The Ultimate Ooni Pizza Oven Guide
Last spring, Alex and I bought an Ooni outdoor pizza oven, and it’s been one of the most fun things we’ve ever purchased! Ooni (previously called Uuni) makes outdoor pizza ovens that sit on a table and cook individual pizzas in about 3 minutes.
We make pizza almost every week, and I wanted to answer some of the most frequent questions I get! Whether you already have an Ooni pizza oven or you’re thinking about getting one, here’s everything you need to know to make perfect pizzas at home!
Types of Ooni Pizza Ovens
There are three types of Ooni Pizza Ovens:
- Ooni Koda: gas-powered outdoor pizza oven- This is a great option if you want a simple pizza oven without having to mess with wood or charcoal. It’s portable, and it connects directly to a gas tank. This one sells for $299
- Ooni 3: portable wood-fired pizza oven- The original style, this one is also relatively portable, and it runs on wood pellets. This is the cheapest option at $279.
- Ooni Pro: multi-fuel outdoor pizza oven- The Ooni pro is the largest oven, and therefore the least portable, but it still fits neatly on a small table. The larger size means you can cook pizza as well as meat, bread, and vegetables. For fuel, you can use wood, charcoal, wood pellets, or gas. This one gives you the most flexibility, and this is the kind we purchased for $599.
How to Choose the Right Ooni Pizza Oven
We opted for the Ooni Pro because we wanted the most flexibility. It allows us to choose our fuel type and we liked the larger size since we didn’t need it to be portable.
The Ooni 3 is a nice option if you want that wood-fired taste for a little less money, but I wouldn’t recommend this option if you wanted to cook pizzas for a crowd.
Although the gas option is the simplest in terms of fuel, refilling a gas tank could be a hassle.
Tips for Using Wood Pellets in the Ooni Pizza Oven
We’ve tried wood pellets, wood chips, and charcoal. Our Ooni would also work with gas, but since we don’t have a gas line outside and we didn’t want to mess with a gas tank, we haven’t tried that method.
Wood pellets were the cleanest option. We didn’t deal with as much ash, and they’re relatively easy to use. But we found it hard to maintain a high temperature for a long time with pellets. It wasn’t bad if we were only making a couple of pizzas, but if we were cooking for a crowd, we pretty much had to add pellets every few minutes. Two things that made this easier were a jam funnel and a small computer fan. (Yes, really.)
The jam funnel is a metal funnel that can sit on top of the hopper where the pellets are stored. This allowed us to pile up more pellets, so we didn’t have to refill the hopper every few minutes.
We also positioned a small fan behind the Ooni, aimed directly into the flame so it would below more of the heat onto the stones and pizza. This might sound crazy, but this worked really well, especially if it was a windy day. It takes about 15-20 minutes to “preheat” until the stones are hot enough to start cooking.
Our Favorite Fuel for the Ooni Pizza Oven
After we got tired of having to refill the wood pellets, we tried wood chips. These worked well and required less attention than the pellets. Don’t worry about the “flavor” of wood chips. We usually get hickory or mesquite, but since the pizzas cook so fast, you won’t taste a difference.
With more research, I found that wood and charcoal would burn hotter, longer. So we bought lump charcoal and paired it with the wood chunks. This has been our favorite method. We add a 50/50 mix of lump charcoal and wood chunks to the back of the oven, add a little lighter fluid, and within minutes, we have a roaring fire. We typically let it burn for 10-15 minutes, then we’ll add a few more wood chips. After 20 minutes, it’s ready for pizza!
Just make sure you buy lump charcoal and not charcoal briquettes. The briquettes produce more ash, and it can start to build up in the oven.
The Best Ooni Accessories
We use a stainless steel pizza peel, which is perfect for sliding pizzas in and out of the oven. I’ve heard that the wooden peels can be a little easier since the pizza dough is less likely to stick, but I like how easy it is to maneuver the stainless steel peel, and it’s simple to clean.
Ooni also sells a “sizzler pan” which is a cast iron pan designed to fit inside the Ooni oven. It tends to be a few bucks cheaper on Amazon, and it has been great for making broccoli and asparagus. We toss the vegetables with a little olive oil and seasoning, then place them in the skillet. After a few minutes in the Ooni, they’re roasted and delicious!
Ooni also sells heatproof gloves, but I found them to be too large for us. If you have big hands, these could be perfect, but for us, they were too big to maneuver safely. We snagged these gloves on Amazon, which are much smaller and easier to navigate. Honestly, we don’t use the gloves much anymore, but it was nice to have them when we were first getting comfortable with using the oven. They can also be helpful if you need to add more fuel to the back of the oven.
The Best Dough for Ooni Pizza Ovens
We like making a Neopolitan-style pizza, which tends to work best in this pizza oven. I wouldn’t recommend a thick crust in the oven, because the toppings would likely burn before the dough is cooked through. Because the ovens get extremely hot (like 900+ degrees) it’s essential to use a thin crust.
This pizza dough recipe has been our go-to pizza dough. I make it in our Kitchen-Aid mixer with a dough hook, which makes it super easy!
