I'm a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Pizza is a universally loved food that fills the home with the powerful aroma of dough, sauce and cheese. It is, without exaggeration, one of the ultimate comfort foods. From plain to the works and frozen to fresh, there’s really no such thing as a bad pizza (OK, maybe there is, but they’re rare).
No matter how you like your pizza, I think everyone can agree that properly cooked pizza always tastes better. You can plop a pizza right in the oven and it’ll cook, but it doesn’t take a pizza aficionado to notice the huge difference in quality. The oven might be a good place ziti, whole chicken and pie, but it’s not ideal for fresh or frozen pizza.
Ovens don’t have the high heat needed for a crispy crust, deeply caramelized cheese and those beautiful doughy air pockets you only get with expertly-made pizza. You can fix this with a pizza stone, but that’s if you feel like handling a stone that reaches 800 degrees. Not only that, but who wants to store a heavy brick that you only use every now and then?
Whether you make your own pizzas, want to upgrade your frozen pizza or you’re simply curious about a new kitchen gadget, pizza ovens are the way to go. These beauties provide pizzeria flavor and are surprisingly affordable. We’ll go through the best pizza makers and help you choose the right one for your needs.
Pizza Oven Buying Guide
Don’t know what to look for when buying a pizza maker? No problem, we’ve done the research for you. The most important elements to consider are:
Size: Some pizza ovens are hulking beasts while others are so small you’ll wonder if they can make more than a personal pizza. Choose a size that’s big enough for the pizza of your choice but also small enough to easily store when you don’t need it.
Capacity: How big a pizza do you want to cook? If you’re unsure, then it’s often better to go slightly larger so that you have room for bigger pizzas.
Electric or Gas: Both are good at cooking perfect pizzas, so it largely comes down to where you want to use the pizza maker. Electric ones are better for indoor use while gas is best for outdoor use. Gas also reaches a higher temperature and gives you a more authentic pizza flavor.
Price: What are you willing to spend on making the best pizza at home? An expensive pizza maker is often better than a cheaper one, but there’s no reason to spend tons of money on an appliance if money is tight. Consider your budget and it will help guide you to the best pizza maker.
Cooking Time: You can’t rush perfection, but even the best pizza shouldn’t take long to cook. For those with many mouths to feed, or those who are impatient for good pizza, you may want faster cooking times to satisfy your hunger.
Features: Just like so many other kitchen gadgets, some pizza makers are full of useful features. However, this is often correlated to cost. More features equal a higher price tag. Consider what features you really need to help you balance usefulness with cost.
Affordable: Presto 03430 Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven
You know, sometimes you look at a product and wonder if it even works. That’s what I felt when I first saw the Pizzazz. Looks can be deceiving. Not only does the Pizzazz work wonders, but it makes crispy, tasty pizza in just a matter of minutes. This humble little pizza maker works like the best of them and infuses fresh or frozen pizza with true pizzeria flair.
What you get here is a countertop pizza oven that can cook from above and below at once. The 1,235-watt heating element is capable of crisping up pizza and also cooking wings, chicken nuggets, fish fillets, cookies and many other tasty treats. The rotating tray ensure even cooking and there’s a handy instruction manual that tells you how to cook just about any type of food.
The large 13.25-inch baking pan can cook pizzas between 7 to 12 inches in just around 10 minutes or so. Aside from being able to control whether the top, bottom or both heating elements are on, you also get a timer that dings when the meal is complete and turns off the heat so the food doesn’t burn.
Aside from requiring 60% less power than a conventional oven, the Pizzazz is super compact. You can remove the baking pan so that the whole unit is easy to store. It may look a little weird, but the Pizzazz is a great affordable pizza maker that delivers fantastic results.
Best Value 1: Hamilton Beach 31700 12-Inch Pizza Maker
How does a hot and delicious 12-inch pizza sound with perfectly crispy crust and gooey cheese? Oh, and it’s ready in just a few minutes. That’s exactly what you’ll get with the Hamilton Beach 31700. This home pizza oven has enclosed heating elements that close around the pizza for a safe and effective cooking environment.
For those who love looking at their food while it cooks, there’s a viewing window. Watch as the cheese gets golden and melty. Preheating isn’t required, plus the Hamilton Beach 31700 requires 52% less power than a conventional oven and cooks pizza 40% faster. Adjustable heat controls allow you to cook the pizza perfectly and the inner pan rotates for even baking.
Want some sides with your pizza? This cooks more than just pizza, so feel free to cook anything else you’d like and have the true pizzeria experience. In minutes you can have wings, garlic knots or anything else you can think of.
