Doughnuts are one of America’s favourite foods and, often, among the most outrageously creative and delicious. Across the US, bakeries are coming up with more and more inventive ways to serve doughnuts, from masterpieces that rival wedding cakes to maple bacon brioche rings. Sometimes, though, you just can’t beat a plain glazed ring or perfectly made cake doughnut. We’ve scoured the country for the best doughnut in every state and Washington DC. Due to COVID-19, check state travel advisories and establishment websites for dine-in, takeout and delivery options before you visit.

With two locations in Birmingham, plus a handful outside the state, Hero Doughnuts is an independently owned shop that specialises in French-style brioche doughnuts, 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 doughnut – generously filled with thick yet light cream and topped with chocolate – that fans would scramble over a mountain of other doughnuts 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 and freshly glazed doughnuts that have a tendency to fly out the door. Everything is delicious, and varieties are offered on an “until sold out” basis. The chocolate cake is a regular variety and a firm fan favourite.

Don’t let the name fool you. Novel Ice Cream does serve its variety of ice cream flavours in a cup or waffle sandwich, but it’s the warm doughnut buns, with a scoop stuffed inside, that customers adore. The bright blue Cookie Monster ice cream doughnut or “doughmelt” with mini cookies and crushed Oreos is a standout. There’s now also a location in Mesa, Arizona.

It's often the small spots that serve up the best, and freshest, doughnuts. Dale’s Donut Shop is definitely one of those, with customers willing to travel out of state to get their hands on them. They’re all worth the journey but it’s the prettily pink glazed ring that people often come back for. People love the strawberry flavour as well as the doughnuts’ perfect texture.

Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee has won several accolades and been named the best doughnut shop in California by Food & Wine magazine. There’s nothing on the menu, which includes sweet and savoury doughnuts, 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.

The founder of Glazed & Confuzed, Josh Schwab, wanted to create a modern doughnut using local, organic and sustainable ingredients. It’s reflected in the shop’s creative menu with options like banana bread and peaches n’ cream, filled with crème pâtissière and topped with brûlée peaches. It’s the cinnanutelamon, with a cinnamon and Nutella glaze and a swirl of chocolate ganache, that people really crave, though. 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 flavours. There’s usually a variety of one-offs and seasonal specials, and the French toast is a standout among the staples. The raised yeast doughnut is glazed and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar before being drizzled with a maple and vanilla icing. And it’s pretty much perfection – especially the stuffed version (pictured).

The Duck Donuts menu is full of fresh and fruity flavours: think Raspberry Fluff, with its berry and marshmallow drizzle, and Blueberry Pancake, with blueberry icing, maple drizzle and powdered sugar. But people particularly rave about Pina Colada, a citrusy treat with lemon icing and shredded coconut, which is described as an incredible taste experience. Customers can also create their own made-to-order doughnut, adding whatever toppings and drizzles they like.

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District Doughnut has five DC locations and a monthly-changing menu of artisan doughnuts, with unusual flavours such as cherry blossom, cream cheese and baklava. There’s pretty much always a dulce de leche doughnut on the menu, 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) doughnut, a speciality of The Salty Donut, which has two locations in Miami, one in Orlando and two in Texas. Perhaps with a dozen of them? The base of this unique creation, a runaway favourite, is a 24-hour raised brioche dough soaked in rum-infused milk, dipped in melted white chocolate and finished with a swirl of meringue. It’s the doughnut of dreams.

Five Daughters Bakery serves a range of tempting paleo flavours which are free of grains, gluten, dairy and sugars. And it’s best known as the home of the hundred-layer doughnut, made fresh each day with croissant-style layers, like a cronut. There’s usually a handful of seasonal specials alongside staples like the prettily pink triple raspberry, whose sweetly tart glaze keeps people coming back time and again. The bakery has two Atlanta locations and several in Tennessee too.

Hawaiian poi-glazed doughnuts are made with taro root. The root is boiled and pounded into a paste, and a little is added to the doughnut batter to give it its purple hue. The rest is used to glaze the doughnut to perfection. Kamehameha Bakery has been making poi doughnuts and other malasadas – yeast-raised doughnut balls originating from Portugal – since 1978. And they’re still amazing, wonderfully moist and with beautifully balanced flavours.

Ring doughnuts don’t have to be boring, 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 doughnuts (it is Idaho). The Hipsterberry (pictured) is a menu mainstay and a favourite both for its Instagram-friendly looks and for its phenomenal flavour.

There’s nothing about the phrase “Donut Ice Cream Sandwich” that we don’t like. Firecakes, with three Chicago shops and one truck that rocks up at locations around the city, is famous for them. Customers can mix and match doughnuts and ice cream, with vanilla and hot fudge among the favourite fillings. It’s so popular, it’s considered a real Chicago must.

