Who is ready for THE BATTLE OF THE GLAZE?!
My boyfriend, Grant, and I recently decided to conduct a little taste test to see which Indianapolis donut we thought was best! Since we are from the north side, we selected the 10 most popular donut shops running from Noblesville all the way down to heart of Indy! Appearance, taste, and value were what we considered when rating each donut. Along with that, a few shops were given an “Insta-worthy” award which did not contribute to the final score but was a bonus for those looking to find a picture worthy location in the area! Obviously these are our own opinions so our tastes my not align exactly with yours! This article is all fun & games and hopefully will help you decide which donut shops to try in Indy next!
So let’s get this taste test started! WARNING: This WILL make you hungry;)
Krispy Kreme $1.09
Ahhh… the classic Krispy Kreme donut. Almost everyone knows what one tastes like which is why we chose to include it into our taste test. Although it is not a local donut shop, it acted as a standard that most would be familiar with.
APPEARANCE: This actually happened to be one of my favorite looking donuts. Krispy Kremes are notorious for being on the smaller side with a perfectly round shape. This is obviously because they are mass produced, but I just find them so cute!
TASTE: As far as taste goes, we both found it to be pretty generic. Super yummy, but nothing special at all. Pretty much just a standard donut.
VALUE: For $1.09 these are a pretty good value because you know what you are getting every time, however these donuts are smaller than most.
Overall Grant and I’s average score came to a 5.6/10. Truthfully there was no wow factor to this donut. I think tasting the Krispy Kreme made me realize why buying locally made things usually taste better (you’ll see why as we try more of the donuts)! Like I said, there is nothing wrong with Krispy Kreme! I think these donuts are super convenient and always consistent. But if you’re looking for something to really wow your taste buds, I suggest trying out others on this list!
Square Donuts $1.25
Next up, a SQUARE donut…yeah you heard that right.
APPEARANCE: Obviously a square shaped donut is pretty original and I admire them for going out of the box. HOWEVER, I feel like if you are going to be unique you need to go all in… and I am sorry but the conners are super squared! I wish it was more uniformly squared because after all they are SQUARE donuts!
TASTE: This donut was the kind that melts in your mouth. Overall it had a really good taste.
VALUE: For $1.25 I think it is a fair price since these have something unique about them when compared to the standard donut.
In theory I think these donuts are a great idea, however I wish the shape met my expectations. The shape we got was more of a strange rhombus shape than an actual square! We decided on a 6.95/10 for the overall score!
Krenolies $1.16
So fun fact… Grant works at Krenolies lol! That is what put this whole blog post into motion! He promised not to be biased when tasting the donuts because he was generally interested to see how each one differed from the next. (But tbh… these BETTER be good because he is the baker that makes them!)
APPEARANCE: Appearance wise these donuts are what I think of when I think of a standard glazed donut. I felt like personally the icing was a tad bit messy on the bottoms!
TASTE: Picture what a homemade donut would taste like and this is it. It’s hard to explain but something about it just has such a homey, comfort feel! Personally I am not a fan of super sweet donuts and like mine on the dry side, so this was a little too much for me. However, if you’ve got a major sweet tooth, these donuts are for you!
VALUE: At $1.16 these donuts are a great value.! They are rich so you could really get full off of eating just one!
Overall we gave Krenolies a 8.2/10! This donut was noticeably better than the others we had tried thus far. It was a great value and a unique taste!
Jack’s Donuts $1.25
Jack’s donuts… I am not gonna lie, these have never been my favorite donuts in the past. Up until this point I had never tried a plain yeast glaze donut from there. I was shocked at how good it actually was!
APPEARANCE: Okay so when we went into the shop, the glaze they had on display did not look like the one we received. The lady switched the tray of glaze as we picked out what we wanted. The previous glaze looked messy, crumbly, and unprofessional (lol don’t know what was going on there). LUCKILY we got a pretty one. This one has a nice golden color, a cute small hole in the middle, and perfectly round! I’m still skeptical though based on what happened haha!
TASTE: This donut is all icing… and it was pretty amazing actually. It is pretty messy to eat but has a nice sweet sugary flavor to it!
VALUE: At $1.25, I’d say the price is pretty standard!
We gave this donut a 7.1/10. Like I said it had it’s great points but also some lows. It only seemed fitting to give it a decent score!
White House $0.87
White house is a local donut shop in Westfield owned by a father and son! So much hype surrounds these donuts so I was excited to see what it was finally all about.
APPEARANCE: I LOVE the dark color of this donut! It also has a very textbook skunk line (the line in the middle of the donut where the dough is lighter).
TASTE: OH MY GOSH this tasted like an elephant ear and I am NOT complaining! This donut’s flavor is so unique, really light, and tons of air inside!
VALUE: At $0.87…This is a totally steal!
This donut made both Grant and I’s top four and its pretty clear why. Such unique flavor, honestly you just have to try it understand what I am saying! We gave it a 8.7/10!
