12 Places for the Best Donuts in Denver
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
Denver and its surrounding boroughs are teeming with amazing donut shops. Whether you are adventurous or more of a classic donut lover, you’ll find everything and more in Denver.
After living in Denver for a few years, we’ve started to consider ourselves donut connoisseurs. Trust us when we say that the donuts in this city are truly some of the best (and this comes from two people who have lived in multiple cities, including Vegas, Boston, and even Dublin IE). Below is a complete list of our favorite places to find the best donuts in Denver.
All 12 of the donut shops on the list below are sure to impress you! Keep reading to find out where to find each shop and some of the best donuts to try at each one.
🚗 Click here to rent a car for your trip to Denver!
Best Donuts in Denver
Voodoo Doughnut
Voodoo Doughnuts takes your average donut to the next level with extravagant options to choose from. Originally started in Portland, Voodoo has expanded to locations across the country, including three locations in Denver.
It’s consistently ranked as having the best donuts in Denver. You can find them on Broadway, Colfax, and at the Denver International Airport.
Voodoo Doughnuts has something for every taste with vegan options, traditional glazed and frosted, and beautifully crafted creations.
Some of their most fun options are:
- Grape Ape – Topped with purple vanilla icing and sprinkles. (KP’s favorite!)
- Oh Captain, My Captain – A specialty donut covered in Cap’n Crunch cereal bites.
- Bacon Maple Bar – A rectangle-shaped doughnut with maple frosting and bacon.
They also do custom orders with your design of choice for parties or events. You can order in bulk, get a dozen, or indulge in a single delicious doughnut!
City Donuts
City Donuts is a local institution in Denver, Littleton, and Aurora. Their locations have an old-fashioned, mom-and-pop ambiance and serve delicious baked items.
Their specialties include cake donuts, filled donuts, old-fashioned donuts, and the traditional options everyone loves.
Some of the favorites at City Donuts include:
- Apple Fritter – By far one of their most popular choices. Made with donut dough and filled with baked apples and glazed overtop.
- Vanilla Frosting with Cinnamon Crumb – A classic donut fully coated in sweet cinnamon.
- Bear Claws – Choose from their flavored bear claw options like coconut, cinnamon, and apple.
The City Donuts Denver location is on the east side of Denver on E. Colfax.
Parlor Doughnuts
Parlor Doughnuts was inspired by the founder’s travels across America in search of the best donuts everywhere he visited. Now, they’ve perfected their recipe to bring the best donuts to Denver!
Parlor donuts are famous for their signature layered donuts, making them more like a moist pastry mixed with a croissant and a donut.
The business launched in Indiana and made its way into 14 other states. They have a location in Denver on Lincoln Street and another in Aurora.
Parlor varies its menu with staples that are always available and seasonal treats like their 12 flavors of Christmas donuts.
Must-try donuts at Parlor are:
- French toast doughnut – French toast is already delicious, and now it’s in donut form. If you’re visiting in the fall, pair it with their fall spice latte!
- Strawberry shortcake doughnut – Topped with a strawberry glaze, real strawberries, and a dollop of whipped cream.
- Raspberry pistachio doughnut – Bringing salty and sweet together in a scrumptious pastry.
Apart from donuts, Parlor also serves coffee, juices, kombucha, and milkshakes. They have vegan and keto options to accommodate all diets and dog doughnuts for your four-legged friends.
LaMar’s Donuts and Coffee
If you’re craving a top-tier, traditional donut without the extra frills, LaMar’s Donuts and Coffee is your best bet. It’s easy to stumble upon while traveling in the area, with two locations in Denver and eight other storefronts from Littleton to Fort Collins and beyond.
The business started in 1960 in Kansas City, Missouri, based on the founder Ray Lamar’s original recipe. Now, they’ve expanded from Missouri to making some of the best donuts in Colorado.
Take your pick from cake donuts and donut holes to frosted sprinkle and glazed donuts; you won’t be disappointed with the LaMar recipe. Although they’ve mastered the traditional styles, they also have some unique fan favorites.
- Old Fashioned Sour Cream – Often referred to as the best sour cream donut in Denver. If you’ve never had one, LaMar’s is a must-try.
- Maple Iced with Peanuts – The perfect combination of sweet donut and salty, crunchy topping.
Don’t forget about their other specialty pastries like bizmarks, knots, and buttermilk bars.
Baked N’ Denver
Baked N’ Denver is one of the newer shops on our list. It opened in 2020 and has been gaining popularity ever since, but it’s still a bit of a hidden gem.
It’s located south of downtown Denver on S. Broadway St. They offer excellent donuts, coffee, kolaches, breakfast sandwiches, and other pastries.
From cake donuts to classic and raised donuts, they have everything covered, including seasonal items like pumpkin donuts and Christmas sprinkle donuts.
Donuts customers rave about are:
- Cake Donuts – Between powdered sugar, blueberry, cinnamon crumb, or devil’s food, their cake donut flavors are one of the most-loved items in the shop.
- Buttermilk Bar – A staple on the BakedN’Denver menu, this glazed rectangle pastry is a favorite.
