Ooni Review: This Pizza Oven Tosses Italy Into Your Backyard

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This Outdoor Portable Pizza Oven Makes the Cut

Here’s How to Make Great Pizza at home

We’ve eaten a lot of wood fired pizza in my lifetime, all over Italy and here in the United States. Expectations run high here.

If you are searching for the best outdoor pizza oven to add to your backyard patio, we have done the research and invested in the best portable pizza oven out there.

As a family who loves to be outside, we enjoy cooking outdoors and eat outside any chance we get.

Learning how to make delicious wood fired pies in a pizza oven in backyard is right up our alley.

A plus was looking for a light pizza oven for camping and tailgating.

We did our homework comparing backyard pizza ovens and we discovered Ooni’s Karu 16 Multi Fuel Pizza Oven.

We’ve been perfecting the art of cooking pizzas outside, even in Colorado’s coldest winter weather.

Here’s the inside scoop, including a candid comparison of Solo Stove Pi Vs Ooni pizza ovens.

Spoiler Alert: The option to use wood as fuel or natural gas to bake homemade pizzas in our backyard was a real selling point for the Karu 16.

This Ooni review reveals how this outdoor pizza oven covered everything we needed to perfect the art of making Neapolitan style pizzas at home.

Table of contents

• Are Outdoor Portable Pizza Ovens Worth It?

• FAQs about Outdoor Pizza Ovens

• Solo Stove Pi Vs Ooni

• What is the Best Wood Pizza Oven?

• What Different Kinds of Pizza Ovens Does OONI Make?

• What are the Benefits of the Multi Fuel Pizza Oven?

• What Else Do You Need to Cook Pizza Outdoors in an OONI?

• What is the Best Fuel for a Pizza Oven?

• What is the Best Portable Pizza Oven?

• OONI FAQS

• Pizza Oven Accessories

• Conclusion: Is an OONI Pizza Oven Worth It?

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20% OFF everything Ooni sitewide, beginning Monday, 21st of November (8am local time) until Tuesday, 29th of November (8am local time).

What if you could cook pizzas outdoors like this?

Is an outdoor Portable pizza oven worth it?

If you love to travel, tailgate, and camp like we do, or you are hunting for the best backyard outdoor pizza oven, then an Ooni oven is totally worth it.

Ooni pizza ovens are especially lightweight and come available in different fuel types to use for your heat source:

• propane gas

• natural gas

• wood pellets

• lump charcoal

• wood chunks

With so many options in sizes and heat sources, you can travel and have fresh-baked pizza the way you like it wherever you are. You can even use a pizza oven for camping.

Spoiler Alert: No more heating up the indoors using a hot kitchen in summer anymore. With an outdoor pizza oven, we keep the heat outside!

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FAQS about Outdoor Pizza Ovens

How long does it take to cook pizza in an outdoor pizza oven?

Making fantastic pizza outdoors is easy — all you need is super high heat. Our Ooni Karu pizza oven reaches 950ºF (500ºC) in just 20 minutes.

How long does it take to cook a pizza in an Ooni pizza oven? At most: 90 seconds — often in 60 seconds or less.

With a little bit of practice and finesse, you can make delicious Neapolitan style pizza in a flash.

What else can you cook in your pizza oven?

Besides delicious wood fired pizza, you’ll be amazed at what else you can cook in your outdoor pizza oven.

Grant over at GrantBakes.com show you how to make salmon, steak, chicken thighs, focaccia bread, cinnamon rolls, peach cobbler, a skillet cookie and more!

What makes a good outdoor pizza oven?

In our opinion, these are the qualities to look for in a great outdoor pizza oven:

• Easy to move, easily portable

• Able to take it camping or tailgating or to a friend’s house

• Fires up quickly and simple to operate

• Cooks pizza quickly

• Easy to clean

• Designed beautifully - it’s nice to look at

• Affordable for the average family who loves to be together

• Fits well in your outdoor spaces and works on your back patio. If we move, we want to take it with us.

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Make quick cheesy bread in your Ooni pizza oven

Solo Stove Pi Vs Ooni

We had a chance to fire up the Solo Stove Pi and the Ooni Karu side by side, twice!

