50-pounds, so it’s also easy for the consumer to carry from one place to another. And since it only needs a durable solid outdoor tabletop to be used, this oven can be used anywhere.
For people who worry about this pizza oven being hard to clean, allow us to put your mind at ease. This oven is extremely easy to clean, probably even more so than the oven in your kitchen. It’s for all of these reasons that we’ve decided that this was one of the best outdoor pizza ovens and recommend it to anyone wanting to make the leap and create their pizza masterpieces.
– It creates a perfect gooey top and crispy crust.
– It’s easy to move from one location to another.
– it’s easy to clean.
– None.
Also Recommended: Cuisinart CPO-600 Portable Pizza Oven
It’s powered by propane and is capable of delivering up to 15,000 BTU/hr to create perfectly cooked pizzas in about 5-7 minutes. Although this oven is supposed to cook pizzas in 5-minutes, we didn’t find that to be the case. However, since it cooked the pizza in about 6 or 7 minutes, we’ll give it a pass. After all, we’re not trying to cook pizzas perfectly, we’re trying to cook pizzas well.Another outdoor pizza oven that we truly believe our readers will love is this one from Cuisinart. This is an oven that’s approximately 18-inches by 27-inches by 14.5-inches and weighs less than 40-pounds, so it’s easy for the consumer to move from the deck to the balcony, or from a tailgating event to a campsite.
And if there’s one thing that we can say about this oven, it’s that it does cook pizzas well. It generates air temperatures inside of it that can create that gooey cheese topping, bubbling sauce texture, and perfectly cooked crust that pizza connoisseurs expect from their artisan pizzas.
One of the things that we liked about this pizza oven is that although it’s a propane pizza oven, it has a smoke chip cup that can be used to add that smoky taste that consumers can enjoy. Yes, this pizza oven can create that smoky wood flavor and do it without all of the hassles of operating a wood-fired pizza oven.
Inside of this pizza oven, the consumer will get 143 square-inches of cooking space. That’s big enough to make everything from personal pan pizzas to full-size pizzas. Anyone who owns this outdoor pizza oven will forsake the frozen “pizzas” found at their local grocery store. They will be too busy making beautiful pizza at home. And it doesn’t matter if the consumer is making a St.Louis thin crust, a Chicago deep dish, or a New York-style pizza, they will enjoy pizza the way they want to enjoy it.
– It delivers 15,000 BTU/Hr of heat.
– It’s very reasonably priced.
– It’s a portable pizza oven model.
– It takes a little over 5-minutes to cook pizzas.
Also Consider: Bertello Black Pizza Oven
Since we couldn’t review outdoor pizza ovens without checking out some wood-fired models, we were quite pleased when we came across this product. It’s a wood-fired oven that can use wood, pellets, or charcoal, and if the consumer wants to buy a gas-burner attachment separately, can also be converted to gas.
This is a model that does take quite a long time to come to temperature, but once it’s completely brought to its full-temperature, it can deliver 930-degrees Fahrenheit of heat. Not bad for a pizza oven that’s approximately 12.5-inches wide and 13.5-inches deep.
This is a model that is small enough to be used just about anywhere it’s needed. It can be taken to a park or campsite, used for cooking pizzas at a tailgating event, or used on your deck or patio. It’s a product that takes a little bit more effort to clean than a propane pizza oven, but it does deliver a taste that no other pizza oven can deliver.
Anyone who uses this wood-fired pizza oven can expect to have to spend quite a bit of time cooking their pizza. As we said earlier, it does take a bit longer to heat up than other models. However, we feel that’s a small price to pay to get that smoke-infused cheese flavor that this product produces.
It’s a model that also comes with everything a person needs, except for the wood or the pizzas to cook in it. This product comes with a wood chip scoop, a pellet tray, and a Cordierite stone. All that’s left to do is fire up this oven and make a delicious pizza.
– Is capable of cooking at over 930-degrees Fahrenheit.
– It’s a well-built and very durable pizza oven.
