Our love for homemade pizza has soared in recent years, with lots of us seeking to replicate the authentic, flame-cooked flavour that – once upon a time – only professional pizzerias could accomplish. With the rise of at-home pizza ovens, it’s now easier than ever to achieve a perfectly pillowy crust, bubbling cheese and crisp toppings in as little as 60 seconds, all from the comfort of your own garden or courtyard.
Ooni is undoubtedly one of the biggest brands out there, known for producing some of the top-rated models on the market. Its pizza ovens are renowned for being versatile, compact and tremendously easy to master – not to mention more affordable than what was once available.
But when the most budget-friendly Ooni pizza ovens can still set you back a few hundred pounds, you might be asking: are they actually worth it?
The decision to buy an Ooni isn’t just about the promise of perfect pizza, either: it’s also about ease of use, storage, cleaning and the added expense of essential accessories, like a pizza peel and cleaning tools.
Among the Good Food reviews team, we’ve put almost every Ooni pizza oven to the test – from compact models to the larger pieces of kit that are roomy enough for a 22-inch pizza (yes, really!) – and we can say with some confidence that we think Ooni’s products offer great value for money.
That said, they aren’t perfect for everyone and before hitting the ‘buy’ button on your pizza oven of choice, there are a few things to bear in mind.
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Are Ooni pizza ovens worth it?
They make really good pizza
We’ve tested every Ooni pizza oven over the last five years, and with each model we’ve been able to produce quality results: leopard-spotted crusts, bubbling toppings and an evenly cooked base, reminiscent of what we’d get from a professional oven.
Photography: Natalie Bass / Good Food
They offer good value for money
The cost of an Ooni pizza oven varies from £239 to £899 (depending on the size and features), which we’d say is well within the typical price range for a good-quality pizza oven. The caveat here is that none of the pizza ovens come with any accessories as standard – even the essential ones, like a pizza peel – so you’ll need to buy these separately.
That said, you can save on the overall cost of buying a pizza oven and extra tools with Ooni’s bundles, which comprise everything from a peel and wooden serving board, to an all-weather protective cover, gas attachment (for selected models) and cleaning brush.
They’re built with quality materials
Ooni’s ovens are also among some of the most robust we’ve tested. They’re typically constructed with carbon steel or stainless steel, which can withstand temperatures as high as 500C. The cordierite pizza stone is also designed to maintain a consistent heat, which will give your pizza a perfectly crisp base.
Some models come with foldaway legs for easier storage, too, and most we’ve reviewed have been packaged with fully recyclable materials – a big win on the sustainability front.
They’re versatile
Even though Ooni pizza ovens are primarily designed for pizza, their high temperatures and even heat distribution make them perfectly suited to make other dishes, too.
Flatbreads like naan, pitta and garlic bread naturally work well, but you could also carefully insert a cast-iron pan into the oven’s cavity and sear steaks or cook fish – just make sure you use oven gloves. Some Ooni models are also tall enough to fit a spatchcocked chicken, while others can accommodate a shallow roasting tray.
They’re easy to use
Each Ooni oven we’ve tested has been simple to set up and use – even the Koda 2 Max, which needs two people to assemble it owing to its size, is straightforward to put together once you’ve lifted it out of the box.
Each model varies in terms of features and set-up, but they all follow the same basic principles in terms of how you use them. Just make sure the pizza oven is assembled on a level surface, then attach or add the fuel. For gas models, simply connect a gas bottle and ignite it using the dial (much like a barbecue), while wood or charcoal ovens require you to fill up the hopper and light it with a firelighter.
Preheating your oven is essential, and most models will need around 15-25 minutes to reach the optimal temperature for cooking pizza. You’ll also want to ‘season’ your pizza stone before using it for the first time, which means running the oven at a high heat for roughly half an hour to burn off any manufacturing oils or residues.
Once you’re ready to go, stretch your pizza dough on a lightly floured surface and place it onto a well-floured pizza peel before adding your toppings – then launch it onto the stone. It should take around 60 seconds to two minutes to cook and you might want to turn it halfway so it’s evenly baked.
How to clean an Ooni pizza oven
Cleaning an Ooni pizza oven might seem like a faff, but it’s actually remarkably easy – especially if you cook with gas as you won’t have any ash to sweep up afterwards.
Wait for the oven to cool completely before you clean it, then use a long-handled wire brush to remove any crumbs or burnt bits on the pizza stone. You can buy a wire pizza oven brush from Ooni directly or find an alternative from another retailer.
You might find your pizza stone starts to blacken the more you use it, but this is completely normal and won’t affect the performance, and most debris should burn off as you cook.