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Long’s Bakery is no-frills and cash only. It’s also, for many who’ve visited, one of the best doughnut bakeries in the entire US. It also proves that fancy doesn’t always equal flavour, and vice versa, because their plain, yeast glazed doughnuts regularly get rave reviews. 

Rockets Bakery promises its doughnuts 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. Yet the blueberry fritter, filled with blueberry jam and topped with whole berries and glaze, is something extra special.

The classic buttermilk doughnuts and buttermilk minis (pictured) are the favourite at this small, old-school bakery. Customers rave about the perfect balance of flavours (the doughnuts aren’t too sweet, or too sugary) and the light, airy texture that melts in the mouth. The glaze is just right too. Other top-rated doughnuts include the honey-dipped glazed ring and ones piped full of cream and jam.

This beloved family-run spot in Paducah serves the best doughnuts 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 doughnut holes are a favourite 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 doughnut shops and bakeries. But, really, there’s a clear frontrunner when it comes to the ultimate doughnut: the beignet. These small, pillowy, puffed-up doughnuts originated in France and have become synonymous with the Big Easy. And 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 with a chicory-laced café au lait for dipping.

This place is known for its bismarcks – plump, cream-filled doughnuts – in rotating flavours 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 doughnuts this good are well worth the money.

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Everything on the menu at Diablo Doughnuts is tempting and most of the doughnuts are dressed up pretty decadently. But, for many customers, you can’t beat the Sin Crunch (pictured, centre), a yeast-raised doughnut with a vanilla glaze, a colourful drizzle and a LOT of cinnamon sugar. The Baltimore favourite also has some colourful specials, sometimes crazy and always piled high with glaze and sprinkles.

Things are done a little differently at The Holy Donut, which has three locations – Portland, Auburn and Scarborough. They add freshly mashed Maine potatoes (yes, really) to the doughnut mixture to give a moist texture. And people love the results. The triple berry, which has blueberry, raspberry and strawberry in its glaze, is a perennial favourite.

This family-run Ferndale favourite might be named for its apple fritter doughnuts, which some customers reckon are the best around – but it’s become known for its blueberry version, laced with maple syrup and simply amazing. People love the fact that the flavours are baked right into the doughnuts, rather than just being concentrated into the glaze and toppings.

Cardigan Donuts is regularly adding new and innovative flavours, 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 particularly the French cruller – made by twisting rectangles of dough into a braid – are the best, though. The cruller is surprisingly light, flaky and delicious.

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Ever since The TatoNut 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 glazed doughnut with a cinnamon filling that’s served hot, is the biggest crowd-pleaser here. It’s so delicious that customers return for a taste time and again.

Vincent Van Doughnut is the place to go for creative, made-from-scratch doughnuts, and the St. Louis store is open only until its goodies sell out. With doughnuts this good, that’s usually pretty quickly. Experimental flavours come and go, pleasing palates along the way, but a firm favourite is the chocolate chocolate chocolate – a sour cream old fashioned with a chocolate glaze, choc chips and ganache. Decadent and delicious.

The Dirty Dozen in Helena is known for its fun flavours, vibrant colours 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.

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: its many devotees rave about the classic doughnuts, with the perfectly fluffy glazed ring a fan favourite. There are no frills, either in the shop or on top of the doughnuts, 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 Instagram-worthy. So why should Sin City’s doughnuts be any different? Glaze Doughnuts makes a pretty mean glazed ring and some lovely classic cake doughnuts – but it’s the showstoppers that have really won it fans. The bakery serves some of the most creative and beautiful handmade doughnuts in the state. The el jefé, a horchata and churro doughnut, is described as heavenly.

The Angry Donut makes its doughnuts from scratch daily, with brioche dough cut, fried and – in most cases – topped with all kinds of crazy and delicious things, from multi-coloured breakfast cereal to crispy bacon. It’s a relative newcomer to the scene, opened in 2019, but is already considered the best around by many fans, who are particularly in love with the maple bacon. The original location is in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Having originally earned its badges for making doughnuts 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 doughnuts in New Jersey. It’s all about the fresh, made-to-order doughnuts, with more than 40 rotating varieties on the menu each day, plus the chance for customers to create their own. Most of the doughnuts are vegan and gluten-free too.

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The creators behind Rebel Donut, which has two locations in Albuquerque, like to keep things fun. Doughnuts have included a bright blue Breaking Bad doughnut, sweet treats laced with chillies and – a runaway favourite – the French toast, a square doughnut with sugar and cinnamon, a maple drizzle and buttercream. It’s to die for, according to devotees.

