Pros and Cons of An Outdoor Pizza Oven

The traditional image of a wood-fired pizza oven is of stacks of logs, billowing smoke, and a two-hour wait for the stone to reach the right temperature. However, the Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven has fundamentally changed that narrative, bringing high-heat artisanal cooking to the backyard without the learning curve of a traditional hearth. Its price is significantly lower than that of gas ovens on the market. And so we have been testing it in our photography studio.

This delicious tomato basil pizza was made in the Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven.

If you’re considering adding an outdoor pizza oven to your patio, here is why this electric powerhouse is an affordable and easy-to-use option.

The biggest hurdle for most home pizza makers is temperature. A kitchen oven typically reaches 500°F, but a true Neapolitan pie requires 700°F or higher, and most think pizzas will turn out crisper if the oven is 550-600 degrees F.

The Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven reaches 700°F using electric heating elements. This provides several distinct advantages:

• Faster and easier than a wood oven: preheats in 15 minutes and cooks a pizza in 4 minutes.

• Bakes more evenly than a gas oven.

• Precision: You set the exact temperature on a digital dial.

• Consistency: Unlike wood, which burns down, electric heat remains constant, ensuring your fifth pizza looks just as good as your first.

• Versatility: You can also use it to broil, roast, and bake.

• Saves money and makes a healthier pizza at home versus takeout.

• Family fun in preparing a meal. Who doesn’t want to watch a pizza bake on a stone?

More Than Just a Pizza Maker

While it’s marketed as a pizza oven, the Ninja is actually an 8-in-1 outdoor kitchen. Because it offers such granular temperature control, it handles more than just dough. It also has a timer to prevent you from forgetting and burning your food.

Is it Right for Your Patio?

The Pros

• Plug-and-Play: No propane tanks to refill and no charcoal to clean up.

• Weatherproof: Designed for year-round outdoor use and storage.

• Beginner Friendly: Multiple pizza styles available, from Neapolitan to NY Style and Thin Crust.

• Less expensive than gas pizza ovens, which cost $800-1200, this one costs only $212 on Amazon.

The Cons

• Requires Power: You’ll need a dedicated outdoor outlet or a heavy-duty extension cord.

• You can’t use it in the rain and should keep it covered when not in use. Do not use it indoors.

• Size: It’s great for 12-inch pizzas, but that is the limit.

• You need to buy a pizza peel and to store the oven on a table with a cover. It is still expensive for an item you might only use once a week but over the long haul it saves money and makes cooking and eating pizza at home more fun.

Bottom Line:

The Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven is the "Goldilocks" of outdoor cooking. It’s hotter than your indoor oven but significantly more convenient than a traditional wood-fired stone hearth. It’s a great way for families to have more fun making meals together and to save money by avoiding takeout pizzas. Health-conscious cooks can lighten up on the cheese and use more whole ingredients, such as roasted chicken and veggies, instead of pepperoni and sausage.

We also like it for roasting beets and other veggies. When the pizza was done cooking for lunch I put a cast-iron skillet of beets in the oven and baked at 375 for 45 minutes - then had them for a salad for dinner!

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Margherita Pizza

Yield 12

Author Judy Doherty

Prep time

10 Min

Cook time

5 Min

Inactive time

60 Min

Total time

1 H & 15 M

Here is a homemade pizza baked in an outdoor pizza oven. See the notes at the bottom to convert the recipe for a regular oven.

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Ingredients

Dough

• 4 cups bread flour
• 1.5 cups warm water 100 degrees F
• 1 packet yeast
• pinch salt

Toppings for 3 pizzas

• 2 cups no-salt-added pizza sauce
• 3 tsp Italian seasoning
• pinch red pepper per pizza
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• bunch of fresh basil

Instructions

Prepare the dough

1. Mix the yeast with the warm water. Add the flour and mix for 5 minutes or until the dough forms a stretchy gluten window. Form the dough into a round ball and place in a covered bowl.
2. Allow the dough to rise for an hour at room temperature or until it is doubled in size.
3. Divide the dough into 3 balls. Place in the refrigerator.
4. Preheat the pizza oven to NY style or 500 degrees.

Make the pizzas

1. For an outdoor pizza oven:
2. Stretch 1 dough ball until it is flat and about 10-11 inches round. Place on a floured peel.
3. Add the tomato sauce, seasonings, cheese and basil to the pizza. Bake for 4-5 minutes at 500 degrees on a stone hearth in an outdoor pizza oven.
4. If you are making the pizza in a kitchen oven preheat it to 450. Bake the dough round for 10 minutes then proceed with the toppings and bake another 10 minutes.
5. Serve hot.

Notes

We serve a baked protein and large chopped salad with this pizza.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

280

Fat

8 g

Sat. Fat

4 g

Carbs

39 g

Fiber

3 g

Net carbs

36 g

Sugar

2 g

Protein

13 g

Sodium

426 mg

Cholesterol

22 mg

Freeze any leftover flour for another use.

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