Donuts are among America’s favorite foods, partly because there are so many varieties – but mostly because they're just so tempting. Across the US, bakeries are dreaming up ever more inventive ways to serve them, from masterpieces that rival wedding cakes to offerings with imaginative flavors and toppings. Sometimes, though, you just can’t beat a plain glazed ring or perfectly made cake donut. Read on as we reveal the best donut in every state and Washington DC.
Our selections are based on genuine user reviews, awards and accolades, and the first-hand experience of our team. They're also regularly checked and updated.
With two locations in Birmingham, plus a few more across Alabama and outside the state, Hero Doughnuts & Buns is an independently owned shop that specializes in French-style brioche donuts, made from scratch daily. They’re loved for inventive specials like bread pudding, cinnamon roll, and s’mores, but it’s the classics, and particularly the heavenly Boston cream donut – generously filled with thick yet light cream and topped with chocolate – that fans would scramble over a tower of other treats to get their hands on.
Jason’s Donuts doesn’t look like much from the outside; the small shop is tucked behind an unassuming door in an old lot. Inside, though, the air is scented with just-baked, freshly glazed donuts that have a tendency to fly out the door. Everything is delicious, and flavors are offered on an ‘until sold out’ basis. The chocolate cake is a regular variety and a firm fan favorite.
Don’t let the name fool you. Novel Ice Cream does serve its ice cream in a cup or waffle sandwich, but it’s the warm donut buns, with a scoop stuffed inside, that customers adore. The Dough Melt, with bright blue Cookie Monster ice cream, mini cookies, and crushed Oreos, is a standout. There’s now also a Novel in Mesa, Arizona.
It's often the small spots that serve up the best donuts. Dale’s Donut Shop is definitely one of those places, with customers willing to travel out of state to get their hands on the fried-to-perfection treats. They’re all worth the journey, but it’s the pretty, pink glazed ring that people often come back for, with fans raving about the sweet strawberry flavor, as well as the perfectly fluffy texture.
Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee has won several awards, and was named the best donut shop in California by Food & Wine magazine. There’s nothing on the menu (which includes sweet and savory options) that isn’t completely delicious – but it’s the seasonal huckleberry, with its deep pink glaze, cake-like texture, and fresh Oregon berries, that tops the lot for many customers. The bakery has several locations in the Los Angeles area, with branches at Costa Mesa, Santa Monica, Torrance, and Del Mar.
Josh Schwab, the founder of Glazed & Confuzed, wanted to create modern donuts using local, organic, and sustainable ingredients. This ethos is reflected in the shop’s creative menu, with options like banana bread and a peaches n’ cream number filled with crème pâtissière and topped with brûléed peaches. It’s the Cinnanutelamon, with a cinnamon and Nutella glaze and a swirl of chocolate ganache, that people really crave, though. Do note: the bakery’s Aurora location has closed and they now sell from Stanley Market Place in Stapleton.
Donut Crazy's tagline is 'crafted with love – covered in crazy' and its selection of creative concoctions doesn’t disappoint. The bakery, which has six Connecticut locations, goes all out when it comes to decoration and flavors. There’s usually a variety of one-offs and seasonal specials, but among the staple options the French toast is exceptional. The raised yeast donut is glazed and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar before being drizzled with a maple and vanilla frosting. The result is pretty much perfection – especially the stuffed version (pictured).
The Duck Donuts menu is full of fresh and fruity flavors, from the Raspberry Fluff, with its berry and marshmallow drizzle, to the Blueberry Pancake, which comes topped with blueberry icing, maple drizzle, and powdered sugar. The Piña Colada is the donut that people really rave about, though and once you bite into this citrusy treat, with lemon icing and shredded coconut, you'll realize why. Customers can also create their own made-to-order donut, adding whatever toppings and drizzles they like.
District Doughnut has five DC locations and a menu of artisan donuts that changes monthly; unusual flavors include cherry blossom, cream cheese, and baklava. There’s pretty much always a dulce de leche donut available though, whether it’s a mini nut of dough with salted caramel piped inside, or the more recent creation: a dulce de leche creme brûlée with a beautiful burnt sugar top (pictured).
It’s hard to know where to start with the white chocolate tres leches (three milks) donut, a specialty of The Salty, which has locations in Miami, Orlando, Austin, Dallas, and Charlotte. Perhaps with a dozen of them? The base of this unique runaway favorite is a 24-hour raised brioche dough soaked in rum-infused milk; once fried, it's dipped in melted white chocolate and finished with a swirl of meringue. In short, this is the donut of dreams.
Five Daughters Bakery serves a range of tempting paleo donuts which are free of grains, gluten, dairy and sugar. It’s best known as the home of the hundred-layer donut, made fresh each day with croissant-style layers, like a cronut, though. There’s usually a handful of seasonal specials on offer, alongside menu staples like the Triple Raspberry (pictured). The bakery has two Atlanta locations and several in Tennessee too.
