MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AREA

A Baker’s Wife Pastry Shop
Minneapolis 

A Baker’s Wife might be located on a busy city block, but the vibes inside are distinctly small-town. Crowd in with the rest of South Minneapolis and you'll find an old-school glass case full of powdered sugar and cinnamon-sugar cake donuts, chocolate-covered raised donuts showered in a level of sprinkles Homer Simpson would approve of, and their famous tea cake, which, okay, isn’t a donut. But it’s really, really good.  

Angel Food Bakery
St. Louis Park 

Angel Food Bakery is located in the TexaTonka shopping area of St. Louis Park and offers Instagram-worthy treats that taste as good as they look. Find classic glazed, chocolate, vanilla, and sprinkle donuts or try their French cruller donuts, croissant “Dough-Naparts” (a fusion of croissants and donuts), maple bacon donuts or their Saturday morning cartoons donut topped with rainbow cereal flakes. If you can’t make it to St. Louis Park, grab a dozen before takeoff at their location at MSP International Airport.  

Bogart’s Doughnut Co.
Minneapolis and St. Louis Park 

Bogart’s is best-known for their pillowy brioche raised donut with a just-sweet-enough brown-butter glaze, but we wouldn’t turn down their Nutella-filled number or the surprisingly sophisticated lavender cake donut. It has a legion of diehard fans that snap it up in the first few hours of opening; if you want one, get there early. 

Pro tip? Get a serving of Bogart’s brown butter soft serve and dip your donut, or ask for an ingenious blend of both. 

Cardigan Donuts
Minneapolis 

Cardigan Donuts unveils new jam-filled and "inspired" flavors every Thursday and Monday. Each one remains in the shop's rotation for a week — just long enough to make you wish you hadn't missed out on welcome experiments like a honey-glazed corndog fritter, a banana bread cake donut befitting Elvis, or a blueberry Riesling bismarck. If you can't make it to their City or IDS Center locations, Cardigan also drops select batches of its donuts at the local best-in-class coffee shop chain FRGMNT.   

Donut Hut
Little Canada  

This no-frills spot may be Minnesota’s best kept secret. It sticks to the classics, offering cake donuts, old-fashioneds, raised, glazed, bismarks, fritters, maple rolls, and more. Pro tip: get here early as they are bound to sell out. 

Donut Star
Burnsville 

Donut Star has been a Burnsville favorite for nearly 50 years. With a revamped look in 2022 and a new Lakeville location in 2024, they are shining bright. The Burnsville space welcomes families to stick around, with a small bench for kids to color astronaut-themed pages while parents sip lattes. The blueberry donut holes are a crowd fave and sell out fast, but for those that like their donut fillings, don’t sleep on the lemon curd donut. 

DC Donuts Dream Cafe
Eagan 

If you want to immediately feel part of a welcoming, playful, and loyal community built around eating delicious donuts, DC Donuts is your place. You’ll most likely find the owner behind the counter, ensuring everyone is well fed and cared for (in a witty banter kind of way). 

With 24 years in the business, DC Donuts knows a thing or two about its offerings. Everything is fresh daily and you can tell. The maple-glazed raised donut literally melts in your mouth. And overheard at checkout was that the cake donuts can’t be beat. Top it off with some fantastic cold brew, and you’ve got yourself a lovely morning. 

Dorothy Ann Bakery & Cafe
Woodbury 

Picking something from the glass case of confections at Dorothy Ann Bakery & Cafe in Woodbury is a tough choice. With a wide variety of sweets to choose from, their donuts hold their own. Find cake donuts, raised donuts, long johns, bismarks, and more. Don’t miss their seasonal flavors like apple spice, coconut mango, and lemon meringue. 

Funner Brothers
Golden Valley  

Formerly Valley Pastries in Golden Valley, Funner Brothers took over in 2015 and have been baking delicious pastries ever since. Known for their famous giant donut holes, don’t sleep on their bismarcks, long johns, old-fashioned, cake or raised donuts.  

Heights Bakery
Columbia Heights 

With a nearly solid 5-star review on Google, Heights Bakery is clearly winning the donut game. This no-frills spot offers dozens of flavors and types of donuts and usually has a line out the door and for a good reason. Some of the most popular types are the glazed, old-fashioned donuts, blueberry glazed, and the apple fritters but you truly can’t go wrong with this popular spot. 

