Forget Domino's — I cooked everything in Ooni's biggest pizza oven, and I'm never ordering delivery again

Pizza night might just be my family’s most important tradition. That’s to say, it is taken extremely seriously in my household to the point where we have it down to a science. But if there’s been one recurring setback, it’s the fact that most of the best outdoor pizza ovens only let us make one personal-sized pizza at once. Enter the Ooni Koda 2 Max.

The Ooni Koda 2 Max is what you’d get if you spliced two Ooni Koda 12 pizza ovens together, producing a massive 24-inch cooking space with dual heating zones. In other words, it’s capable of firing off large-scale or multiple pies at once. Of course, you can make a lot more than pizza in this oven — it’s more like having a fiery 950-degree cooking station in your outdoor kitchen.

At $1,200, this is more like an alternative to those fancy built-ins (that I swear I’ll have in my backyard one day) rather than a portable pizza oven you can pack up for a tailgate. That said, if you have the space and a lot of pizza-craving mouths to feed like my family, it could very well be the right Ooni pizza oven for you. Read my full Ooni Koda 2 Max review to find out why.

Ooni Koda 2 Max cheat sheet

• What is the Ooni Koda 2 Max? It's an outdoor pizza oven with a 24-inch cooking space and dual cooking zones.
• What is the Ooni Koda 2 Max price? It costs $1,199.
• Is the Ooni Koda 2 Max gas powered? Yes, though you have the option of hooking up a propane tank or connecting it to your home's natural gas line.
• Do you need a table for the Ooni Koda 2 Max? It is recommended to get the Large Modular Table from Ooni ($299) if you don't have ample space for the Koda 2 Max already.

Ooni Koda 2 Max specs

Ooni Koda 2 Max review: The ups

Huge cooking area

The Ooni Koda 2 Max is by far the pizza oven brand’s largest appliance to date. Two included pizza stones sit side-by-side to create a 24-inch cooking space. Typically, larger standalone outdoor pizza ovens have 16-inch cooking spaces, such as the Ooni Koda 16 or options from other brands like the Gozney Dome and Gozney Arc XL.

With the extra space, I look at the Ooni Koda 2 Max more like a built-in pizza oven. You can produce larger pies like your local pizzeria, as long as you have a pizza peel large enough. Ooni doesn’t currently sell one larger than 16 inches, so I bought this wooden one from Amazon for $35. You’ll probably also want to get a dedicated heat-safe table for this oven if you don’t have space set aside already. I can vouch for the Ooni one that doubles as my one-stop pizza-making supply storage station, but it does cost $299.

Accessories and setup aside, once you’re hooked up to your propane tank and pre-heated, you have enough cooking space to feed a party. I usually opt to make two smaller pizzas at once more often than one large pie, but the choice is yours. Of course, you can broil some garlic bread alongside your pizza, or get the perfect crust on a hearty piece of steak sizzling in a cast iron pan. I even made some stuffed shells in my Koda 2 Max, and they were instantly the talk of the neighborhood.

Dual heating zones

What you make in your pizza oven is up to you, but to provide versatility, Ooni designed dual temperature controls for the Koda 2 Max. On the side of the oven, there are individual knobs for igniting both halves and subsequently setting the temperature up to 950-degrees.

The battery-powered digital temperature gauge on the bottom of the oven can only tell one temperature based on the center rear of the oven, and considering temperature control is important to cooking with fire, I would recommend against trying to cook two items at vastly different heats. Instead, I left one side slightly cooler so that if I noticed my pies starting to burn I could push them away from the more intense flames.

What I also appreciate about the Ooni Koda 2 Max is that it heats up quickly. Some pizza ovens can take up to a half-hour to get to temperature, but in about 15 minutes, my oven was up to the 800 degrees I like to cook at. I will say that when it comes to placement, you want to be careful that the oven isn’t in any crosswinds. With the large opening, wind could impact the preheating process.

Quality pizza in seconds

If I haven’t already made it clear, pizza is a priority in my house. So, if an oven can’t produce pies up to our standards (both in terms of cook time and quality) it won’t be welcome at our next pizza party. And while it takes a little bit of trial and error to learn how to make pizza at home, the Ooni Koda 2 Max is a highly capable oven.

After launching my pizza, I don’t take my eyes off it. This thing cooks pies fast. The typical estimate for these kinds of ovens is 90 seconds, but I swear it can give dough that ideal leoparding on the bottom and bubbling on top even faster. I use a pizza turner to reposition the pie every 15 seconds or so, resulting in a perfect pizza with melted (or crisp, depending) toppings and a solid undercarriage.

I also use my pizza ovens to cook more than just pizza. I’ll preheat a cast iron pan and throw some chopped veggies inside, and in 2-3 minutes they’re delectable. I’ve also been known to sous vide steaks and finish them with a sear in my pizza oven. But easily the best thing I’ve made recently are those stuffed shells I mentioned earlier on — pre-boiled shells stuffed with a ricotta mixture and arranged on a thick bed of my homemade vodka sauce. Yes, I’m getting hungry just writing about it.

Ooni Koda 2 Max review: The downs

Takes up a lot of space

As great as the large cooking space is, it also means this oven is a total space-sucker. Having the table/station is pretty much non-negotiable, unless you happen to have a massive outdoor counter already. I’ve had to move my Weber Slate griddle over to make room, and my backyard is currently more crowded than ever.

Not to mention, the Ooni Koda 2 Max’s size and weight means it can’t be taken for a road trip. I can maybe roll it to my neighbor’s backyard in a pinch, but that’s about as far as it can go. If you’re comfortable with a semi-permanent pizza station, this shouldn’t be a problem. But if you were hoping to sling pies at tailgates, the beach, or other gatherings, this isn’t the oven for you. I’d suggest something like the new Gozney Tread, a $499 unit dubbed ‘the world’s most portable pizza oven.’

Expensive

Priced at $1,199, the Koda 2 Max is the most expensive Ooni oven to date. It’s even more expensive than the Ooni Volt 12, a hybrid indoor/outdoor electric oven that was once on Oprah’s Favorite Things list. You’ll be in for more than the upfront oven, cost though, too. Between the table and non-optional accessories such as a pizza peel, this is a pricey route to go down just for some homemade pies.

Operating a pizzeria out of your backyard doesn’t need to be especially expensive. The $399 Ooni Koda 12 or my personal favorite pizza oven, the $499 Gozney Roccbox, are far more beginner-friendly. Electric pizza ovens are also catching on with Ninja launching the Artisan Outdoor Pizza Oven for just $279.

Ooni Koda 2 Max review: Verdict

The Ooni Koda 2 Max probably isn’t your first pizza oven. It’s for the people who have outgrown their cooking space and want to start cooking more of their food under a bed of flames. The ability to make a large pie or two smaller pies at once is a game-changer if pizza night is a regular part of your household’s routine.

Similarly, it’s a good alternative to (and probably still more affordable than) a built-in while offering conveniences like dual-temperature zones. If you do the whole setup right, accessories and all, it’s a very effective and very fun outdoor cooking station.

On the flip side, it’s a big investment, and you might not need as much space as you think. Go for something like the Ooni Koda 16 instead if you’re just getting introduced to outdoor pizza ovens. But if you’re not deterred by the price tag and want to forgo delivery forever, the Koda 2 Max guarentees your backyard will never be the same.