The secret I can't keep this summer? Ninja's new pizza oven - it's patio-friendly perfection

You probably know Ninja best for their air fryer prowess — and yes, that overlaps a little with pizza. So it won't come as a huge surprise when that they are staking their claim as pizza professionals with the launch of their latest innovation: the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven .

If spinning pizzas in a traditional oven feels daunting, or if gas and wood-fired setups just aren’t an option, this electric oven is the next best thing, possibly even better.

Fully electric and perfect for patios or balconies, it’s seriously impressed me. In fact, I’ve made some of the best pizzas of my life in this oven — and trust me, I’m still surprised by that.

Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven: Specifications

Unboxing the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven

Whilst the box for the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven is big and heavy, once you’ve got it where you want it, setting up the pizza oven is easy.

Inside the top of the box you have your pizza peel and cooking stone, alongside a handy recipe book. Then, the next layer down, you have your pizza oven. Inside the oven, you have your tray and air fryer basket, and that’s it. Everything is neat, easy to store, and there’s no faff getting ready. I don’t know why I’m surprised, this is Ninja that we’re talking about.

Once you're all set up, all the packaging can be recycled — another big win, especially for pizza ovens — and the pizza oven has its own stand, so you can put it on a table, as long as you are near a plug.

Who would the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven suit?

The Ninja Artisan Electric Pizza Oven is perfect for anyone who loves homemade pizza but wants a fuss-free, electric alternative to traditional wood-fired or gas ovens. It’s ideal for beginners who want consistent, high-heat results without the learning curve of managing flames, as well as experienced home cooks who want to experiment with different pizza styles—from Neapolitan to deep dish.

Its compact, counter-friendly design also makes it a great fit for people with limited outdoor space, such as those with patios or balconies. If you value convenience, versatility, and excellent results without the need for specialist skills or fuel, this oven is made for you.

Even as an electric sceptic, I think I've been converted to cooking pizzas in Ninja style. If you think it might suit you too, just wait to see what I cooked in here.

What is the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven like to use?

Ninja recommends running a test that the plug and socket is okay before turning the oven on from the switch at the back. It's a matter of plugging in and pressing a button, but it's a safety matter, so don't skip it.

You’ll see a menu of different options at the front, demonstrating that you can bake, prove, air fry, and make pizza in the oven. I started with the pizza setting and it only needed 15 minutes before the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven chimed to let me know that it had reached temperature. That’s the speediest heat up I’ve had with a pizza oven.

Test 1: pizza

Now, as a traditionalist, I was a little hesitant that an electric oven could even come close to cooking the quality of pizza that a gas or wood oven could. However, I will publicly eat my words (and a lot of pizza too) because this cooked some of the best pizzas I’ve ever made at home.

In just three minutes, my base puffed up. It was crispy in the bottom and really evenly cooked, the cheese was melted perfectly on top, and my crusts were still soft in the middle. I threw all sorts of combinations of toppings at the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven and it kept serving up consistently impressive pizzas.

The oven was nice and wide, easy to slide 12 inch pizzas in and out from, and the timer meant none of them burnt. You also have the authentic combination of a nice pizza stone and 350 degree heat that culminates in some impressive results. It’s a really manageable way to cook pizza if you’ve never had an outdoor oven before end the beauty of it is that it’s balcony and apartment friendly.

Test 2: grilled vegetables

Pizza isn’t the only food on the menu with Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven, so I naturally had to run some more tests. If you’ve ever wondered about using your air fryer outside, Ninja has done it. This means that if you want to have chips while you barbecue, you can. If you want to add some crispy chicken nuggets or fish fingers, you can. In my case, I wanted to test out cooking some Mediterranean vegetables.

The Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven operates its air frying function at 190 degrees, which is a reasonable temperature. I left my vegetables in for 20 minutes and, whilst they cooked nicely, I’ve certainly had better results from other Ninja air fryers.

