Do you ever make pizza from scratch and wonder why it doesn’t taste anything like what you get at your favorite pizzeria? The toppings might come out unevenly cooked, or the crust may not be right. If you want to put an end to these problems, then a pizza stone is the way to go.

Most of the time, when someone mentions a “pizza stone,” they’re referring to a round or rectangular slab of stone, typically made of cordierite. This is a popular material because it can heat evenly and absorb moisture, which is important for a crispy crust. The problem with cordierite is it’s susceptible to breakage if not cared for properly.

Pizza stones can also be made of other materials, including metal. Cast iron is sometimes used because it gets up to temperature faster than stone, heats evenly, and it will not break or crack. Baking steels are the latest fad because they conduct heat and bake more evenly at low temps than stone. The steel won’t break, but it’s expensive, very heavy, and hard to maneuver.

Most companies recommend that you put the pizza stone into your oven cold and preheat it for up to an hour before putting the pizza in. For this task, we recommend using a good pizza peel, such as the Pizza Royale Peel. When you are done cooking, let the stone cool down inside your oven. This will protect it from thermal shock or warping. Many people prefer to just keep their pizza stone in the oven at all times, and some claim that it helps everything in the oven cook better, even when the food isn’t placed directly on the stone.

Our guide features stones that will cook your pizza quickly and evenly, have a track record of durability, and are effortless to clean.

Here are the best pizza stones:

Prices and links are current as of 7/9/2020. We also adjusted copy to better address why we'd recommend these pizza stones.

The best overall

If you want delicious, evenly-baked pizza from the oven or off the grill, the Solido Rectangular 14-by-16-inch Pizza Stone is a durable, must-have solution.

As you look at the Solido Rectangular 14-by-16-inch Pizza Stone, the unique spiral design on the bottom stands out the most. The heat spiral is designed to allow for airflow and even heating. Plus, it helps the stone get up to temperature faster, which cuts down on pre-heat time.

This pizza stone can go on your grill and it fits most standard ovens, and the feet of the stone are easy to grip if you want to move it.

The Solido stone comes highly recommended by many product reviewers. The Kitchen Byte gave the Solido Pizza Stone high marks because it heats evenly, and the pies it produces are pizzeria quality. The reviewer also noted that cleaning was easy, though grease does leave stains. Another downside is its hefty weight, which made it hard to handle.

Kitchen Sanity also recommends this stone for people who want something they can throw on the grill. The reviewer was impressed with the airflow and heat distribution afforded by the grooved bottom.

Pros: Produces professional-quality pizza, easy to clean, even heat distribution

Cons: Weight makes it hard to maneuver, stains easily

The best round pizza stone

Foto: Source: Love This Kitchen

The Love This Kitchen Ultimate 16-inch Round Pizza Stone features a helpful stopper that makes it easy to remove the pizza and grab the stone.

The pizzerias make using a pizza peel look so simple. They just shove it under the pizza and pull it out. Yet, you know this seemingly effortless skill takes plenty of practice if you've ever sent a pizza flying to the back of your oven.

Enter the Love This Kitchen Ultimate 16-inch Round Pizza Stone with its raised no-slip stopper. It has a lip that blocks the pizza from falling off the stone, saving your oven a self-cleaning mode or two.

This stone also has a unique design on the bottom that directs the heat so the center cooks first. This is helpful because the center of the pizza is usually the last part to cook. The stone is also an impressive 0.83 inches thick and can withstand temperatures up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Love This Kitchen backs the quality of this product with a 60-day full refund if not satisfied and a limited lifetime guarantee.

Best Reviews recommends the Love This Kitchen Ultimate Pizza Stone because the no-spill stopper did an excellent job of keeping the pizza from sliding off in their tests. However, the reviewer did note that the stone produced an off-putting chemical odor.

Cookware Junkies recommends this stone because the porous cordierite does absorb the moisture well to create crunchy crusts. Yet, the reviewer found that it was too large for some ovens. In its review, Morning Chores notes that the stone makes excellent cookies, flatbread, and baked bread.

