Ooni Karu 2 Review: Wood-Fired Flavour With a Gas Backup
Ooni Karu 2 verdict: real wood-fired flavour with an optional gas backup, the most complete small multi-fuel oven if you price in the extra burner.
The most complete small multi-fuel oven available - real wood-fired credentials with a gas safety net, provided the separate burner cost is priced in.
- Cooking performance 4.7
- Ease of use 3.9
- Portability and footprint 4.3
- Build quality 4.7
- Value 4.2
Strengths
- 45% larger fuel tray than the Karu 12 makes wood-firing genuinely practical, not a chore
- Glass door and built-in thermometer let you watch the bake and track stone temperature without opening up
- 500C in about 15 minutes with real smoky flavour that wins blind taste tests
Watch outs
- Gas burner attachment is a separate purchase, pushing total cost near bigger gas ovens
- Wood-firing remains hands-on: feeding, airflow and temperature swings take practice
- Swapping between gas and wood means physically removing the burner
- Best for Real wood-fired flavour with a gas fallback for weeknights
- Fuel Wood/charcoal standard; gas burner optional extra
- Credential First portable oven recommended for home use by the AVPN (Neapolitan pizza association), per TechGearLab
- Watch-out Gas burner costs extra and swapping between fuels is fiddly
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- Max pizza size
- 12 inch (13.3 inch stone)
- Cooking stone
- 15 mm cordierite
- Max stone temperature
- 500C (950F)
- Preheat time
- Approximately 15 minutes (one UK reviewer measured 25 minutes to a 340C base with wood)
- Fuel types
- Wood and charcoal as standard; propane via optional gas burner attachment (sold separately)
- Thermometer
- Built-in analogue dial (thermocouple-based stone/air readings referenced in testing)
- Door
- Borosilicate glass with ClearView soot-reduction coating
- Unboxed dimensions
- 765 x 414 x 720 mm (height includes chimney)
- Weight
- 15.3 kg
- Body materials
- Powder-coated carbon steel shell, stainless interior/base/legs, die-cast aluminium nose and rear
- Warranty
- 1 year standard, extended to 5 years with registration
Synthesised from https://www.techgearlab.com/reviews/kitchen/pizza-oven/ooni-karu-2 · https://www.womanandhome.com/homes/kitchen/ooni-karu-12-2nd-generation-pizza-oven-review/
- Consistently praised
Wood-firing is finally practical
83/100, Best Multi-Fuel award; stone averaging around 440C in testingThe enlarged firebox and insulation make wood-fired cooking genuinely workable in a portable oven, with temperatures regularly exceeding 500C in instrumented testing.
- https://www.techgearlab.com/reviews/kitchen/pizza-oven/ooni-karu-2
- Consistently praised
Flavour wins taste tests
Ten-pizza test sessionA UK reviewer found wood-fired results consistently in a league of their own in blind taste tests, crediting the smoky character gas ovens cannot replicate.
- https://www.womanandhome.com/homes/kitchen/ooni-karu-12-2nd-generation-pizza-oven-review/
- Consistently praised
Glass door and thermometer
The borosilicate door lets users monitor bakes without a blast of heat, and the integrated temperature readout helps manage the stone/air gap - both called out as the generation's best upgrades.
- https://www.womanandhome.com/homes/kitchen/ooni-karu-12-2nd-generation-pizza-oven-review/
- Mixed feedback
Control still takes skill
Control sub-score 7.5/10Temperature management with wood requires practice, the gas flame can extinguish in wind, and the stone's lightness causes fluctuation between bakes.
- https://www.techgearlab.com/reviews/kitchen/pizza-oven/ooni-karu-2
The Karu 2 is Ooni's current compact multi-fuel oven, the second-generation successor to the Karu 12. It fires on wood or charcoal out of the box, with an optional gas burner sold separately for weeknight convenience. The generational upgrades target exactly what made small wood-fired ovens frustrating: a fuel tray about 45% larger so the fire holds temperature, a borosilicate glass door that lets you watch the bake without dumping heat, and a built-in thermometer so stone readiness is no longer guesswork. Instrumented testing regularly pushed it past 500C, and comparative reviews have named it a leading multi-fuel option.
Reviews split the experience neatly by fuel. On wood it is described as the first portable oven that is genuinely fun to fire, with standout smoky flavour that won a UK reviewer's blind taste test - but it stays a hands-on, attention-hungry way to cook, with airflow and temperature that take practice to manage. Fit the optional gas burner and it becomes dial-simple and consistent, at the cost of buying the attachment and physically swapping hardware when you switch fuels. Judge it as an oven that lets you choose craft or convenience on the night, not as a set-and-forget gas cooker.
For a UK garden where some evenings are for slow, smoky cooking and others just need dinner fast, the Karu 2 is the most complete small multi-fuel oven going, as long as you price in the separate gas burner. Cooks who only ever want simple gas will save money and effort with a Koda 2, and crowd-cookers who need a 16 inch floor should look at the larger Karu 2 Pro.