10 best pizza stones for oven and BBQ
Get a crisp pizza base every time – read our reviews of the best pizza stones for use in the oven, pizza oven or on the barbecue
If you’re serious about pizza, you’re going to need the right tools (as well as a great recipe). Pizza stones absorb moisture, help develop a crisp base, distribute heat evenly and retain heat, ensuring your pizza is perfectly cooked.
Of course, you'll get great results using a pizza stone in a pizza oven – check our review of the best pizza ovens, including popular Gozney and Ooni models, before you invest. You can also pop a pizza stone on the barbecue (gas or coal) to get that smoky, charred flavour. You may need other pizza accessories, too, including a dough scraper for homemade pizza dough and an efficient pizza cutter.
While pizza ovens have rocketed in popularity, a pizza stone will work in a conventional oven, too. If you have a particularly small oven, it would be worth checking the dimensions as some of these stones are large. Read on for our pick of the best pizza stones.
Jump to:
- Best pizza stones at a glance
- Best pizza stones to buy in 2024
- How to choose the best pizza stone
- How to use and clean a pizza stone
- Pizza-making recipes and tips
Best pizza stones at a glance
- Best overall pizza stone: Kamado Joe Classic Pizza Stone, £25.31
- Most versatile pizza stone: Ooni Stone Baking Board, £25
- Best budget pizza stone: ProCook Pizza Stone, £12
- Best pizza stone kit: Dunelm Pizza Stone with Cutter, £18
- Best blow-the-budget pizza stone: Big Green Egg Baking Stone, from £64
- Best premium pizza stone kit: AEG Pizza Stone Kit, £79.97
- Best-looking pizza stone: Emile Henry Charcoal Pizza Stone, £65
- Best pizza stone with heat diffuser: Cadac Pizza Stone Pro 50, £35
- Best pizza stone for barbecues: Weber Small Round Glazed Baking Stone, £37.29
- Best value pizza stone: Tala 32cm Pizza Stone with Cutter, £14.95
Best pizza stones to buy in 2024
Kamado Joe Classic pizza stone
Best overall pizza stone
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Kamado Joe sounds like a baseball or martial arts star, and this is certainly a big hitter. As one of the largest and heaviest on this list, it should still fit easily into most ovens and can withstand extremely high temperatures.
It’s designed for Kamado Joe grills, but is suitable for all home ovens as well as conventional barbecues. It’s reasonably priced and comes with the instructions on the back of the box, plus tips – including dusting it with cornmeal to prevent the pizza sticking.
You need to clean this one with a brush or dry cloth rather than washing it, which does make it more time-consuming to care for, but the results are worth it.
Ooni baking stone
Most versatile pizza stone
This cordierite stone baking board from Ooni comes in a pleasing golden colour, and although it's designed for Ooni pizza ovens, you can use it in your conventional oven, too. Unusually, it is square, so if you roll your pizzas out in that shape, it may be a good one for you.
At 337 x 337mm and 1cm thick, it's also pleasingly big without being too massive, heavy or difficult to store. It’s well-priced too and makes a good medium-range option.
One downside is that it isn’t the easiest to clean as you’re not supposed to use soap or water on it. Instead, you need to clean it with a special brush. The instructions add that you should flip it over to the other side when next using to burn off any excess flour.
Available from:
ProCook pizza stone
Best budget pizza stone
You won’t go far wrong with this stone. It’s cheap and highly effective, with clear instructions if you have never used a stone before. For instance, there’s a helpful suggestion on dusting the stone with flour before use to help the pizza lift off easily.
It’s oven safe up to 300C, but warns you to place it in a cold oven and heat gradually, to ensure even heating and to avoid it shattering. It also has instructions for how to use it on a gas barbecue, but it isn’t suitable for coal or wood-fired barbies.
Depending on what you’re looking for, the small size (28cm diameter) might be an advantage or a disadvantage – it makes a smallish single pizza and certainly isn’t big enough for a pizza for two. Its compact size means you can keep it in a kitchen drawer, and cleaning is more straightforward, too, as you can wash it in warm water.
Dunelm pizza stone with cutter
Best pizza stone set
If you’re looking for a set that will have you baking pizza in a jiffy, this has everything you need. This ceramic stone comes with both a pizza cutter and a serving rack. You can use the latter as a carrying handle to take your food from oven to table, and/or use it as a serving dish for bonus presentation points.
