Ninja Pizza Oven Review: The Electric Powerhouse Cooks Perfect Pies in Just 3 Minutes
Updated: Dec. 15, 2023
The Ninja pizza oven, the brand's first go at this type of appliance, stacks up to those that have been on the market for years. And did we mention it's a gorgeous red color?
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A few years back, when I was tasked with developing Taste of Home‘s recipe for the best pizza dough, I wanted it to be two things: simple and quality. That’s why I employed basic techniques and ingredients, such as all-purpose flour rather than the hard-to-find 00 flour, and top-notch ones, such as the Test Kitchen’s favorite olive oil.
Funny enough, my qualifications for a great pizza oven are the exact same. It should be high in quality yet simple to use. Ninja products have certainly followed through on these criteria in the past (looking at you, Ninja Creami), so I was curious to see if the brand’s pizza oven would do the same. A couple weeks ago, I put the Ninja pizza oven to the test.
What is the Ninja Pizza Oven?
The Ninja pizza oven is more than just that. Technically called the Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven, the workhorse can cook pizza, roast, smoke, broil, bake and even dehydrate. The electric oven is straightforward to use due to its heat source and reaches temperatures between 105 degrees and 700 degrees. Note: There’s the option to add pellets while cooking to infuse food with wood-fired flavor.
With the purchase, you receive the oven, as well as a pan, pizza stone, roast rack, pellet scoop, accessory frame and all-purpose blend starter pack.
Ninja Pizza Oven Features
Pizza ovens are all the rage (peep these favorites from Amazon), so we were most interested in this appliance’s pizza-baking capabilities.
Conveniently, there are various preset options for pizza, including thin crust, New York style, deep dish, Neapolitan and even frozen. Each of these functions automates the oven temperature and cook time. For example, when cooking a pizza at 700 degrees, Ninja claims you can have an artisan-quality pie ready in just three minutes.
As stated above, the oven comes with a pizza stone, but Ninja has tons of other pizza accessories available to purchase separately. We jumped at the pizza peel, but the brand also offers an oven cover, cast-iron pizza pan, oven stand and branded wood pellets.
How We Tested It
The Ninja pizza oven is ready to use virtually straight from the box, so I got started ASAP. To remain true to the promised Ninja pizza oven experience, I made the Universal Pizza Dough from the included recipe booklet and prepared three Neapolitan pizzas, which baked at 700 degrees for three minutes.
Setup & Use
Because it’s electric, the pizza oven needs to be plugged in, so keep the fact that you need outdoor power in mind when purchasing. I did have success plugging it into an extension cord, however. The oven took about 20 minutes to preheat fully, which was easy to gauge because the digital screen had markers to track the heating progress. I kept the included pizza stone in the oven as it heated so the surface was nice and hot by the time I launched my ‘za.
To place the pizzas into and pull them from the oven, I used the Ninja pizza peel. The peel is made of thin nonstick metal and is perforated. Full disclosure: I found the perforations a little confusing because a significant amount of the semolina flour that I use to help slide the pizzas in and out of the oven fell through the holes. I would’ve preferred the peel to be solid.
That being said, my pizzas still successfully launched off the peel and cooked beautifully in the guaranteed three minutes. I cooked them back to back to back, proving that the electric oven stays hot and that there’s minimal sticking.
My recommendation when cooking Neapolitan pizza is to go easy on toppings. If the toppings are too heavy, they can slide off the crust and cause a greasy mess (which is also a fire hazard!). My simply dressed mozzarella-basil pizza and onion-pepperoni pizzas worked super well.
Cleaning
To clean the appliance, I let it cool for a few hours. Then I removed the pizza stone and cleaned it with hot water and a pan scraper. While the oven was empty, I brushed away the gunk and burnt-on bits with a work brush. After replacing the pizza stone, it was ready to go for round two.
Pros
- Electric-powered
- Compact and sturdy
- Cooked pizza well and within the promised time
- Maintained high temperatures
- Intuitive presets
Cons
- Requires cleaning after every use (per instructions)
- Somewhat messy launching process
- Can only handle small pizzas one at a time
FAQ
Which Ninja is best for pizza?
Ninja sells multiple products that can feasibly cook pizza, including the Smart Double Oven, Pro Air Oven and the All-in-One Multicooker, to name a few. That said, the Ninja outdoor oven is the only one intended for outdoor cooking, and it’s the only item that comes with a pizza stone and multiple pizza-centric presets.
What is the temperature range of the Ninja Woodfire?
The Ninja Woodfire temperature ranges from 105 degrees to 700 degrees. According to our test, the oven was able to successfully reach 700 degrees within about 20 minutes and stay there for the length of time it took to bake three pizzas.
What Other Reviewers Had to Say
This Ninja pizza oven is newer to the scene, but its sleek appearance and impressive performance have already scored some great reviews.
Pizza Guy, unsurprisingly based on his username, has tried out several pizza oven models, and this one stands out. “New York-style pizza is my favorite, and this oven does not disappoint,” he says. “I have propane pizza ovens and can’t believe the bake on this oven is as good if not better. My new favorite pizza oven.”
Another five-star reviewer named Suzy21 loves the outdoor aspect of it all. “It’s been so nice to take our cooking outdoors, especially when we don’t want to heat up the house,” she says. “It’s been so fun to play with recipes and have friends over to see this new backyard centerpiece.”
And mrsbride fills in the blanks about the other functionalities of the Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven, which we have yet to try. “I have made chicken, steak, ribs and all the veggies. It browns and sears beautifully,” she says. “As with all of my Ninja products, it delivers on its promises.”
Product Comparison
Most pizza ovens, such as the 3-in-1 Cuisinart Pizza Oven, Solo Stove Pi and Ooni Koda, are powered by gas. Others yet run on wood or charcoal. So, immediately the Ninja pizza oven stands out for its easy-to-use fuel source: electricity. Our Test Kitchen pros agree that, though outdoor power is needed, these types of pizza ovens are less finicky and more predictable. The gas ovens we’ve tested as a team have a hard time staying lit if the weather conditions aren’t just right.
A comparable outdoor pizza oven that does run on electricity is the Ooni Volt. That being said, the Volt is more single-use than the Ninja pizza oven. The former does get hotter—up to 850 degrees, in fact—but it’s also $1000, as opposed to the Ninja model which costs $400. Moreover, the Ninja pizza oven can cook up other delicacies beyond pizzas, perhaps making it a better investment for some. Psst! Keep an eye out for pizza oven sales.
Final Verdict
By and large, the Ninja pizza oven worked great. I would confidently say it’s more user-friendly and manageable than its gas-powered counterparts. And considering it’s an electric oven, the pizzas came out looking and tasting authentic—totally up to par with what you’d expect from a wood-fired pizza. Plus, they really did cook in three minutes!
The preset pizza functions were helpful and took out any guesswork. And I love the idea of cooking with it outdoors during the summer to keep from turning on your indoor oven and, as a result, heating your home. Moreover, for its myriad functions, it’s quite affordable.
Where to Buy the Ninja Pizza Oven
The Ninja pizza oven is available for $400 from the Ninja website, as well as from Amazon and Target. The Ninja Creami might have just met its warm-weather match with this amazing new product from the brand. Crispy crust, here we come!