While we’re not diving into a full Solo Stove Pi review, here are our thoughts on the Solo Stove Pi vs Ooni:

Solo Stove

What We Like About the Solo Stove Pi

• Cool and sleek looking

• Portable

• Only weighs 20 pounds

• Multi fuel option

• Awesome Solo Stove flash sales (LINK HERE)

What We Don’t Love About Solo Stove Pi

• 12” pizza is biggest size pizza you can make in this oven; we want bigger! 

• Loses heat faster, we think due to no door

• Constantly feeding it wood; more work to keep the oven hot

• More difficult to see and watch inside this backyard pizza oven

• Can only bake pizza and flatbreads or crisp things in this pizza oven

• No attached temperature gauge; must buy a infrared thermometer that can gauge high temps

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Ooni Karu 16

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Solo Stove Pi

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Homemade Pizza Dough

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Fueling the Ooni

Ooni Karu

What we love better about Ooni Pizza Ovens:

• Can bake or cook many other things; like steak!

• Easy to read temperature ; know when to add fuel

• Multi fuel option

• Ooni has been perfecting their pizza ovens for 10 years now

• You can watch your food baking in this outdoor pizza oven

• Love the door! Holds the heat in longer; spend less time feeding it wood

• Love the outside coating on the oven, preventing burns

• Ooni makes all different sizes and kinds of ovens, great for all budgets!

What we don’t love:

• The Karu 16 is hefty, weighing in at 62 pounds

• Not on sale that often

What is the best Backyard pizza oven?

Who makes a good outdoor pizza oven that is built for using at home?

We believe an Ooni pizza oven is the perfect addition to your outdoor kitchen.

Since building the world's first portable pellet pizza oven back in 2012, their selection of backyard pizza ovens allow you to become the ultimate home pizza chef.

pizza oven in Backyard spaces that are Made by Ooni

Ooni now makes five different pizza ovens, that vary in size and how you fuel the flame to bake your pizza.

Let’s talk about the newest portable pizza oven first.

Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

This is what we have. As a big family who loves having friends over weekly, we love the Karu 16.

My husband and a friend can easily move this outdoor portable pizza oven wherever they want it to go.

Made compact with folding legs and a removable chimney, you can easily put this in the back of a vehicle and take it tailgating and camping. Weighs 60 lbs.

Spoiler Alert: This is the first and only pizza oven to be “recommended for domestic use” by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, THE international authority on true Neapolitan pizza.

Here’s why else a Karu 16 rocks:

• Multiple fuel options for maximum cooking versatility

• Cook with wood or charcoal out of the box OR

• Use propane or natural gas with the Ooni Karu 16 Gas Burner (propane or natural gas burners sold separately)

• Reaches 950°F (500°C) within 20 minutes - WOWZA!

• Hinged oven door design with ViewFlame™ technology provides better visibility

• Mounted digital thermometer displays internal oven temperature

• Large cooking area fits up to 16-inch pizzas and other big dishes - great for big families and large backyard parties with friends

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What are the Benefits of a Multi Fuel Pizza Oven?

We chose the Karu 16 Multi Fuel Pizza Oven because we are all about options.

But just how do you use the Ooni multi fuel pizza oven?

You can make 16” pizzas in the Karu 16, using lump charcoal and hard wood for fuel. Or only use charcoal, or only hard wood, or only wood pellets.

Or connect the appropriate gas burner and use propane or natural gas to heat up your oven. So many options!

We love the taste of wood smoked pizza, but also wanted the option of using gas on really cold Colorado days. With gas, you can keep your oven’s heat more consistent.

When baking wood fired pizza, it is more of a dance keeping the fire consistent, but it’s also half the fun of making pizza at home in your backyard!

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Ooni Karu 16 Multi Fuel Pizza Oven - Using wood and charcoal combo here.

While we’re at it, let’s quickly break down the other four portable Ooni pizza ovens.

Ooni Karu 12 Multi Fuel Pizza Oven

Just smaller than the Karu 16 mentioned above, this one boasts:

• Multiple fuel options for maximum cooking flexibility

• Fire up with wood or charcoal right out of the box OR

• Use propane or natural gas with the appropriate Ooni Gas Burner (sold separately)

• Reaches 950°F (500°C) in 15-20 minutes, for fresh stone-baked pizza in just 60 seconds.

• Portable at just 26.4 lbs, with all the power of a large pizza oven

Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven

The larger of the two natural gas pizza ovens, the Koda 16 weighs 40 lbs. out of the box and packs a pizza punch.

