The Best Doughnuts in America

The Doughnut Project creates original doughnuts with fun and unique flavor infusions all year long, including blueberry and parsnip; mango, chili, and lime; an everything doughnut 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.; thedoughnutproject.com.

While it may sound crazy to stand in line for doughnuts, patrons of The Donut Man don’t mind. These doughnuts 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; thedonutmanca.com.

While Duck Donuts is a franchise-style doughnut shop with multiple locations dotted along the East Coast, there is nothing stale or chain-like about them. Doughnuts are made fresh on the spot as they're ordered. Lines abound, but there are usually free samples to be had while waiting. The maple-glazed doughnut with chopped bacon has been all the rage, however, Duck Donuts also custom makes doughnuts to order—as long as they have what you crave in stock. 1190 Duck Rd.; duckdonuts.com.

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

In Florida, Five-O Donut Co. is the place to go for both sweet and savory doughnut creations. Recently, the company debuted a yeast-raised doughnut 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.

Five-O also marks occasions like the Game of Thrones finale with special-edition doughnuts, while keeping staples like Toffee Latte in-stock daily. The store streams a live video feed on its website so customers know what’s on the doughnut menu for the day. 2241 Ringling Blvd.; fiveodonutco.com.

No dessert list would be complete without SoHo's Dominique Ansel Bakery. The baker’s famous croissant-doughnut 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 fig mascarpone or milk and honey with lavender.189 Spring St.; dominiqueansel.com.

No fall is complete without cider doughnuts, 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 doughnuts on the regular, infused with apple cider and topped with cinnamon sugar. When warm, these doughnuts melt right in your mouth. 3047 Rte. 9; goldenharvestfarms.com.

Top Pot Doughnuts hand-forges their doughnuts. The store carries more than 40 different types of doughnuts, 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 doughnuts 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 doughnut recipe in a vintage environment. 609 Summit Ave. E.; toppotdoughnuts.com.

Foodie-friendly Portland’s Voodoo Doughnut makes yeast-raised, cake-style, and vegan doughnuts. Try the Grape Ape, a raised yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting, grape dust, and lavender sprinkles; the Viscous Hibiscus, a raised yeast doughnut dipped in hibiscus flavored frosting and black sprinkles; or the Ain’t That A Peach, fried dough with peach chunks covered in glaze and topped with cream cheese frosting and pink and orange sprinkles. Voodoo also has locations in California, Colorado, and Texas. 22 SW 3rd Ave.; voodoodoughnut.com.

One of the places responsible for the doughnut 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 doughnut.

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

Home of artisan, handcrafted doughnuts, 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 doughnuts 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 doughnut 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; thedoughnutvault.com.

Born out of a desire to blend comfort food with healthy, fresh ingredients, Holy Donut founder Leigh Kellis soon found herself making 40 dozen doughnuts 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 doughnut, bacon cheddar filled, fresh lemon, sea salt, and ginger sugared, among others. 194 Park Ave.; theholydonut.com.

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