This trendy pizza oven is the best we've tested—here's why

Homemade pizza is one of the biggest challenges for any home cook, and with good reason. Unless you possess the power of a mystical pizza stone, making the perfect pie at home can be frustrating and time consuming. But with a growing number of portable pizza ovens available, the prospect of making pizza at home is less daunting than before. One oven getting quite a bit of buzz—and the best one we’ve tested—is the Gozney Roccbox.

What is the Gozney Roccbox?

The Gozney Roccbox is a portable pizza oven that Canadian celebrity chef Matty Matheson once called “the greatest oven in the world.” The Roccbox is designed to bring the power of professional pizza ovens to your backyard or outdoor space, with the ability to reach temperatures up to 950ºF. The Roccbox costs $499, and comes with the oven, a pizza placement peel, and a gas burner, with the option to buy a wood burner accessory for an additional $100.

It's available in a sleek shade of minimalist grey, as well as a bold, fanciful neon green that we love.

How does it work?

Setting up the Gozney Roccbox is pretty straightforward: attach the gas burner to the bottom of the oven, connect the hose to a tank of propane, and fire up the oven with the turn of a dial. The user manual recommends letting the Roccbox pre-heat for 15-20 minutes in order for the built-in pizza stone floor to heat properly, allowing for a quickly cooked crust.

According to Gozney, the Roccbox is so efficient that it can cook a Neapolitan pizza in 60 just seconds. We put this claim to the test.

What we liked about it

As a chef, I can say that the Gozney Roccbox is truly a restaurant quality oven that made me feel like a skilled pizzaiolo, even if I did mess up the first couple pies. The built-in oven floor thermometer makes it easy to monitor the temperature and ensure your pizza won’t burn at such high heat.

I made seven personal sized pizzas–and one accidental calzone–over the course of two hours in 40º weather and the Roccbox didn’t drop in temperature once. Pretty impressive for a pizza oven that can fit on the patio table.

It’s also worth mentioning that aside from being a well-made appliance, the Gozney Roccbox is also just a ton of fun to use. Slinging fresh pizza for my partner and their roommates (who graciously let me turn their backyard into an outdoor kitchen) was such a welcome interruption to my usual quarantine cooking routine. With the Roccbox, it’s hard to resist the idea of having an at-home pizza party every weekend.

Another tester found the Roccbox to be exceptional when searing in a cast-iron pan. Her 12-inch skillet fit easily, with the handle hanging out the door for easy access, and within 15 minutes the pan was hot enough for searing at 600°F.

What we didn’t like

Gozney’s claim that the Roccbox can cook a pizza in a minute fell a bit flat; it took at least four minutes for each of my pizzas to achieve melty cheese and brown bubbly crust perfection. However, another tester in a different setting was able to cook Neapolitan pizza in less than 90 seconds, and the exposed flames produced a nice char on the crust.

The Roccbox also doesn’t seem quite as portable as it claims to be. While the oven itself weighs just under 45 lbs., the necessity of an external propane tank adds 20 lbs. to your tow.

Another barrier to portability is the Roccbox’s need for significant cool-down time. Though the high-powered oven has a heatproof silicone jacket over top to prevent burns, the bottom of the oven is uncovered, meaning it takes several hours for the stainless-steel underside to cool enough for safe storage.

Warranty

The Roccbox comes with a 1-year warranty, and if you register your product within 60 days of purchase you’ll receive an extended 5 year warranty.

Should you buy it?

The Gozney Roccbox is an impressively powerful mini-oven that would be a welcome addition to the back deck of any outdoor cooking enthusiast’s yard. However, with a $499 price tag– plus the cost of propane–and an inability to be used inside, the Roccbox may not be an easy sell for those with tighter budgets or tighter living spaces.

If you're interested in more options, we have other pizza ovens we’ve tested. Overall, the Gozney Roccbox oven gives a big bang, but be prepared to shell out some big bucks.

Get the Gozney Roccbox for $499