The 19 Best Donut Shops in America

This Buffalo staple serves over 30 varieties of donuts (glazed, jelly, unfilled, Angel cream, Bavarian, and seasonal specials) that have made it a favorite among locals and out-of-towners looking for an authentic Buffalonian experience. Don't be discouraged by the line of people waiting to get their hands on one (or, more likely, a box of ) perfectly crisp and fluffy wheels. Patrons can't get enough of the shop's Cannoli Donuts that is essentially a cannoli pastry wrapped in dough. The flavor made its debut in 2019 for a charity fundraiser, and the shop sold 45,000 of them in five days.

The Doughnut Project creates original donuts with fun and unique flavor infusions all year long, including blueberry and parsnip; mango, chili, and lime; an everything donut with cream cheese frosting; and the Strawberry Letter Fronut, which blends Vice rosé with Campari Aperol glaze, cream filling, and shortbread cookie topping.10 Morton St.

While it may sound crazy to stand in line for donuts, patrons of The Donut Man don’t mind. These donuts are not only freshly baked with a biscuit-like shell, but they are piled high and oozing with fillings of whole, ripe, seasonal fruit. The strawberry and the peach are must-try bites. 915 E. Rte. 66

Blackbird Doughnuts' unconventional flavors will definitely take you on a wild (and super delicious) ride. With options such as Everything Bagel, Strawberry Mojito, Ruby Lavender, and Chocolate Box Bismarck, Blackbird's donuts are flavor-packed powerhouses.

Sweet Daze is taking the modern donut game to the next level. While its galaxy donut is on-trend with Instagrammers, bloggers, and home bakers alike, the shop is also home to a 24-karat gold creation. The designer donuts—which also include unicorn donuts, rainbow donuts, and a plethora of limited-edition donuts like the dragon donut—are available beginning at noon and often sell out. 581 W. Campbell Rd. #127

In Florida, Five-O Donut Co. is the place to go for both sweet and savory donut creations. Recently, the company debuted a yeast-raised donut with Frank’s Red Hot glaze and flaming hot Cheetos dust. While they do mix the menu up, Hawaii Five-O with key lime, Fruity Pebbles Krispie, and Cookie Doh Sundae are fan favorites.

The store streams a live video feed on its website so customers know what’s on the donut menu for the day. 2241 Ringling Blvd.

No dessert list would be complete without SoHo's Dominique Ansel Bakery. The baker’s famous croissant-donut hybrid, the Cronut®, caused such a stir in recent years that patrons would often line up before 6 a.m. to score one. The bakery churns out new flavors each month, like Strawberry Hojicha, filled with creamy Japanese toasted green tea. 189 Spring St.

The Salty Donut's Instagram-perfect storefront is just one reason to visit this hip bakery. Of course, its treats are another. The staff focuses on making small-batch artisanal (and incredibly fluffy) donuts with seasonal, all-natural ingredients. And they get pretty creative, too. If you're in the mood for experimenting, try the white chocolate tres leches. And even if you're not vegan, we can guarantee you will love the blueberry crumble donut that's filled with fresh blueberry jam.

No fall is complete without cider donuts, and this little farm stand on the way up to New York’s capital region has some of the best. Located on Route 9, which weaves through New York’s Columbia County, Golden Harvest Farms whips up cider donuts on the regular, infused with apple cider and topped with cinnamon sugar. When warm, these donuts melt right in your mouth. 3047 Rte. 9

Top Pot Doughnuts hand-forges their donuts. The store carries more than 40 different types of donuts, from new flavor combinations to fan-favorites like specialty cake (in blueberry and seasonal variations like pumpkin and cherry blossom), feather boa (topped with coconut), and filled (both jelly and creme). But it’s not just the donuts that bring in people from miles away: The owners, who opened the store in 2002, created a place where customers can slow down and savor the nostalgia and taste of a secret 1920s donut recipe in a vintage environment. 609 Summit Ave. E.

