Ninja took over a slice of the outdoor cooking market when it launched the Woodfire Electric Outdoor Oven in 2024. Now, it's looking to fully conquer the pizza oven scene with the more affordable and streamlined version of the outdoor oven: The Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven.
I'm a huge fan of Ninja kitchen appliances and use my Ninja Dual Zone air fryer and Ninja Creami weekly/daily. However, I'm also the owner of a very beautiful gas pizza oven I'd tested previously for our best pizza oven guide. So, while I expected great things from Ninja, it was going to take some convincing to make the switch to this outdoor electric pizza oven.
At a glance
The Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven launched earlier this year. It was a slimmed-down version of the Ninja Woodfire Electric Outdoor Oven, isolating the pizza oven functionality into a smaller and more affordable model.
It has four outdoor cooking functions: pizza, bake, air fry and prove. Everything about this pizza oven is effortless; it is the definition of 'plug-and-play' with intuitive instructions and removes any guesswork with alerts for when it's pre-heated and then when it's finished cooking. It evenly cooks pizzas, so there's no need to turn it during the cooking process. You can put it in and wait for the beep to go off in a few minutes.
It usually retails for £299.99, however can often be found reduced during big sales events like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday. However, even at full price, it is a good price for a beginner-friendly pizza oven with the amount of functionality it has as an outdoor oven.
Specs
- Modes: Pizza (Artisan, Thin Crust, New York, Pan and Custom), Bake, Air Fry and Prove
- Weight: 11.9Kg
- Power: Electric
- Size: H32cm x L59cm xW42cm
- Included accessories: 12 inch Pizza Stone, 30x30 Bake Tray, Pizza Peel, Air Fry Basket and Quick Start Recipe Book.
- RRP: £299.99
Unboxing, setting up and first impressions
The box arrived at my door with some of the most efficient packing I've come across with a kitchen appliance. It was heavy and bulky, but I could shuffle it out into my garden on my own.
It was packed very neatly in a mix of paper and cardboard to protect the accessories and pizza oven. The oven comes fully assembled, ready to slot either the pizza stone or baking tray and the air fryer basket inside. At just under 12Kg it's just the right weight for one person to carry and set up.
The only setup required was attaching the handle to the pizza peel, which was done in minutes.
Although it's an electric appliance, this pizza oven is designed to live outside. You can buy the pizza oven in a bundle with a dedicated stand and a waterproof cover for £320 on the Ninja website.
However, you don't need either of these to use the pizza oven. I was testing the pizza oven without the stand, and was using it on the top of a plotting bench I've upgraded into a mini outdoor kitchen. The pizza oven does reach temperatures of 370°C, but the underside doesn't get hot, so it can be set up on any surface that is flat and outside.
The oven is designed to be used come rain or shine, and has a RCD plug to protect it from any electrical issues. My only caveat to this is to think about what you're plugging it into. The cable is 1.5 meters long, so it can be easily plugged into an outdoor power outlet. If you don't have one of these, or your outdoor cooking station is further away from the house, you will need to invest in a weatherproof extension lead to use it safely in all weather conditions.
The pizza oven itself is compact and, in my opinion, one of the best-looking outdoor cooking pieces Ninja has made so far. It is smaller than many of the gas pizza ovens I've used, despite cooking the same 12 inch size pizzas.
The door has a large handle and a small chef's window you can look through and watch your pizza cooking. You do have to pull on the door quite firmly to open it. Inside, there is a heating element on the bottom, and notches to rest the pizza stone or the baking tray on.
The air fryer basket is the weirdest-looking accessory (and hardest to store). It is a silver basket on four legs that must be used with the baking tray to avoid anything falling into the heating element.
The control panel is discreetly hidden below the door and is super easy to use. You can select your function using the dial, and adjust your temperature or timings with the buttons. Throughout the cooking process, you will see prompts on the screen saying 'preheating' or 'add food and press start'. You will also be alerted with a beep sound when it's ready for food to be added or taken out of the oven.
What is it like to use?
Despite owning a gas pizza oven and having a wood-fired pizza oven at my family home growing up, I would still class myself as a beginner pizza chef. Making pizzas is alot harder than it looks, and I've still not fully mastered my dough throwing or pizza peel skills so I was testing the Ninja oven from the perspective of a beginner.
So with that in mind, I can't stress enough how beginner-friendly this pizza oven is compared to a gas or wood-fired version if you want the fun without the cooking stress.
Proving
The proving feature is the one that excited me the most about the Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven. A couple of Ninja's air fryers now included this feature, but it basically sets the temperature of the oven to a low and warm 30 degrees, and will time the prove for you and beep when it's done.
It is a handy feature for anyone making their pizza or bread dough from scratch to bake in the oven. I was following a recipe for focaccia from the Ninja quick start recipe book, and it included clear instructions for the proving stage in the oven using the provided baking tray.
It was my first time making a focaccia; however, the controlled temperature and timer of the oven helped me sail through and make an impressive (if not perfect) loaf.
Any keen baker will know that moisture is also key to an effective prove. While this pizza oven doesn't have this built in, the recipe book included plenty of tips for adding water to the baking tray before covering with clingfilm which I tried to great effect when proving my New York style pizza dough.
Pizza oven
The pizza oven function is seriously impressive in how effortless it is. It has four presets programmed for Artisan, Thin Crust, New York and Pan pizzas, but you can also opt for a custom pizza setting. Each setting adjusts the temperature and timings, with the Artisan setting reaching the highest temperature of 370 degrees and cooking the pizza in 3 minutes for that artisan char effect.
