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Rows of chocolate glazed doughnuts with rainbow sprinkles.
Chocolate glazed doughnuts from Donut Star, now in Burnsville.
Donut Star

Where to Find Decadent Doughnuts in the Twin Cities

Fifteen doughnut shops to seek out in Minneapolis and St. Paul

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Chocolate glazed doughnuts from Donut Star, now in Burnsville.
| Donut Star

Minneapolis and St. Paul have a fantastic doughnut scene. Some of the Cities’ best shops have been around for decades, wafting the sweet, tantalizing scents of fried dough, sugar, and cinnamon over their neighborhoods across generations. Others are newer to the scene, innovating these classic pastries with cereal and candy toppings, doughnut vending machines, and chewy rice flour blends. From dense, crackly old fashioneds to raised doughnuts stuffed with rich creams and curds, here are some excellent spots for decadent doughnuts around Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Note that these bakeries are listed geographically.

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Heights Bakery

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Heights Bakery is a no-frills mom-and-pop bakery on Central Avenue. The cake doughnuts are excellent, but don’t overlook the raised glazed ones, a specialty here. Local favorites include the moist, doughy apple fritters, chocolate-banana glazed doughnuts, and blueberry Bismarcks. Height’s Bakery is budget-friendly, too.

Thirsty Whale Bakery

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A classic bakery with a little artistic flair, Thirsty Whale’s doughnuts range from the reliable (vanilla sprinkle, glazed raised) to the unexpected (orange cream Old Fashioneds, Bismarcks stuffed with raspberry cream cheese and topped with salty pretzel crunch.) Or go for the “whale-sized” mega doughnuts, which are as big as frisbees.

Dahlia operates as a roving pop-up, so don’t drive out to Robbinsdale and expect to find a bakery here. To snag these artful, square-shaped doughnuts, keep an eye on Dahlia’s website or Instagram for upcoming pop-up dates. Flavors range from chocolate caramel to passionfruit vanilla bean. The creme brulee doughnut, stuffed with banana cream, is lacquered with a shimmering glaze.

A square doughnut topped with a shimmering glaze sitting on a white box.
Dahlia’s creme brulee doughnut.
Justine Jones

Bober Tea & Mochi Dough Dinkytown

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Doughnut and mochi lovers alike should stop by Dinkytown to sample these sensational sweets. These airy, chewy doughnuts, made with rice flour, come in all kinds of flavors, from banana milk and funnel cake to taro and black sesame. They’re delicately sweet, and the texture is so satisfying. (As a major plus, there’s bubble tea, too.) Bober Tea & Mochi Dough also has a location at Asia Mall in Eden Prairie.

White mochi doughnuts topped with Fruity Pebbles and other mochi doughnuts topped with green frosting in the background.
Chewy mochi doughnuts at Asia Mall.
Tim Evans / Eater Twin Cities

Panaderia San Miguel

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A standout panaderia on Lake Street, San Miguel serves a tantalizing, rice pudding-stuffed doughnut. The chewy dough and rich pudding make for excellent combo: This doughnut is delicately sweet, a little heavy in the hand, and more filling than your average mid-day treat. Pair it with a fresh churro or concha to go.

Bogart's Doughnut Co.

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This sweet spot in south Minneapolis bakes doughnuts all through the day. Bogart’s raised doughnuts are made with a rich brioche dough — try one topped with brown butter glaze, or stuffed full of Nutella. Bogarts serves classic cake doughnuts, too. If you’re on the hunt for something extra indulgent, make it a doughnut sundae with a swirl of soft-serve ice cream.

A Baker's Wife's Pastry Shop

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A Baker’s Wife has been a Minneapolis staple for over 35 years. This old-school neighborhood bakery perfumes the surrounding block with the aroma of cinnamon and sugar. The classics are well-represented at A Baker’s Wife, from classic sprinkle doughnuts, to cake doughnuts with maple icing, to lemon-filled Bismarks dusted with powdered sugar. (In the fall, don’t miss the apple fritters.)

Four doughnuts stacked on top of each other on a piece of white paper on an orange table.
A stack from A Baker’s Wife.
Justine Jones

Mel-O-Glaze Bakery

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Mel-O-Glaze has been serving classic doughnuts in south Minneapolis for over 70 years. Most are generously topped with sprinkles, from the chocolate-chocolate, cherry, and buttermilk glazed cake doughnuts to the XXL raised doughnuts and long johns. Mel-O-Glaze also makes a gluten-free vanilla cake doughnut, plus treats for dogs and cats.