Hawaiian poi-glazed donuts are made with taro root which has been boiled and pounded into a paste. A little is added to the donut batter to give it its purple hue, while the rest is reserved for the glaze. Kamehameha Bakery has been whipping up poi donuts and other malasadas – yeast-raised donut balls originating from Portugal – since 1978. Today they’re as amazing as ever: wonderfully moist, with beautifully balanced flavors.
Ring donuts don’t have to be plain and simple, as this elegant, vibrantly glazed treat proves. Guru Donuts has a rotating range of freshly baked goods including rings, vegan, cake-style, and even potato donuts (it is Idaho, after all). The Hipsterberry (pictured) is a menu mainstay, and a favorite both for its Instagram-friendly looks and its phenomenal flavor.
There’s nothing about the phrase ‘donut ice cream sandwich’ that we don’t like. Firecakes, with five Chicago shops and one truck that rocks up at locations around the city, is famous for them. Customers can mix and match donuts and ice cream, with vanilla and hot fudge among the favorite fillings. Incredibly popular, Firecakes is considered a real Chicago must-visit.
Long’s Bakery is no-frills and cash only. It’s also, for many who’ve visited, one of the best donut bakeries in the entire country. This place proves that fancy isn’t the only way to go with donuts, and their plain, yeast glazed option regularly gets rave reviews.
Rockets Bakery promises its donuts are ‘out of this world’ – and, happily, it doesn't disappoint. Everything is good, from classic glazed rings to seasonal specials like a Margarita-inspired creation. The blueberry fritter, filled with blueberry jelly and topped with whole berries and glaze, is something extra special.
The classic buttermilk donuts and buttermilk minis (pictured) are the favorite at this small, old-school bakery. Customers rave about the perfect balance of flavors (the donuts aren’t too sweet, or too sugary) and the light, airy, melt-in-the-mouth texture. The glaze is just right too. Other top-rated donuts include the honey-dipped glazed ring and those piped full of cream and fruit jelly.
This beloved family-run spot in Paducah serves the best donuts in Kentucky according to many – and, to some, the best in the US. Red’s Donut Shop has been pleasing customers with its perfectly prepared rings and balls since 1955 (though it was originally called Nunn Better). The cream-filled donut holes are a favorite, but it’s the glazed ring that wins the most praise, with customers describing it as ‘soft, fluffy and gooey’.
Louisiana, and particularly New Orleans, has plenty of donut shops and bakeries. But, really, there’s a clear frontrunner when it comes to the ultimate fried treat: the beignet. These small, pillowy, puffed-up donuts originated in France and have become synonymous with the Big Easy. The ultimate place to eat them, many fans agree, is at Café Du Monde's original French Market stand (there are now many others in the city). They’re served under a mound of powdered sugar and usually presented with a chicory-laced café au lait for dipping.
This place is known for its bismarcks – plump, cream-filled donuts – in rotating flavors such as Boston cream, lemon, cherry pie, and cannoli. There are six Blackbird Doughnuts stores in Boston, and people love trying the seasonally changing fillings. It isn’t cheap, but fans agree that donuts this good are well worth the money.
Everything on the menu at Diablo Doughnuts is tempting and most of the donuts are dressed up pretty decadently (think colorful specials piled high with glaze and sprinkles). But, for many customers, you can’t beat the Sin Crunch (pictured, center): a yeast-raised donut with a vanilla glaze, a colorful drizzle, and a LOT of cinnamon sugar.
Things are done a little differently at The Holy Donut, which has four locations – two in Portland and one in both Auburn and Scarborough. Here, freshly mashed Maine potatoes (yes, really) are added to the donut mixture to give it a moist texture. And people love the results. The triple berry, which has blueberry, raspberry and strawberry in its glaze, is a perennial favorite.
This family-run Ferndale favorite might be named for its apple fritter donuts (which some customers reckon are the best around), but it’s famed for its blueberry version, which comes laced with maple syrup and tastes simply amazing. People love the fact that the flavors are baked right into the donuts, rather than just featuring in the glaze and toppings.
Cardigan Donuts regularly adds new and innovative flavors, glazes, and fillings to its menu, decorating its treats with berries, sprinkles, and even edible flowers, so they look as wonderful as they taste. The classic rings, such as the Old Fashioned and the light and flaky French cruller, pictured – made by twisting rectangles of dough into a braid – are the best, though.
Ever since The TatoNut Donut Shop opened in the 1960s, it's had an almost perpetual line snaking around the corner. As hinted by the name, the store’s secret recipe uses potato flour for a light and fluffy batter. The Persian, a cinnamon-filled glazed donut that’s served hot, is the biggest crowd-pleaser here. It’s so delicious, customers return for a taste time and again.
