The best donuts from the grocery store are soft, pillowy, and glazed with the perfect amount of sweetness and unique flavor. They should not be topped with a waxy coating, taste like dense, bland bread, or crumble into dust in your mouth.
I’m going to paint you a picture of the perfect day, ready? You’re spending a sunny morning at the park with your closest friends. One lays out a large blanket, another unloads a carrier of hot coffee, and you—you’re holding the prized baker’s box. You pop open the lid, and behold: a dozen delicious donuts. And you didn’t even have to stand in line at Dunkin’ or that trendy bakery everyone loves this week—you simply stopped at the grocery store. Somewhere, birds are chirping, dogs are barking, angels are sighing. You get to munch on some of the best donuts you’ve ever tasted, and life is simply idyllic.
Completely unselfishly (we do this for you!), we taste tested all the donut brands you can find from popular grocery store bakeries in search of the best donuts ever. From the best donut holes to the best gluten free donuts, here’s what to grab the next time you want to treat yourself to something…hole-y.
- Bakery Fresh Goodness Assorted Donuts
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If your version of the perfect park picnic involves an assortment of freshly made donuts from the bakery, you can’t go wrong with Bakery Fresh, a brand sold at Kroger-owned grocery stores. Their bakery box comes with chocolate, powdered sugar, and apple cider donuts—all of which are soft, a little cakey, and richly flavored. A common problem we found searching for the best grocery store donuts was how bland and bready some of them tasted, but that’s not the case here. And while size shouldn’t matter (it’s how the baker uses it, obviously), these are, well…impressively large. You get good bang (heh) for your buck. We especially liked the thick, melty chocolate coating on the chocolate donuts!
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Amazon Fresh Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts
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In case you “do-nut” already know (ha…ha), old fashioned donuts are a bit different from normal donuts. They typically have a cracked, solidified glaze, tapered edges, and crispier texture. (They also used to be called “fry cakes”—which, cute.) Amazon Fresh’s Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts are particularly satisfying, with a cracked vanilla glaze that’s slightly sticky on the outside and a soft, fluffy cake that’s very moist on the inside. These aren’t nearly as dry and thin as normal old fashioned donuts, which we appreciated (and why we think they are some of the best old fashioned donuts you can buy). They are a little on the doughy side, though—so if that’s not your jam, keep reading!
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Old Fashioned Donut Holes from Vons
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These old fashioned donut holes sold at the bakery inside Albertsons-owned grocery stores are super soft and melt-in-your-mouth moist, with a subtle coconut flavor that’s light, bright, and beautifully sweet. (No, you don’t have to love coconut to like these; I’m not a coconut person myself, and I still found them dangerously addictive.) These have a handmade, freshly fried, artisanal thing going for them. Full transparency: If you’re looking for those traditionally round, glazed donut holes similar to what you order at Dunkin’ or Krispy Kreme, these might not be the best donut holes for you. But if you’re a fan of fried churros or old fashioned donuts, you’ll probably like these.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Freedom Foods Old Fashioned Doughnut Minis
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We’ve been traumatized by gluten-free desserts here at the Sporked office before, and one look at these Old Fashioned Doughnut Minis from Freedom Foods certainly raised our suspicions. When you picture the best grocery store donuts, these small and wrinkly old fashioned doughnut minis that we picked up at Sprouts are not what come to mind. But ,man oh man, we were shocked by how delectable, moist, and sugary these little guys are. Somehow, these have one of the yummiest textures of all the brands we tried…without using gluten? It’s like eating cookie dough batter out of the bowl, but in donut form. These aren’t just the best gluten free donuts we tried—they are easily some of the best grocery store donuts you can find, period. They also come in different flavors, like pumpkin and apple cider, if you get bored of just one.
Credit: Merc / Sprouts
- Entenmann’s Soft’ees Variety Pack Donuts
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There’s nothing quite like the powdered coating on Soft’ees donuts. When you bite down, the powder “floofs” to the roof of your mouth. It’s an experience. It makes you question things about yourself—like why you ever thought donuts needed to have a wet glaze in the first place. Soft’ees have a distinct (you guessed it) soft and pillowy texture that elevates them above other store bought brands. If you crave cloud-like donuts and a little extra dust, these are the best donuts for you.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Entenmann’s Variety Pack Donuts
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You aren’t surprised, are you? Surely you knew this was coming. Now, does the nostalgia factor of Entenmann’s play a role in the 10/10 Sporks rating? You bet. But did I survey at least a dozen people from the Mythical offices to make sure I wasn’t letting personal bias for this beloved donut brand win out above the rest? Indeed, I did. Public opinion is clear: Entenmann’s makes the best donuts you can buy, even though they aren’t made fresh in a grocery store bakery. A huge part of that is thanks to the irresistibly thick chocolate coating on their chocolate donuts. That strong cocoa flavor and delicious, breakable crack is simply unmatched. Is the dough itself a tad dry inside? Yes. Does anyone care? No. Not in the slightest. These are simply too good.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
Best Bakery Assorted
Best Old Fashioned Donuts
Best Donut Holes
Best Gluten Free Donuts
Runner Up
Best of the Best
Other Grocery Store Donuts We Tried: Bakery Fresh Glazed Donuts (Kroger), Kroger Assorted Cake Donuts, Gen Bake Churro Donut Bites, Assorted Donuts Vons, Our Specialty Glazed Ring Donuts, Bake Shop Assorted Donut Holes, Favorite Day Bakery Glazed Donuts
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