Ooni has grown into a leading pizza oven manufacturer, enabling families to enjoy homemade pizza without much hustle. It offers a variety of ovens with different features, depending on your needs. Since the differences are minimal, choosing the best isn’t such a challenging task.
The best Ooni pizza oven is the Karu 16 multi-fuel. As the name suggests, you can use various fuel types and bake 16″ pizzas. Additionally, it’s portable and easy to move around. Like other Ooni pizza ovens, it can heat up to 950°F (510°C) in 15 minutes.
In this article, I’ll discuss different Ooni pizza ovens to help you choose the best for your needs. Let’s dive in.
Best Overall: Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven (Amazon.com)
This is your go-to pizza oven if you love the large pizza size for a bigger family. It has a hinged glass door, making it easy to monitor your cooking. The oven is also convenient since you don’t need to open the door, ensuring the cooking temperature remains the same.
You can use different fuel types, including:
Like other Ooni ovens, Karu 16 only takes 15 minutes to heat up to 950°F (510° C), which is the maximum temperature.
This oven is made of powder-coated carbon steel and brushed stainless steel.
Pros
- It comes with a pre-mounted thermometer to help you manage temperatures within the oven.
- You can make a 16″ pizza. Hence, it’s suitable for large families or when you have guests.
- It’s versatile as it can run on different types of fuel.
- It can cook pizza within 60 seconds, and you only need to preheat for two minutes for the next bake hence less waiting time.
- You can use it for other foods such as steaks, fish, vegetables, and bread.
Cons
- It’s heavier than other Ooni ovens (weighs 62.6 lbs or 24.8 kg).
- It’s expensive, hence not suitable if you’re working on a budget.
- You need to buy a gas burner to use gas as fuel, meaning added expenses.
The Verdict
The oven has the most impressive features among Ooni pizza ovens. It’s easy to use, hence equally suitable for beginners and pros. However, you might need to save for longer since it’s on the pricier side of pizza ovens.
Best for Efficiency: Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven (Amazon.com)
This oven comes close to Oonin 16 multi-fuel since it can make a 16″ pizza. Its burner is L-shaped to ensure even cooking. Thus, you only need to turn the pizza once. Moreover, it only uses gas, and you don’t need to worry about smoke, which could irritate you and your neighbors.
It also comes with a stone baking board and a gas tank.
Pros
- It has a large baking area. Thus, it can make large pizzas for when you have many people to feed.
- It’s lighter and portable when need be.
- It’s easy to control temperatures since it only uses a gas-controlled knob.
- Cleaning and maintenance are easy because there are no ashes.
- It doesn’t consume a lot of fuel.
Cons
- It only uses gas, limiting your fuel options.
- It requires a gas conversion kit which comes at an extra cost.
- Heat-up time might take up to 20 minutes.
Best Portable: Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven (Amazon.com)
Ooni Karu 12 is the best oven if you’re looking for something portable to use in different areas of your garden or backyard, depending on the occasion. What’s more, you can remove the chimney and fold the legs. Therefore, it’s the most convenient when it comes to storage.
Like other Ooni ovens, it takes only 15 minutes to heat to its maximum temperature of 950° F (510°C).
Pros
- The oven is multifuel, making it convenient for use with charcoal, wood, and propane gas.
- It’s portable and easy to store since it’s light, and you can remove the chimney and fold the legs. Also, you can travel with it when you have an event away from home.
- It’s inexpensive compared to other pizza ovens.
Cons
- It cooks small-size pizzas since its baking area is 12″. Therefore, you must bake several when you have more people to feed.
- It has a smaller opening hence inconvenient when removing and inserting the pizza into the oven.
- You need a hex key to switch from gas to charcoal/wood, which you purchase separately.
Best Portable: Ooni Koda 12 Gas Powered Oven (Amazon.com)
As the name suggests, this pizza oven uses propane gas only. It’s made of powder-coated steel, making it sleek and appealing to the eye. Like other Ooni ovens, it takes 15 minutes to reach maximum temperature. Also, you need less than two minutes to cook your pizza, shortening the wait time.
The oven is portable, and you can use it on the tabletop. It doesn’t have a chimney because there’s no smoke. Using this oven is easy and perfect for those with little or no experience with pizza ovens.
Oooni Koda oven is pre-assembled. So, you only need to connect the propane tank to start baking your pizza.
Pros
- It’s small and lightweight, so easy to carry from one area to another. Additionally, It’s suitable for those with smaller outdoor spaces since it’s small in size.
- It’s easy to clean because there is no accumulation of ash.
- It’s affordable.
Cons
- You can’t use it with charcoal or wood because it’s only designed for propane gas.
- It can only cook small-sized (12″) pizza. Thus, it’s unsuitable for large families.
- It doesn’t come with a thermometer. So, you must purchase one separately, meaning additional expenses.
Best Wood-Fired: Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Pellet Pizza Oven (Amazon.com)
This oven is an excellent deal for wood-fired-flavored pizza lovers. It’s perfect for those 12″ pizzas for a family pizza night. It takes 15 minutes to heat up and only 60 seconds to cook your pizza. Therefore, it makes up for the size since you can bake one after the other without much time.
Pros
- It gives your pizza a smoky flavor.
- It’s lightweight, meaning it’s easily portable.
- It’s the cheapest among Ooni pizza ovens.
- You can remove the chimney for better storage and transport.
- The pellets are easy to light and readily available.
- It doesn’t require much assembly.
Cons
- It only uses wood pellets. Therefore, you can’t use regular wood, charcoal, or gas.
- You must keep the pellets topped up to maintain the baking temperatures. And this can be a lot of work, making it challenging to regulate the temperatures.
- It loses heat quickly and can be a challenge to cook many pizzas in a row.
- The pellets burn quickly, shortening the burn time.
- It might be challenging to clean because the pellets leave ash.
- While the smoke is good for the flavor, it might be a nuisance to those present when cooking,
Final Thoughts
Choosing the best Ooni pizza oven depends on your needs and preferences. Therefore, you need to weigh the pros and the cons depending on what you’re looking for.
Ooni ovens are easy to operate since they don’t need much assembly. They take 15 minutes to heat up to the maximum temperature, except for the Koda 16 gas-powered oven. Additionally, they only take 60 seconds to bake your pizza.
But the ovens differ in size, fuel type, and price. However, this doesn’t limit their function, and you can enjoy yummy homemade pizza using any of them.