The award for the prettiest doughnut 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 flavour-wise, filled with lavender crème pâtissière and topped with lavender glaze, a meringue kiss, white chocolate shards and a lavender sprig. The subtle flavour and touch of honeycomb make it a 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 doughnut fix. Suárez Bakery, which has two locations in Charlotte, is a huge hit thanks to its oh-so-pretty and oh-so-delicious doughnuts. Its Texas doughnut cake, a huge tower of the bakery’s signature doughnuts 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 doughnuts 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 colourful doughnuts is offered along with seasonal specials. One of the mainstays is the heavenly Oreo-covered doughnut, which is loved by regulars.

Cool Cleveland hangout Brewnuts serves doughnuts and beer. And it also serves doughnuts made with beer. Craft beer is whipped into the batter, giving the handcrafted doughnuts unique flavour profiles and helping to counterbalance the sweetness. Customers rave about the huge, filling and unfailingly delicious doughnuts, with a core range embellished by rotating specials. The maple bacon, made with bourbon ale, is an enduring favourite, and one people tend to come back for.

This spot doles out colourful cookie-topped creations and “cereal killers” embellished with breakfast favourites, 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. Light and fluffy and a little like a bear claw, the camel toes (pictured left) are especially delicious.

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Pip’s Original doughnuts may be miniature, but their flavours 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 doughnut, among the first creations, is an enduring favourite and has won awards. People love that it’s not too sweet and it tastes delicious with the store’s speciality chai.

Family-run Beiler’s Doughnuts has three outposts in Pennsylvania – two 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 favourite, it's a pillowy-soft doughnut drenched in powdered sugar and filled with thick, velvety cream.

Highly-rated PVDonuts was Rhode Island's first specialty doughnut shop and is still considered the best in the area. Its flavours are constantly rotated across doughnut 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 doughnut that’s just as delicious whether it’s topped with apple, brownie or peanut-butter cream (pictured) flavours. 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 herb garden. Flavours are fun, inventive and beautifully balanced. Among the favourites is a round, raised doughnut filled with sweet corn custard, glazed with blueberry and sprinkled with fresh blueberries and crumbled lemon shortbread.

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Raised doughnuts may reign supreme in most states, but it's Flyboy Donuts' cake doughnuts that will really knock your socks off here. They’re indulgently dense and super rich. People adore all flavours from blueberry to vanilla, but a favourite is the chocolate cake, with a chocolate glaze and colourful 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 doughnut block (unfortunately, not an actual street). The store specialises in brioche and cake doughnuts and caters to those on paleo, gluten-free, vegan and keto diets. Most of the menu is a rotation of specials and colourful creations. The incredible brown butter doughnut is one of the core range, and people love how it’s a beautiful balance of sweet and salty flavours.

Gourdough’s has two locations in Austin. The pub’s menu includes a few doughnut holes for dessert, but it’s the savoury offerings that punters love. There's a range of doughnut sandwiches and even doughnut burgers. And the Mother Clucker – perfectly crisp fried chicken in honey butter and served with a hot garlic doughnut – really gets people talking. Or clucking. They’re also served from a vintage Airstream trailer, which has the words “Big. Fat. Donuts.” emblazoned on its side.

The customer decides the doughnut at Mountain Donuts, whose tagline is “Top Your Own”. The South Ogden spot has a wide and eye-popping array of doughnut 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 doughnuts are top-notch quality too.

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Vermont is known for its apples and the enterprising folk at Cold Hollow Cider Mill have combined their love of cider-making with doughnuts to create the perfect treat. Their cider-infused cake doughnuts are freshly made each day in old-fashioned doughnut machines, and people travel here just for 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 doughnuts are delicious. These are mostly no-frills doughnuts, which is what customers tend to love. The classic raised style with a maple frosting is one of the favourites, with its moreish topping and beautifully light, fluffy texture. For some devoted customers, they’re the best doughnuts in the world.

The accolade for best doughnuts in Washington goes to General Porpoise, which has three bakeries in Seattle. Soft and fresh, they come piped with a variety of fillings that often poke out of the top, tantalising customers who crave varieties like the classic vanilla custard – a firm favourite. 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 doughnuts 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 doughnut topped with chocolate glaze and sprinkles – also chocolate, of course. 

Gloriously rustic, old-fashioned-style donuts are a speciality at Greenbush Bakery, which has two locations in Madison. They add sour cream to the batter, giving a distinctive flavour, helping to counterbalance the sweetness and giving the doughnuts a beautiful crisp. 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.

Cute drive-thru spot Delish Donuts & Coffee serves even cuter doughnuts. They’re mini in size but, thankfully, big on flavour and most are unglazed so the beautiful, fluffy bake speaks for itself. Customers can ask for chocolate, powdered sugar or – one of the favourites – cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top.

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