A lot of folks prefer gas for more consistent and controllable oven temperature. The Koda 16:

• Gas fueled for the ultimate ease and control

• Reaches 950°F (500°C) in about 15 minutes

• Bake stone-baked fresh pizza in just 60 seconds

• Extra-large cooking area for 16” pizzas, cuts of meat, breads, etc.

• Innovative L-shaped flame for one-turn cooking

• Easy to use out of the box, simply connect to a propane tank and get cooking!

• Heat control dial allows you to turn heat up and down easily

• No fuel residue to clean up after cooking

Ooni Koda 12 Gas Powered Pizza Oven

Smaller than the Koda 16, this portable natural gas pizza oven offers ultimate ease and control and would also be great pizza oven for camping.

The Koda 12:

• Reaches 950°F (500°C) in just 15 minutes

• Bakes stone-baked fresh 12” pizza in just 60 seconds

• Weighing only 20.4lbs, it’s very portable and fits in any outdoor space

• Easy to use out of the box, simply connect to a propane tank and start cooking!

• Heat can be turned up and down with the heat control dial

• No fuel residue to clean up after cooking

Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Pellet Pizza Oven

Hardwood pellet fueled, the Fyra is ideal for those wanting consistently high heat and low maintenance. Would also be a great pizza oven for camping.

The Fyra 12:

• Create craft wood fired flavored 12” pizzas

• Reaches 950° in 15 minutes

• Cooks stone-baked pizzas in as little as 60 seconds

• Weighing just 22lbs, this is super portable

• Budget friendly pizza oven for making small pies on the go

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What do you need for a DIY Backyard pizza oven?

Besides your pizza oven outside, fired up and ready to go, you’ll want a

• Sturdy table - solid wood or stainless steel

• Lump charcoal

• Natural fire starter

• Hard wood mini logs or small chunks

• Lighter

• Temperature gauge attached to the pizza stone (provided with the Karu 16)

Lump charcoal, fire starter, and hard wood pieces

How can I make easy homemade Pizza dough?

Before you dive into owning a pizza oven, it is good to know what you are really getting into! Like, how will you create pizza dough?

While Ooni provides an easy pizza dough recipe, I also discovered another easy pizza dough recipe for Neapolitan style wood fired pizzas.

PRO TIP: Find a local pizzeria that makes wood fired pizza dough, Neapolitan style and ask if they sell their dough balls. Our local Bambino’s sells them to me for $4 each — a great option when I’m pressed for time!

You can make this pizza dough ahead, let it rise in your kitchen for 30 minutes, then wrap your dough balls loosely in saran wrap (sprayed lightly with EVOO) to let them finish slowly rising in your refrigerator. Use your dough in the next one to three days.

You will only need these six ingredients:

• “00” flour

• All purpose flour

• Salt

• Active dry yeast

• EVOO

• Warm water

I use of my inexpensive food scale for accurately measuring flour.

Your OONI comes with a booklet with easy recipes and excellent instructions on how to use your pizza oven the first time.

Ingredients for easy Homemade Pizza cooked outdoors

• Neapolitan style Pizza Dough

• Semolina Flour (for coating pizza peel surface when stretching your dough out)

• Raos Tomato Sauce or San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand

• Fresh mozzarella

• Shredded mozzarella

• Pepperoni

• Proscuitto

• Diced pancetta

• Fresh parmesan, shredded or shaved

Extra toppings after your pizza is baked: Fresh basil, kalamata olives, arugula and more parmesan. Some like to lightly drizzle their pizza with olive oil and sprinkle it with sea salt.

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Throw some arugula, olives and fresh shaved parmesan on top of you oven fired pizza

What is the best Fuel for pizza oven?

These hardwood chunks bought at a BBQ store also work well for an outdoor portable pizza oven

You have different choices when it comes to fueling your outdoor pizza oven: wood, wood pellets, charcoal, natural or propane gas. We do a combo of lump charcoal and mini wood chunks.

Wood for Pizza Oven

Dry, seasoned hardwoods such as maple, ash and oak are the type of mini logs or chunks your outdoor Ooni pizza oven needs to work best. Buy seasoned wood that has been dried out naturally in open-air conditions and cut it into small 6” pieces if need be.

