The Best Doughnut Places Across The U.S.

If you didn't think a doughnut could be gourmet, think again. Blue Star Donuts is serving up gourmet doughnuts without artificial preservatives, flavors, sugars, or oils. Their dough and fillings are homemade daily, too. In fact, they partner with local communities so they can come up with tastes that are inspired by particular areas, like their blueberry bourbon basil doughnut which includes an amazing local bourbon. 

Serious Eats proclaimed Blue Star to be serving up "OR's Best Doughnuts," so whether you're a local or traveling through the area, this is a sweet pit stop you don't want to miss. Blue Star's flavors include uniques tastes like the Valrhona chocolate crunch doughnut, which stars a brioche yeast shell that's filled with vanilla custard. The creation is coated in French dark chocolate, topped with toasted puffed rice, and covered with even more chocolate.

If you're not planning on traveling to Oregon or SoCal in the near future (Blue Star has three locations in Portland and three in Southern California), fear not. Blue Star Donuts ships to quite a few states and plans to add more locations to their list. And not only are they a great snack to enjoy yourself, but they make a thoughtful gift for someone special.

Doughnuttery in New York City is a complete and utter game-changer. Their fresh, hot, and adorable mini doughnuts are absolutely to die for. Choose from a wide selection of flavored treats, like Flower Power (hibiscus, honey, rose petals), Paris Time (lavender, pistachio, vanilla), PB&J (peanut butter, grape jelly), and more. Of course, completing your order with some of Doughnuttery's dipping sauces (Raspberry Balsamic or Beer Caramel, anyone?) is obviously not mandatory, but we highly suggest doing so.

And that's not all. You can order a box of doughnuts that comes with glaze and toppings and decorate them yourself. Or, you can order or purchase your very own homemade doughnut kit and make your own doughnuts fresh in your own kitchen. As a matter of fact, Doughnuttery offers virtual doughnut-making classes so you can have fun with a class on your own or with friends or family. We can't recommend the class enough — it's so much fun, a completely unique experience, and the end result will have you in sugary doughnut heaven.

With a total of six stores located in Florida and Texas, The Salty Donut makes the kind of delights that are a doughnut lover's dream. This artisan doughnut shop is family-owned, with small batches of doughnuts made completely from scratch

We're not exaggerating — just listen to the description of their hazelnut + chocolate doughnut. It's a "24 hr brioche," and it's stuffed with hazelnut-infused chocolate, has a chocolate ganache glaze (yum), and then it's covered with candied hazelnuts and crushed hazelnut cookies (double yum). And as far as unique goes, hear us out as we describe their guava + cheese doughnut. It also features brioche stuffed with cream cheese and swirled guava and topped with a cream cheese glaze and puff pastry streusel topping. They even currently have a vegan blueberry crumble on their seasonal menu. 

You don't have to just take our recommendation, either. As a matter of fact, Food & Wine claims that The Salty Donut has the best doughnuts in Florida. According to their website, The Salty Donut has also been dubbed "top donut shop in the country" by Business Insider, Thrillist, and Zagat, among many other media outlets.

Any doughnut shop that's serving up 10 craft doughnut flavors daily, in addition to a rotation of 200 seasonal flavors, deserves your undivided attention. District Donuts in New Orleans, Louisiana offers glazed, cinnamon sugar, chocolate glazed, chocolate with sprinkles, and, of course, their rotating doughnuts to choose from. The best part about this sweet spot is that the doughnuts, sprinkles, pastry creams, and fillings are made entirely from scratch.

If you're picking up a box of assorted doughnuts to share with the house (or devour all by yourself — we won't tell!), you should most definitely grab a Joe To Go, like District's Cold Brew Growler or the Vietnamese Iced Coffee Growler that you can enjoy all weekend long with your treats. According to District's website, "We source and roast our own beans through our own brand," Cool Kids Coffee Roasters.

District Donuts was chosen as one of "The 31 Best Coffee Shops In America" by Thrillist, so you know that's a prime sign to head on over ASAP for a box or two of delights.

