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From classic to unconventional, Nashville has a dougnut shop to fit your fancy.
Five Daughters/Facebook

Where to Eat Doughnuts in Nashville

Get your fill of classic cake varieties, croissant hybrids, and colorful confections filled with cream

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From classic to unconventional, Nashville has a dougnut shop to fit your fancy.
| Five Daughters/Facebook

There’s a place for every type of doughnut lover in and around Nashville, whether you want traditionally glazed cake doughnuts from a mom-and-pop operation or something fancy and modern, like doughnut milkshakes, croissant-doughnut hybrids, and brioche or yeast-risen doughnuts piled high with vibrant frosting. Here are the area’s top picks.

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McGaugh's Donuts

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Mack and Renee McGaugh’s namesake doughnut shop used to be Madison’s location of Shipley Do-Nuts, but the quality of both the cake and yeast doughnuts remains the same despite the name change. The tiny, no-frills dining room and drive-thru window open daily at 4 a.m. for bear claws, apple fritters, and all sorts of other classic glazed, coconut-iced, and cinnamon sugar doughnuts.

Gourmet Donuts

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Gourmet Donuts, a family-owned spot in Mt. Juliet, offers fritters, giant cinnamon rolls, and fresh, pillowy soft doughnuts from old-fashioned to eye-catching, adorned with vibrant frosting and sprinkles. It’s open every day from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Four rows filled with trays of assorted doughnuts Gourmet Donuts/Facebook

Donut Palace

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Serving both yeast and cake doughnuts plus a flaky doughnut-croissant hybrid called a “doughssant” (not a Cronut, mind you), this Hermitage shop is a go-to for many locals. Donut Palace’s other popular offerings include espresso eclairs and lemon twists.

Donut Distillery

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From its food truck origins, Shauna McCoy’s Donut Distillery is now a growing franchise business with a shop and a drive-thru in East Nashville, a stall with a limited menu at the Assembly Food Hall downtown, and even market pop-ups. As the name suggests, this hip shop specializes in the intersection of mini doughnuts and alcohol — whiskey-glazed doughnuts, coffee cocktails, Dreamsicle doughnut milkshakes spiked with tequila, and even mimosa flights paired with doughnuts. Donut Distillery is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (except for Saturday, when it stays open until 8 p.m. and Sundays until 5 p.m.), and the vibe is very “boozy brunch.”

East Park Donuts & Coffee

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Order online from East Park Donuts & Coffee, a cute, modern shop that specializes in brioche and cake donuts alongside good espresso and coffee near East Nashville’s East Park. Several unique flavors await, from salted brown butter brioche to a vegan pumpkin spice cake doughnut with maple glaze. You can even find paleo and keto doughnut options along with sandwiches like a turkey club or grilled cheese on doughnuts instead of bread.

Shipley Do-Nuts

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Texans in Tennessee know Shipley Do-Nuts well — the company has been around since the 1930s when the original Houston shop started selling a dozen doughnuts for just five cents. Popular for yeasted doughnuts, cake doughnuts, filled doughnuts, and kolaches, the chain now has over 300 franchised stores throughout the South and beyond, including this unassuming Donelson location and another in nearby Hendersonville.

Parlor Doughnuts

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Parlor Doughnuts made its way to Nashville by way of Evansville, Indiana and now has two locations in Music City — one in Downtown and the other near Music Row. Walking in feels like stepping back into time with its bright and warm midcentury modern aesthetic. Its proprietary layered doughnut recipe shines through in various creative concoctions, like the churro flavor and the turtle cheesecake. The shop also offers an assortment of milkshakes, breakfast tacos, and baked doughnut treats for the doggo in your life.

Over in Wedgewood Houston, the recently opened Hero Doughnuts and Buns holds court with its brioche-style yeast doughnuts that take two full days to make before they hit the bakery’s shelves. Hero originally started out as a pop-up in Birmingham, Alabama before spreading its wings throughout the South with its “OG” vanilla glazed, pistachio, and cereal milk doughnuts. Keep an eye out for the bread pudding doughnuts and apple fritters — they’re on a limited run and sell out fast.

Five Daughters Bakery 12 South

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Franklin-based Five Daughters Bakery opened its standalone counter-service store in 12 South a few years back and since then crowds have gone absolutely wild for a taste of its famous 100-layer doughnuts — a croissant hybrid in flavors like chocolate sea salt and maple glaze. You can also get vegan and paleo doughnuts free of common allergens like gluten. Isaac and Stephanie Meek’s company has since added a shop in East Nashville and a counter in Sylvan Park’s L&L Market.

A doughnut with icing.
Five Daughters Bakery.
Five Daughters Bakery

Fox's Donut Den

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Fox’s Donut Den in Green Hills is Nashville doughnut OG, a go-to for well over 30 years. Offering all the classics, the shop opens early (5 a.m. during the week and 6 a.m. on weekends) and closes late, making it a great place to grab a quick breakfast or tasty dessert on the go.