The best fuel for a pizza oven is kiln dried hardwood, because it is very dry and offers a clean burn, while providing high heat. Whatever wood for pizza ovens you use, store it in a dry place before use, as any moisture will impact on the efficiency of the burn.

PRO TIP: BBQ stores often sell different types of hard wood chunks and wood pellets, as well as lump charcoal and fire starter.

Natural gas or propane gas is also ideal and more preferable for others. You can keep a consistent heat, which means you can churn out pizzas more quickly without adding wood.

You can also cook in frigid temps more easily using a natural gas or propane burner to fuel your outdoor portable pizza oven.

While many prefer a flame cooked pizza with wood fired taste, others like the consistent heat offered by gas.

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Pizza served on an Ooni bamboo pizza peel

What is the Best Outdoor Portable Pizza Oven?

When you think portable, the first question you ask is, “How much does it weigh?” Will it take one or two people to carry it from place to place? And can I fit it in the back of my car?

While you can fit the Ooni Karu 16 inside most vehicles, it is best if two people help carry it, due to its weight.

If you’re looking for the best outdoor portable pizza oven, while we favor the Ooni Karu 16 with all of its options, these three Oonis are even more portable due to their weight:

• Ooni Koda 12 Gas Fueled Pizza Oven only weighs 20 lbs, great for camping and tailgating anywhere

• Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Pellet Pizza Oven only weighs 22 lbs, also making it easily portable

• Ooni Koda 16 Gas Fueled Pizza Oven weighs 40 pounds, but still portable

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More Ooni FAQs

Should I buy my ooni online?

We are big fans of buying your pizza oven online directly from ooni.com. Here’s why:

• You’ll receive the best, most direct customer service, should you have any issues.

• Exchanges and returns done fast and easy.

• Best troubleshooting and helpful communication via emails, videos, and text. They helped us troubleshoot our gas burner connection.

• Flash sales and best deals directly through ooni.com and not seen elsewhere.

• Support small businesses like mine; I receive a small commission to support Rad Family Travel when you decide to buy through one of my Ooni links here on my blog. Thank you!

Can I use my pizza oven in cold weather?

Yes! We’ve use our Karu 16 outside in 20 degree (F) weather and gusting winds. It might be a smidge challenging to keep the wood fired oven consistently hot, which is why we chose to buy the multi fuel pizza oven so we could use natural gas for more consistent heat as desired.

Can I return an Ooni pizza oven if I don’t like it?

Ooni accepts returns within 60 days. Read their returns policy here.

Ooni guarantees you will let you cook great pies at home in your pizza oven in your backyard. If you buy an Ooni pizza oven and you can’t make great pizza, you have 60 days to return it for free. 

What kind of warranty does Ooni have?

They stand by their products. All Ooni products come with a 1-year warranty as standard, and we’ll extend that to a 3-year warranty on Ooni pizza ovens when you register your pizza oven with Ooni.

Five star customer service and no complaints here! Ooni really takes care of their customers and work hard to make everything just right for you backyard pizza oven setup.

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pizza oven accessories

Over time, you may want to invest in quality outdoor pizza oven accessories, like a cover and a stainless table that rolls easily.

Here’s everything we have for our backyard pizza oven setup:

• 2 Bamboo Pizza Peels (for putting pizza in)

• Perforated Pizza Peel (for pulling pizza out)

• Pizza Cutter

• Pizza Oven Cleaning Brush

• Natural Gas Burner

• Natural Wood Firestarters

• Mini Oak Logs or other hardwood

• Lump Charcoal

• Lighter

• Large modular stainless steel table for outdoors

• Oven Covers - While Ooni sells oven covers, with some that double as a carry case, we actually use this large 78” Island BBQ Grill Head Cover for our Karu 16 sitting on an Ooni stainless steel table outside on our back patio

• You might also need an Infrared Thermometer, if your stove doesn’t come with any type of thermometer or you want to upgrade to infrared.

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Is an Ooni pizza oven worth it?

If you’ve been paying any attention, you can see that YES, our backyard Ooni Karu Pizza Oven fits in with our outdoor lifestyle.

If you love pizza, being outside, and cooking at home, then an Ooni pizza oven is a perfect fit for your family and hosting friends.

Cook authentic, Neapolitan style pizza at home, right on your back patio.

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