If you’re in a hurry and need to clean your Ooni oven right away, remember to wear protective gloves as the stone will be searing hot. You should avoid putting your pizza stone in water as it might crack, particularly if it’s still hot.
The exterior of the pizza oven can be wiped down with a damp cloth – just make sure you dry it afterwards so the metal doesn’t rust.
If you’re using one of Ooni’s multi-fuel pizza ovens and cooking with wood or charcoal, you can dispose of any cooled ashes in a compost pile, fire pit or another eco-friendly waste disposal outlet.
Wipe away the soot inside the oven with a dry paper towel (make sure you don’t use water). If you have any soot buildup around the pellet hopper or chimney, give this a scrub with some soap and warm water, then dry it off immediately after cleaning.
Is there an Ooni Black Friday sale this year?
There is an Ooni Black Friday sale this year, and it’s live right now with up to 20% off almost everything, including newer models like the Ooni Karu 2 2nd Generation (was £349, now £279.20) and the Ooni Koda 2 Max (was £899, now £719.20).
The sale will end at 11.59pm on 2 December, which is the day after Cyber Monday, so you don’t have too long to make the most of the savings.
You can get 20% off Ooni pizza oven accessories, too, like the Ooni digital infrared thermometer (was £50, now £40), the Ooni cast-iron skillet (was £40, now £28) and the Ooni dual-platform scales (was £50, now £40).
Other retailers are offering Ooni Black Friday deals, too, like John Lewis & Partners and Lakeland –where you can get 20% off pizza ovens and accessories. Argos also has up to £50 off selected Ooni pizza ovens.
Top-rated Ooni pizza ovens that we’ve tested
Ooni Volt 2 pizza oven
Available from Ooni (£499), Lakeland (£499), John Lewis & Partners (£499)
Best indoor pizza oven
Star rating: 5/5
If you want to make pizza without leaving your kitchen, Ooni’s latest release – the Volt 2 – is ideal. It’s an indoor-only oven with automated presets for ‘Thin and Crispy’ and ‘Neapolitan’ pizza, both of which produced near-perfect results in our test. There’s also a large viewing window, which allows you to keep a close eye on the dough as it cooks.
It has a large footprint and can also get a little smoky, so you’ll want to ensure your kitchen is well ventilated when it’s at its hottest (450C). The generously sized cavity does mean it’s as versatile as a standard oven though – so you could use to bake cookies or even roast a joint of meat.
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Ooni Karu 2 Pro multi-fuel pizza oven
Available from Ooni (£559.20), Amazon (£559.20), Lakeland (£699)
Best multi-fuel pizza oven
Star rating: 5/5
Unsure whether you’d prefer a gas or wood-fired pizza oven? With the Karu 2 Pro, you get the best of both. This oven can be heated with wood, charcoal or gas (though you’ll need to buy the gas attachment separately) and has a 16-inch capacity, as well as a large glass door, remote temperature monitoring via the Ooni app and a food probe for roasting meats.
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Ooni Koda 2 Max
Available from Ooni (£719.20), John Lewis & Partners (£719.20)
Best large pizza oven
Star rating: 5/5
The Koda 2 Max is the biggest pizza oven in Ooni’s product range, sporting a 24-inch capacity that can handle up to three 10-inch pizzas at once. Inside the cavity there are two pizza stones and a burner on each side, so you can also cook different dishes at different temperatures at the same time.
You’ll need a generous amount of storage space for it, and bear in mind that the legs don’t fold away. Besides this, we found it a joy to use. Read our full Ooni Koda 2 Max review.
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Ooni Koda 2 Pro 2nd Generation
Available from Ooni (£599), Lakeland (£599), John Lewis & Partners (£599)
Star rating: 4/5
If you don’t want something as large as the Koda 2 Max listed above, but still want to be able to make more than one pizza at the same time, the Koda 2 Pro is a great compromise. It’s an 18-inch gas-powered oven that can comfortably fit two pizzas if you go for slightly smaller than 10-inch bases.
It also has dual lateral burners rather than a single-source flame, which we found created excellent heat distribution and cooked our pizzas perfectly.
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Ooni Koda 2
Available from Ooni (£399), Lakeland (£399)
Star rating: 4/5
For those seeking something more lightweight and compact, consider the Koda 2 – it’s a small and powerful pizza oven with great portability, and we found it very easy to set up. The 14-inch stone also means you can cook larger pizzas if you want to, and that you have space to manoeuvre the pizzas in and out of the oven. Like the Ooni Koda 2 Pro (listed above), this model also contains a tapered flame, which produced impressively consistent results in test.
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