Looking for a DIY pizza oven menu to test your cooking skills? Here are 10 juicy recipes to get you started.
Open fires and ovens have been used for cooking since the early caveman days. The concepts have evolved throughout history from early open fire pits to today’s newest gas and electric ovens.
Did you know that owning a pizza oven does not have to limit you to pizza cooking only? It is so much more versatile than that.
At this point, you may be asking yourself: What else can I use my pizza oven to cook? Well, there is a simple answer. Anything you cook on a stovetop, oven, or griller from nuts, vegetables, fish, or hearty healthy stews, you can cook in a pizza oven.
In fact, pizza oven cooking is a healthier alternative and will intensify food flavor. Cooking in a pizza oven is not as daunting as many think. It is actually very simple.
Keep reading for some fantastic pizza oven menu ideas!
Compile Your Pizza Oven Menu for Foods Other Than Pizza
Let’s begin our DIY pizza oven menu. A menu consists of appetizers, main meal, and dessert. Below you will find 10 juicy recipes for foods other than pizza encompassing these three categories.
Appetizers Cooked in a Pizza Oven
As your pizza oven warms up, there are many quick appetizers you can cook to share with and wow your guests. Here is a quick peek at some of them.
1. Cheesy Mushrooms
This is one of the easiest and tastiest snacks to make.
- Buy some medium to large mushrooms
- Wash and wipe the mushrooms
- Remove the stalks so as to form a bowl
- Lay mushrooms on a baking tray
- Put a teaspoon of garlic butter into each mushroom
- Season with some paprika, salt, and pepper
- Top with grated cheese of your choice, such as Parmesan
- Put the tray towards the front of the pizza oven
Serve bubbling hot, and enjoy!
2. Barbequed Sardines
This is another easy peasy snack to prepare.
- 16 sardines
- 1/4 cup virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon of coarse salt
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
Mix olive oil, coarse salt, and minced garlic in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over sardines. Lay the sardines flat on a baking sheet. Cook in the pizza oven for about five minutes on either side or until the skin is crisp.
Serve on fresh slices of rustic farm bread with a Picante salsa.
3. Jalapeno Poppers Stuffed With Cheese and Wrapped in Bacon
This is a tasty snack with a bite!
- 12 large jalapenos
- Hot sauce of your choice
- 1 cup cream cheese
- 1 packet of streaky bacon
- Salt and pepper
- 12 wooden skewers, soaked in water
Method:
- Slice the top off the chilies and scrape any seeds out
- Mix the cream cheese, salt, and pepper and add an amount to your liking of hot sauce
- Fill each jalapeno with the mixture
- Wrap each chili with a slice of raw bacon securing the ends with a toothpick
- Push a skewer through each chili from top to bottom
- Lay skewers on a baking tray and bake in the pizza oven until the bacon is crispy
Be sure to make extra, as these spicy treats won’t last long!
4. Corn on the Cob
Again, this is simple and easy to make. You can serve whole or cut into snack-size pieces.
Soak the cob beforehand in water. Lay on a baking tray and place it in the pizza oven. Brush and turn regularly with a mixture of melted butter and garlic.
Comforting Main Meals
Now that you have had your appetizers, tantalize your taste buds with these delicious dishes that can be cooked in a pizza oven.
1. Steaks a la Savage
There is nothing as easy as this simple but delicious recipe.
- Thick ribeye steaks, preferably bone-in
- Salt
- Pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
Rub the olive oil all over the steak, then season with salt and pepper. Lay the steaks on a baking sheet and place it in the pizza oven. Cook until the desired doneness. Allow the steaks to rest before serving.
Accompany the steaks with baked potatoes and vegetables, which by the way can also be cooked in a pizza oven.
2. Salmon Cooked on a Wooden Plank
Try cedar or oak wood — it adds a smoky taste to the meat.
- 1 cup of demerara sugar
- 1 cup of coarse salt
- Piece of wood of your choice sized to fit your salmon filet
- 4 tbsp Honey
- A single-shot of whiskey of choice
In a bowl mix the demerara sugar with the coarse salt. Rub all over the salmon filet and wrap in clingfilm. This dry rub works best if you leave overnight in the fridge.
About six hours before you are cooking the fish, take out the filets and rinse the salt and sugar mixture off, and pat dray. Then leave the filets in the fridge uncovered until cooking time.
At this stage take your wood and soak in water for a couple of hours. Soaking the wood helps the plank from burning quickly.
In a bowl, mix the honey and whiskey and place the salmon on the pre-soaked plank. Place this into the center of the oven on medium heat. Brush the salmon filets intermittently with the honey and whiskey mixture.
Serve with garlic and parsley boiled potatoes, a bourbon mustard sauce, and a simple salad.
Quick Yummy Meal Ending Foods
Listed below are some simple ways to end your meal with desserts and savories.
1. Baked Apples
- 6 apples
- 6 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp raisins
- 1 tsp ginger syrup
- 4 tsp mixed nuts (optional)
- 6 tbsp melted unsalted butter
- Apple juice
In a bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, raisins, nuts, and ginger syrup. Cut only the top of the apples and core. Fill the apples with the mixture above and add 1 tbsp of melted butter into each apple.
Place apples in a deep dish and add the juice to the dish. Make sure you cover the bottom of the dish. Cover with tin foil. Bake in the pizza oven for 30 minutes.
This dish is best served warm with some vanilla ice cream.
2. S’Mores
Who does not like S’mores? Bring the campfire experience inside with this easy recipe:
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 chocolate bar, crushed
- 1 bag Marshmallows
- 2 packets graham crackers or cookies
Put the condensed milk into a cast-iron skillet. Sprinkle the crushed chocolate and top with the marshmallows.
Put the skillet in the middle of the oven. Cook until the marshmallows go golden brown for approximately 6 minutes. Dip the crackers or cookies and scoop out the deliciousness!
3. Baked Bananas With Ice Cream
This dessert does not require any effort whatsoever. Simply place the unpeeled bananas into the pizza oven and leave to cook for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Peel and serve the banana warm with a scoop of ice cream.
4. Baked Camembert or Brie
This is a great end to a meal for non-sweet eaters. You need Camembert or Brie cheese — simply bake until it is soft. Serve with salted crackers or toasted bread. Delish!
Let’s Wrap It Up
We hope you have been inspired to venture into the world of the unknown and create your own recipes for foods cooked in a pizza oven. Just remember, anything you cook on a conventional stovetop, oven, or grill can be done in a pizza oven.
If you are thinking of adding a wood-fired pizza oven to your entertainment area or kitchen, read our latest blogs for more great cooking advice.
Go forth and create your very own unique pizza oven menu!