MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
Pros:
Gas-powered for convenient use
Simple to set up
Reaches 950 degrees
Spacious 16-inch cooking area
Carbon steel exterior with folding legs
Cons:
Tools such as pizza peel and turner sold separately
L-shaped flame requires careful watch and turning
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
The Ooni Koda 16 is awarded the top spot for best Ooni pizza oven because of its versatility, durability and ease of use.
The sleek oven is constructed from carbon-coated steel, which plays a role in heat retention while the oven is on. That black powder coating on the exterior helps to protect the pizza oven from a variety of elements, making it very durable for years of outdoor use. It weighs just under 40 pounds, so it’s not the most portable of the Ooni ovens, but that extra weight is all worth it for the extra cooking space that comes with it. With 16 inches of cordierite pizza stone space and a wide opening, it’s easier to turn pizzas. It also means you can put larger cast iron pans in the oven, allowing you to cook everything from grilled veggies to meatballs or even nachos.
Once the oven is hooked up to a propane tank and the ignition switch on the side is turned on, it takes 20 minutes to preheat. That time brings the pizza stone and oven to about 800 degrees, though the oven can reach 950 degrees. I find that cooking pizzas between 750 to 850 degrees is my preferred temperature, which means I can cook pizzas in under two minutes. The oven has an L-shaped flame on the left side. It’s important to keep an eye and turn pizzas frequently in this oven to achieve even browning of the crust.
Thanks to its roomy design, I’ve found it simple to clean this oven. You can keep the oven on high to help cook off any burnt-on food remnants or use a pizza oven brush to help scrape things off. The stone is removable, so you can allow it to cool, take it out and easily clean out the back of the oven. While the Ooni Koda 16 is my top overall pick, the brand also makes the same oven in a smaller size. Our team also tested the Ooni Koda 12. It has all of the same features but comes with a smaller 12-inch cooking area at a lower price point.
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
Pros:
Multi-fuel design for versatility between gas and wood
Reaches 950 degrees
Front glass door helps to retain heat
Built-in analog thermometer
Cons:
Gas burner sold separately
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
The most versatile pizza oven offers the option to cook with either wood or gas. The Ooni Karu 12G multi-fueled pizza oven provides flexibility for a variety of environments. The oven is constructed from Ooni’s signature powder-coated carbon steel. It’s designed with three folding legs, a tall chimney and a front door. The front door helps keep heat in the oven for better retention while cooking, with a see-through borosilicate glass door to keep an eye on your pizza and a heat-safe handle.
While the stone’s cooking surface is 13.27 by 13.27 inches, the oven is very deep, providing plenty of helpful space between the stone and the live flame in the back.
You can start a fire in the wood burner tray and fuel it with charcoal or wood, or opt for gas. The Karu 12G gas burner is sold separately and hooks up to a propane tank for convenience. I’d consider that an essential Ooni accessory for this oven.
Through testing, I found that it took 15 to 20 minutes to preheat the oven, reaching 750 to 850 degrees for cooking pizzas. I cooked 10-inch and 12-inch pizzas in this oven, each taking under two minutes to cook completely. I especially love the design of the live flame in the back. It’s not only mesmerizing to watch, but I find it’s easier to achieve a nice, even bake and browning on the crust.
This is the smallest of the Karu line-up, but I find it helpful for portability. You can still easily use it to cook pizzas or other items in cast iron. At the same time, it weighs just over 34 pounds and can become relatively compact with the legs folded down and the chimney taken off, making it possible to use camping or tailgating. It takes around an hour to cool, depending on the fuel source and use, and the stone can easily be cleaned by flipping it over once it’s cooled for your next use.
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
Pros:
Fully electric for convenience
Simple and intuitive to use
Can be used indoors and outdoors
Dials to adjust temperature and balance for customized cooking
Minimal turning required
Cons:
Higher price point
Prime to smudging
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
For those who want to cook homemade pizzas anywhere, anytime, an all-electric pizza oven is the answer. The Ooni Volt can be used either indoors or outdoors. It is constructed for maximum heat retention but still features Ooni’s powder coating to make it weather-resistant so it can easily be used on the deck in the summer or on your kitchen countertop in the winter, pulling 1600 watts no matter what heat-safe surface it’s set up on. At just under 40 pounds, the oven has two side handles to make moving simpler.
The front has three dials to adjust the temperature settings and operate a built-in timer. The third dial allows you to adjust the top and bottom heating elements separately, allowing you to completely customize the cook on your pizza. The oven can be used at temperatures as low as 150 degrees up to 850 degrees, reaching top temperatures in just over 20 minutes. A chiming notification will tell you when it’s ready to cook in your oven.
Launching pizzas is simple in this oven, with a wide opening and a glass door to close to retain heat. The interior light is helpful for keeping an eye on your pizza while it cooks, though I didn’t find the need to turn pizzas very often. The adjustable heating element dials provide a nice, even cook in a matter of two to three minutes, and there’s no live flame to keep an eye on during the cooking process.
The oven gets very hot while in use, so if you’re inside, keeping it in a heat-safe area is crucial. Once you’re done cooking and the oven is powered off, it takes about two hours to fully cool. After cooling, it can easily be cleaned by removing the pizza stone. Learn more in our Ooni Volt review.
