Where to Find the Best Donuts in Raleigh (9 Spots loved by locals)

There’s a bit of a legacy around donuts in Raleigh. Did you know one of the largest donut chains in the world originally started two hours up the road from Raleigh in Winston-Salem? The famous Krispy Kreme began just 112-miles away and even opened their second-ever store here in Raleigh!

But Krispy Kreme are not the only donut pioneers out of North Carolina, and many other donut spots in Raleigh deserve to be seen and celebrated just as much. In this guide, we share our favorite donut shops in Raleigh and the Triangle area so that our donut-loving readers can enjoy the best of the best.

Krispy Kreme

• Address: 549 N Person St
• Website: krispykreme.com

Of course, we have to begin with the world-famous Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (our kids favorite), which opened its second original store in the world, right here in Raleigh (although the original shop wasn’t in its current N. Pearson Street location you see today, but close by). It’s incredible to think that in 1937, this small donut shop known for its hot and fresh glazed donuts would expand to open more than 12,800 stores worldwide. In Raleigh, though, it’s almost as though time stood still. The store has an old-world, nostalgic, and industrial quality to it. 

It’s amazing to cast your eyes behind the glass fridge to look into the back and see all the ring donuts moving along the conveyor belts and through the glaze waterfall, showcasing the huge number of turnovers this store receives each day. It also has a drive-thru, which can often get loaded up with cars, so don’t think this is the quicker option to get your donut fix. In terms of flavors, the OG glazed donut is a must. You can’t watch them being made on the assembly line and not try one of their originals, right?

This Krispy Kreme location also features as the half-way point of the world-renowned Krispy Kreme Challenge (12 doughnuts, 5 miles, 1 hour) started by NC State University students and one of our favorite annual Raleigh events, put it on your calendar!

Baker’s Dozen on Buck Jones Road 

• Address: 1307 Buck Jones Rd
• Website: www.facebook.com

When we put the question “what’s your favorite donut spot in Raleigh?” out to our Facebook community, the commenters were quick to vote for Baker’s Dozen. They have two locations in Raleigh, one on Capital Boulevard and one on Buck Jones Road. We prefer the Buck Jones Road location because it has parking, but either store offers the same level of quality in terms of its donuts.

If you want to try something beyond the traditional donut, the maple bacon donut gets tons of praise, or you can keep it simple with a raspberry-filled or white creme-filled donut. As well as donuts, the apple fritters here are too delicious and always consistently good – you can easily see why Baker’s Dozen has a loyal following of regulars!

Bright Spot Donuts

• Address: 1501 Sunrise Ave
• Website: brightspotdonuts.com

What we love about Bright Spot Donuts is that all its donuts are made with local produce. The flour is 100% organic and is milled at Boulted Bread and Lindley Mills. Even the sugar and yeast come from nearby. While Duck Donuts has cake donuts, Bright Spot specializes in yeast donuts, so they are a bit denser and doughier in texture. They offer seasonal filled donuts, which are not overly sweet as other filled donuts can be, as well as regular glazed donuts. Bright Spot donuts are located within the fantastic Five Points area.

Heritage Donuts, Wake Forest

• Address: 1040 Forestville Rd
• Website: facebook.com/heritagedonuts

It’s well worth driving over to Wake Forest for Heritage Donuts, your classic Mom and Pop shop with yeast-raised and cake donuts made fresh each day. They have a huge selection of flavors to choose from – some classic and some kind of quirky. The cereal-topped donuts are widely talked about. You can also go old school with an Old Fashioned glazed, if you prefer to keep it traditional. The donuts are really soft and fluffy, even the yeast donuts.

Daylight Donuts

• Address: 7550 Creedmoor Rd
• Website: daylightdonutsraleigh.com

Daylight Donuts opened in 1990 in Stonehenge Market and offers scratch-made donuts fresh every day. They are peanut and tree-nut-free, making them a top choice for those with nut allergies! They have an extensive menu with both traditional and fancy donuts. Whether you want a classic glazed, frosted, or something sweet, chocolatey, fruity, or even spicy, there’s something for every flavor palate. They open at 5:00 am, so this is the perfect place to grab a super early breakfast (or a tasty treat on the way home from a wild night out).

Tepuy Donuts! 

• Address: 2820 Capital Blvd
• Website: www.tepuydonuts.com

Tepuy Donuts offers hand-crafted sourdough donuts, which are all handmade in Raleigh. You can choose between filled donuts or glazed or even get in touch with them to write a message in donuts. They have a store on Capital Blvd, which offers a variety of sweet donut choices to choose from, but they can also be found in some coffee shops, such as Idle Hour Coffee (one of our fav coffee shops in Raleigh). 

The flavor profiles tend to be more on the sickly side – S’mores donut, dulce de leche, Nutella Filled, Dubai Chocolate Filled…you get the drift. So, if you like super sweet, this is the place to go!

Duck Donuts

• Address: 8323 Creedmoor Rd
• Website: duckdonuts.com

Another donut chain loved in North Carolina is Duck Donuts, which began in the Outer Banks town of Duck in 2007. They now have two locations in Raleigh and one in Cary. People love Duck Donuts for its innovative flavor combinations, tasty and unique styles, and relaxed vibes. 

The donuts are also made hot off the line and are drizzled in a flavor of your choice and made to order – you will find it hard to find fresher donuts in Raleigh! Just choose your quantity, then your coating, a topping, and then finally decide if you want to go all out and add a drizzle too. Duck Donuts is also renowned for its cake donuts, which are made without yeast and are light and fluffy, so you don’t feel guilty about devouring a couple…or a dozen!

Burney’s Sweets and More

• Address: 4500 Falls of Neuse Rd
• Website: burneyssweetsandmore.com

Opening in 2011, sweet treat aficionados Thomas and Doris opened up Burney’s Sweets and More in Elizabethtown, NC, which quickly rose in popularity and led them to open a store in Southport, NC, and then took over the rest of the state. The franchise store in Raleigh is on Falls of Neuse Rd and well worth the drive. It has a nostalgic diner look, with a display case filled with beautifully designed treats and donuts, and the staff always greet you with a smile.

It has a solid reputation for its donuts, which are fluffy and perfectly formed. They are also reasonably priced, with traditional glazed donuts coming in under $2 each. Although the donuts are well worth the trip, don’t miss out on a chance to try one of the croissants, which are the real star of the show.

Carolina Glazed Donuts

• Address: 5400 S Miami Blvd, Durham
• Website: www.facebook.com

Another donut shop in the Triangle area worth driving to is Carolina Glazed Donuts in Durham. It offers no-frills, fluffy cake donuts and doughy yeast donuts, which are made fresh every day. There isn’t a huge selection – you can choose between classic glazed options with either sugar glaze, chocolate, or coconut glaze, or opt for a twist, butterfly, or bear claw donut – but since they are all made fresh, you don’t need tons of options. The apple fritters are awesome too!

Be sure to arrive early. Since everything is made from scratch, it’s not uncommon for them to sell out of donuts by 10:00 am. And if you’re willing to drive for donuts, consider these coffee shops worth the drive in the Triangle area, too. Now it’s you turn, what’s your favorite donut spot in Raleigh?