The pizza oven took less than 15 minutes to preheat for the highest temperatures (lower temperatures for the other settings took less time). There was no guessing with a temperature gauge or gun involved, it beeped and ran a message across the control panel to 'add food' as soon as it was up to temperature.
I trialled the Artisan, Thin Crust and New York settings on a pre-made pizza anda homemade pizza to compare the results. While all the setting delivered a deliciously crisp base (despite my poor dough skills), I think the preset timings are a little off on the Artisan setting.
It cooks the pizza for three minutes, which is fast, but a typical pizza oven will usually take 60 to 90 seconds. The extra charred result on my pizza crust made me think I could have taken it out a little earlier, but you could perfect this as you get used to the appliance with the custom mode setting.
The oven was also quick to reheat after each pizza, and I found I could make two in quick succession, with it taking not much more than 1 minute to come back up to temperature after each one.
The biggest perk was that the pizza didn't require any turning during the pizza oven process to achieve an even cook. A huge bonus considering the trouble I had in the first place getting the pizza off the Ninja pizza peel into the oven.
The large holes in the pizza peel were very unforgiving of my poor pizza dough skills, and the space in the pizza oven is quite tight. It sent my first pizza attempt tumbling into a molten mound of cheese and tomato on the pizza stone. I largely fixed this with an extra dusting of semolina, but I still found the dough catching on the holes, so I would consider swapping to a more beginner-friendly option like the Ooni pizza peel
Baking
The baking function is a fun addition to the artisan pizza oven. It works as well as an indoor oven and was a godsend during the summer heatwave when I couldn't bear to turn the kitchen oven on.
It just involves swapping the pizza stone for the baking tray and adjusting to the baking setting, which allows you to set the temperature and timer. It has the same preheat alerts as on the pizza setting, a feature I wish came in more cooking appliances.
I successfully baked a focaccia in the oven following a recipe in the Ninja Quickstart guide. It cooked in around 15 minutes and had a lovely golden brown on the top, however, the base was a little paler than I'd have liked. On a whim, I also tried toasting a batch of granola in the oven; it worked a treat and gave the oat and honey mix a gorgeous toasty finish.
Airfry
The air fryer function uses a mesh metal tray that you sit on the baking tray to catch any crumbs falling into the heating element. This was the only feature that I was a little bit disappointed with in the Ninja artisan pizza oven.
I used it to cook a batch of chips, and while it did a nice job of evenly browning them it took longer for them to cook and was more faff-y than using my standard Ninja air fryer. The large surface area of the tray allowed the chips to cook relatively evenly, but I missed being able to give them an easy shake like I do with my Ninja Dual Zone air fryer.
I would not buy this pizza oven for the air fryer function; instead, I'd just see it as a perk for crisping things up in the outdoor oven.
Cleaning
Cleaning the Ninja artisan pizza oven was surpisingly easy. The pizza stone, baking tray and air fryer tray are the door are the only elements that require cleaning. Both the baking tray and air fryer tray had the same incredible non-stick present in most Ninja appliances. Oil, burnt on bits and granola scraps, all fell off without any scrubbing required.
The pizza stone can't get it wet, so instead you have to rely on any cooking remnants being burnt and brushed off. I have come to learn that pizza stone are just destined to have a dark, sooty splodge from the first use, and this was the case with this pizza oven. The trickiest part to clean was the semolina that had fallen around the edges of the pizza stove into the heating element below.
Comparisons
In terms of an electric pizza oven, the Ninja Artisan pizza oven is a brilliant option for a small space and comes in at an impressively low price point. The Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven can often be found on offer for £250, however, even at full price, it is still under £300.
This is cheaper than most of the gas-powered pizza ovens we've tested at Ideal Home; however, if you like the price but want a more hands-on cooking experience with that wood-fired taste, you would be better off considering the entry-level wood-fired Ooni Fyra 12 Pizza Oven (priced at £249).
There aren't many directly comparable pizza ovens to the Ninja Artisan, as it is one of the few dedicated electric pizza ovens for outdoor use only. However, if you are looking for an electric pizza you can use inside, it's worth considering the Ooni Volt and Sage Smart Oven Pizzialolo. However, they are double the price of the Ninja pizza oven, costing upwards of £700.
The best oven to compare to the Ninja Artisan is its predecessor, the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven. The original Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven is more expensive by around £50 than the new version, but it is designed to be more than a pizza oven and is able to smoke meat, dehydrate, roast and more.
The new Artisan pizza oven also doesn't include the option to use wood pellets to get that wood-fired flavour. If you're looking for that authentic taste, this might be a feature worth paying a little more for.
Should you buy it?
You should buy the Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven if you are a looking for an affordable, small, compact pizza oven that is beginner-friendly, and will allow you to prove, air fry, bake and cook pizza without a fire element with ease.
You shouldn't buy the Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven if you love an authentic wood-fired taste, want to be more hands-on when cooking the pizza with turning and checking the temperature, and don't have an easy-to-access power outlet to plug it (or an extension lead) into.
I still enjoy that hands-on cooking experience, so I have held onto my gas-powered pizza oven. However, I am recommending the Ninja Artisan Pizza oven to all my friends with either kids who love pizza or are fair-weather bakers, as it is the ultimate stress-free appliance for effortless homemade pizzas on tap.