Titus Bakery $0.99
Next up is Titus Bakery! I was actually shocked how large the location was when we went inside! It had pretty cute white subway tile and could be a cute place to go for pics! They also specialize in many other things than just donuts!
APPEARANCE: This donut was interesting looking. Definitely not the prettiest donut we saw, but almost had a cool hexagon shape to it. Also this donut is very large!
TASTE: Taste wise this donut was pretty good. It kind of had a toasted flavor to it which made it yummy!
VALUE: at $0.99 this donut may be one of the best valued donuts since it was our second largest donut and was on the lower end cost wise!
Taylor’s Bakery $1.25
Taylor’s Bakery is known for their amazing cake donuts. I have tried them myself and can testify that they are just as good as people hype them up to be. I was a little hesitant to test out their yeast glaze donuts because of their big cake donut reputation. Sadly, I was a little disappointed in the results.
APPEARANCE: Sadly the appearance was probably the best thing about this donut. It was a nice light golden color and pretty classic looking.
TASTE: Here is where things go down hill. As you have probably already noticed, Taylor’s got a pretty low score. Grant and I both found this donut to be very strange tasting. It tasted like it was a yeast donut that wanted to be a cake donut but couldn’t commit. We just were not diggin this one.
VALUE: Since we did not particularly enjoy this donut, I would say it being priced at $1.25 was not a great value.
This one was a sad one for me. I hate giving it such a low score of a 4.65/10 but I had to be honest. Taylor’s bakery should stick to the cake donuts! If you haven’t tried their cake donuts I highly recommend you do, especially in the fall! We are in no way bashing the bakery itself, but their glaze donut just wasn’t particularly our favorite.
The Dancing Donut $2.45
OKAY BABY HERE WE GO. Dancing donut. My one love. I found this place about a year and a half ago and was convinced it changed my life. Haha okay maybe exaggerating a little but it seriously is like nothing I’ve ever tasted!
APPEARANCE: Okay these donuts are HUGE like the size of your face. They are so pleasing to me, honestly they look like the perfect donut.
TASTE: It gets BETTER! These donuts are AMAZING. Like I said, I like donuts that don’t taste too heavy and that’s exactly what this is. It also has this super yeasty taste to it that is almost indescribable.
VALUE: These guys are on the pricer side at $2.45 but with their size they are almost a novelty. I’d pay $2.45 for this donut ANY day of the week.
This donut was tied for my top favorite and fell into Grant’s top three. Overall we gave it a 9.35/10. If you live in indy this place is a MUST! Plus it is TOTALLY insta worthy! They also have the cutest teal food truck that is usually around back! I’ll insert some pics of this super cute location! (PS their homemade pumpkin spice latte in the fall makes Starbuck’s look like a joke! You neeeed to try that as well!)
General American Donut Company $1.64
Oh GADCO… the overall winner of our taste test and quite possibly the cutest place in Indy. This place will give you all the vibes you are looking for AND their donuts will blow your mind.
APPEARANCE: This donut is just straight up pretty. Something about it just makes it look so appealing to me.
TASTE: HERE WE GO. So prior to the taste test I had tried many of GADCO donuts but never a glazed. They have this donut that is called the Bennie which is practically a glazed donut but the inside is like a peel apart biscuit made with yeast dough! So I never would have guessed that their plain glaze could also blow my mind. BUT OH MY GOSH. This donut was the perfect balance of glaze, dough, and the oil they cook it in. Almost every bite gave off different flavors. Plus this donut was SO spongey which made it fun to eat!
VALUE: At $1.64 I think this is a great price for the taste that comes with this donut plus the aesthetic of the shop!
GADCO is just a fun atmosphere to be in plus it’s located in the heart of indy. Make sure to bring a camera because this place is too cute not to take pics in. I will link photos down bellow as well! If you are ever in there definitely get the Bennie and if you are a caramel fan try the salted caramel! The hole thing melts in your mouth! With a score of 9.7/10, this is our winner!!
Long’s Bakery $0.73
The famous Long’s Bakery!!! I have heard people rave about this place for years but never went because it was cash only and I never seem to have cash on me haha. To be honest I was expecting this place to be way over hyped but surprisingly I was mistaken!
APPEARANCE: These donuts are so cute and petite. I loved the way they looked and it came in a tiny little bag too!
TASTE: Okay guys, this donut tasted like straight up addiction lol. I don’t even know what that means but I do know that I could eat wayyy too many of these than I should! This donut had a crispness to it’s flavor that was like no other donut we tried which makes it clear why many people claim this to be the best donut shop in Indy.
VALUE: At $0.73 this is by far the best deal on a donut. Not only is it the cheapest, but it was also in our top three best donuts in indy!
So the hype surrounding Long’s is REAL. We had no other choice than to give this hole in the wall donut shop a 9.25/10
Well that was a lot of sugar! I hope you guys loved this article, I had such a fun time putting this all together with Grant! Please share this with your friends and for sure try out some of these places! If you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the new places you tried!
XO Josie