What Else Can You Cook In A Pizza Oven?
Pizza ovens are not just for cooking pizzas. So, if you're here wondering what can you cook in a pizza oven besides pizza—I'm glad you asked.
Despite being specifically designed for baking pizza, many of the best pizza ovens out there are incredibly versatile cooking tools. From baking bread to roasting turkeys and steaks, the high temperatures and open flames of a pizza oven are ideal cooking environments. In this blog post, what else a pizza oven can be used for besides pizza.
What
you can cook in a pizza oven besides pizza:
Cooking in a pizza oven normally requires high temperatures to achieve optimal results like a crispy crust and moist toppings. However, different dishes require different temperatures and cooking times. Below is a table outlining the different temperatures required for cooking various dishes in a pizza oven.
This should give you a idea of what's possible when cooking various kinds of food in a pizza oven, as well as how to go about doing it.
|
Dish |
Temperature Range |
Cooking Time |
|---|---|---|
|
Roasted Vegetables |
400-450°F (205-230°C) |
15-25 minutes |
|
Focaccia Bread |
400-450°F (205-230°C) |
15-20 minutes |
|
Grilled Chicken Skewers |
400-450°F (205-230°C) |
10-15 minutes |
|
Seafood Paella |
450-500°F (230-260°C) |
20-25 minutes |
|
Roasted Pork Loin |
375-400°F (190-205°C) |
1-1.5 hours |
|
Artisanal Bread |
425-450°F (218-230°C) |
30-45 minutes |
|
Baked Pasta Dishes |
375-400°F (190-205°C) |
30-45 minutes |
|
Roasted Chicken |
375-400°F (190-205°C) |
1-1.5 hours |
|
Grilled Flatbread Sandwiches |
400-450°F (205-230°C) |
5-7 minutes |
|
Fruit Cobbler |
375-400°F (190-205°C) |
25-35 minutes |
What Else Can You Cook in an Electric Pizza Oven?
Electric pizza ovens are a convenient option for those who want to cook indoors, or simply want to avoid the hassle of dealing with an open flame. While these ovens are mainly used for making pizzas, they can also be used for baking bread, roasting vegetables, and cooking casseroles. Additionally, some electric pizza ovens come with a rotisserie function that allows you to roast meat to perfection.
And electric pizza oven is the safest and most convenient of all types of pizza ovens, however they are generally much more expensive. My favorite electric pizza oven is currently the Ooni Volt 12.
What Else Can You Cook in an Ooni Pizza Oven?
Ooni pizza ovens are a popular choice for outdoor cooking because of their superior craftsmanship and reasonable price points. While of course they are designed primarily for making pizza, they can also be used to cook lots of other dishes—in fact, they encourage it.
One of the best things about Ooni pizza ovens is that they are versatile and can be fueled with wood, charcoal, or gas. This means that you can use them to cook anything from roast chicken to baked potatoes. And if you choose a wood-fired pizza oven, your food will be infused with delicious, smoky flavors as well.
What Else Can You Cook in a Gas Pizza Oven?
Gas pizza ovens are an excellent option for those who want to cook with convenience—simply turn on the gas and it's ready to go, just like a regular backyard grill. These ovens are ideal for cooking a variety of dishes, including bread, casseroles, and roasted vegetables. Additionally, gas pizza ovens can be used to cook meats to perfection, thanks to their precise temperature controls that are much easier to adjust than wood or charcoal powered pizza ovens.
What Can You Cook in a Conveyor Pizza Oven Besides Pizza?
A conveyor pizza oven is a type of pizza oven (typically commercial) that utilizes a conveyor belt to move food items through the oven chamber. Like most pizza ovens, the oven has a consistent temperature and conveyor speed that aims to ensure even cooking and consistent results.
Besides pizza, a conveyor pizza oven can be used to cook a variety of other foods such as garlic bread, sandwiches, chicken wings, and even desserts like cookies and brownies—really, anything you can imagine is possible.
The conveyor belt functionality of the oven allows for large quantities of food to be cooked at once, making it ideal for busy commercial kitchens, as well as much less practical for home use.