A raised doughnut topped with white glaze and chocolate glaze on a white plate.
A chocolate raised glazed doughnut from Mel-O-Glaze.
Mel-O-Glaze Bakery

The Donut Trap: By Sssdude-Nutz

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These signature square-shaped raised doughnuts feature offbeat toppings and clever names, from the Fruity Pebbles-topped Gay 90s to the Old Dirty Bastard, made with chocolate glaze and Oreo crumbles. Many of them are also available as cake doughnuts (half of which are vegan). Find the Donut Trap at local farmers markets during the summer and at a doughnut vending machine (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) between BlackStack Brewery and CanCan Wonderland, and in Rosedale Center.

Soga Mochi Donut

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Tucked into Dragon Star Oriental Foods in St. Paul, Soga Mochi Donut serves a unique hybrid treat. These mochi doughnuts are circular, shaped almost like beads on a bracelet — they’re made chewy and bouncy by the addition of glutinous rice flour, and aren’t too sweet (in the best way). Flavors like matcha, toasted coconut, yaro, and yuzu change week to week.

Ai Hue's Bakery & Deli

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Ai Hue’s Bakery & Deli serves excellent banh tieu — Vietnamese doughnuts that are hollow, subtly sweet, and coated with a fine layer of sesame seeds. Fried until they’re golden brown, these pastries strike a tantalizing balance of crispy and chewy.

La Boulangerie Marguerite

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PJ Murphy’s, a nearly 100-year-old bakery in St. Paul, was renamed La Boulangerie Marguerite in 2020. Stop by for a dazzling mix of French and American-style pastries. Beyond classic raised and cake doughnuts, long johns, and Bismarks, La Boulangerie Marguerite serves decadent fried cinnamon rolls and morning buns made with a flaky croissant dough.

A fried cinnamon roll with maple frosting on a white background.
A fried cinnamon roll with maple frosting.
La Boulangerie Marguerite

Mojo Monkey Donuts

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Mojo Monkey’s tiny shop serves unique, ever-changing flavors on the weekends. While this St. Paul shop’s inventive toppings are often a conversation starter, so is the art of its phenomenal dough — for baking nerds, at least. Don’t overlook the old fashioned doughnuts, which have a satisfying tang from sour cream in the batter. Or go for beignets, fritters, or Bismarks.

Don Panchos Bakery

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A mainstay of Cesar Chavez Avenue in St. Paul, Don Panchos Bakery serves some excellent raised doughnuts — from a pillowy, classic doughnut dusted with fine layer of sugar, to a chocolate glazed donut decorated with sprinkles. Stop by for dessert after lunch at El Burrito Mercado, and grab a slice of tres leches cake to take home.

Donut Star

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Donut Star was a nearly 50-year neighborhood establishment out in Burnsville when Peter Sebastian bought it this summer. After renovating the legendary shop, he reopened it with a whole new slate of doughnuts, apple fritters, and cinnamon twists. Stop by to experience a modern new take on a historic doughnut haven — one that stays true to Donut Star’s sweet roots.

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Heights Bakery

Heights Bakery is a no-frills mom-and-pop bakery on Central Avenue. The cake doughnuts are excellent, but don’t overlook the raised glazed ones, a specialty here. Local favorites include the moist, doughy apple fritters, chocolate-banana glazed doughnuts, and blueberry Bismarcks. Height’s Bakery is budget-friendly, too.

Thirsty Whale Bakery

A classic bakery with a little artistic flair, Thirsty Whale’s doughnuts range from the reliable (vanilla sprinkle, glazed raised) to the unexpected (orange cream Old Fashioneds, Bismarcks stuffed with raspberry cream cheese and topped with salty pretzel crunch.) Or go for the “whale-sized” mega doughnuts, which are as big as frisbees.

Dahlia

Dahlia operates as a roving pop-up, so don’t drive out to Robbinsdale and expect to find a bakery here. To snag these artful, square-shaped doughnuts, keep an eye on Dahlia’s website or Instagram for upcoming pop-up dates. Flavors range from chocolate caramel to passionfruit vanilla bean. The creme brulee doughnut, stuffed with banana cream, is lacquered with a shimmering glaze.

A square doughnut topped with a shimmering glaze sitting on a white box.
Dahlia’s creme brulee doughnut.
Justine Jones

Bober Tea & Mochi Dough Dinkytown

Doughnut and mochi lovers alike should stop by Dinkytown to sample these sensational sweets. These airy, chewy doughnuts, made with rice flour, come in all kinds of flavors, from banana milk and funnel cake to taro and black sesame. They’re delicately sweet, and the texture is so satisfying. (As a major plus, there’s bubble tea, too.) Bober Tea & Mochi Dough also has a location at Asia Mall in Eden Prairie.