Check Price
Best Value 2: GoPlus Stainless Steel Electric Pizza Oven
I love how this looks like a tiny oven, but what I love even more is how effective it is. This stainless steel pizza oven can cook 12-inch fresh and frozen pizzas in 15 minutes or less without any preheating. Heating elements on the top and bottom ensure crispy crust, gooey cheese and an unforgettable pizza experience.
The pizza rack comes with a handle to keep your hand safe, so no need to touch the pizza or get your hands too close to the heat. There’s also a removable crumb tray that you can clean in seconds.
There’s an auto shut-off timer that ensures the pizza or other food doesn’t burn. Speaking of other foods, this functions much like a toaster oven and can cook many of the same items. From pretzels and egg rolls to mozzarella sticks and chicken fingers, this pizza oven can accommodate all your junk food needs.
If you want a versatile pizza maker that’s simple to maintain, easy to use and able to deliver the best pizza of your life, then the GoPlus Pizza Oven is exactly what you need.
Check Price
Premium 1: Pizzacraft PizzaQue PC6500 Portable Outdoor Pizza Oven
If you want a truly authentic pizza experience that rivals the best pizzeria in your area, then the Pizzacraft PC6500 is exactly what you need. This outdoor pizza oven preheats to a blazing 700F in 15 minutes flat and cooks a full, 12-inch pizza in 6 minutes! On top of that, the 14-inch cordierite pizza stone gives you that full flavor and lovely texture you get from real pizzerias.
This gas-powered pizza oven easily connects to a 20-pound propane tank and lasts for roughly 25 hours. You can make over 250 pizzas on a single tank. The PizzaQue PC6500 is surprisingly light at around 26 pounds, making it both portable and sturdy. It uses a domed lid to deflect heat back to the pizza while also venting moisture and keeping the pizza crisp.
While larger than some of the other pizza makers here, the PC6500 is relatively compact and measures out to 18.6x18x12.3 inches. Operating the pizza oven is a piece of cake (or slice of pizza, depending on how you like your food metaphors). Simply connect the propane tank, fire at full heat for 15 minutes, adjust the temperature and place the pizza on the stone. Remove after 6 minutes and embrace pizza nirvana.
You also get a ton of goodies and bonus items. You get a folding aluminum peel to easily move the pizza, a dough docker to keep the pizza from puffing up too much, an oven cover to prevent rain from making the pizza maker soggy, the Pizzacraft scrubber brush to keep the pizza stone clean and lastly, the rotating pizza stone.
This is the ideal pizza oven for true pizza lovers. It gives you that authentic taste, is compact and portable and makes 250 pizzas on a single propane tank.
Check Price
Premium 2: Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven
Made to replicate wood-fired brick ovens in terms of taste and performance, this pizza oven is sized for the home chef with a large appetite. The double-layered ceiling heats pizza in exactly the same way as true brick ovens, ensuring extremely crispy crusts and pizzas that are to die for. The whole body is stainless steel for enhanced durability and easy cleaning.
The stove is over 20 inches wide, so you can cook two 10-inch pizzas at once, ensuring you have enough pizza for the whole family. At 17,000 BTUs of heat, this oven heats up in 15 minutes and finishes a pizza in 3-6 minutes, depending on size. You get full heat control with the micro-adjust valve and the oven can reach 700F and higher. All you need is a 1-pound propane bottle to get this pizza oven going. There also a 5-foot hose to connect the Camp Chef Pizza Oven to a standard propane tank.
At 47 pounds, this is meant as more of a permanent piece. Aside from pizza, you can also cook breads, meats and more. If it fits, then you can cook it to perfection. The inner cordierite pizza stone is ideal for pizza and it makes everything else taste absolutely fantastic.
Check Price
Final Thoughts
Everyone loves pizza, but getting that authentic pizzeria taste at home is so difficult. While some people do it with a pizza stone, a portable pizza maker is both safer and easier to use. Depending on your budget and needs, you can choose either a small countertop pizza oven that plugs into the wall, or a large, outdoor pizza maker that replicates that brick-oven experience.
All of the pizza ovens here are fantastic, there’s no question there. It all comes down to your budget, what features you absolutely need and how quickly you want your pizza. The pizza ovens in the Affordable and Best Value categories are best if you want smaller units that are similar to toaster ovens.
If you need that rich pizza flavor that a true pizzeria delivers and don’t mind paying some extra money, then the pizza makers in the Premium category are best. They must be used outside due to the propane tanks, but there’s nothing better if you want an unforgettable slice of pizza.
Consider your needs, preferences and budget and you’re sure to find the pizza oven that works best for you.