La Boulangerie Marguerite
Minneapolis and St. Paul 

La Boulangerie Marguerite's original St. Paul storefront has been a bakery since 1921 and husband and wife owners François Kiemde and Melissa Borgmann-Kiemde have built their shop on that legacy. Kiemde is trained in French pastry, and their sweet offerings include apple fritters, long johns, bismarks, raised glazed twists, fried cinnamon rolls with maple frosting, cake donuts, raised and glazed, and more. Their second location is located in Northeast Minneapolis. 

Mel-O-Glaze
Minneapolis

Located on leafy, quiet Minnehaha Parkway, Mel-O-Glaze has been serving a wide selection of charmingly homemade-looking donuts since 1961. Most patrons will name the pillowy apple fritter as their favorite treat, but you can’t go wrong with a box of their affordable, fluffy donut holes. (Throw in a few M&M cookies too. Why not?)

Old Fashioned Donut Shoppe
Crystal 

This unassuming, family-owned spot is marked by signs that read “Delicious Donuts” and “Donut Shop” in a small shopping area in Crystal. It's been making delicious donuts for 40 years. One of their most popular treats is the classic glazed donut, know for its pillowy interior.  

Sarah Jane's Bakery
Minneapolis 

Joe, Audry, Stephanie and Hannah Botzet took over Sarah Jane's Bakery in 2017, and while they retained many of the recipes that made it a Northeast Minneapolis staple, the family has also weaved in many of their own mainstays. Look out for a daily rotation of donut specialties like cinnamon twist, peanut butter and jelly, almond cream, and maple-frosted bacon fritters. 

Sift Gluten Free
Minneapolis

People won’t believe everything at Sift is gluten-free because it tastes oh-so-good. The flavors rotate daily, so every morning is a fun surprise. The vegan mocha donut is what dreams are made of, and their seasonal donut flavor is always perfectly selected to fit a mood. 

They offer special orders for large gatherings (or to guarantee your favorite flavor for solo enjoyment, seeing as they sell out fast). Bonus: they also have a freezer section so you can enjoy gf baked goods at home for days! 

SoYen Desserts
St. Paul 

This small-batch bakery in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood creates hand-rolled brioche donuts fresh every morning. Their flavors rotate every month, and have included black sesame and strawberry, lychee rose, triple berry, and Thai tea custard. Open Friday – Sunday, stop for a donut (or two, or three) at this spot before exploring the St. Paul Farmer’s Market.  

True to its “Japan meets Minnesota” tagline, Soga blends both cultures perfectly. Between its music, video screens, and unique flavors, it might actually make you think you’ve stepped into a Shinjuku Mister Donut. If you’ve never had a mochi donut, you’ve got to try the original mochi. For a truly unique flavor, taro mochi and matcha mochi are top picks. And for a nod to some U.S. snacks, try a Fruity Pebbles or circus cookie mochi. Soga usually changes its offerings seasonally, based on local and natural flavors. 

Thirsty Whale Bakery
Minneapolis and Wayzata 

With two locations, one in Minneapolis and one in Wayzata, Thirsty Whale Bakery is bringing the sugar rush to many Minnesotans. Offering powdered, glazed, frosted, and other funky treats, Thirsty Whale can’t be missed. Find donuts with or without a hole, with options like long johns, apple fritters, filled donuts, or their eye-popping Whale Size Donuts that are a colossal treat perfect for sharing.  

UFFDA Donuts
Maple Grove 

UFFDA Donuts loves to experiment with unique and seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice and peppermint bark. They also offer vegan and gluten-free options to ensure everyone gets a taste. This spot doesn’t miss an opportunity to celebrate, offering themed donuts for everything from May the Fourth to the Minnesota Vikings.  

YoYo Donuts
Minnetonka 

YoYo Donuts is worth a detour in the western suburbs of Minneapolis. This Minnetonka-based shop pairs classic tastes with new twists like maple bacon long johns, “Dirt & Worms” cake doughnuts (no actual dirt or worms used in their making), and espresso-glazed raised donuts. The secret to YoYo's success is the flour — a mixture of wheat, barley, potato and spices. Coffee fans should note that Dogwood Coffee, a direct trade coffee company, is served on-site.