There are few things better than a fresh homemade pizza. The melty cheese and crisp crust with fresh toppings scattered on the top. The pizza being so hot that you can’t eat it just yet. This is not something you’ll get from a delivery pizza. There’s just nothing quite like heating a pizza stove and making pizzas at home. Now imagine making your own pizzas outdoors in your backyard paradise. For this dream to come true, you’ll need an outdoor kitchen with pizza oven features.
In this article, we will explain the various options you have to build an outdoor kitchen with pizza oven appliances. We have designed several backyard projects with pizza ovens and therefore know about the high end and affordable design variety you have to choose from.
Outdoor Kitchen With Pizza Oven Types
Pizza ovens can be purpose built natural gas or propane powered, either built in, or stand alone appliances. If you want wood fired, there are appliances made for these also. Many times however, with wood fired, you might build a custom built pizza oven into the masonry of your outdoor kitchen. The custom built option is the most expensive, and can be the most temperamental, but die-hards will demand them anyhow. There is something magical about a wood fire in a masonry structure baking a pizza.
Most of the time these days we build in some sort of appliance into the outdoor kitchen. These appliances save space versus solid masonry structures. However, if you want to cook more than one pizza at a time, you’ll either have to look at commercial appliances, or build a custom masonry wood fired pizza oven from scratch. Whatever you do, there is a pizza oven appliance for just about every budget out there.
Step 1: Consider Pizza Oven Add-On Ideas
One addition to consider when selecting a pizza oven is a pizza prep and garnish center. These are built-ins for your outdoor kitchen which have a prep surface for rolling out the dough along with space for toppings and tool storage. These can help you focus the pizza prep area into one location, and not use up a huge amount of countertop whenever you make pizza.
Step 2: Align Your Budget And Expectations
Choosing the right outdoor pizza oven often starts with budget. We have specific advice for how to build an outdoor kitchen on a budget. You’ll find a few propane and wood powered units for under $500. These are often simpler designs and always for no more than one pizza at a time. You’ll start to see the higher quality and larger pizza ovens in the $1500 to $2500 range.
It can be daunting to select a pizza oven, but if you use a site like BBQ Guys, they have a lot of reviews and that can help in the selection process. One of the best low price options is the Ooni Koda 12. This pizza oven is propane powered and is meant to sit on the countertop. One thing we like about this, is you could put it away when not in use, and you can even bring it to tailgates.
Side note, don’t forget your pizza peel the first time you make pizza. If you do, you’ll be struggling to get the pizza in and out of the oven.
How To Make Pizza In Outdoor Kitchen Without A Pizza Oven
If you don’t have the money or space for a pizza oven, but you have an outdoor grill, there is the ultimate budget minded option for making pizzas outdoors. Use your propane or gas grill to make pizza. Yes, you might be surprised to know you can make pizzas using your grill. It involves a little attention to detail, but can make mouth watering and flavorful pizzas right on your existing grill.
Outdoor Kitchen With Pizza Oven Summary
The addition of a pizza oven to your outdoor kitchen can make for a fun and social event. There’s a suspense aspect to making your own pizza. Everyone is on edge waiting for the next mouth watering pizza to emerge from the oven. Making pizzas outdoors is one of the most fun and socially engaging ways to prepare food for a group whether done on your grill or in a dedicated oven.
