An electric pizza oven with no flame and no need to rotate the pizza may seem sacrilegious to purists, but the Ninja Artisan electric outdoor pizza oven solves many of the hassles of outdoor pizza making. There’s no lighting or monitoring a flame, no need to keep adjusting the heat, and no need for a turning peel, bulky gas bottle or constant use of an infrared (IR) thermometer (although you may still want one – read on for details).
Equipped with four presets – Artisan, Thin Crust, New York, Pan – plus a custom setting to enable you to bake your pizza exactly how you like it, the Ninja Artisan is as effortless as can be, even next to the simplest plug-and-play gas oven. As you might expect from Ninja, it’s a multipurpose cooker, too, transforming into an outdoor air fryer with a capacity to turn out up to 1.3kg of french fries, or bake six chicken breasts.
Being electric also means fast heat-up – useful if a rain shower is looming. In tests, it reached 370C in 14-15 minutes, and pizzas were perfectly cooked in just two minutes, despite the three-minute preset. At an RRP of £314.99 (but £229.99 at the time of writing), it costs about the same as a compact gas oven but is cheaper to run, using less than 1kWh of electricity after an hour at full temperature.
How I tested
I tested the Ninja Artisan electric outdoor pizza oven & air fryer MO201UK in the same way I test all pizza ovens I review for the Filter, although the temperature range here is different.
As well as judging the quality of pizzas cooked with different toppings – cheese and tomato at 370C; a veggie pizza with onion, pepper and tomato at 220C to slowly caramelise the toppings; and a salami pizza at 245C – I rated the oven for ease of assembly, overall usability, temperature control and how easily it could be stored.
I also recorded how long it took the oven to heat up to its maximum temperature of 370C (which is lower than the maximum on gas and wood-fired ovens).
What you need to know
Those with gas or wood-fired ovens are likely to need to plan pizza nights, ensuring they have enough fuel and that the weather will hold out long enough for both the oven heat-up and the cooking time.
With the Ninja Artisan electric outdoor pizza oven, you can be more spur-of-the-moment. Simply plug it into an outside socket, and heat-up is fast, with a beep to signify it’s ready to use. And because there’s no flame and the heat is evenly distributed, there’s no need to even rotate your pizza mid-cook.
You’ll need to keep a close eye on cooking time, however. I was caught out with my first pizza, so I shortened the cook time for the next. The Artisan’s door also takes some getting used to: unlike standard open-fronted pizza ovens, you’ll need to factor in time to open it to check or remove your pizza before the base or crust starts to char. Every second counts.
Ninja Artisan electric outdoor pizza oven & air fryer MO201UK specifications
Dimensions: 40.31 x 57.2 x 31.39cm (WDH) / mouth 34 x 12cm (WH)
Running cost for one hour on maximum: 25p (£0.25/kWh x 0.989kWh; 15-min heat up, 45mins at 370C)
Maximum capacity: 30 x 31cm pizza stone (working capacity 12in pizza)
Features: four functions: Pizza, Bake, Air Fry & Prove; 30cm sq bake tray, pizza peel, air-fry basket
Fuel: electric, 1,760W
Dishwasher safe: no
Spare parts: replacement stones, base unit, bake tray, air-fry basket
Weight: 13.98kg
What we love
Beyond its preset programmes and ability to cook more than pizza, the MO201UK Ninja Artisan electric outdoor pizza oven’s standout feature is its rapid heat-up time. It reaches 370C from cold in just 14-15 minutes, giving you just enough time to shape your dough and add your toppings. While it’s faster than a gas pizza oven, it’s worth noting that gas ovens typically cook at a higher temperature of about 430C.
But it’s quick to cook, too. While a thin, lightly topped pizza typically takes about 90 seconds in a gas-powered oven, the Ninja’s Artisan programme is set to three minutes. In my tests, though, I found two minutes was enough. The full three-minute cook burned my pizza, whereas reducing the time produced a well-risen crust with just a slight char on one edge.
For a slower cook, choose the New York setting, which runs for eight minutes. This produced a pizza with browned meat and a reasonable rise, without any burning.
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What we don’t love
The Ninja Artisan’s tightly sealed door helps the oven retain heat (and makes it safe to use), but it can also be a barrier to the best results. I found it stiff and difficult to open single-handed – with my pizza peel at the ready in the other hand – which made it tricky to launch the pizza and resulted in some burning as I struggled to retrieve it once cooked. Hopefully, the door loosens somewhat with use.
A more concerning issue arose when switching from high- to low-temperature cooking. After making pizza at 370C, I selected the 220C Pan setting for a veggie pizza. Although the oven beeped that it was ready, the stone was still far too hot for a 13-minute cook. Because of this, if you’re likely to switch temperatures often, I’d suggest having an IR thermometer to hand so you can check that the stone is at the right temperature before adding your food.
Once at the lower heat, the Artisan appeared to have cooked the veggie pizza well – although on trying to remove it, I found it had stuck to the stone, which reinforces the earlier point of the temperature not being right after all. As such, it might be wise to do your lower-temperature cooking first, and know that the heat is accurate, before ramping up to the hottest settings.
Warranty, repairability and longevity
As an outdoor electrical appliance, the Ninja Artisan comes with a shorter warranty than most gas pizza ovens: one year as standard, extended to two years if you register it with Ninja. Spare parts, including the base unit, pizza stone and air-fry basket, are also available.
Note, too, that while Ninja says the Artisan electric pizza oven has been built to withstand outdoor elements, it recommends buying a cover for “extra protection”. There’s also extensive cleaning and care advice for prolonging the oven’s lifespan.
Ninja Artisan electric outdoor pizza oven & air fryer MO201UK: should I buy it?
The MO201UK Ninja Artisan pizza oven has plenty going for it compared to other such appliances. It’s relatively affordable, heats up faster than a gas-powered model, allows for spur-of-the-moment pizza making, and is “plug and play” – no gas, wood or charcoal required. From a convenience point of view, it’s hard to beat.
Its ability to bake and air fry foods will also appeal to outdoor cooks. There’s no need to keep popping inside to your kitchen for chips, chicken, nachos or sweet treats; you can do it all in the Ninja Artisan (with recipes for everything from a tart to cookies and granola included).
There are compromises, however. While the pizzas are very good, they lack the blistered finish you’d get from hotter temperatures. The Artisan’s door also creates issues, making it trickier to launch and retrieve pizzas compared with open-mouthed ovens. And while electric power is undeniably practical, I missed the charm of cooking over a live flame.
Whether the MO201UK Ninja Artisan is right for you will depend on what you want from an outdoor oven. If versatility, convenience and cooking a range of dishes for family and friends are top of your list, the Ninja Artisan is an excellent choice. But if you want to master the perfect leopard-spotted crust, manage a live flame and turn out pizzeria-quality margheritas, a traditional gas oven (such as my overall favourite, the Gozney Arc Lite) still has the edge.
For more:
The best pizza ovens in the UK
The best BBQs and grills for every budget
The best air fryers, tried and tested
Ooni Koda 2 pizza oven review
Rachel Ogden has worked as a consumer journalist for decades, becoming an expert unboxer before it was a thing, although she is less successful at assembling and repacking. Her home has hosted hundreds of appliances while her garden has seen a succession of pizza ovens, barbecues and heaters put through their paces. It takes a lot to impress her – many appliances have tried and failed