Wallingford, Connecticut is the home of New York-style Neil's Donuts, which are prepared fresh daily. This adorable bakery has been nationally recognized for its large selection of tasty delights. It's easy to see why Food & Wine picked Neil's Donuts as Connecticut's winner for "Best Donuts in Every State" in 2020. Insider also dubbed Neil's as having the best doughnuts in Connecticut in 2020. Moral of the story? If you're in or around Wallingford, you won't regret stopping at Neil's Donuts for a treat.

Neil's offers 30 great-tasting doughnut flavors to choose from, including vegan donuts such as the Samoa, a raised doughnut with a caramel icing that's then covered with toasted coconut and a chocolate drizzle. And if you're a chocolate lover, you'll be sure to love Neil's Reese's Peanut Butter Crumb doughnut. This raised doughnut has a vanilla buttercream frosting that's smothered with a Reese's Peanut Butter crumb topping.

You can buy one of your favorite doughnuts or buy a dozen and mix and match everything that looks good — although we're positive it'll be quite the difficult decision choosing just one of these sweet delights!

Sweet Coloradough was voted "Best Doughnuts in Colorado" by Travel + Leisure and widely beloved in the Centennial State and beyond. We can't say we're surprised. The only problem we have with Sweet Coloradough is the ability to make up one's mind as to what doughnut treat to indulge in first. 

So you can fully understand our concern, you need to know just how many categories there are. First, there are Coloradough's Semi Super Awesome Doughnuts, which include twists, bars, and crème filled Bismarcks. Up next for your consideration are the 11-Layer Croughnuts (a croissant-doughnut hybrid with flakiness and crispiness in all the right places). And before you think you know what you want, we aren't finished quite yet. There are also RADiculously Awesome Doughnuts, which are the eatery's "best and biggest." And lastly, within the Awesome Doughnuts category include traditional cake-like doughnuts, old-fashioned sour cream cake doughnuts, and handmade sweet yeast-raised doughnuts.

Since we brought on this stressful decision, we're here to help you sort it out in a reasonable fashion. We suggest that you get one or more of every single option. Then, take a few for the team, and indulge in these babies one doughnut at a time. In addition to Glenwood Springs, Sweet Coloradough has locations in Snowmass, Carbondale, and Rifle, Colorado.

It's no secret in Austin, Texas that Gourdough's has "big fat doughnuts." Well, they also have donut holes, too, of course ... like their blueberry-filled doughnut holes with delicious blueberry cream cheese icing. Or you can check out the super baked CBD doughnut. This specialty item is made with marshmallow créme, brownie batter filling, brownie and cookie dough bites, Graham crackers, potato chips, and a brownie batter drizzle. You can also grab a doughnut sandwich or doughnut burger to make the experience a full meal.

As if Gourdough's tasty bites weren't enough goodness for a lifetime, you will love what we're about to tell you. Gourdough's can also provide made-to-order doughnuts right at your private party, wedding, or special event. They even have a trendy vintage airstream trailer for that purpose. The shop was even named as one of the best doughnut shops in Texas you need to road trip to by Only In Your State.

Dubbed "California's best doughnut shop" by Food & Wine, you know you have to give Sidecar Doughnuts a visit. From sweet seasonal flavors like Susie's Blueberry Pancake and Rainbow Berry Pop-Tart, to daily flavors like Salted Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Huckleberry, it's clear Sidecar knows how to make their customers happy. As a matter of fact, they believe that the only way a doughnut should be enjoyed is "hot and fresh.". Not only that, it should be coupled with an amazing cup of java, and service with a smile is a given here. Clearly, this doughnut destination knows what's up.

Located in Costa Mesa, California, Sidecar started out with a warehouse, a bakery truck, and a dream of turning into a cool place for the community, filled with scrumptious doughnuts. Now, how's that for a doughnut love story? Sidecar has been featured on Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate, and also Cooking Channel's Unique Sweets.