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
Pros:
Lightweight and portable at 22 pounds
Folding legs for easier transport and set-up
Reaches 950 degrees
Fueled by gravity-fed wood pellet hopper
Cons:
Takes a long time to cool down
Learning curve cooking with wood pellets
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
Cooking truly wood-fired pizzas is an unmatched experience, providing exceptionally delicious, smoke-kissed flavor. The problem? Cooking with wood in a pizza oven requires a lot of maintenance and prep to have plenty of small pieces of wood on hand to keep the fire fueled. The wood-pellet-powered Ooni Fyra is the ideal solution. The pellet oven has a fuel tray to easily ignite the fire with a firestarter and pellets. It’s also constructed with a tall chimney and a cap to remove before lighting that cleverly doubles as a scoop. After about two minutes to get the pellets lit in the fuel tray, additional pellets can be added to the hopper with the scoop. Each time I lit this pizza oven for testing, it took 15 to 20 minutes to reach temperatures of 800 to 900 degrees.
The body of the pizza oven is incredibly lightweight at 22 pounds and conveniently portable with three folding legs. It has a powder-coated steel construction with a steel door to help with heat retention. While the door is on, there is a small viewing hole to keep an eye on the flame and cooking pizza, along with a hook on the front to hold in the door when you’ve taken it off for launching, turning and retrieval.
I found there to be a bit of a learning curve with cooking with the wood pellets, but I enjoyed it overall as I got the hang of it. The fuel hopper needed to be refilled to maintain the oven’s temperature every 15 to 20 minutes, and I was impressed by how little ash was produced by the efficient burn of the pellets. It’s not quite as easy and convenient as using a gas-powered pizza oven, but for someone who wants the incredible texture and flavor produced by wood-fired cooking, with the added convenience of using pellets, this is a great choice.
What to Look for When Buying an Ooni Pizza Oven
Size: The key consideration when choosing the best Ooni pizza oven is size. Do you want to be able to cook bigger family-size pizzas, or are you okay with smaller 12-inch pizzas? Of course, you can cook multiple to feed a crowd! This will help to determine when you’d prefer an Ooni pizza oven with a 12-inch or 16-inch cooking surface. A smaller oven is, of course, more portable as well.
Fuel: Ooni pizzas run off a variety of fuel sources, including gas, wood and wood pellets. There is also an electric-powered Ooni oven. Consider whether you’d prefer the convenience of gas or electricity or if you’d enjoy perfecting the art of making wood-fired pizza.
Features: While many Ooni ovens have the same features, some include small additions that others don’t. The Karu 12G has a built-in analog thermometer, which is helpful for having an idea of how hot the oven is before using an infrared thermometer to check the precise temperature. The Ooni Volt has multiple dials to be able to truly control the bake on your pizza from top to bottom. Consider which features or accessories are essential to you.
Why You Should Trust Us
I am a former bakery owner who now focuses on product testing and recipe development. I have a passion for outdoor cooking, specifically on pizza ovens. I have tested 11 different pizza ovens, including Ooni, Solo Stove and Gozney models, focusing on how well each operates for the home cook. I have also spent years testing pizza oven accessories, along with smokers, grills, stand mixers and other home and kitchen tools, to make cooking more enjoyable.
How We Found the Best Ooni Pizza Ovens
Ooni has four main pizza oven designs, with eight models under those larger umbrellas. For some, the main difference is size, choosing between a 12-inch or 16-inch cooking surface. Through research and multiple years of experience using Ooni ovens, I narrowed my testing down to four ovens, one from each of the Koda, Karu, Fyra and Volt lines. I considered ease of set-up and assembly, convenience, ease of use, design and clean-up for each oven. I also considered the flavor and texture of the pizzas produced by each oven. Through testing, I timed how long each oven took to preheat and how long it took to cook pizzas in each oven, along with any other special features or notes about the ovens. The Ooni Koda and Ooni Volt had already been previously tested as we put together our top picks for the best pizza ovens.
FAQs
MOLLY ALLEN FOR TASTE OF HOME
Is Ooni better with gas or wood?
Cooking in an Ooni pizza oven with wood or gas is all up to personal preference. For some people, they love the char and smoky flavor that comes with cooking with wood. On the other hand, cooking with gas is much easier and more convenient, allowing you to control the flame and temperature better. It’s very similar to the charcoal vs. gas grill debate!
Is Ooni better than Gozney?
Choosing between an Ooni pizza oven or Gozney pizza oven is all based on preference of appearance, design and where you plan to use your pizza oven. The Gozney Roccbox is one of the top portable pizza ovens on the market. Both brands offer ovens that operate similarly with a live flame, but you may be looking for something that matches your backyard or deck’s décor better than another model.
How long will an Ooni oven last?
With carbon steel construction, Ooni pizza ovens are built to last. You should store your oven out of snow or extended heavy rain for the best long-lasting use. Otherwise, it can stay outside so it’s ready to use just about any time of year. While the oven’s exterior may fade over time, or a patina may develop, it doesn’t affect performance. An Ooni oven will easily last eight to 10 years and beyond.
Is it OK to leave an Ooni outside?
All Ooni pizza ovens are built for outdoor use and have a powder coating for weather resistance. However, for the best care, you shouldn’t leave your pizza oven outside in the elements for extended periods of time. Putting a cover on your pizza oven will help it last longer, along with storing it in a dry space such as a garage or shed in the winter.
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