The 10 Best Pizza Stones for Bringing the Brick Oven Taste Home
Who’s to say the next home cooking trend won’t be pizza-making? If you do choose to pursue the art of pizza, you’ll want to invest in a solid pizza stone. While it is entirely possible to make a pizza on a cookie sheet or, in the case of frozen pizzas, by just sort of hucking them in the oven, a quality pizza stone can up the results, giving you a crispier, more evenly cooked crust. Plus, since most are nonstick, cleanup is easier and you don’t have to worry about overspill.
When choosing a pizza stone, the biggest deciding factor will be the material, which will dictate where you will be able to use it. Ceramic stones will heat more gradually, but they’ll hold their heat longer after you take them out of the oven. This means that they are great for serving, as they will keep your pizza warm for longer. Generally, ceramic is also the choice for alternative cooking methods, like cooking over a fire or on the grill.
Metal, on the other hand, tends to heat up very quickly and can often be conductive enough to get almost 20 percent hotter than your oven temperature; this means faster cook times and seriously crispy crusts. And most metal stones are dishwasher-safe—unlike ceramic, which shouldn’t even come in contact with soap.
The 10 Best Pizza Stones:
Best Overall: Wilton Perfect Results Non-Stick Crisper Pizza Pan
Best Rated: Cuisinart CPS-445 3-Piece Pizza Grilling Set
Best Restaurant-Quality: BakerStone Pizza Box
Most Versatile: Honey-Can-Do Pizza Stone
Best Cast Iron: Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Baking Pan
Best Metal: NerdChef Steel Stone
Best for the Grill: Emile Henry Flame Top Pizza Stone
Best With Stand: VonShef 15 Inch Ceramic Pizza Stone Set
Best for Personal Pizzas: Napoleon 70000 10 Inch Personal Sized Set
Best on a Budget: Round Pizza Baking Stone
We looked through thousands of reviews from Amazon customers to find the 10 best pizza stones for every type of pizza chef that you can buy online right now. From ceramic to cast iron, 9-inch to 15-inch, there is something for everyone.
Best Overall: Wilton Perfect Results Non-Stick Crisper Pizza Pan
This metal pizza stone is designed to give you the crispiest pizza possible, whether it starts frozen or from scratch. The key is the holes in the bottom of the pan—Amazon customers, who overwhelmingly give the pan five-star reviews, claim it even makes a cauliflower crust seriously crispy! It’s made of dishwasher-safe steel and has a nonstick coating for easy cleanup.
To buy: $18; amazon.com
Best Rated: Cuisinart CPS-445 3-Piece Pizza Grilling Set
This pizza stone comes with a pizza cutter, a pizza peel, 3,300 customer reviews, and a 4.5-star rating. The stone itself is ceramic and 13 inches in diameter. It can withstand temperatures up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit and can be placed directly on a charcoal, propane, or pellet grill. It’s also great for warming and toasting everything from bagels to tortillas to waffles!
To buy: $39; amazon.com
Best Restaurant-Quality: BakerStone Pizza Box
For most at-home pizza chefs, restaurant-quality pizza is often elusive. This is due to the type of oven restaurants typically use (brick or wood-fired) and the high heat they produce. This mini pizza oven is designed to give you the restaurant quality you crave in the comfort of your own home. It cooks pizzas in as little as five minutes by heating up to about 800 degrees Fahrenheit and gives you an evenly cooked, crispy crust that you just can’t get with your conventional oven. “This thing is like having a pizza shop in a box,” wrote one reviewer. “It’s easy to use. It’s not super large but it works for personal size pizza and the kids love it.” It also comes with a pizza paddle and a wooden tray for cutting and serving.
To buy: $150; amazon.com
Most Versatile: Honey-Can-Do Pizza Stone
The name of this pizza stone says it all. Beyond the obvious (pizza), it’s a great surface for baking bread and pastries and even for roasting veggies. The non-cracking clay heats evenly and can handle up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The 16-inch circumference is big enough to fit a large pizza, and the bottom features raised feet, which make it easy to pick it up and move it even when it’s hot. Though some customers note that it has a slight chemical odor at first (which does not transfer to the food), it still has a strong 4.4-star rating on Amazon.
To buy: $33 (originally $39); amazon.com
Best Cast Iron: Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Baking Pan
It’s hard to go wrong with cast iron skillets, and that goes for cast iron pizza stones as well. This trusted brand’s model comes pre-seasoned, which means that it will have some nonstick qualities. When used properly, it heats evenly and holds heat well to keep pizza piping hot. The stone can be used in the oven, on the stove, on the grill, or over a campfire—plus, it can work as a frying pan and easily cook a stovetop breakfast of bacon and eggs. Customers love the versatility of this product: “I’ve used it so far for homemade pizza, oven fries, pancakes, and sunny side up eggs,” wrote one reviewer. “I love that it goes from stove top to oven. It’s a griddle, pizza pan, and sheet pan all in one!”
To buy: $40 (originally $60); amazon.com
Best Metal: NerdChef Steel Stone
Get the high temps of a fired pizza in your conventional oven. This metal pizza stone is designed to have super high heat convention, which will make a 450-degree oven feel like 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to your pizza. It’s made of solid steel, which means that it’s not just durable, but unbreakable—something you don’t get with a ceramic stone. Thanks to its high conductivity, it also has incredibly fast cook times and produces a crispy crust. Still not convinced? Customers rave about this stone in Amazon’s reviews—one even called it their “best purchase of 2020!”
To buy: $75 (originally $100); amazon.com
Best for the Grill: Emile Henry Flame Top Pizza Stone
It’s getting hot in here, so get out your flame-top pizza stone. This glazed clay pizza stone can withstand open flame up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit. This means it’s great for use on a gas stove; a charcoal, wood, or gas grill; or straight in the oven. Customers love that it’s stain- and scratch-resistant and praised its versatility: “I have found it can be used as a hot plate,” says one. It also has a whopping 10-year warranty, which makes the price worth it.
To buy: $55; amazon.com
Best With Stand: VonShef 15 Inch Ceramic Pizza Stone Set
Picking up a pizza stone out of the oven is difficult enough, but carrying it over to a safe surface or wherever you plan to serve from is often a gamble. This pizza stone comes with a perfectly fitted stand, which makes carrying your pizza easy and burn-free. The ceramic stone measures 15 inches in diameter—perfect for a family-sized pizza. And since ceramic stays hot for longer, you can serve directly from the stone to keep your pizza warm—just throw a trivet underneath. Customers note that you’ll want to condition the stone by oiling and heating it before cooking a pizza on it to help prevent cracking.
To buy: $35; amazon.com
Best for Personal Pizzas: Napoleon 70000 10 Inch Personal Sized Set
While you can certainly cook personal pizzas on a larger stone, you can’t usually fit more than one without some edges dangling dangerously off the side. These mini pizza stones are each 10 inches, meaning two can easily fit side by side in most conventional ovens. Reviewers also love using them on a grill; one even said they cooked pies on it, resulting in perfectly brown crusts. The stones are made of clay, which means that they will absorb some elements of the dough, so if you want to make gluten-free pies, stick with the same stone every time to ensure there is no contamination.
To buy: $27; amazon.com
Best on a Budget: Round Pizza Baking Stone
This simple and reliable option is under $20 and does everything you need a pizza stone to do. It’s made from non-absorbent and nonstick ceramic and promises to heat evenly and provide an extra crispy crust—and according to its five-star reviews, it delivers! It should be noted that this is definitely more of a personal pizza size at only 9 inches in diameter, but reviewers love that it fits into toaster ovens and other smaller ovens, like those in an RV.
To buy: $18; amazon.com
