I’ve made a lot of pizza at home over the years. In fact, last weekend I made a yummy summer flatbread pizza with burrata, pesto, prosciutto and peaches. In the past, I’ve used everything from baking sheets to pizza stones, and while they all sort of got the job done, nothing really nailed that crispy, golden-bottom crust I get from my favorite local pizzeria. And making pizza with these tools was often too much of a time investment for me to even bother. 

That changed when I got my hands on the HexClad Hybrid Pizza Steel. I honestly didn’t think a slab of steel could upgrade my pizza game this much, but here we are. 

Hei, știai? Mesajele text cu oferte CNET sunt gratuite, ușoare și vă economisesc bani.

Let’s talk about specs

At first glance, it looks like a fancy, large metal frisbee. It’s a 14.5-inch round pizza steel that fits up to a 14-inch pie and it’s surprisingly lightweight for the size — just about 4.5 pounds — which made a big difference when I was sliding it in and out of the oven.

What sets this one apart is its build: It’s a tri-ply combo with a super-conductive aluminum core between layers of stainless steel, topped with HexClad’s trademark laser-etched nonstick surface. That means it heats up fast, cooks evenly and won’t cling to melted cheese like your standard pizza stone. 

Bonus: It’s oven- and grill-safe up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit, dishwasher-safe (hallelujah!) and comes with built-in handles that actually make it easy to move without risking a tragic drop of your just-baked pizza. 

Why I love my pizza steel (and how I use it)

Let’s start with the crust, which is honestly my favorite part of any pizza. (You will never find leftover pizza crust left on my plate.) 

I made the same pizza dough I always make and popped it onto the HexClad steel. During the baking, the bottom crisped up as if I had used a wood-fired oven. It had that slight char and audible crunch when I sliced into it. I’ve never gotten that kind of result with a stone, no matter how long I preheated it.

And I love that I didn’t have to wait 45 minutes to get started. The aluminum core heats fast, so I wasn’t burning daylight waiting for the oven to catch up. The nonstick surface worked flawlessly, too. Whenever rogue cheese and toppings slipped off, I was able to wipe them right off without any elbow grease. 

Cleanup was laughably easy. I usually dread scrubbing my cooking gear, but this one? A quick rinse, a swipe of the sponge and that was that. No baked-on mess, no overnight soaking required. I even tossed it in the dishwasher once to test the claim, and it came out looking just the same as it did before the wash. 

Tricky storage

I think this steel from HexClad is just about perfect, but it does have one downside. Even though it’s lighter than a lot of baking steels, it’s still a solid hunk of metal. And while it’s not heavy-heavy, it’s not exactly dainty either. 

This might just be a “me”problem, but I’ve found that storage can be tricky. It’s round and wide, which means it doesn’t slide easily into my drawers or my kitchen island cabinets. I’ve had to store it on top of my fridge since that’s the only place in my kitchen that can hold a kitchen tool that’s both this flat and wide. 

My final verdict 

If you’re serious about homemade pizza, the HexClad Hybrid Pizza Steel is a total game-changer. I didn’t expect it to make that big of a difference, but it did. The crust, the convenience and the easy cleanup all add up to a tool I now reach for weekly for my pizza nights. 

Is it a bit of an investment? Yes. But if you make pizza even semiregularly (or know someone who does and you’re looking for a solid gift idea), then this thing pays for itself in better pies and quicker cleanup. Even at full price, it’s a great value for the performance. Considering this steel has almost 300 5-star reviews, I’m not the only one who thinks so. 

If you’re looking for other useful, fun gifts for your favorite hostess or the chef in your life, here are our favorite kitchen gifts under $50. You can also read my reviews of my favorite Everything Makerși my favorite coffee and espresso system.