Ooni Volt 2 Review: This Pizza Oven Helps You Cook Perfect Pies Year Round

As awesome as it is getting a pizza delivered to your door, there’s nothing quite like making a delicious pizza at home. Making your own piping-hot crusts is deliciously satisfying, not to mention the endless opportunities you have with mixing and matching your favorite pizza sauces and toppings.

Ooni pizza ovens make it possible to craft restaurant-quality pizzas at home, and the Ooni Volt 2 is the easiest-to-use model. This electric indoor pizza oven consistently cooks up crispy crusts, plus its wide temperature range allows for versatility, everything from proofing dough to roasting vegetables to baking cookies.

As a professional baker and pizza enthusiast, I use pizza ovens like the Solo Stove Pi and Ooni Koda 16 at least once a week, so you can bet that I was excited to try the new Ooni Volt 2. Here’s how my at-home pizza making went.

We Tried It

Ooni Volt 2

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$698.95 at Crate & Barrel

What is the Ooni Volt 2 Pizza Oven?

Ooni has developed a reputation for quality outdoor pizza ovens, including the brand’s beloved Ooni Koda outdoor pizza oven. But the Ooni Volt 2 is an all-electric pizza oven that can only be used indoors, which is ultimately fine by me because it means I don’t have to wait for good weather when a pizza craving hits.

The Ooni Volt 2 has a durable, powder-coated carbon steel construction. It comes in two choices of exterior colors—polar white or charcoal grey—so you can choose the one that goes with your kitchen aesthetic or pizza-making vibe. The inner shell is made from stainless steel G304, and the oven nose is made from die-cast aluminum. The viewing window is made from triple-paned, 4mm-thick tempered glass, and the interior is better lit for your viewing pleasure while your pizza cooks.

The included pizza stone is made from cordierite. To add convenience to your at-home pizzeria, you can also consider these Ooni pizza oven accessories.

How We Tested It

Assembling

In my experience, Ooni ovens are always well-packaged, and the Ooni Volt 2 was no exception. The oven box arrived safely and securely packed inside another large box cushioned by cardboard packing material.

The Ooni Volt 2 features a 13-inch surface, making it well-suited for pizzas that are 12 inches or smaller. The oven comes with a pizza stone, a metal oven rack, a power cord and an easy-to-follow instruction manual. It’s got everything you need to start making pizza right away—except your ingredients, of course—but if you want a pizza peel, cutter and other helpful accessories, those are sold separately.

To set it up, all you have to do is place the pizza stone inside the oven, connect the power cord and plug it in. Always place the Ooni Volt 2 on a heat-safe surface while in use; the manufacturer recommends using a trivet or a pad.

Preheating

The main power switch is on the back of the oven, with a digital power button located on the front control panel. Tap a preset button or use the dial to easily adjust the temperature.

Once the pizza oven is set up on a heat-safe surface, it’s important to do a “first cook” to season the oven before baking an actual pie. This is easy as, well, pie—just turn the oven up to 850 degrees and set the timer for 20 minutes.

Cooking

After you season the oven, it’s easy to dive into making your first pie with the Ooni Volt 2. The oven has a proofing mode and three temperature presets depending on the pizza style you want—Neapolitan, thin and crispy, or pan pizza. Neapolitan pie lovers will love the heat boost mode that ensures that crispy crust. There are also two presets and a crisping setting so you can customize so your pie comes out just the way you like it every time.

To launch a pie once the oven has preheated (usually in about 20 minutes), just open the glass door and shimmy the crust off the pizza peel onto the stone. Close the door and keep an eye on it through the glass. Although the Ooni Volt 2 is smaller than the original oven, the window is larger and better lit. And thanks to the adjustable heating coils on the top and bottom, all you have to do is watch—no turning necessary. The oven rack lifts the crust off the hot stone for better baking.

I tested a pizza out on the Neapolitan setting (850 degrees). I was impressed with how evenly baked the crust was, with nice browning and spotting throughout.

Next, I tried a pizza at 700 degrees, a preset customized for more browning on top. The lower temperature makes for a longer bake, but the adjustable heat coil allowed for less cooking on top. I loved the texture of the crust on this setting—chewy, but with a nice, crisp structure.

The Ooni had proven its pizza-making prowess at this point, but I wanted to see just how versatile this indoor pizza oven could be. For my third test, I heated the oven to 425 degrees and roasted some sweet potatoes in a pan. They came out tasting great, so if you’re looking for a pizza oven that takes on more than just cheesy crusts and toppings, the Ooni Volt 2 is a great choice.