The brilliantly named Vincent Van Doughnut is the place to go for creative, made-from-scratch donuts, and the St. Louis store is open only until its goodies sell out. With donuts this good, that’s usually pretty quickly. Experimental flavors come and go, pleasing palates along the way, but a firm favorite is the deliciously decadent Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate: a sour cream donut with a chocolate glaze, chocolate chips, and chocolate ganache.
The Dirty Dozen in Helena is known for its fun flavors, vibrant colors, and tempting variety. Curious George (pictured left) is a classic, filled with banana cream and Nutella-laced buttercream and drizzled with chocolate caramel. The baby-pink Nerdy Bubble, covered in bubblegum buttercream with Nerds sweets on top, is a winner too. We’ll take both, thank you.
Olsen Bake Shop is a real hole-in-the-wall spot and, as many foodies know, these are often the places that really deliver the goods. And how it does: devotees rave about the classic donuts, with the perfectly fluffy glazed ring a fan favorite. There are no frills, either in the shop or on top of the donuts, and that’s what a lot of customers really love about it.
Vegas is known for the flashy and the fancy, the lavish and the luxurious. So why should Sin City’s donuts be any different? Glaze Doughnuts makes a pretty mean glazed ring and some lovely classic cake donuts – but it’s the show-stoppers that have really won this place fans. The bakery serves some of the most creative and handsome handmade donuts in the state. The El Jefé, a horchata and churro donut, is described as heavenly.
This cheerful donut stop has locations in both North Hampton and Exeter, and it serves craft donuts in a whole roster of flavors, from classic to uber creative. You can't go wrong with staples such as the sweet cinnamon sugar or the strawberry glazed options, but the crowds go wild for the maple bacon, which sees a ring donut glazed in a sticky-sweet maple sauce and sprinkled with crispy, salty bacon pieces.
Having originally earned its badges for making donuts based on classic Girl Scout Cookies, Broad Street Dough Co. – with a shop each in Encinitas, Freehold, and Oakhurst – has become the go-to place for anyone craving donuts in New Jersey. It’s all about the fresh, made-to-order donuts, with more than 40 rotating varieties on the menu each day, plus the chance for customers to create their own. Most of the donuts are vegan and gluten-free too.
This popping purple donut is almost too good looking to eat. Santa Fe's Whoo's Donuts makes its offerings from scratch every day and takes pride in its creative flavors – from seasonal Mexican chocolate to a green chile apple fritter. But the enduring favorite is the Blue Corn Blueberry lavender, a ring donut with a sweet, floral, fruity glaze that looks as pretty as can be sitting on the shelf.
The award for the prettiest donut in New York goes to this honey-lavender creation, regularly on the menu at Supermoon Bakehouse. It’s a work of art both aesthetically and flavor-wise, filled with lavender crème pâtissière and topped with lavender glaze, a meringue kiss, white chocolate shards, and a lavender sprig. The subtle flavor and touch of honeycomb make it a real winner.
Mega-chain Krispy Kreme was born in North Carolina, so it’s unsurprising that the state is overflowing with delicious places to get a donut fix. Suárez Bakery, which has two locations in Charlotte, is a huge hit thanks to its oh-so-pretty and oh-so-delicious donuts. Its Texas donut cake, a huge tower of the bakery’s signature donuts layered with cream and available to pre-order with different fillings and sprinkles, is a real treat. It’s serves up to eight people, so it’s ideal for a special occasion.
Fans of Bearscat Bakehouse reckon it serves the best donuts in the state and even beyond. There are three locations in North Dakota – in Bismarck, Mandan, and Minot, with another in Salem, Oregon – and a core range of classic and colorful donuts is offered along with seasonal specials. One of the mainstays is the heavenly Oreo-covered option (pictured), which is loved by regulars.
Cool Cleveland hangout Brewnuts serves donuts and beer. And it also serves donuts made with beer. Craft beer is whipped into the batter, giving the handcrafted donuts unique flavor profiles and helping to counterbalance the sweetness. Customers rave about the huge, filling and unfailingly delicious donuts, with a main range embellished by rotating specials. The maple bacon, made with bourbon ale, is an enduring favorite.
This spot doles out colorful, cookie-topped creations and ‘cereal killers’ embellished with breakfast favorites, but it’s the menu mainstays that people really love. Polar Donuts’ signature treats include pimp hands and camel toes, both named with tongue firmly in cheek. The light and fluffy camel toes (pictured left) are especially delicious.
Pip’s Original donuts may be miniature, but their flavors are big. The Portland-based company, which has a brick-and-mortar shop and a mobile van, regularly switches up its menu with seasonal specials like banana custard and strawberry rhubarb. The raw honey and sea salt donut, among the first creations, is an enduring favorite and has won awards. People love that it’s not too sweet and it tastes especially delicious with the store’s specialty chai.
