What Else Can You Cook in a Pizza Oven Besides Pizza?

When most people think about a pizza oven, they picture a bubbling Neapolitan pizza with a crisp, blistered crust. But a high-performance wood-fired oven can do far more. With the right temperature and cookware, you can roast meats, bake bread, sear seafood, char vegetables, prepare casseroles and finish desserts all with the distinctive character of live fire.

At Chicago Brick Oven, we design our ovens as complete outdoor cooking systems, not single-purpose pizza makers. Our American-made brick ovens combine traditional low-dome design with modern engineering, including FlameRoll™ Technology, to create intense, evenly distributed heat for everything from 90-second pizzas to slow-roasted meals.

More Ideas: Nachos, Chickpeas, Naan and Baked Apples

Expand the menu with skillet nachos made with cooked toppings, roasted chickpeas, garlic bread, naan or pita. Use a suitable baking dish for oat-and-nut-filled apples, a skillet for chocolate-and-marshmallow dip, or a pan for roasted pears to serve with greens and cheese. These are dish ideas, not a single high-heat recipe: choose a tested recipe and cookware rated for its cooking temperature. Delicate cheese, chocolate and sugar can scorch quickly near a live fire.

Plan Multiple Dishes in One Firing

Plan the order around measured oven conditions: high-heat pizza first, then the recipes that need gentler heat as the oven cools. This is not permission to leave food in an unmonitored oven overnight. Retained heat changes over time; keep checking the oven and the food. For bread-specific preparation, see our pizza-oven bread guide. For meat, see the steak cooking guide.

Cookware and Food-Safety Checks

The CBO wood-burning manual says to pre-warm cooking accessories and keep water, marinades and drippings off the hearth. Except for bread and pizza, use a suitable cooking accessory; a grill grate needs a griddle underneath to catch drippings. Do not place frozen food directly on the hearth.

Check food with a food thermometer: whole beef steaks and roasts need at least 145°F followed by a three-minute rest; poultry needs 165°F; ground beef needs 160°F; fish needs 145°F. Follow the USDA safe-temperature chart and your recipe. Oven temperature and browned surfaces do not establish a safe internal temperature.

Follow the correct door instructions for your model. Closed-door wood-oven cooking requires the appropriate insulating door, no fire and temperatures below 400°F; a decorative door is not a cooking door. Hybrid gas cooking requires an open doorway. Consult the Residential Hybrid or Commercial Hybrid manual for your oven.

What Can You Cook in a Pizza Oven?

The short answer: much more than pizza. Depending on the temperature and cooking setup, you can use a Chicago Brick Oven to bake, roast, sear, grill, or slow-cook a wide range of foods.

Here are some of the best things to cook in a pizza oven:

• Steaks, chicken and ribs
• Sourdough, focaccia, naan and other breads
• Fish and seafood
• Roasted vegetables
• Casseroles and pasta bakes
• Flatbreads and appetizers
• Potatoes and other side dishes
• Cobblers, cookies and other desserts

The key is understanding how your oven's heat works. A CBO oven combines radiant, convection and conduction heat, allowing you to move food around the cooking chamber and adjust the cooking environment for different dishes.

1. Fire-Roasted Meats and Steaks

High heat and live flame make a wood-fired oven an excellent place to cook meat. A cast-iron pan or grill grate can become extremely hot, creating the deep sear and caramelized exterior that steak lovers look for.

Try:

• Steaks: Sear thick ribeyes or other cuts in cast iron for a browned crust while keeping the interior tender.
• Chicken: Roast a spatchcock chicken for crisp skin and juicy meat.
• Ribs: Use lower, controlled heat for a longer cook when you want tender, smoky ribs.

CBO's high-heat cooking environment is particularly useful when you want more than one cooking method during the same outdoor gathering. Start with a high-temperature sear, then take advantage of the oven's retained heat for slower cooking.

2. Freshly Baked Bread

One of the most rewarding things to make in a pizza oven is fresh bread.

A properly heated brick hearth provides direct heat underneath the dough, while the oven chamber surrounds it with intense ambient heat. That combination helps create the crisp crust and substantial interior associated with artisan baking.

Focaccia, sourdough, ciabatta, naan and pita are all excellent choices. Naan and pita can puff rapidly against a hot hearth, while larger artisan loaves benefit from the oven's heat retention.

If you're wondering, can you bake other things in a pizza oven? Absolutely. Bread is one of the clearest examples of how a brick oven can become a true outdoor baking station.