White mochi doughnuts topped with Fruity Pebbles and other mochi doughnuts topped with green frosting in the background.
Chewy mochi doughnuts at Asia Mall.
Tim Evans / Eater Twin Cities

Panaderia San Miguel

A standout panaderia on Lake Street, San Miguel serves a tantalizing, rice pudding-stuffed doughnut. The chewy dough and rich pudding make for excellent combo: This doughnut is delicately sweet, a little heavy in the hand, and more filling than your average mid-day treat. Pair it with a fresh churro or concha to go.

Bogart's Doughnut Co.

This sweet spot in south Minneapolis bakes doughnuts all through the day. Bogart’s raised doughnuts are made with a rich brioche dough — try one topped with brown butter glaze, or stuffed full of Nutella. Bogarts serves classic cake doughnuts, too. If you’re on the hunt for something extra indulgent, make it a doughnut sundae with a swirl of soft-serve ice cream.

A Baker's Wife's Pastry Shop

A Baker’s Wife has been a Minneapolis staple for over 35 years. This old-school neighborhood bakery perfumes the surrounding block with the aroma of cinnamon and sugar. The classics are well-represented at A Baker’s Wife, from classic sprinkle doughnuts, to cake doughnuts with maple icing, to lemon-filled Bismarks dusted with powdered sugar. (In the fall, don’t miss the apple fritters.)

Four doughnuts stacked on top of each other on a piece of white paper on an orange table.
A stack from A Baker’s Wife.
Justine Jones

Mel-O-Glaze Bakery

Mel-O-Glaze has been serving classic doughnuts in south Minneapolis for over 70 years. Most are generously topped with sprinkles, from the chocolate-chocolate, cherry, and buttermilk glazed cake doughnuts to the XXL raised doughnuts and long johns. Mel-O-Glaze also makes a gluten-free vanilla cake doughnut, plus treats for dogs and cats.

A raised doughnut topped with white glaze and chocolate glaze on a white plate.
A chocolate raised glazed doughnut from Mel-O-Glaze.
Mel-O-Glaze Bakery

The Donut Trap: By Sssdude-Nutz

These signature square-shaped raised doughnuts feature offbeat toppings and clever names, from the Fruity Pebbles-topped Gay 90s to the Old Dirty Bastard, made with chocolate glaze and Oreo crumbles. Many of them are also available as cake doughnuts (half of which are vegan). Find the Donut Trap at local farmers markets during the summer and at a doughnut vending machine (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) between BlackStack Brewery and CanCan Wonderland, and in Rosedale Center.

Soga Mochi Donut

Tucked into Dragon Star Oriental Foods in St. Paul, Soga Mochi Donut serves a unique hybrid treat. These mochi doughnuts are circular, shaped almost like beads on a bracelet — they’re made chewy and bouncy by the addition of glutinous rice flour, and aren’t too sweet (in the best way). Flavors like matcha, toasted coconut, yaro, and yuzu change week to week.

Ai Hue's Bakery & Deli

Ai Hue’s Bakery & Deli serves excellent banh tieu — Vietnamese doughnuts that are hollow, subtly sweet, and coated with a fine layer of sesame seeds. Fried until they’re golden brown, these pastries strike a tantalizing balance of crispy and chewy.

La Boulangerie Marguerite

PJ Murphy’s, a nearly 100-year-old bakery in St. Paul, was renamed La Boulangerie Marguerite in 2020. Stop by for a dazzling mix of French and American-style pastries. Beyond classic raised and cake doughnuts, long johns, and Bismarks, La Boulangerie Marguerite serves decadent fried cinnamon rolls and morning buns made with a flaky croissant dough.

A fried cinnamon roll with maple frosting on a white background.
A fried cinnamon roll with maple frosting.
La Boulangerie Marguerite

Mojo Monkey Donuts

Mojo Monkey’s tiny shop serves unique, ever-changing flavors on the weekends. While this St. Paul shop’s inventive toppings are often a conversation starter, so is the art of its phenomenal dough — for baking nerds, at least. Don’t overlook the old fashioned doughnuts, which have a satisfying tang from sour cream in the batter. Or go for beignets, fritters, or Bismarks.

Don Panchos Bakery

A mainstay of Cesar Chavez Avenue in St. Paul, Don Panchos Bakery serves some excellent raised doughnuts — from a pillowy, classic doughnut dusted with fine layer of sugar, to a chocolate glazed donut decorated with sprinkles. Stop by for dessert after lunch at El Burrito Mercado, and grab a slice of tres leches cake to take home.

Donut Star

Donut Star was a nearly 50-year neighborhood establishment out in Burnsville when Peter Sebastian bought it this summer. After renovating the legendary shop, he reopened it with a whole new slate of doughnuts, apple fritters, and cinnamon twists. Stop by to experience a modern new take on a historic doughnut haven — one that stays true to Donut Star’s sweet roots.

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