Ooni pizza ovens are a popular choice for baking restaurant-quality pies at home. In fact, the Karu 16 is my top pick for the multi-fuel option in our best pizza oven guide. This model is spacious and can accommodate a 16-inch pizza, allowing you to bake or roast thanks to the additional vertical space. The Karu 16 has been out for a while, so Ooni took this opportunity to give it a major overhaul while keeping the price unchanged. The new Karu 2 Pro retains many of the great design elements of the Karu 16, but adds some key upgrades to improve on the already winning formula.
First, the Karu 2 Pro’s digital display has been significantly upgraded. Gone is the black and white panel, replaced with Ooni’s digital temperature hub similar to the one found on the Koda 2 Max. This technology not only clearly displays oven and food temperatures (via a wired probe), but also sends those statistics to your phone via Bluetooth. To help you adjust the oven temperature, the Karu 2 Pro has a new air intake lever on the back near the firebox. This gives you another place to encourage airflow besides the exhaust chimney and allows your oven to run at temperatures as low as 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, this new model’s door has more glass and less jamb, giving you a clearer view of what’s going on inside without having to open the oven.
Of course, this is an Ooni product, so you can trust it too. First and foremost is the fact that the Karu 2 Pro can reach 950 degrees Fahrenheit in 15 minutes. At this temperature, you can easily cook a Neapolitan-style pizza in about a minute or sear a steak on the grill pan. A powder-coated carbon steel exterior protects your Karu 2 Pro while retaining heat, and foldable legs make it easy to transport. It’s also a multi-fuel oven, so if you don’t want to use wood or charcoal, you can optionally install a gas burner (requires separate purchase).
The Karu 2 Pro is listed as “coming soon” on Ooni’s website and costs $799, the same price the Karu 16 cost when it came out. There’s no word on pre-orders or release dates, but you can sign up using the link below to be notified when the oven is available for purchase. Additionally, the Karu 16 currently retails for $649, but will be discontinued soon. The Karu 12G and Karu 12 remain in the company’s multi-fuel lineup.
