Ooni Volt Review: This Pizza Oven Helps You Cook Perfect Pies Year Round
Updated: May 06, 2024
Enjoy fresh pizza on demand—indoors or out! Read our review of the Ooni Volt electric pizza oven.
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Nothing compares to making a delicious pizza at home. By opting for homemade, you get to take that hot first bite sooner, instead of waiting for pick-up or delivery from a restaurant. Plus, there are endless opportunities for creativity when mixing and matching your favorite pizza sauces and toppings.
Ooni pizza ovens make it possible to craft restaurant-quality pizzas at home with gas, wood or pellets, and the Ooni Volt is their easiest option yet. This electric pizza oven can be set up inside or outside, depending on your space and the weather. As a professional baker and pizza enthusiast, I use pizza ovens, including the Solo Stove Pi and Ooni Koda 16, at least once a week and was excited about the versatility of this new pizza oven. To see how the Ooni Volt performs, I put it to the test.
What is the Ooni Volt pizza oven?
Ooni has developed a reputation for quality outdoor pizza ovens, including the brand’s beloved Ooni Koda outdoor pizza oven. None of Ooni’s products have been safe for indoor use—until now. The Ooni Volt is an all-electric pizza oven that can be used both inside and outside.
The oven is built with a powder-coated carbon steel shell. That, paired with a glass insulated door, makes a beautifully sleek black exterior. The 24×21-inch pizza oven can sit on a heat-safe surface in your kitchen or on your deck.
On the front of the oven, there are three dials to customize how your pizza cooks. The oven reaches 850 degrees, with a dial to adjust from 150 degrees all the way to those scorching temps. This dial has both Fahrenheit and Celsius markings. Moreover, there’s a timer dial and a dial to adjust the heat settings for both the pizza stone itself and the heat source up top. For added convenience, you can also consider these Ooni pizza oven accessories.
VIA MERCHANT
We Tried It
Ooni Volt
Ooni Volt Features
This pizza oven truly is a plug-and-play device. It’s beautifully built with durable construction that provides great insulation to maintain that high temperature of 850 degrees. The powder-coated exterior keeps it weatherproof, while the glass door lets you see how the pizza cooks. The dials are easy to turn, and the light-up function of each dial makes them simple to read. Although the door is heavy enough to provide excellent insulation, it’s not too heavy to open and close.
- Fully electric
- Suitable for indoor and outdoor use
- 13-in. cooking area
- Automatic shut off after 45 minutes
- Reaches temperatures up to 850°F
- Weighs just under 40 pounds
How We Tested It
Assembling
The Ooni Volt comes in a large cardboard box and is well-packed to avoid shipping damage. Setting it up took only a few minutes. It’s simple to remove from the box, place on a heat-safe surface and plug in. It has a short power cord, which is great for indoor countertop use. However, I needed an extension cord while using it outdoors.
Once the pizza oven is set up, it’s important to do a “first cook” before baking an actual pie. Guided by the user manual, I turned the oven to 850 degrees and set the timer for 20 minutes in order to season the oven. At this point, I discovered that although the exterior is beautiful, the handle and dials are prone to smudge marks.
Preheating
Once it’s time to cook a pizza, the oven is easy to turn on with the power switch on the side. Next to the three front dials, there is a power button to press as well.
After turning on the oven, adjust the middle dial to the preferred temperature, between 150 degrees and 850 degrees. It takes 15-20 minutes to heat up to the highest temperature. The numbers on the dial light up as the temperature increases so you know exactly where it’s at. The oven is very quiet throughout this whole process.
Cooking
The Ooni Volt is designed for pizzas that are 12 inches or smaller. A pizza peel, an essential pizza-making tool, is not included, so you’ll need to purchase one separately. Once the oven is preheated, open the glass door to the oven, launch the pizza, then close the door.
Flouring the pizza peel before launching your homemade pizza into the oven is crucial. I discovered that flouring too liberally can cause a bit of smoke in this oven when it’s at the highest temperature.
While the pizza is cooking, adjust the top and bottom balance dial to control the pizza stone and top heating elements, which can be different temperatures. You can also set the dial to the middle for even heating on both the top and bottom. This customization is helpful for crafting different styles of pizza and getting your ideal cook.
While the pizzas were in the oven, I found little need to turn them. Compared to a gas or wood-fired pizza oven, which necessitates frequent turning, the cooking process is more even in the Ooni Volt. However, it’s still important to keep watch in case there’s too much browning in one spot. Depending on the toppings, the pizzas I cooked in this oven took between 90 seconds and three minutes to finish. Retrieving the pizzas from the oven was simple. After a short rest, it was time to cut the pizza with a pizza cutter and dig in!
The oven is easy to use and provides a consistent cook on a pizza. In my experience, the finished product always had a sturdy base and pillowy crust. Be careful, though; the exterior of the oven gets hot while cooking, especially the front glass, and it takes up to two hours to fully cool.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Fully electric
- Indoor and outdoor use
- Temperature and balance dial to customize pizza cook
- Requires minimal turning
Cons
- Costly
- Short power cord
- Prone to smudging
One-Year Update
I’ve been using the Ooni Volt for just over a year now and am still blown away by its versatility and performance. Getting to know this pizza oven over months has been fun, putting its dual-heating elements to the test. I’ve made a variety of different types of pizzas—from thin to thick crust—and have even baked chocolate chip cookies in it, too.