If you’re making a traditional pizza crust like the Neapolitan example listed above, you’ll need “00” flour. This is a special type of flour that is very finely ground. It can be a little harder to find, but we can usually get it at Whole Foods. I’d highly recommend splurging for this flour because the texture of this flour in the crust makes such a difference!
Our Favorite Pizza Toppings
When it comes to pizza toppings, less is more. If you add too many toppings, the thin crust might not be able to handle it. I recommend sauce, cheese, and no more than two other toppings. We typically keep it simple with just sauce and fresh mozzarella. We’ll add a sprinkling fresh basil once we’ve removed it from the oven.
Be aware that some toppings can be added after the pizza is cooked. Sometimes we’ll add a dollop of burrata or a sprinkling of herbs. I love caramelized onions and goat cheese, but make sure you add the caramelized onions after the pizza has cooked, or you’ll end up with charred onions. (Trust me, I know this from experience.)
Our Favorite Pizza Sauce
We don’t use real pizza sauce. We use Rao’s Tomato Basil pasta sauce. Technically, the main difference between pasta sauce and pizza sauce is that pizza sauce is uncooked. That tends to be a better option for a slow cooked pizza, but since these pizzas cook in about 2 minutes, I prefer the flavor of a simmered sauce. You can use whatever sauce you like, but Rao’s is my personal favorite!
Other tips for perfect pizza in the Ooni pizza oven
The first time we made pizza, it was a total flop. We tried using Trader Joe’s pizza crust, which was way too thick. The chimney wasn’t open correctly. We couldn’t keep the oven hot enough. We weren’t adding in enough wood pellets. It was a disaster. But you know what? Every time we make pizza, it gets a little better.
Don’t get frustrated if a pizza doesn’t turn out right. We’ve had pizza completely fall apart and get stuck in the oven. (At that point, you pretty much have to burn it until it’s char and then sweep it out of the oven!) But we’ve also made so many delicious pizzas. Honesty, our homemade pizza is one of my favorite things to eat!
Make sure you’re using high-quality ingredients. Splurge on fresh mozzarella. Find the right type of flour. Pick out a delicious sauce. Those little details add up to the best pizza you’ll ever have!
Any other questions? Drop me a comment below!
What does the Ooni come with?
Does it have a pizza stone included ?
I bought the pellet version does it convert to a gas version?
We got the Ooni pro and it came with the stones inside the oven. (I think they all do.) Plus the pizza peel. I believe that the pellet version can convert to gas but you do need to buy the converter. Hope that helps!
Such an informative guide for Ooni Pizza Oven.
After preheating my own a coat of pizza oven to 750 degrees how to reduce the Heat the top crust and cheese and toppings are coming out perfectly but the bottom of the crust is not done enough any advice
What type of crust are you using? I recommend a very thin Neapolitan style crust so that it can cook quickly.
Hi William I found that after 30-60 seconds of rotation the top is getting pretty good, we then turn Down the pizza oven burner (we have gas) and let it set up near the front opening rotating it for several mins. This get the bottom nicely cooked without burning the top. Tell me if this works for you.
In Italy, a crisper crust is achieved using Neapolitan dough and is known as Bari style. To accomplish this, use a rolling pin to roll a 200g dough ball flat to ~12 inches, and then add sauce & toppings that go to the edge (no crust!). Next, make sure that the flame in your oven is a bit lower, as Bari style pizzas cook a few minutes longer than their fluffy-crumbed counterparts.
Can I use store bought flat breads as a quick alternative to making dough?
Hi Jill! Unfortunately, I don’t think that would work. The Ooni cooks at such a high heat, it would likely burn a pre-made flatbread.
How do you get a crisper crust
New Ooni Oven owner here! I like to cook two pizza’s in my Ooni Pro on Sunday nights (one at a time of course), Once my oven has reached the appropriate temperature, I’ll prep my pies before cooking, for speedy service. Though, sometimes by the time I get to the second pie it is weighted by the toppings, and difficult to transfer from my working space and into the oven. Should I just do every pizza from start to finish one at a time, or is there a better way to prep for speedier cooking, What do you recommend? Thanks!
What temperature do you cook your pizzas? We just bought the little ooni but either they burned on the side on the side of the flames or it took too long/didn’t cook well.
We usually try to get it to around 900 degrees. We rotate every 30 seconds so it cooks evenly!
I found your article very helpful. Thanks!
I have a Uuni 3 and I’ve never had a good pizza from it.
The only way that I can describe the taste is that all pizza made in it have tasted like melted plastic. (I’ve checked the inside. There was nothing plastic left in it!)
I have used several different types of wood pellets including the Uuni brand. Alway the same lousy taste.
I’ve been thinking of trying charcoal wood pellets or just charcoal (but the fire box is pretty small.)
Has anyone else experienced this a show do I fix this?
Thanks very much!
Scott
We are having trouble getting the pizza cooked through without burning the top. Any suggestions? Thank you. Any recommendations on store bought dough that work well with Ooni? Thanks
After experiencing the same issue – burnt toppings and crust with undercooked dough, I figured out how best to use my Ooni. I preheat the stone at full temperature for 20-30 minutes. Then, the moment I insert my pizza I turn down the flame to the lowest setting. Works perfectly.
Just bought the Ooni pizza oven
Awesome! I hope you love it!