Donut Time

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Family-run and locally owned, Donut Time is a favorite with Antioch residents but is well worth the drive for anyone looking for scratch-made doughnuts and fritters. Favorites include the fresh vanilla glaze, red velvet, and the chocolate-covered cream doughnut that gets filled with custard on the spot. The shop also offers a variety of smoothies, breakfast sandwiches, and kolaches for those on the run.

McGaugh's Donuts

Mack and Renee McGaugh’s namesake doughnut shop used to be Madison’s location of Shipley Do-Nuts, but the quality of both the cake and yeast doughnuts remains the same despite the name change. The tiny, no-frills dining room and drive-thru window open daily at 4 a.m. for bear claws, apple fritters, and all sorts of other classic glazed, coconut-iced, and cinnamon sugar doughnuts.

Gourmet Donuts

Gourmet Donuts, a family-owned spot in Mt. Juliet, offers fritters, giant cinnamon rolls, and fresh, pillowy soft doughnuts from old-fashioned to eye-catching, adorned with vibrant frosting and sprinkles. It’s open every day from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Four rows filled with trays of assorted doughnuts Gourmet Donuts/Facebook

Donut Palace

Serving both yeast and cake doughnuts plus a flaky doughnut-croissant hybrid called a “doughssant” (not a Cronut, mind you), this Hermitage shop is a go-to for many locals. Donut Palace’s other popular offerings include espresso eclairs and lemon twists.

Donut Distillery

From its food truck origins, Shauna McCoy’s Donut Distillery is now a growing franchise business with a shop and a drive-thru in East Nashville, a stall with a limited menu at the Assembly Food Hall downtown, and even market pop-ups. As the name suggests, this hip shop specializes in the intersection of mini doughnuts and alcohol — whiskey-glazed doughnuts, coffee cocktails, Dreamsicle doughnut milkshakes spiked with tequila, and even mimosa flights paired with doughnuts. Donut Distillery is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (except for Saturday, when it stays open until 8 p.m. and Sundays until 5 p.m.), and the vibe is very “boozy brunch.”

East Park Donuts & Coffee

Order online from East Park Donuts & Coffee, a cute, modern shop that specializes in brioche and cake donuts alongside good espresso and coffee near East Nashville’s East Park. Several unique flavors await, from salted brown butter brioche to a vegan pumpkin spice cake doughnut with maple glaze. You can even find paleo and keto doughnut options along with sandwiches like a turkey club or grilled cheese on doughnuts instead of bread.

Shipley Do-Nuts

Texans in Tennessee know Shipley Do-Nuts well — the company has been around since the 1930s when the original Houston shop started selling a dozen doughnuts for just five cents. Popular for yeasted doughnuts, cake doughnuts, filled doughnuts, and kolaches, the chain now has over 300 franchised stores throughout the South and beyond, including this unassuming Donelson location and another in nearby Hendersonville.

Parlor Doughnuts

Parlor Doughnuts made its way to Nashville by way of Evansville, Indiana and now has two locations in Music City — one in Downtown and the other near Music Row. Walking in feels like stepping back into time with its bright and warm midcentury modern aesthetic. Its proprietary layered doughnut recipe shines through in various creative concoctions, like the churro flavor and the turtle cheesecake. The shop also offers an assortment of milkshakes, breakfast tacos, and baked doughnut treats for the doggo in your life.

Hero

Over in Wedgewood Houston, the recently opened Hero Doughnuts and Buns holds court with its brioche-style yeast doughnuts that take two full days to make before they hit the bakery’s shelves. Hero originally started out as a pop-up in Birmingham, Alabama before spreading its wings throughout the South with its “OG” vanilla glazed, pistachio, and cereal milk doughnuts. Keep an eye out for the bread pudding doughnuts and apple fritters — they’re on a limited run and sell out fast.

Five Daughters Bakery 12 South

Franklin-based Five Daughters Bakery opened its standalone counter-service store in 12 South a few years back and since then crowds have gone absolutely wild for a taste of its famous 100-layer doughnuts — a croissant hybrid in flavors like chocolate sea salt and maple glaze. You can also get vegan and paleo doughnuts free of common allergens like gluten. Isaac and Stephanie Meek’s company has since added a shop in East Nashville and a counter in Sylvan Park’s L&L Market.

A doughnut with icing.
Five Daughters Bakery.
Five Daughters Bakery

Fox's Donut Den

Fox’s Donut Den in Green Hills is Nashville doughnut OG, a go-to for well over 30 years. Offering all the classics, the shop opens early (5 a.m. during the week and 6 a.m. on weekends) and closes late, making it a great place to grab a quick breakfast or tasty dessert on the go.

Donut Time

Family-run and locally owned, Donut Time is a favorite with Antioch residents but is well worth the drive for anyone looking for scratch-made doughnuts and fritters. Favorites include the fresh vanilla glaze, red velvet, and the chocolate-covered cream doughnut that gets filled with custard on the spot. The shop also offers a variety of smoothies, breakfast sandwiches, and kolaches for those on the run.

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