3. Flavorful Roasted Vegetables

Vegetables take on an entirely different character when cooked over live fire.

Peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, cauliflower, potatoes and other vegetables can be tossed with olive oil and seasonings, placed in an oven-safe roasting pan or cast-iron skillet, and cooked until caramelized.

The intense heat helps brown the outside quickly while retaining texture inside. Live fire can also add a subtle smoky note that is difficult to reproduce in a conventional kitchen oven.

For inspiration, explore our pizza oven recipes for additional ways to use your CBO beyond pizza.

4. Seafood With a Flame-Kissed Finish

Seafood is another answer to what else can you cook in a pizza oven. Shrimp, salmon and whole fish can cook quickly in a hot oven without losing their natural moisture.

Try garlic-butter shrimp in a cast-iron pan, herb-seasoned salmon or a whole roasted fish. Positioning the food appropriately within the cooking chamber lets you control its exposure to direct flame and intense radiant heat.

The result can be beautifully browned edges with tender seafood inside.

5. Casseroles and Pasta Bakes

Your pizza oven can also handle comfort food. Lasagna, baked pasta, mac and cheese, vegetable gratins and other casseroles can be prepared in oven-safe cookware.

For these dishes, you generally want a lower temperature than you would use for Neapolitan pizza. Once the oven has cooled from its initial high-heat session, its retained heat can provide an ideal environment for bubbling cheese and golden crusts.

This is one reason we consider a CBO oven a versatile outdoor cooking system rather than simply a pizza oven.

6. Appetizers, Flatbreads and Side Dishes

If you're hosting a backyard gathering, you can keep food moving through the oven throughout the meal.

Bake naan, pita, breadsticks and herb-topped flatbreads as appetizers. Cast-iron potatoes, corn on the cob and other sides can follow. Baked Camembert is another simple option: place it in a small oven-safe skillet and let the heat turn the cheese molten and ready for dipping.

These dishes make it easier to use the oven from the first course through the final bite.

7. Wood-Fired Desserts

Yes, desserts belong on the list of what can you cook in a pizza oven besides pizza.

After high-temperature cooking, the oven's retained heat can be useful for desserts that benefit from even baking and caramelization.

Try:

• Fruit cobbler with peaches, apples or berries
• Skillet cookies
• Cinnamon rolls
• Roasted peaches or pineapple
• Basque cheesecake

Cast iron works particularly well for desserts because it retains heat and helps create crisp, caramelized edges.

Why a CBO Oven Can Cook More Than Pizza

The versatility starts with the oven's engineering. CBO's low-dome, igloo-shaped design is based on traditional Italian brick ovens, while its proprietary refractory cement and stainless steel fiber reinforcement are engineered for demanding North American climates.

FlameRoll™ Technology creates a vacuum effect that circulates concentrated heat through the cooking chamber, helping CBO ovens reach temperatures up to 1,000°F. That intense environment supports fast pizza cooking while also giving you the flexibility to roast, bake, sear and cook with cast iron.

For installation, operating limits and certification details, consult the manual and listing for the exact oven model.

Make Your Pizza Oven an Outdoor Cooking System

So, what are people using pizza ovens for besides pizza? Everything from artisan bread and fire-roasted steak to seafood, vegetables, casseroles and desserts.

The right oven should give you the freedom to change cooking methods as the meal changes. With a Chicago Brick Oven, you can start with high-heat pizza, move into roasted meats or vegetables, and finish with a cast-iron dessert all around the same live fire.

Because when your oven is engineered for more than one dish, everything tastes better woodfired.

FAQs

What can you cook in a pizza oven besides pizza?
You can cook steak, chicken, ribs, seafood, vegetables, bread, casseroles, flatbreads, potatoes and desserts in a high-performance pizza oven.

What else can you cook on a pizza oven?
Beyond baking pizza, you can use a CBO oven for roasting, searing, baking and slow cooking, depending on the temperature and cookware.

Can you bake other things in a pizza oven?
Yes. Bread, focaccia, sourdough, naan, pita, cookies, cobblers and cheesecakes can all be prepared in a pizza oven when the cooking temperature is appropriate.

What can you make in a pizza oven for a dinner party?
A complete meal can include pizza, roasted vegetables, steak or seafood, fresh bread, baked appetizers and a cast-iron dessert.

What are the best things to cook in a pizza oven?
The best choices depend on your preferred temperature and cooking style, but steaks, artisan breads, roasted vegetables, seafood and cast-iron dishes are especially well suited to wood-fired cooking.