If you or someone you love can’t imagine making dinner indoors, but your family and friends are begging for a meal without grill marks, an outdoor pizza oven is a great choice. These trendy outdoor cooking appliances are more versatile than their name implies and are a lot of fun for cooks and their guests.
Outdoor pizza ovens offer the ability to make a tasty wood-fired pizza pie at a moment’s notice. Because they can reach extremely high temperatures, they make an amazing crispy yet chewy crust. But they don’t stop at pizza. You can cook just about anything in an outdoor pizza oven such as lamb, beef roasts, steaks, or even bread and desserts.
Because of their popularity, there are many choices out there. And like everything, there’s a wide range of pricing options. Here are three of our top recommendations for portable outdoor pizza ovens that are both affordable (compared to built-in pizza ovens) and high quality.
Ooni Koda 16
This outdoor pizza oven can run on propane or natural gas and hits a soaring 950-degree Fahrenheit. It’s rated highly by many sources and has amazing reviews from customers. Unlike some of the other options, this oven has a larger cooking source to allow you to make up to a 16” pizza. It also has a large opening to make turning and retrieving food easy. Its L-shaped flame exposes the food to more of the flame, so you only need to turn the meal once. It’s also easy to ignite and simple to store. The Ooni Koda 16 retails for around $600 and offers amazing quality for the price.
Solo Stove Pi Pizza Oven
These ovens cook using wood, although there is an optional gas burner (for an additional cost). It burns small kiln-dried cuts of wood and there’s a removable ash pan. The area where you build the fire is easily accessible, and the oven heats up quickly. It also has a guard at the back of the oven so you know how far in you can put the pizza. Another great thing about these ovens is that Solo offers bundle packages where you can buy a lot of great accessories along with the oven itself. Also highly recommended by reviewers, this option allows you to have a true wood-fired oven experience. The Solo Stove Pi Pizza Oven retails for around $625.
Gozney Roccbox Portable Wood and Gas Pizza Oven
This ultra-reliable oven can be used with gas, charcoal, or hardwood kindling. Its well-insulated, stainless-steel-and-stone box with a rubberized exterior maintains the temperature without any extra work on your part. It can reach temperatures above 900 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing you to cook a pizza in just 90 seconds, but also stays cool to the touch on the exterior. And the open-mouth design makes it easy to cook foods other than pizza. The Gozney Roccbox retails for around $500 and comes in two color options.