The Best Home Pizza Ovens for Impressing All Your Guests, Even New Yorkers

Despite being a New Jersey native, I don’t take pizza very seriously—that is, unless anyone, in any situation, has any opinion whatsoever about anything related to pizza. Growing up, I didn’t know bad pizza existed, since living in North Jersey means—without a doubt—that you get the best pizza in the country. [New Yorkers have entered the chat.] Whatever your pizza opinions are, they’re probably wrong if you haven’t spent much time in NJ or NY, and that’s OK! It’s not your fault you didn’t have the luxury of a childhood filled with crispy crust, fresh basil, piping hot cheese, and greasy, perfectly dimpled pepperoni slices. In fact, I almost envy you, since you have the rest of your life to experience its doughy greatness. But what if you’ve blown all your cash on denim jackets and sunset lamps and don’t have the funds for a trip to the East Coast? In that case, we’d like to let you in on a little secret: You can make perfectly crispy, NYC-style, restaurant-quality pizza wherever you live—and all you need is a home pizza oven. 

Homemade thin-crust pizza has never really felt like a reasonable possibility, since conventional wisdom says you can only achieve that perfect, slightly charred crust with a big-ass, commercial pizza oven. But that’s not the case these days, because now, there are a bunch of high-quality, relatively affordable home pizza ovens out there. And, while it’s certainly not a low-ticket item, a home pizza oven can do way more than just heat up pies to perfection. You can cook flatbreads, roasts, breads, and pretty much anything you’d throw under a broiler in one of these babies as well. They’re more versatile than you’d think, and if you’ve got the space for one, do it, please, for us. 

We’ve also got plenty of recipes and how-to videos to help you on your pizza-making journey. Now, you’ll notice that a lot of the recipes provide creative solutions to emulate a pizza oven or pizza stone. Feel free to skip those parts—once you snag one of the best home pizza ovens, of course—and maybe do an evil laugh while imagining the sad life of a non-pizza-oven-having normie. 

Not sure where to start? No worries. We put together this short list of some of the best home pizza ovens on the market, just for you. Take a peek, see which models turn your pilot light on, and remember: The crust of your wildest dreams is in your not-too-distant future, friends.

We’re not sure if any of the big home pizza oven brands have been around long enough to be called “classic,” but Ooni is certainly an OG in that space, and for good reason: When you’re buying from Ooni, you’re buying quality. The brand’s Karu 12 oven features multiple fuel options for maximum cooking flexibility, weighs in at a portable 26.4 pounds, and cooks a pizza in about 60 seconds. Ooni’s Fyra 12 is another great option at a slightly lower price point and is powered by burning wood pellets, which imparts delicious, complex flavors into your ‘za.

Gozney is another reliable brand in the home pizza oven space, and its Roccbox is top-notch. The portable, restaurant-grade oven features multi-fuel technology, detachable burners, and retractable legs. (Plus, there’s no assembly required!) It also comes with a pizza peel, a five-year warranty, free delivery, and hassle-free returns—so if you’re not satisfied, you can always send it back. If you act fast, Gozney is running a special promotion until June 19th, where every order receives a free Roccbox cover and turning peel worth $114.99, score!

With a 4.5-star average from nearly 300 ratings, the BakerStone Portable Gas Pizza Oven is one of the more affordable home pizza ovens in the game. “This was an affordable way to experience brick oven pizza at home,” one reviewer writes. “The results are amazing.” The countertop oven is also portable, easy-to-use, and gets hot enough to cook pizzas to perfection in less than two minutes.

Solo Stove’s Pi Pizza Oven is a great way to get you on the path toward full-blown pizza hermit life. (The brand also makes awesome fire pits and camp stoves, so you know it’s an expert in all things fiery.) The Pi lets you cook with both wood and propane and comes with a cordierite pizza stone, a thermometer, a stainless steel peel, and a pizza cutter.

Not everyone has a massive backyard or patio to house their big ol’ pizza oven (same, dude), which is why this Italia Artisan Pizza Oven is so clutch for apartment-dwellers or folks that don’t want to brave the elements. It’s designed to replicate the performance of a wood-fired brick oven with a double-walled construction, special burners, and ceramic pizza stone. The oven’s micro-adjust valves also give you heat control and responsiveness so you can nail down your cooking temps and make the perfect homemade pizza every time.

The large cooking area of this Ooni Karu 16 (which we recently reviewed) easily accommodates 16-inch pizzas, and its hinged oven door design with ViewFlame technology helps boost visibility while your cheese gets good and melty. (It’s also the first and only pizza oven to be “Recommended for Domestic Use” by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana.) It’s on the pricey side, sure, but this isn’t just another fun gadget or piece of cookware—it’s an investment. An investment in a future of stuffing bite after bite of delicious homemade pizza into you and your family’s greedy little mouths. After all, you work hard; you deserve it.

Make sure you send us an invite to pizza night—once you hone your skills, that is. 

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.