Depending on the temperature and settings, your pizza will be done in 90 seconds to two minutes. Every pizza came out evenly cooked with nice browning. My ideal texture—which the Ooni Volt 2 more than delivered on—is a crust that’s crisp on the outside but fluffy on the inside. The cheese melted evenly and the toppings cooked up well.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Heats up to 850 degrees
• Proofing mode
• Versatile cooking capabilities
• Large viewing window
• No need to turn crust while cooking

Cons

• Indoor use only
• Takes a while to cool down
• Can be tricky to clean between uses

Ooni Volt 2 Features

This pizza oven truly is a plug-and-play device right out of the box. The control panel and presets are easy to use, plus you can further customize cooking settings with the temperature dial and customizable preset buttons.

Although it has a more compact design than its predecessor, the Ooni Volt, the glass window on the Ooni Volt 2 is larger for better viewing. The oven rack helps circulate air during cooking, or you can use it as a cooling rack for crusts.

The oven operates a bit more noisily than I expected, thanks to all the steam and heat that are vented during cooking. A pizza oven brush will be helpful to have on hand to clean the oven out between uses because you can’t wet the pizza stone. You can wipe it with a cloth as well once it cools, though, and you can also flip it over. The grease and smoke filter are both dishwasher safe.

• Fully electric
• Suitable for indoor use only
• 13-in. cooking area
• Reaches temperatures up to 850°F
• Weighs just under 39 pounds

Product Comparison: Ooni vs. Breville vs. Cuisinart

In pursuit of the best indoor pizza ovens, I have also tested the original Ooni Volt quite extensively. I’m a big fan of this oven (which will be discontinued), especially since it can be used outdoors as well. But I appreciate everything that comes with the upgrade to the Ooni Volt 2, especially the more compact design. While the Ooni Volt required only minimal turning of the crust, I really like that the new version’s adjustable top and bottom heating coils eliminate the need for turning altogether.

I also tested the Breville Pizzaiolo, which also delivers 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 2, with temperatures capping at around 750 degrees, so if you prefer true Neapolitan pizzas, the Ooni’s 850-degree capability is the way to go. The price difference between the models might also sway you; the Volt 2 costs about $700 while the Breville caps at $1,000. Both are investments, but the Volt allows room in your budget to buy plenty of pizza ingredients.

The Cuisinart indoor pizza oven is on the other end of the cost spectrum. Senior Food Editor Peggy Woodward tested it and Executive Culinary Director Sarah Farmer also took it for a spin; both found it efficient and easy to use. The Cuisinart reaches only 700 degrees, though, so pies take around five minutes. If you don’t mind waiting a bit longer for your pizza, you might like the more budget-friendly Cuisinart. It retails for around $400, although you can often nab it on sale for far less.

Final Verdict

The Ooni Volt 2 is an impressive pizza oven that offers cooking versatility beyond just delicious pizza, although you’d certainly get your money’s worth if you used it only to make pizza at home. The new design is more compact than the discontinued Ooni Volt, but an indoor pizza oven is still somewhat bulky if you have a smaller kitchen. Still, it’s worth making room for it on your counter or in your cabinet for the next time you get a craving for pizza.

But the Ooni Volt 2 is more than just a pizza oven. With its easy-to-use presets and other customizable features, it can roast veggies and even bake cookies. The factory presets make it easy to use for beginners, but the temperature dial and customizable presets allow more experienced home chefs to take their pizza-making skills to the next level.

It’s worth noting again that this oven does reach very high temperatures, so it should only be placed on a heat-safe surface. Be sure to give it around 90 minutes to cool down, too.

Where to Buy the Ooni Volt Pizza Oven

We Tried It

Ooni Volt 2

Shop on Ooni

Shop on Williams Sonoma

$698.95 at Crate & Barrel

The Ooni Volt 2 pizza oven retails for $700. There are more budget-friendly indoor pizza ovens, but its impressive, versatile performance makes it worth the investment. The pizza oven is sold on Ooni’s website, as well as on Williams Sonoma and Crate & Barrel.

FAQ

Can the Ooni Volt 2 be used inside and outside?

No. The now-discontinued Ooni Volt had both indoor and outdoor capabilities, but the Ooni Volt 2 is intended for indoor use only. Be sure to place it on a heat-safe surface, as this oven does get quite hot during use.

How big is the Ooni Volt 2?

The Ooni Volt 2 pizza oven measures 17 1/2 inches in width, 21 1/2 inches in depth and 10 1/4 inches in height. It weighs just under 39 pounds. The cooking surface is a square that measures 13 inches—perfect for cooking up 12-inch pies.

How many watts is the Ooni Volt 2?

The Ooni Volt is a 1600-watt all-electric pizza oven.

Why You Should Trust Us

As an outdoor cooking enthusiast and professional product tester, I’ve reviewed over a dozen pizza ovens (and counting) for Taste of Home. I’ve tried the original Ooni Volt, the rotating Blackstone pizza oven, the viral Gozney Roccbox, the mini-yet-might Solo Stove Pi Prime and the 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, as did Senior Food Editor Peggy Woodward. 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.