How to make pizza in a toaster oven
So you want to bake a pizza, whether fresh or frozen, but you don't have a conventional oven? Zero problem! The easiest solution here is to get a countertop electric oven AKA a toaster oven that plugs into any outlet, no gas line connection required.
Many countertop ovens are compact and affordable and will fit the smaller space of a cramped apartment.
On the lower end of the budget range, consider the $69 Hamilton Beach Easy Reach Toaster Oven, which can bake a pizza up to 12-inches in diameter.
At the other end of the price spectrum, the $199.99 Calphalon Quartz Heat Countertop Toaster Oven can also cook up 12-inch pies, and thanks to its 11 preset cooking functions — including pizza, toast, bake, broil, and more — it can cook just about anything else, too. It also comes with a pizza pan.
You can check out more toaster oven options in our buying guide.
Buy the Hamilton Beach Easy Reach Toaster Oven on Amazon for $69 Buy the Calphalon Quartz Heat Countertop Toaster Oven on Amazon for $199.99 (originally $249.99) Read our full guide to the best toaster ovens you can buyHow to make pizza on the stove
While surely the easiest way to make pizza without a conventional oven is to simply make it with a countertop oven, that's far from the only way. Stovetop pizza can be delicious to eat and fun to make, as long as you pay close attention to the cooking process.
While you can make stovetop pizza in just about any decent pan, a seasoned cast iron skillet is the best choice for even cooking and great flavor. I recommend a pre-seasoned $24.99 Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet. Here's how to use it.
- Drizzle two to three tablespoons of olive, grapeseed, or avocado oil into the pan and turn the burner to medium heat.
- Stretch out fresh dough to fit the diameter of the pan, and make sure your sauce, cheese, and toppings are at the ready.
- Place dough into pan and allow it to cook for about three minutes until the bottom is browning nicely.
- Flip dough and quickly apply sauce, cheese, and toppings atop the cooked half.
- Cook for three to four additional minutes, covering pan if need be to ensure even and thorough melting.
And that's it! Not only is stovetop pizza faster than baked pizza, it's often tastier, too, as the seasoning of the cast iron imparts a rich, herb and spice flavor.
Buy the Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet on Amazon for $24.99 (originally $42.22) Read our guide to the best cast iron pans you can buyHow to make pizza on the grill
Grilled pizza can be a messy affair. If your dough is too soft, it might drip down past the grates, wasting the food and leading to the most intense grill cleaning session of your life. It's also easy to burn the pie and ruin it that way, too, especially on the first few attempts.
But with patience and practice, grilled pizza will taste as good as the brick oven fired stuff you get from the finest pizzeria in town. Especially if you cook with added wood chips or cook using a pellet stove for that genuine wood-fired oven taste!
Also, I recommend a good pizza grill pan, which can help keep the dough intact as it cooks. Pro tip: Get a set of two, and place one under the raw dough one on top.
When it's time for the flip, you will have the dough sandwiched between the pair, and can then remove the pan left on top that's covering the cooked dough, which is now ready for toppings.
- Heat your gas grill to about 600 degrees Fahrenheit, or get a charcoal grill fully lit and evenly burning.
- Stretch and roll your dough, then brush both sides with oil.
- Place dough on the grill (ideally on a pan) and cook for three minutes; watch out for charring and keep the top off the grill.
- Flip the dough, then immediately apply sauce, cheese, and topping.
- Close the grill, and cook for an additional three minutes before checking to see if the pie is ready. Which it probably will be.
How to make (frozen) pizza in the microwave
You can't cook decent fresh pizza in a microwave. Sorry. But you sure can re-heat pies or cook frozen pizza in this now classic appliance. And these days you can get a perfectly good microwave for less than $70. Feel free to check out our guide to the best microwaves you can buy.
Buy the Comfee Countertop Microwave Oven on Amazon for $64.99Check out our guide to making pizza at home
Delicious homemade pizza is not only more affordable than ordering out, but with the right tools and tips, it also tastes better. We've rounded up the best pizza-making tools to start you on your way to achieving master status.
Whether you go all-out making your dough and sauce from scratch or just prefer to find convenient solutions that allow you to throw together a quick pie, we've got the best of the best for your pizza making needs.
Here is everything you need to make pizza at home:- Best pizza stone: Solido Rectangular Pizza Stone
- Best pizza pan: Lodge Pro-Logic Cast Iron Pizza Pan
- Best pizza peel: EXO Non-Stick Polymer Sealed Super Peel
- Best pizza cutter: OXO Good Grips Easy to Clean Pizza Wheel and Cutter
- Best toaster oven: Cuisinart Chef's Convection Toaster Oven
- Best oven mitts: Homwe Extra Long Professional Silicone Oven Mitts
- Best parchment paper: Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper
- Best rolling pin: Fletchers' Mill 20-inch Maple French Rolling Pin
- Best pizza crust mix: Weisenberger Pizza Crust Mix
- Best crushed tomatoes: San Marzano Crushed Tomatoes
- Best mozzarella cheese: Sargento Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Best pepperoni: Margherita Pepperoni
- Best novelty pizza maker: Presto Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven
- Best homemade pizza cookbook: "The Elements of Pizza"