– It takes a long time to come to temperature.
Once a person uses an outdoor pizza oven for the first time, they’re never going to turn to frozen pizzas again. Although many people have subsisted on supermarket pies for a long time, we believe that will all turn around when people begin to make their artisan pies in the privacy of their backyard. There’s nothing that tastes better than a homemade pizza with gooey melted cheese, bubbling tomato sauce and a perfectly crispy crust. There’s nothing like in all the world.
Of course, before a person can make the perfect pizza outdoors, they first have to choose the best outdoor pizza oven available. Although we’ve seen people try to use BBQ grills and even fire pits to cook their pizzas—most of these experiments end in disaster. There’s only one way to get that perfect pizza and that’s by using a quality pizza oven and then taking the time to learn how to use it.
Since we understand that a person not only needs the best ingredients to make a great pizza but also a great pizza oven, we’ve decided to go ahead and write a guide on how to purchase the best one for your needs. In this guide, our readers will find out how to select the outdoor pizza oven that will best serve their needs and start them on their way to pizza perfection. Let’s get to it.
Choose A Pizza Oven Size
The first thing that the consumer is going to want to decide on is the size of the pizza oven that they need. There’s no point in deciding on whether you need a charcoal, wood-fired, electric, or propane pizza oven until you know what size you need. After all, if you’re only looking to make small personal pizzas, then you probably aren’t going to need a full-size wood-fired brick oven.
Small Pizza Ovens
These ovens are up to 27-inches wide, which puts a lot of portable pizza ovens and countertop pizza ovens well in this category. This is large enough to cook a 12-inch pizza—which is more than suitable for one or two people.
Medium Pizza Ovens
These ovens range are above 27-inches in width, but less than 33-inches. They can cook up to four 12-inch pizzas, which is ideal for an average family of four to six people. Some built-in pizza ovens fall in this category.
Large Pizza Ovens
These are over 42-inches wide and can cook 6 12-inch pies at a time. They’re good for gatherings of 6+ people. Many freestanding outdoor pizza ovens fall in this category.
Choose How The Oven Is Powered
Now that we’ve gone through the sizes and types of outdoor pizza ovens that consumers can choose from, it’s time to turn our attention to how that oven is powered. Fortunately, we live in the golden age of pizza ovens and consumers can purchase ovens that are powered by electricity, wood or wood chips/pellets, propane, natural gas, or charcoal. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that pizza ovens are fueled to see their pros and cons more clearly.
Wood Pizza Ovens
Although the name of these ovens would suggest that the consumer needs to use wood logs to fire them, these ovens actually come in a wide variety. They’re models that use wood logs, wood pellets, or wood chips. Let’s look at the pros and cons of these pizza ovens.
Pros:
- They create a crunchy pizza.
- They give pizza a smoky flavor.
- They’re economical to use.
Cons:
- They can be difficult for people new to outdoor cooking to use.
- They can be difficult to clean.
- They don’t always maintain a constant cooking temperature.
Gas Or Propane Pizza Ovens
The next thing types of outdoor pizza ovens that we’d like to talk about are gas and/or propane models. In this category, we’ve placed both natural gas and propane models because they’re pretty similar in use with just a few differences. For example, natural gas models require a home hookup to work, while propane models use a portable tank. Below are some pros and cons of these models.
Pros:
- Easy-to-use by just about anyone, even beginners.
- They create a nice tasting pizza.
- They’re easier to clean than charcoal or wood pizza ovens.
Cons:
- Natural gas models need to be professionally installed.
- Propane models require the consumer to hook up propane tanks or lines.
Some Final Things To Think About
Although we’ve gone over the basics of what people need to know to purchase the best outdoor pizza oven for their needs, we’ve decided that there were a few other considerations that consumers might want to think about before finalizing their purchase. Anyone looking for a new outdoor pizza oven is going to want to also take the following things into consideration.
- Whether the oven comes with a pizza stone.
- Whether it comes with a pizza peel.
- Whether it can be converted from one type of oven to another.