How to Build an Outdoor Kitchen: The Alehandro Family’s Arizona Build

Step 1 of 9

Step 1: Pour a Concrete Slab

Everything in an outdoor kitchen sits on the slab, so it comes first. The Alehandro family staked wood forms in a bare corner of their walled Arizona backyard and poured one slab big enough for the oven base and all the counters.

Step 2 of 9

Step 2: Lay Out the Block Walls

Cinder block went down on the slab along red layout lines: a square base for the oven and an L of counter walls beside it. Rebar stands in the block cores at the corners to tie the walls together.

Step 3 of 9

Step 3: Form and Pour the Hearth

Rebar spans the top of the oven base, and a cement board deck sits inside the top course to hold the concrete, propped from below with PVC pipe. The block got a gray parge coat, then the hearth slab was poured on top.

Step 4 of 9

Step 4: Raise the Fire Brick Barrel

The Mattone Barile foam form went onto the hearth, and fire brick went up over it course by course. Stone-look tiles went around the hearth edge, and the chimney form went on top of the finished barrel.

Step 5 of 9

Step 5: Build the Chimney and Insulate the Oven

A brick arch and chimney went across the front. Then the barrel was wrapped in ceramic fiber blanket, covered in wire mesh and given a scratch coat. That blanket is what keeps the heat inside the oven.

Step 6 of 9

Step 6: Frame the Arch and Hang the Door

A block face went up around the black oven door, and a buff brick arch with a keystone framed the opening. A brown coat of stucco went over the oven to match the yard walls.

Step 7 of 9

Step 7: Build Out the Kitchen Counters

With the oven done, the block counter walls went out to finish the L, with a low wall in front. Everything got a scratch coat, then cream stucco, with a brown cap on the low wall and openings left for access doors.

Step 8 of 9

Step 8: Lay the Patio and Finish the Kitchen

A sand bed went down in front, then a multicolor paver courtyard. Black access doors, a metal sun, lanterns and a tile gecko finished the kitchen, and an offset smoker parked right beside it.

BeforeFinished

Drag across the photo (or just move your mouse) to go from a bare dirt corner to the finished outdoor kitchen.

Step 9 of 9

Step 9: Fire It Up

The payoff: a margherita baking beside the wood fire, and the builder working the peel on pizza night.

Plan Yours

How to Build an Outdoor Kitchen: Tips From This Build

Pour one slab for everything. One slab under the oven and the counters keeps the whole kitchen level and lets the walls tie together.

Build the oven first. The Alehandro family finished the oven, arch and door before they ran the counters out. That way the counters meet a finished oven, not the other way around.

Block and stucco go a long way. Cinder block is cheap and strong, and stucco lets the kitchen match the house and yard walls.

Plan your storage and your extra cookers. Openings for access doors went in while the block went up, and the courtyard has room for a smoker beside the counters.

Want to see another approach? This DIY outdoor kitchen was dug into a California hillside around a red brick oven. Or compare all of our pizza oven kits.

Good Questions

Outdoor Kitchen FAQ

What are the steps to build an outdoor kitchen?

In this build: pour a concrete slab, lay out the block walls, form and pour the hearth, raise the oven, insulate it, finish the arch and door, build out the counters, then lay the patio and finish the kitchen. The last step is the best one: fire it up.

What should an outdoor kitchen sit on?

A poured concrete slab. The Alehandro family poured one slab under the whole kitchen, then built the oven base and counter walls on it in cinder block.

Which oven kit did the Alehandro family use?

Mattone Barile · Package 2. It is a fire brick barrel oven built over our foam form, with a 17-inch interior ceiling. See the kit.

Do you need to insulate the oven in an outdoor kitchen?

Yes. Ceramic fiber blanket goes over the oven before the stucco, like it did here. Without it, the heat soaks into the outer shell instead of staying inside to cook.

Can you build an outdoor kitchen yourself?

Yes. Every step in this build is block, concrete and stucco work a homeowner can do. Our FREE plans walk you through the oven, from the hearth to the chimney.

How long do you cure a new pizza oven?

Plan on about a week of small, gradually bigger fires to drive the moisture out. Skip it and the oven can crack. See our pizza oven curing guide for the full schedule.