They lacked the crisp and charring that other pizza ovens that use flames deliver. I put some chips in and had really similar results — they were cooked, but just a little soft. As far as outdoor air fryers go, this is the best. However, if you’re after a genuinely good air fryer, stay inside and invest in a different model from Ninja.

Test 3: nachos

My next test was nachos. I wasn’t sure whether to go for the pizza or air fryer oven, but I had just been working with pizzas, so I thought I would keep things easy. What you see in the picture above is the result of two minutes in the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven.

My tortilla chips toasted — if not a little too much — my cheese melted and it was all done really speedily. Next time, I would be tempted to go for a tower temperature to avoid burning the tortilla chips, but that’s all part of the learning curve.

Test 4: cookies

There’s a baking function on the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven and I have a sweet tooth. It’s a dangerous combination really. Having used this a few times for different sweet treats, I can confidently say that you could make cakes, brownies, cookies, focaccia, and really any baked treat you fancy in here. My focaccia was brilliant, because I could use the prove function — which runs at 30°C — in between kneading and cooking. It cooked beautifully, smelled delicious, and was actually so good, that the testing team and I ate it before I took a picture. Sorry.

The one baked treat that I managed to remember to capture on camera was my tray of cookies. These were brown and cooked right through in eight minutes, which is quicker than a conventional oven, but slower than a pizza oven. You can see that they were really evenly cooked and they tasted as good as they looked (10/10), so I was suitably pleased.

Cleaning the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven

The temptation with pizza ovens is always to want to scrub the stone clean. The harsh truth is that it will never look as good as when you first bought it and that cleaning it is actually not great for the stone.

Ninja gives you this same reality on the outside of the stone, requesting that you don’t submerge it in water, because the porous stone will absorb the water and its hard to get the oven running at its best again. I like to think of the marks as badges of honour anyway. It’s a sign that you’ve used your pizza oven well.

How does the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven compare?

If you pitch the Ninja against other electric pizza ovens, you’re wasting time. The Ninja is by far the best I’ve ever used. This means that you end up comparing the Ninja to gas, wood, and charcoal ovens. If you’re looking at an electric oven, I’m guessing you’re more likely to be comfortable using gas than you are using wood, which means you should probably consider either the Woody Pizza Oven or the Morsø Forno Spin.

The Woody is cheaper than the Ninja and works on gas, wood, or charcoal. It has the pizza oven look and still covers a great range of different functions. The Ninja is definitely more hands-off and requires a lot less skill to make a good pizza, but you might get more satisfaction from the Woody.

The Morsø Forno Spin, on the other hand, costs another £200, but it’s worth every penny. This is gas-powered but has a plate inside that automatically rotates your pizza. It’s attractive, easy to use, and really good quality. I much prefer the feel and look of it in comparison to the Ninja, but, again, it’s not quite as hands-off.

Should you buy the Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven?

If you want a pizza oven that you can press a button and leave, this is perfect. It surprised me with the quality of pizzas that this churned out and I’m pleased to say that it’s balcony friendly, which makes a nice change from the rest of the market. True to Ninja form, this is an impressive oven.

How we test

It's not a hard life testing pizza ovens. I’ve been cooking in them for over a decade, so am leading the charge on how we review them at woman&home. Our process is designed to cover all eventualities: I look at packaging and delivery, accessories, and build quality, as well as what the pizza oven is like to clean and any maintenance that needs to be carried out on it. 

The tests that you’ll read about have all been carefully selected to test the versatility and quality of every pizza oven’s performance. Pizzas are a classic, but testing roasted vegetables is a great way to look at longer cooking tasks, just as nachos test the speed and efficiency of an oven. 

Having tested all of the pizza ovens myself, I know how they compare to each other, so I can hand-pick the perfect one for you as well as comparing it to something similar that I think you’ll like. My reviews should give you a really clear idea of what a pizza oven is like to use, but if you still have questions, feel free to email me, or do a deep dive into my article on how we test pizza ovens.