Family-run Beiler’s Doughnuts has two outposts in Pennsylvania – one in Philadelphia and one in Lancaster – plus another in Germantown, Maryland. There's a variety of classics and specials on the menu, but it’s the crème filled powdered one that wins the most praise. A firm favorite, it's a pillowy-soft donut drenched in powdered sugar and filled with thick, velvety cream.
Highly rated PVDonuts was Rhode Island's first specialty donut shop and is still considered the best. Its flavors are constantly rotated across donut styles from cake to crullers, with a range of vegan varieties too. The brioche-style is a real winner. Raised with yeast, it’s a light, airy, beautifully buttery ring donut that’s just as delicious whether it’s topped with apple, brownie, or peanut-butter cream (pictured) flavors. They’re always huge too.
Homemade is the order of the day at Glazed, where dough, glazes, and fillings are all produced in-house – some ingredients are even grown in the on-site herb garden. Flavors are fun, inventive, and beautifully balanced. Among the favorites is a round, raised donut filled with sweet corn custard, glazed with blueberry icing, and sprinkled with fresh blueberries and crumbled lemon shortbread.
Raised donuts may reign supreme in most states, but it's Flyboy Donuts' cake donuts that will really knock your socks off. They’re indulgently dense and super rich. People adore all flavors from blueberry to vanilla, but a favorite is the chocolate cake, with a chocolate glaze and colorful sprinkles. The handmade treats tend to fly out of the door at each of the company’s four locations in Sioux Falls.
East Park Donuts and Coffee is a relatively new kid on Nashville’s donut block (unfortunately, not an actual street). The store specializes in brioche and cake donuts and caters to those on paleo, gluten-free, vegan, and keto diets. Most of the menu is a rotation of specials and colorful creations. The incredible brown butter donut is one of the core range, and people love how it’s a beautiful balance of sweet and salty flavors.
The donuts served from Gourdough’s two vintage Airstream trailers, which have the words ‘Big. Fat. Donuts.’ emblazoned on the side, are nothing short of epic. The menu offers a few donut holes for dessert, but it’s the savory options – including a range of donut sandwiches and even donut burgers – that punters really love. In particular, the Mother Clucker – perfectly crisp fried chicken in honey butter and served with a hot garlic donut – really gets people talking. Or clucking…
The customer decides the donut at Mountain Donuts, whose tagline is ‘Top Your Own’. The South Ogden spot has a wide and eye-popping array of donut styles, glazes, toppings, and drizzles to choose from, so everyone gets exactly what they want. The trickiest thing is deciding, though people love the fun of it – and reckon the donuts are top quality too.
Vermont is known for its apples, and the enterprising folk at Cold Hollow Cider Mill have combined their love of cider-making with donuts to create the perfect treat. The cider-infused cake donuts are freshly made each day in old-fashioned donut machines, and people travel here just to try them. They’re beautifully simple with no glaze – and are best enjoyed with a cup of hot cider. Naturally.
Country Style Donuts has two locations in Richmond, and both are hugely popular for one reason: the donuts are delicious. These are mostly no-frills donuts, which is what customers tend to love. The classic raised style with a maple frosting is one of the favorites, with its moreish topping and beautifully light, fluffy texture. For some devoted customers, they’re the best in the world.
The accolade for best donuts in Washington goes to General Porpoise, which has four bakeries in Seattle. Soft and fresh, they come piped with a variety of fillings that often poke out of the top, tantalizing customers who crave varieties like the classic vanilla custard – a firm favorite with regulars. People love that it’s deliciously creamy and not too sweet. It’s on the core menu, which is joined by rotating seasonal specials.
JR’s Donut Castle might not serve the fanciest donuts but, as many customers agree, they're the best around. The chocolate varieties win the most praise and people are particularly partial to the triple chocolate, which is a chocolate cake donut topped with chocolate glaze and chocolate sprinkles.
Gloriously rustic, old-fashioned donuts are a specialty at Greenbush Bakery, which has two locations in Madison. They add sour cream to the batter, which lends a distinctive flavor and helps to counterbalance the sweetness, while also giving the donuts a beautifully crisp finish. They come in classic sour cream or with blueberry, cherry, chocolate, or apple cinnamon added to the mix and, according to devotees, they’re simply the best.
The Donut Shop on Central has amassed a seriously loyal following over the years and this can be attributed to two things: the warm and smiley welcome offered by owner Vanny Leas, and the exceptional donuts. The perfectly imperfect-looking classic apple fritter donuts (pictured) are a delight – light, fluffy, and deeply fruity – while the glazed frosted bars and twists are an absolute treat too.
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