Dochi
Dochi makes a hybrid donut-mochi pastry they coined the dochi. Mochis are a Japanese rice cake treat, and combining it with a donut is an unexpected yet brilliant concept. Not only tasty, they come in vibrant colors and an interesting shape with a large middle cut-out and bubbly edges.
The founders of Dochi started it with the mission of bringing gratitude and happiness to its customers. The business started in 2018 in Orlando and has expanded to the West Coast and Colorado.
Here are some of the best items at Dochi:
- Matcha Pistachio – Matcha lovers will keep coming back for this flavor. It’s chocolate matcha topped with pistachio.
- Ube Glazed – One of Dochi’s most classic options is the Ube Glazed flavor. It’s perfect if you like sweet but not too sweet.
- Taro Pebbles – For the more adventurous, this flavor has a chocolate coat topped with fruity pebbles cereal.
You can find Dochi on Larimer St. in Denver’s popular Five Points neighborhood. Check their Instagram for their most up-to-date, seasonal flavors.
The Donut House
The Donut House is a small local shop you might overlook unless you’ve heard about it. It’s a great place to find a variety of donuts and support a local, family-owned shop.
They have five locations in Colorado, with one in south Denver on S. Colorado Blvd. They have all the classic donut flavors along with specialty items without being over the top.
Some of the best melt-in-your-mouth donuts at The Donut House are:
- Cinnamon Sugar – Perfectly baked donut covered from top to bottom with cinnamon sugar.
- Jelly-filled Donuts – The Donut House has one of the best varieties of jelly-filled donuts in the city. If this is your favorite kind of donut, you have to give it a try.
Depending on what time of year you visit The Donut House, you can also choose from their seasonally-decorated donuts.
Mochinut
Another mochi-inspired donut shop in Denver is Mochinut. They specialize in Mochi donuts, bubble tea drinks, and ice cream. We absolutely love stopping by here.
If you’re really craving something sweet, you can get an ice cream cone with a mochi donut around it! Right now, they have one location in Aurora on S. Havana St.
Some of their fun donut flavors include:
- Strawberry Funnel – A funnel cake-style mochi donut with fresh strawberries on top.
- Churro – Get your churro fix in donut form for an extra sweet treat.
OMG Donuts
If you find yourself northwest of Denver, stop at OMG Donuts in Arvada, CO. The shop is located on Ralston Rd.
The family-run shop has a small location that’s packed with traditional donuts to jelly-filled and specialty options. It’s also worth a visit for a birthday box, where you’ll get a colorful assortment of donuts spelling out ‘Happy birthday.’
OMG Donuts is popular for:
- Cronut: OMG Donuts does the croissant donut to perfection. It’s a customer favorite.
- Cream-filled Donuts: Ask for your preferred donut at the shop filled with cream. A great combination is the cream-filled maple donut.
Yummy’s Donut House
Yummy’s Donut House is one of the best donut shops you can find in Denver’s Lakewood area. It’s tucked inside a shopping center on W Hampden Ave. Yummy’s Donut House is home to dozens of fluffy and delicious donuts.
Yummy’s boasts high-quality ingredients in their pastries and a homemade feel. When you’re there, make sure to try out:
- Apple Fritters: By far their most popular item, customers can’t get enough of the apple fritters at Yummy’s Donut House.
- Bear Claws: Another customer favorite at Yummy’s is their bear claws. People swear it’s the best they’ve had!
- Blueberry Cake Donut: Yummy’s blueberry cake donut is a mouth-watering option you have to try for yourself to appreciate.
We Knead Donut
We Knead Donut is a small local chain with four locations in the greater Denver area. The most central location in Denver recently opened on S. University Blvd.
From filled donuts to cronuts, candy toppings, and the standard classics, they’ve got a little bit of everything. You can order special occasion birthday donuts here, too.
Our recommendations at We Knead Donut are:
- Cronut – The cronut or cronut holes are melt-in-your-mouth good here.
- Maple Bacon Donut – A sweet maple donut topped with fresh bacon bits makes for a great sweet and savory combination.
- Coconut Flakes Donut – A pretty pink strawberry iced donut topped with light coconut flakes.
You can also pair your donut with one of their fruity boba teas!
Pandemic Donuts
If you appreciate some novelty in your donut shop, Pandemic Donuts has a revolving menu with different flavors every week.
Born out of the 2020 pandemic, the namesake shop is a small business started by its two founders: a pastry chef and a coffee enthusiast.
Now, they’re churning out some of the best donuts in downtown Denver, and it’s one of the few shops on our list in the city center. You can find the shop on Welton St. They offer vegan options as well!
Keep in mind their menu options change, but some flavors that stick out this week are:
- Maple Donuts and Pumpkin Spice Donuts – Both are delicious odes to the fall.
- Lemon + Poppyseed: If you love lemon poppyseed muffins, make sure you give this one a try.
Final Thoughts: Donut Shops in Denver
Now that you’ve got a preview of the best donuts in Denver, go find some of the shops on our list and taste them for yourself! Let us know in the comments what some of your favorites are.
Save this post for later:
Check out these posts next:
