10 Grocery Store Chain Bakery Donuts, Ranked

Will there be donuts? This is my first question when someone asks me to do something early in the morning. And if the answer is yes, I'm way more likely to show up. I have always had a thing for this particular work of culinary art and will argue that even the worst donuts are really not that bad. So when tasked with the job of ranking grocery store chain bakery donuts for this article, I embraced the opportunity to parse their differences.

Having previously published a rundown of the best donut shops in every state, which featured mostly independent bakeries and small-time startups, we at Chowhound thought a ranking of grocery store donuts might help our readers make informed decisions when convenience and/or availability come into play. After selecting only grocery store donuts made fresh in-house and giving highest consideration to overall flavor, I also considered texture, scent, and visual appeal since eating a donut is a full sensory experience.

After a quick refresher on the difference between cake and yeast donuts as well as the ingredient variations and cooking processes that create differences in flavor and product, I got to work stuffing my face. Although I found something to like in pretty much every one of the donuts in my trial, my personal preferences produced this list of 10 grocery store chain bakery donuts, ranked from worst to best.

Easily earning last place honors for being both boring and stale, Walmart's house-brand Chocolate Iced Donut came in a plain cardboard box that accurately represented what was inside. Its foundation, which was yeast-based, lacked all the chewy, porous goodness of the higher-ranked entries in my chocolate-frosted subgroup. It also had no discernible sweetness or vanilla flavor whatsoever and tasted more like smashed white bread than a fluffy morning pastry.

On top, the icing was artificial-tasting and left a film on my tongue. It was a rich brown color but registered more like a processed milk chocolate than a bakery-made dark. The texture was oily on my teeth rather than thin and crackly, like many of this donut's superior competitors. And despite "Freshness Guaranteed" being in the product name, it tasted like it had been on the bakery rack for more than a few days. Although I'm sure it would hold up just fine if I submerged it in coffee or washed it down with another drink that goes well with donuts, I'd say Walmart's Chocolate Iced is one to skip.

I've had my share of sugar-topped donuts, and I figured this offering would be hard to screw up, but Walmart managed to make it a loser. Dense and bland, with very little moisture and even less personality, Walmart's Sugar Topped Donut and I were out of sync from the get-go. Its base resembled a plain bagel in texture, which is not what you want from a donut. Even the best-ranking cream cheese or a giant mug of coffee couldn't save this spare tire from being difficult to swallow.

As for the sugar topping, it was fittingly uninspired and felt like an afterthought. Sparse and granulated, it did not lend enough sweetness to the already dry donut. Though I struggled with which Walmart donut to put in the lowest spot, I settled on second to worst for the sugar-topped donut because it wasn't as artificial-tasting as the chocolate iced.

Cementing Walmart's in-house bakery offerings definitively at the bottom of my grocery store chain bakery donut ranking, its Glazed Donut was a little more palatable than the first two, but the base was similarly dry and lacking in flavor. Like the other two Walmart donuts I tried, this one's packed-on date was the day before my purchase, and its best-if-used-by date was six days later. I could not imagine the flavor would have improved in that amount of time, and I was a little surprised that Walmart's bakery would give its donuts that much shelf life.

The glaze on top was flat and soaked into the dough, without contributing a whole lot to the experience, but it was inoffensive enough. Although I could not find any official information on how Walmart's bakery prepares its donuts, none of them tasted fresh to me, and I would not buy them again.

If your hometown doesn't have a grocery store subsidiary of Kroger Company – the Ohio-based grocery retail giant that's taking over America – you probably will soon. In Wisconsin, we have 23 Metro Market stores, and most of them have in-house bakeries. Not to be confused with Bakery Fresh, Kroger Company's national house brand, baked goods made at Metro Market bakeries are not labeled or advertised online. And they're usually quite good, but I was disappointed by a couple of the donuts.

Though I have yet to meet a long john that I've found inedible, Metro Market's Chocolate Long John with Sprinkles lacked the chewy texture, sweetness, and air pockets of some of the better yeast-based donuts I tried. And its surface felt more like a white bread crust than a tensile donut shell when I sunk my teeth into it. On top, the icing was a little waxy, which is a telltale sign of low-quality dark chocolate, and the sprinkles were chalky. Though it beats any of the Walmart donuts by a mile, Metro Market's Chocolate Long John is not a bakery item I'd buy again.

I'm accustomed to jelly-filled donuts having a sugar coating, so I was intrigued by Metro Market's jelly-filled Bismark, which featured a white-iced top. To my disappointment, I didn't really like the combo, or the donut-to-jelly ratio. Like all of Metro Market's donuts, this one was substantial in size, which I actually don't care for. When it comes to donuts, bigger is not better in my opinion. At Dunkin', I typically purchase a pack of Munchkins, which is not only one of the cheapest items you can buy there but also a bite-sized way to get a little bit of everything.

Although the donut base was good enough, there was only a small jelly blob in the center, and I couldn't really tell what kind of fruit was involved. The texture was mostly smooth, but the flavor was more sour lemony than sweet berry or cherry. And the icing, which was a powdered sugar glaze, didn't vibe with the jelly at all. Since there were jelly-filled donuts in my trial with better overall flavor and a more generous jelly distribution, I gave this one mid-low marks.

Trying not to let its size and odd octagonal shape get in my way, I sank my teeth eagerly into Metro Market's Glazed. I was pleasantly surprised by the texture, which was adequately fluffy and featured all the nooks and air pockets of a well-made, gluten-based bakery product. Notably missing were the milk, egg, and vanilla notes of my higher-ranking donuts, but the flavor was not bad.

Appreciating the differences between iced and glazed donuts, which feature a thinner, sometimes transparent top coat, I knew this one had either been drizzled with or dipped into a thin, sugary glaze. Clear, slightly cracked, and a little sweaty under the bakery case lights, it looked promising but wasn't substantial enough to offset the amount of dough. In the end, there was way more sour than sweet in Metro Market's glaze. If that ratio hadn't been off, I think I would have enjoyed this baked good a little more.

Far superior to the sugar-topped donut from Walmart, Metro Market's offering in this category is one I'd buy again, particularly for a donuts-on-the-go occasion, like road tripping or camping. Easy to eat and by far the best of the Metro Market batch, this donut began with a solid foundation that's worst flaw was maybe being a little too sturdy. Great for not making a mess, but slightly lacking in the chewy, collapsing personalities of its peers, the interior was buttery and felt more like a croissant or a laminated puff pastry than a yeast donut when I took a bite. But it was pretty darn good.

On top, the sugar coating was not an afterthought but rather a part of the glaze. Unlike Walmart's sugar-topped, where the sweetness was unmoored and ended up all over my hands, face, and lap, Metro Market's soaked into the dough and was fully integrated. If the highest-ranking donuts in my trial hadn't been nearly perfect, this one would have earned more of my donut love.

If you've ever lived or vacationed in the Midwest, you've probably shopped at a Meijer grocery store. Under the Fresh From Meijer brand, which covers products made in-house at one of its 500-plus locations, this grocery store chain cranks out fresh products like apple cider (which you may remember from Chowhound's ranking of apple cider brands). It also fills its bakery cases each morning with an impressive selection of donuts.

Though I am not a major glazer fan, I can appreciate a good one when it hits my lips, and Meijer's offering in this category blew the others away. On top of a nicely browned donut exterior, the glaze was thin, partly cloudy, and crackled in all the right ways. It didn't slide off and fall in my lap when I took a bite, and it melted in my mouth immediately. Inside, the yeast donut base was perfectly executed, squishing down to nothing between my teeth. The flavor had notes of sour cream and egg, pairing well with the glazed top. Admittedly, I had trouble deciding between this donut and the next for my number two spot, but the last two were just so good.

As previously mentioned, I have strong opinions about jelly-filled donuts. Too much jelly can be stressful, messy, and overwhelming, whereas too little can be boring and dry. And the donut topping needs to coordinate perfectly so that it neither distracts from nor dominates the eating experience. Everything has to come together perfectly. Lucky for me (and potentially you), Meijer hit this Bismark on the head.

The exterior was lightly toasted and sparingly coated with granulated sugar that didn't stick to my hands. The dough inside was a little more brioche-like than I'd ordinarily like, but it worked here. A small blob of bright red where the jelly had been piped into one end of the donut told me I'd be biting into either strawberry or cherry, and to my delight it was the latter. Knowing that Bismarks are sometimes filled with jam versus jelly and appreciating the differences between the two, I was relieved that this one did not have any fruit chunks. It was smooth, stable, natural tasting, and perfectly proportioned, providing just the right amount of sweet cherry gel in every bite.

The stuff of traditional donut dreams, Meijer's chocolate iced with sprinkles stole my heart from the get-go. Arguably a thing of imperfect beauty on the bakery rack, it was not symmetrical in shape or topping distribution, but that was part of the bakery-made magic. After feasting with my eyes on the chocolate top and rainbow sprinkles, I took a bite and was delighted to discover that this donut had some great culinary depth.

The icing was shiny and smooth like a homemade chocolate glaze. With a little salt to balance the sweetness and either melted butter or corn syrup to create a silky texture, the chocolate layer was rich and luxurious without hogging the spotlight. It also clung to the donut and held sprinkles like a champ. Collapsing completely (in the very best way) between my teeth and requiring a slight jerk of my head to tear off a piece, the inside was fluffy, yeasty, chewy, a little sour creamy, and chef's kiss perfect. There's nothing I'd change about this one; I haven't stopped thinking about it, and I will surely visit Meijer again when the occasion calls for donuts.

I researched regional and national grocery chains featuring in-store bakery departments with fresh donuts and didn't find as many as I'd expected. There were plenty with off-site or affiliate bakery product lines that included donuts, but in-house bakeries that made fresh donuts were scarce. Surprised by the limited number of options and that grocery giants like Whole Foods had stopped making them, I visited the three chains in my region that make donuts fresh daily.

From each store, I selected donuts that had similar profiles and could be compared easily, settling on chocolate iced, glazed, sugar, and jelly-filled specimens. I could not find more than one cream-filled Bismark, so I did not include any in this trial. I focused exclusively on yeast-based donuts, as they involve complex processes like proofing the dough and glazing the tops rather than frosting. Finally, I took a fresh bite of each, recording my notes and feelings in order to rank these 10 grocery store chain bakery donuts from worst to best.