One of the places responsible for the donut boom in recent years, Doughnut Plant’s treats are made with seasonal products and are also organic when available. After starting in the basement of a Lower East Side tenement building, the bakery with deep family roots moved to its current location in 2000 and has become known as the home of the square donut.

While it's jelly-filled is a classic, Doughnut Plant also serves up a must-try crème brûlée donut, perfectly crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. 379 Grand St.

Home of artisan, handcrafted donuts, Chicago’s Doughnut Vault features daily specials that are made in small batches. The company does this, it says, to preserve the quality of the donuts that it serves, which makes any time spent in line waiting for one of these delicacies worth it. The menu features lots of inventive offerings alongside daily specials, but the popularity of the plain glazed donut proves you can’t beat the classics. The brand uses Twitter to update fans on its current flavors and availability. 401 North Franklin St., Chicago

Born out of a desire to blend comfort food with healthy, fresh ingredients, Holy Donut founder Leigh Kellis soon found herself making 40 dozen donuts a week. While her (not-so) secret ingredient in these goodies is fresh Maine potatoes, she also uses dark cocoa powder and glazes with only fruit juices or vegetable dyes. Flavors include The Holy Cannoli filled donut, bacon cheddar filled, fresh lemon, sea salt, and ginger sugared, among others. 194 Park Ave.

While District offers sliders and beer, its donuts can’t be missed when in New Orleans. Starting at $1.50 for a simple donut and going up to $3.50 for what the establishment calls an extra fancy donut, District offers donuts with homemade fillings, a chocolate-chip cookie style treat, and a brûléed cinnamon roll, in addition to a variety of glazed and specially topped donuts. 2209 Magazine St.

If you ever needed proof that celebrities are just like us, then stop by this "enlightened donuts" place and you'll find yourself waiting in line with at least a couple of Hollywood A-listers. After all, when it comes to fōnuts, everyone's equal. The never-fried, always-baked artisanal donuts of founder Nancy Truman are not only a much healthier version of classic donuts (all-natural, low to no-sugar, and prepared with almond flour) but an incredibly delicious one, too. Flavors include Blueberry Earl Grey, Strawberry Shortcake, and Vanilla Latte. The best thing about Fōnuts is that all of its pastries are gluten-free, and there is an excellent selection of vegan ones, too (lemon, peanut butter chocolate, and churro are just a few must-try options).

Come for the national monuments, stay for the donuts! This Washington D.C. donut chain (it has three locations in the nation's capital and one in nearby Arlington) offers gourmet donuts prepared from scratch. And everything is crafted on-site—from the fluffy dough to the fillings and glazes—using the best local and international ingredients (Spanish Dulce de Leche, French chocolates). The standouts of District Doughnut's seasonal menu are Vanilla Crème Brûlée (an absolute crowd-pleaser) and Hot Cocoa.

Dynamo Donut & Coffee puts its signature creative twist even on classic flavors such as vanilla bean that they offer with a touch of orange zest. But its seasonal offerings deliver a real gourmet experience: hibiscus-beet donuts dipped in a hibiscus-rose water glaze, white chocolate cherry donut, and a vegan lemon rose donut are just three of the mouth-watering flavors that make this eatery one of America's finest.

Revolution Donuts was a hit with Atlantans since the very beginning and patrons still flock to both locations of this family-owned donut shop to get a taste of its divine treats. Prepared daily with local, all-natural ingredients and seasonal fruit, the hand-crafted donuts are the stuff of dreams: fluffy, light, and with the perfect gold-hued crust. Flavors include salted caramel cake (a local favorite and a southern classic), cherry almond crumb (it's topped with almond crumb streusel and a spoonful of tart cherry pie filling), and lemon poppy seed.

Some people say that Honolulu's biggest draw are the beaches, we say it's Leonard's malasadas or Portuguese doughnuts. Light and fluffy dough fried to golden perfection with delicious fillings (try the haupia or coconut) is what has made this bakery a Honolulu staple for 70 years. Take it from us—come here hungry!