The price tag (now $100 cheaper!) on this pizza oven is still one of the highest on the market, but it’s a fair price considering the Volt’s long list of capabilities. It heats up incredibly fast, reaching 850 degrees in around 20 minutes. It’s a no-fuss oven that easily cooks homemade pizza (and plenty of other foods) in under two minutes. For beginners, it’s ideal because there’s no need to watch and turn a pizza constantly.
I kept the oven outside all summer, before moving it inside for winter. The exterior is incredibly durable and has remained unchanged. While it is a bit bulky, I’ve found this oven easy to clean over time. I turn it off and allow it to fully cool down before cleaning. Once cooled, the entire stone can come out with ease, allowing you to wipe away any leftover burnt bits with a damp cloth.
FAQs
Can the Ooni Volt be used inside and outside?
Yes, plug in the electric Ooni Volt pizza oven in your kitchen or backyard. Just make sure to place it on a heat-safe surface. Cook pizza inside when it’s raining or throw a summer pizza party to enjoy around your backyard fire pit.
How big is the Ooni Volt?
The Ooni Volt pizza oven is 24×21 inches and nearly 11 inches tall. The pizza oven weighs just under 40 pounds. The cooking surface is a square that measures just above 13 inches.
How many watts is the Ooni Volt?
The Ooni Volt is a 1600-watt all-electric pizza oven.
What Other Reviewers Had to Say
Plenty of excited customers have found the new electric pizza oven to be, well, electrifying!
“Why 5 stars? This thing cooks amazing pizza,” shares Amazon reviewer, Uncle Bob. “If you want to do a pizza at ‘wood fired’ temperatures, this is a really good way to do it. No more struggling with the temperature on your normal oven. No more hand waving that ‘it’s not quite right, but it’s good.’ Pizza in 90 to 180 seconds? Yup, you can do it. It also will look just like the ones in the ‘this is how it should look’ pictures.”
5-star reviewer Cheese Addict agrees, saying: “I used to use a baking steel to make pizza in my regular home oven. It did an okay job. But since a home oven can only reach 550 degrees max, it cannot make Neapolitan style pizza well. So when I saw Ooni Volt for sale, I decided to give it a try. It does not disappoint. It takes little time to preheat to the max temp of 850F and bakes Neapolitan style pizzas very quickly—typically between 90 seconds and 2 minutes. And I also use it to roast veggies regularly (broccoli, cauliflower, okra, asparagus, etc.). All in all, this is a great electric pizza oven for anyone who likes to make pizza indoors.”
Steve C. explains that, while there can be a bit of a learning curve, the effort is well worth it in the end. “The first pizza I made was great but then I had a little difficulty getting the hang of the two heating elements and got a little too much heat on the bottom of the second one. But on my second event, all three pizzas were perfection. And delicious.”
Product Comparison
In pursuit of the best indoor pizza ovens, I also tested the Breville Pizzaiolo. Both models deliver on their promise to yield perfect Neapolitan pies with chewy, crispy crusts. The Breville, however, is a little smaller (which is great for those without a ton of counter space). It also doesn’t get quite as hot as the Ooni Volt, with temperatures capping at around 750 degrees. The price difference between the models isn’t too significant, the Volt costs about $900 while the Breville caps at $1000. Both are investments, that’s for sure!
The Cuisinart indoor pizza oven is on the other end of the cost spectrum. Senior Food Editor Peggy Woodward tested this model and found it efficient and fun to use. The Cuisinart reaches 700 degrees and cooks pies in about five minutes. It is significantly cheaper than either the Ooni Volt or Breville Pizzaiolo, retailing for around $400.
Why You Should Trust Us
As an outdoor cooking enthusiast and professional product tester, I’ve reviewed 10 pizza ovens (and counting!) for Taste of Home. I’ve tried the rotating Blackstone pizza oven, the viral Gozney Roccbox, the mini-yet-might Solo Stove Pi Prime and even the newly released Gozney Arc. For further pizza prowess, our Test Kitchen professionals have joined in on the fun, too. Executive Culinary Director Sarah Farmer reviewed the Cuisinart 3-in-1 pizza oven, and Culinary Producer Josh Rink put the Ninja Woodfire pizza oven through the paces. Combined, we have decades of experience in the food, appliance and lifestyle space.
Final Verdict
The Ooni Volt is a powerful pizza oven that offers versatility by way of indoor and outdoor use. It does take up a bit of space, but it’s a great option if you want to make quality homemade pizzas in a variety of locations. With its electric power and adjustable heat sources, the Ooni Volt cooks pizza exactly to your liking.
Because the oven offers precise temperature control, it’s a great option for someone looking for a pizza oven that’s easy to use and requires little practice or experience.
It’s important to remember that the oven should only ever be placed on a heat-safe surface with room around it. The oven and glass door get hot throughout the cooking process, and it takes a while to allow it to cool down.
Where to Buy the Ooni Volt Pizza Oven
VIA MERCHANT
We Tried It
Ooni Volt
The Ooni Volt pizza oven retails for $899. Although the price tag is higher than that of some other outdoor pizza ovens, its all-electric design offers more versatility for use indoors. The pizza oven is sold on Ooni’s website, as well as on Amazon, Sur la Table and BBQ Guys.
Originally Published: March 02, 2023