The stone itself is a mid-range 32cm in diameter. It can also be washed by hand, and is oven safe up to 220C.
Big Green Egg pizza and baking stone
- Available from Big Green Egg (from £64)
Best blow-the-budget pizza stone
This expansive thick stone is definitely an investment. With options for small, medium, large, and extra-large, plus a Minimax version, they are designed to go in Big Green Egg barbecues, but will work fine in a conventional oven. They're also very heavy, with the extra-large version weighing 9.5kg, so not ideal for kids to be helping out in the kitchen. To clean, you're advised to scrape off any baked-on-food with a stiff brush or scraper.
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AEG pizza stone kit
Best premium pizza stone kit
If you're looking for more than just a pizza stone, this luxury bundle from AEG comes with extra accessories to assist with at-home pizza-making. It compromises a weighty 3.7kg pizza stone, a stainless-steel slicer, and wooden peel for lifting your pizzas in and out of the oven with ease.
At 33cm in diameter, the stone is designed to distribute heat evenly and quickly, to help you achieve a super-crisp base. The kit also has a two-year warranty.
Available from:
Emile Henry charcoal pizza stone
Best-looking pizza stone
Able to withstand temperatures of 450C, this smooth 37cm pizza stone from French brand Emile Henry can also be used on a gas or charcoal barbecue, as well as an oven. Because it's ceramic, it's also hard-wearing and can even be placed in the dishwasher.
The stone features handles on either side, so you can pick it up and move it around easily (with oven gloves on, of course). It's available in a choice of two colours – black and red – and comes with an impressive 10-year warranty.
Cadac Pizza Stone Pro 50
Best pizza stone with heat deflector
This 36cm stone comes with a heat deflector tray for even heat distribution, helping you to achieve a evenly mottled crust on your pizzas. It can withstand temperatures of up to 300C, and even comes with a handy storage bag to keep it safe after use.
Though the stone has been designed to work with a specific range of Cadac barbecues, helpfully it's also compatible with other charcoal and gas barbecue models, plus electric ovens too.
Weber small round glazed baking stone
Best pizza stone for barbecues
If you're looking to get more from your barbecue, a pizza stone that slots on top of the grill is a great way to elevate your outdoor cooking set-up. This 27cm stone from Weber can handle temperatures of up to 315 degrees, and has a glazed finish to prevent food from sticking – keeping clean-up to a minimum.
Weber advises its own barbecues to get the best results, but it is also compatible with any charcoal or gas model (providing the diameter is sufficient) or oven.
Available from:
Tala 32cm Pizza Stone with Cutter
Best value pizza stone set
If you want a decent pizza-making kit that doesn't cost a fortune, this Tala bundle is a solid value option. Its 32cm ceramic stone is designed to retain heat, so your pizza stays warm long after cooking, and a pizza slicer and chromed serving rack are also included.
The stone can withstand temperatures of up to 220C, so is best suited for oven-use only. There are also handles on either side, so you can easily lift and move it around, and it can be used to bake bread, baguettes or croissants.
How to choose the best pizza stone
Pizza stones come in various shapes and sizes. Some are more functional, while others focus on looks and aesthetics. Here's a few factors you should try to take into account:
- Size: will it fit in your oven and do you have space to store it?
- Weight and depth: as a general rule, the thicker the stone, the better the heat retention, but this does make them heavy.
- Cooking method: do you want to use your stone in a pizza oven, barbecue or conventional oven?
- Extras: some of these stones come as part of a set with a chrome serving tray and/or pizza wheel.
- Cleaning: check the instructions before you buy. You might prefer one you can wash rather than scrape.
- Price: the pizza stones in this list vary in cost, so think carefully about your budget and how much you'd be willing to spend.
How to use and clean a pizza stone
Stones need to be preheated, and the length of time can depend on your oven. There’s also risk of them breaking if you put them in an already hot oven, and putting a pizza onto a hot stone (rather than a cold one) means it will start to cook from the bottom immediately.
Pizza stones will be scorching hot when you take them out of the oven, so need to be handled with oven gloves. Some had serving trays to rest them on.
How to clean a stone varies. Some are hand-wash only, while others advise scraping off with a brush. None of them will go in the dishwasher, and whatever you do, don’t put a hot stone into cold water. If you’re a baking enthusiast, you can use your stone to make things like bread and rolls, too.
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This guide was last updated in January 2024. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.