Pros: Features a stopper that makes moving the stone and removing the pizza easier, produces a crispy crust, handles temps up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit

Cons: Complaints of a chemical odor, your oven must be at least 17 inches deep

The best cast iron pizza stone

Foto: Source: Lodge

If you are looking for an affordable, non-traditional pizza stone, consider buying the evenly heating Lodge 14-inch Cast Iron Baking Pan.

Many experts consider Lodge to be the best manufacturer of cast iron cookware, and the Lodge 14-inch Cast Iron Baking Pan appears to be no exception. This "stone" comes pre-seasoned and is designed for decades of cooking.

As with other cast iron, you wash it by hand, dry it promptly, and wipe it down with a light layer of cooking oil. The pan features two large handles on either side for easy removal from the oven. A rim around the edge keeps ingredients from spilling onto the oven bottom.

Serious Eats recommends the Lodge 14-inch Cast Iron Baking Pan over traditional pizza stones because it's more durable and produces better, crispier crusts. This makes sense, as cast iron is known for its superior heat retention capabilities. The reviewer also liked how the built-in handles made it easy to move. However, he didn't like that the rim made it hard to slide pizzas on and off.

Pros: Affordable, even heating, nonstick, cleans up easily

Cons: Rim may make it hard to slide pizzas off

The best steel pizza stone

Foto: Source: Amazon

The Original Baking Steel is essentially a slab of steel with a matte finish that can cook your pies quickly and deliciously.

In the book series "Modernist Cuisine," author Nathan Myhrvold notes that compared to a brick oven's stone, steel is a more conductive surface. Pizza lover and steel company worker Andris Lagsdin read this and used a successful Kickstarter campaign to launch The Original Baking Steel.

It's essentially a 14-by-16-by-¼-inch slab of steel that weighs a hefty 15 pounds. It comes pre-seasoned and works under the broiler, on the grill, and in the oven in temperatures up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also freeze it to use the steel as a cold plate.

This original product is currently unavailable on Amazon, but the 16-inch round version is a perfectly suitable alternative that boasts the same cooking features.

Cook's Illustrated recommends The Original Baking Steel because it radiated heat more intensely than traditional stones in their testing, which gave pizza crust a flavorful charring and taller profile and cut down on baking times. Yet, the bottom of the crust may brown too quickly if you don't monitor it closely.

The reviewer at Chowhound was surprised by her home oven's ability to deliver high-quality pies when using this steel. Though she recommends it, the reviewer also notes that the steel is hard to store, heavy, and expensive.

Pros: Durable, quickly cooks pizzas with delicious crusts, attractive appearance

Cons: Expensive, heavy, hard to store

The best versatile pizza stone

Foto: Source: Amazon

The Old Stone Oven Round Pizza Stone has a track record of not only producing mouthwatering pizza, but also proving that it can help with bread, meat, and other baking.

At around 10 pounds, the Old Stone Oven Round Pizza Stone is relatively light compared to the other stones featured in our guide. The light weight along with the built-in feet make it easier to remove from the oven. At 16 inches, it should fit most ovens.

Made of cordierite, the stone is designed to also work on your grill. It has a heat core that helps the center of your pizza cook faster for a more even bake. It can withstand temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The company Honey-Can-Do recommends using this for pizza as well as vegetables, breads, and desserts.

The Old Stone Oven Pizza Baking Stone is Cook's Illustrated's most highly recommended pizza stone. The reviewer appreciated that dark and light turkey meat cooked evenly on it, and bread and pizza were crisp and deeply golden brown. Also, the raised feet built into it made it effortless to maneuver and grab. For nearly a decade, this stone has held up in the test kitchen.

Pros: Relatively light, heats evenly, durable

Cons: The built-in feet may sit unevenly on your oven rack

Check out our other pizza-making buying guides

Foto: Source: Heritage Products

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