Krispy Kreme Vs Dunkin': The Donut Chain With Unbeatable Glazed Donuts

A glazed donut has nothing to hide its flaws. There are no fancy toppings or fillings bursting with different flavors like others that line the shelves in your favorite donut shop. It's just the donut and the glaze. Without any donut pizazz, it's probably the most vulnerable donut out there. That's not to say it can't be remarkable. A great glazed donut can be better than any of its competitors that have all the bells and whistles. However, there's very little room for error. Personally, I always love to try a glazed donut first when I visit a new donut spot. If they can nail that, I feel like it just has to go up from there.

Krispy Kreme and Dunkin', two of the most recognizable donut icons, both offer glazed donuts on their menus. Sure, the seasonal flavors and accompanying themed drinks are a good time. While there are so many elaborate and creative donut flavors out there, it's when you bring it back to basics and still provide a stellar bite that really gives a place donut cred. An outstanding glazed donut is a classic like that perfect white tee that looks great with your favorite pair of jeans. Both Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' have respectable glazed donuts, but there are no participation trophies here. I put the sweet glazed donuts from both places up against each other to see which would take the crown for the most craveable.

At $16.99 a dozen, Krispy Kreme's most powerful glazed donut flex is its texture. Your teeth immediately sink into the sugary glaze right through to the heart of an impossibly airy donut. I never thought I would call a donut tender, but that's exactly what it is. I don't know what sorcery is in play at Krispy Kreme, but the structure is strong enough to hold its ring shape, but it's so indulgent and soft that it practically melts in your mouth upon contact.

The glaze is just the right level of sweet and truly compliments the donut instead of eating like icing. The duo walks into the party together as a power couple instead of trying to steal center stage. The flaky glaze and soft dough is cohesive but more importantly decadent. You get the full top notch glazed donut experience instead of something overly bready wearing a thick sugary jacket.

The flavor of a Krispy Kreme donut is up there too. While the dough offers a gentle foundation, it allows the glaze to take the lead without compromising what's underneath. It's definitely sweet and may not be for donut lovers who like a more restrained flavor profile or prefer some of Krispy Kreme's most popular flavors. There's something about the lightness of the doughnut that prevents each bite from feeling like you are consuming a spoonful of heavy sugar. It just works.

Dunkin's glazed donut, at $14.99 a dozen, takes a different approach with a significantly more substantial bite. The dough is firmer and more compact than its gentle competitor. For those looking to enjoy a breakfast treat with some heft, this could be an option. The sturdier structure definitely puts the bready dough front and center and requires much more chewing. The Dunkin' glazed donut can feel more satisfying at first because of the thicker dough. However, it could also expose any fundamental flaws, such as dryness or lack of freshness. All things considered, Dunkin' provides a basic and decent glazed donut. It's safe but not super memorable.

The glaze comes with the expected amount of sweetness but feels a little more disconnected from the interior than the Krispy Kreme version. Neither the dough nor the glaze are unpleasant on their own, but the merger of the two lacks the gracefulness of the competition. It makes the whole Dunkin' glazed donut experience very ordinary. Dunkin' does have some bright spots in general. Its glazed donut is familiar and basic, but it doesn't have enough to compare to the delicate texture and unified bite of a Krispy Kreme glazed donut.

Krispy Kreme's glazed donut took this race by a sugary landslide, and not just because you get a free one on your birthday. The donut chain somehow found a method to make a glazed donut anything but common. Everything about it makes you actually want a glazed donut over anything else on the menu. From the impeccable texture to the sweet and delicate glaze, it really is the perfect donut. Its simplicity only makes it better. Because the Krispy Kreme donut has that melt in your mouth star quality, it's immediate gratification from the first bite. Each one after that is just as good as the first and it's the type of classic confection that makes you sad when you finish.

It's not that Dunkin's glazed donut is bad, but it does not hold a candle to Krispy Kreme. The sugar coating and elegant dough work in tandem to accomplish the same goal while the Dunkin' option has a texture that makes you work for every last bite. One provides a sugar fix while the other makes a great case for choosing a glazed donut as your sweet treat. Krispy Kreme is the latter and it earned that right. It also has to be said that while warm donuts are not part of this official ranking, there is nothing better than a warm and fresh Krispy Kreme glazed donut. If you see that hot donuts now sign light up, pull in immediately and don't think twice about it.

The best and fairest way to test these two glazed contenders from Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' is to buy the glazed donuts fresh in the morning and taste them in similar windows, so that's exactly what I did. No heating, no refrigeration, and no added toppings. Since glaze is the only thing this donut has going for it, I looked at it through a few lenses. When you pull the donut apart, does the glaze lean thin and flaky or heavy and sticky? Is it evenly distributed?

I also considered the inside to see if the donut itself is airy, fluffy, or dense in texture. Obviously with a sugary glaze as the supposed star, I also had to compare the sweetness of each. A solid glazed donut shouldn't just deliver an intense sugar rush and then exit the chat. The dough also needs to be a good supporting partner and both together should make you want to shove the whole thing in your mouth after the first bite.