Vonhaus Outdoor Wood Pellet Pizza Oven review: an affordable pellet-powered pizza oven for small gardens

I’ve tested lots of outdoor cooking equipment during my time as Home Editor for T3, and when I’m asked about the best thing I’ve ever reviewed, I always say my pizza oven. Not only do I still use it on an almost weekly basis, but it sits in pride of place in my garden and is a real crowd-pleaser when I have guests over.

Despite my pizza oven being my prized possession, I can’t deny that they are expensive. From big name brands like Gozney and Ooni, you can expect to pay between £300 - £2,000 for a pizza oven which isn’t in everyone’s budgets. But I recently tried the Vonhaus Outdoor Wood Pellet Pizza Oven and was pleasantly surprised by its functionality, especially considering its budget price tag.

At £109.99, the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is one of the cheapest pizza ovens you can buy today. It’s well-built, comes with a nice range of accessories, and can cook up to 12-inch pizzas. So, how does it perform? I spent some time with the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven to find out.

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

Image 1 of 2

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: price and availability

The Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is available to buy for £109.99 at Vonhaus and select retailers, like Amazon and Argos. It comes with the main pizza oven and a square pizza stone, a stainless steel pizza peel and cutter, a bamboo chopping board, and a polyester storage bag.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: unboxing and setup

Setting up the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven was incredibly easy. It arrives with the main pizza oven body already put together, but some assembling is involved, like attaching the chimney and fuel box.

To get started, I unfolded the legs of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven to make it easier to assemble everything. Next, I used the screws to attach the wood pellet charger to the top of the pizza oven – this is where you can add more pellets if needed and let out some of the smoke.

The chimney was easy to insert as it slotted into the hole at the top of the pizza oven. The fuel drawer only needed to be put in its drawer at the back of the oven, and then I added the pizza stone inside. I then attached the handle to the oven door and attached it to the front of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven.

Image 1 of 2

Aside from the pellet charger which fixed on permanently, everything else on the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven was removeable. When I wasn’t using it, I detached the removable parts, folded the legs away and packed the pizza oven inside its storage bag which was also quick and easy to do.

To use the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven, you start by closing the front door of the oven before adding 250g of wood pellets to the fuel drawer. From there, place a firestarter in the drawer and light it before placing the drawer in the oven. Next, you simply wait for the pellets to ignite and for the temperature gauge on the top of the oven to show 350°C before adding your food. Vonhaus claims this takes up to 25 minutes.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: design and features

Made from stainless steel with a black coating, the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is a good-looking model that seems to take style inspiration from Ooni. The main body of the pizza oven is black while steel accents include the door, chimney, fuel drawer and pellet charger.

Measuring 55cm in height, 40.4cm in width and 60cm in diameter, the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is surprisingly compact and takes up minimal space in your garden. Weighing just 9.8kg, it’s not very heavy either, and I found it comfortable to move around when it was assembled, as well as in its storage bag.

The Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven has a spacious internal capacity which can cook up to 12-inch pizzas, as well as other foods, like flatbreads, vegetables and meat. A temperature gauge is located at the top of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven, and it can reach up to 400°C for intense and quick cooking in as little as 90 seconds.

Image 1 of 2

With the wood pellet box located at the back of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven, the flames run across the top of the pizza while the edges get hotter to cover the crust. The pizza stone base is made from cordierite to absorb and distribute heat for a crisp base. The heat is consistent, although you can’t adjust the temperature in any way as there are no controls.

The Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven doesn’t come with wood pellets so I used Weber Grill Academy All-Natural Hardwood Pellets.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: performance

As mentioned above, setting up the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven was incredibly easy, and I enjoyed how quickly it could be assembled and taken apart for storage. Those with smaller gardens will definitely enjoy it as it has a compact size despite its spacious interior, and its foldable legs make it easy to store.

Using the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven was a little tricky in places. The wood pellets took some time to light as expected, but once they were lit, the pizza oven itself took a long time to heat up. The instructions stated that it would take up to 25 minutes to get up to 350°C but it took up to 45 minutes for me and I had to replenish the wood pellets multiple times.

When the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven finally got up to temperature, I found that it lost its heat quite quickly. The body of the pizza oven got extremely hot, especially the steel parts on the pellet charger and chimney so you’ll want to be extremely careful with this.

Image 1 of 2

I found the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven to work best on pre-made pizza but it crisped up my homemade pizza well, too. The interior was a good size and easily fit both pizzas comfortably, and the pizza peel slid the pizza nicely inside and onto the pizza stone.

I was surprised that the interior stayed relatively clean, but the pellet charger and fuel drawer which came into contact with the flames and smoke got extremely dirty. It was relatively easier to clean but it looked pretty filthy. I also enjoyed the accessories, especially the pizza peel and cutter, although after only a few uses, the logo on the bamboo board faded and the material started to fray.

Image 1 of 2

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: verdict

The Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven ticks a lot of boxes, particularly if you have a small garden and you’re looking for an affordable, budget-friendly model. If you want another smarter or simply a way to control the flame, you’ll want to pay a bit more money as the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is extremely simple.

However, in terms of value for money, you definitely get what you pay for with the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven. Its accessories are good, the pizza oven itself looks great, and its portability makes it easy to set up and use.

The main downside of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is it takes a long time to heat up. If you have the time, then you won’t mind waiting for it to come to temperature, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: alternatives to consider

A good alternative to the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven. It’s an electric model but it also comes with wood pellets which you can use to enhance the flavour of your food. It’s also compact and reasonably priced at £349.

The Gozney Roccbox is similar in size and portability to the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven. It runs on gas or wood pellets so you can get more control over your cooking, and cook quickly using gas and add extra flavour with pellets.