Overnight Cooking in a Pizza Oven
Pizza ovens are excellent for overnight cooking, thanks to their excellent heat retention. Overnight cooking allows you to cook dishes that require long and slow cooking times, such as slow-cooked meats and stews. To achieve optimal results, you need to get the temperature down to a very low level of around 200-250°F, or even lower depending on the dish..
Obviously, this won't work if you're burning wood or charcoal, since you'd have to be up all night tending to a fire. Realistically, this is really only an option if you're using electric or gas—in either case, make sure to never leave your pizza oven running unattended.
Wood Fired Pizza Oven Recipes:
Wood-fired pizza ovens are a great choice for those who want to cook with the traditional methods of the original Neapolitan pizza makers. These ovens can be used to cook a variety of dishes, including bread, roasted meats, and roasted vegetables.
One of my favorite things about a wood-fired pizza oven is that it imparts a smoky flavor to whatever is cooking, adding an extra level of deliciousness. Some wood-fired pizza oven dish ideas include:
Roasted Vegetables: Cut up some vegetables however you like them, such as bell peppers, zucchini, and eggplant and coat them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place them in a cast-iron skillet and roast them in the wood-fired pizza oven until they are tender and slightly charred.
Wood-Fired Pizza: Unsurprisingly, you can use your wood-fired pizza oven to make delicious pizza with crispy crusts and a soft, tender interiors. It's best to experiment with different toppings, such as sausage, mushrooms, and roasted garlic to see which ones you like best. Tomato based dishes are my personal favorites because they work so well with the smoky flavor from the pizza oven.
Whole Roasted Chicken: Season a whole chicken with salt, pepper, and herbs and place it in a cast-iron skillet. Roast it in the wood-fired pizza oven until the skin is crispy and the meat is cooked through.
Wood-Fired Bread: Mix flour, yeast, salt, and water to make a dough. Let it rise and then shape it into a loaf. Place the dough in a cast-iron skillet and bake it in the wood-fired pizza oven until it is golden brown. This is the same way bread has been baked for thousands of years, so you'll be experiencing in an age-old tradition of sophisticated textures and flavors.
Ooni Recipes That Are Not Pizza:
Ooni pizza ovens are versatile cooking tools that can be used to make tons of dishes besides pizza. Some Ooni recipes that are not pizza include:
Grilled Vegetables: Slice some vegetables such as potatoes, asparagus, and tomatoes into small chunks and toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper into a cast iron skillet or other oven safe pan. Cook them until they're tender and slightly charred on the outside.
Baked Potatoes: Rub potatoes with olive oil and salt and prick them with a fork. Then, cover them in foil and bake them in the Ooni pizza oven until they are tender and crispy.
Grilled Fish: Marinate fish fillets in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and herbs. Then, toss the fish fillets in a cast iron skillet and cook them in your Ooni pizza oven until they're done to your liking.
Grilled Steaks: Sear your steaks on both sides using a cast iron skillet then turn down the temperature of the Ooni pizza oven and cover the skillet with aluminum foil until the steaks are moist and tender.
Outdoor Pizza Oven Recipes:
Outdoor pizza ovens are an excellent option for those who want to cook outdoors—in fact, the vast majority of domestic pizza ovens are designed to be used outdoors. Just like a wood-fired pizza oven, these ovens can be used to cook a limitless number of dishes besides pizza. Here are just a few examples.
Grilled Steak: Season a steak with salt and pepper and grill it in the outdoor pizza oven until it is cooked to your liking.
Roasted Vegetables: Cut vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions into pieces and toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast them in the outdoor pizza oven until they are tender and caramelized.
Wood-Fired Pizza: Use your outdoor pizza oven as it was intended to make delicious pizzas with crispy crusts and perfectly melted cheese. If you're adventurous, experiment with different toppings, such as bacon, mushrooms, and arugula, or even different forms of pizza altogether like authentic calzones.
Whole Roasted Pig: For a special occasion, you can go whole hog and roast a whole pig in your outdoor pizza oven, just so long as it fits. Season it with herbs and spices and roast it until the skin is crispy and the meat is tender.