Best Budget-Friendly: American Metalcraft 3512 35.5” Aluminum Pizza Peel

What’s the best pizza peel? Should you get a wood or metal one? 

A pizza peel is a paddle (wood or metal) that lets you put a pizza in (and take one out of) an oven. We tried out several pizza peels and then interviewed pizza chefs for their favorites. We also asked our parent readers for their picks.

Along the way, we learned a couple of tips:

  1. To keep a pizza from sticking to a peel, use a small amount of 00 flour (special flour used in pizza baking—it is milled to a very fine texture). 
  2. For metal pizza peels, let the pizza sit on the peel for 5 minutes after cooking to help it release.
  3. Raw dough tends to stick to wood pizza peels. One tip: put your pizza on parchment paper, then on the wooden peel.  Or try 00 flour on the peel. Also: wood peels require special care: don’t soak it in water, as it can warp. Wash in warm water and dry immediately. If you live in a dry climate, use food grade mineral oil on the wood to keep it from cracking.

For whatever reason, pizza peels can get rather pricey. But there is good news: we found one peel that is both good quality and easy on the wallet: American Metalcraft’s model 3512. Here’s why it is a good buy:

What We Liked

• Lightweight.

• Thin 14 gauge aluminum blade = slides under dough easily.

• Affordable.

• Made in the USA.

What Needs Work

• Doesn’t work well with larger pizzas. This peel is better for 12″ pizzas.

• Edges can be sharp.

• Handle is unfinished.

• A hole to handle the peel would be a most welcome improvement.

Best Small Pizza Peel: Frederica Trading Premium Bamboo Wooden Pizza Peel Paddle

For an excellent 12″ wood pizza peel, we’d recommend Frederica Trading’s Premium Bamboo model. We loved how easy it was to clean and the dough releases easily. Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Beveled edge slides under dough easily.

• Can be used a cutting board as well.

• Great for personal size pizzas (12″ or smaller). Peel size is 11.5″ by 11.5″

• Easy to clean.

• Hole for handing.

What Needs Work

• Too short handle. At just 6.5″, the handle of this peel is on the short end. Not a big deal if you are using a small pizza oven . . . but this probably won’t work if your pizza oven is deeper.

Best Larger Pizza Peel:  Kitchen Supply 14” x 16” Aluminum Pizza Peel

Most pizza peels are designed for smaller pizzas. If you’d prefer a bigger peel for larger pizzas, we’d recommend Kitchen Supply’s 14″ x 16″ aluminum pizza peel. Yes, it is more pricey than other models we tried, but we think it is worth the upgrade. Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Long, reinforced handle.

• Sturdy.

• Great for larger size pizzas. The paddle is 14″ by 16″.

• Easy to use.

What Needs Work

• Pricey.

• Sharp edges.

• No hole to hang it for storage.

Best Wood Pizza Peel: Ironwood Gourmet Napoli Pizza Peel

This pizza peel is almost too pretty to use—but we did anyway! Made form acacia wood, it is well made and easy to use. Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Beveled edge on front.

• No coatings or varnishes.

• Grommet on handle so it can be hung for storage.

• 6″ long handle.

• Paddle surface is 14″ by 14″, perfect for 12″ pizzas.

• Well made.

• Doubles as a nice serving piece.

What Needs Work

• Too thick, say some critics. That makes it harder to pick up a pizza from an oven. In our tests, we didn’t see this as a problem—it worked well for us. But some folks disagree about the thickness issue.

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do hands-on testing—we buy the products with our own money and evaluate with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!