Donuts, (or doughnuts, as they say across the pond) are a global delicacy. Every culture has some version of them. They’re a sweet, cake-like pastry that’s made from deep-fried dough. Health-conscious types will sometimes bake their doughnuts to cut down the fat content.
You can eat your doughnut plain, filled, or with toppings. But where are the best donuts in Austin? Anyone can tell you where to find this sweet treat, but we’re interested in the whole story, pun intended. So apart from a list of top doughnut spots, we’ll dig into the history too!
Best Doughnuts in Austin
1. Lola’s Donuts
Lots of cultures have a type of doughnut in their repertoire. But doughnuts are distinct because of their circular shape and the hole in the middle. Similar dishes might have a square, triangle, or cookie cutter shape. They may even be round but without the hole. Examples include bomboloni from the Italians and mahamri from the Swahili people.
- Name: Lola’s Donuts
- Address: 2406 Manor Road Ste B, Austin, TX 78722
- Website: https://www.lolasdonutsatx.com
- Phone: Order Online
- Hours: Friday to Sunday – 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
Lola’s Donuts is known for its crullers and brioche. In France, brioche is a light, buttery dough. But at Lola’s they use that French dough as a base, proof it for a day, then fry it into a fluffy, buttery, sweet treat. Lola’s is also known for their customized doughnuts, including a designer dog recipe! They’re only open on weekend mornings though, so plan accordingly!
2. Round Rock Donuts
Typically, doughnuts use a raising agent like yeast, so they’re classified as a leavened snack. Leavening agents make the dough rise. Yeast is the most common option, but you can use baking powder, a sourdough starter, or a combination of a mild acid mixed with baking soda. Try edible acids like buttermilk, cream of tartar, or lemon juice. Or mix vinegar with milk 1:1.
- Name: Round Rock Donuts
- Address: 106 W Liberty Ave, Round Rock TX
- Website: https://roundrockdonuts.com
- Phone: (512) 255-3629
- Hours: 4.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
The most famous item at Round Rock is their Texas-Size Doughnut. You can walk in and grab one anytime, but it’s the size of a dozen regular doughnuts, so you may need bicep some curls to carry it home! Round Rock also offers large batches of normal-size doughnuts – you can grab up to 240 doughnuts without pre-order, but call ahead if you want more than that!
3. Master Donuts
American-style doughnuts are shaped like a ring with a hole in the middle. The doughnut hole (which is a small ball rather than a hole) is sometimes fried or baked as a separate snack. In some cultures, you can soak the doughnut hole in honey or coconut milk and forget about the ring altogether! You might also enjoy skewered or sugar-coated doughnut holes.
- Name: Master Donuts
- Address: 6100 E. Riverside Dr. Austin, TX — 78741
- Website: https://www.masterdonutsatx.com
- Phone: 512 215 2696
- Hours: Mon to Sat – 5.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.; Sunday – 6.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Maybe the doughnut lover in your life has specific tastes. In that case, Master Donuts is the place to go. They customize your doughnut into anything from celebrities to game characters. They’ve been around since 2014 and had two locations at some point. But they’re not open in the afternoons, and at the moment, they don’t take online orders. Plan to drive by the store.
4. Bougie’s
The texture of a doughnut depends on how you prep it before baking or frying. Some types of doughnuts have eggs and sour cream, so they’re more cake-adjacent. Other kinds are made like pizza dough, so they’re dense and bready. In most bakeries, you can get a ring doughnut and a filled doughnut. Filled doughnuts have jam, custard, fruit, etc. injected into the dough.
- Name: Bougie’s
- Address: 5400 Brodie Lane, Suite 930, Sunset Valley, TX 78745
- Website: https://bougiesdonuts.com
- Phone: (512) 382-1617
- Hours: 8.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
You might know doughnuts are Homer Simpson’s favorite food group. And while there’s nothing even remotely bougie about him, this snack shop named their showcase after him, complete with his signature sprinkles and strawberry frosting. The café also offers unusual flavors like chocolate bacon and orange cinnadough. They’re open ‘until we’re sold out!’
5. Zucchini Kill
Whether it’s cakey or bready, the basis of a doughnut is the same. The dough has to be smooth enough to roll it out. You can then use a doughnut-shaped cookie cutter. At home, you could use a cup or glass for the outer circle and a bottle cup or shot glass for the hole. Another option is to cut or roll the dough into strips and then join the ends to form a firm ring.
- Name: Zucchini Kill
- Address: 701 E 53rd St. Austin, TX 78751
- Website: https://www.zucchinikill.com
- Phone: (737) 215-5936
- Hours: Wed, Thur, Fri – 3 to 8 pm; Sat – 10 to 8 pm; Sun – 10 to 6 pm
You wouldn’t expect sweet treats at a spot named for a courgette. That’s kind of the point! Zucchini Kill specializes in gluten-free, soy-free vegan desserts, including their doughnuts. It’s a woman-owned eatery and all its packaging can be composted. They’re closed on weekday mornings and all day on Monday and Tuesday, and the menu changes every day.
6. Mrs. Johnson’s Bakery
Cakey doughnuts have a lower oil content than bready doughnuts, but the difference isn’t much – maybe 5%. But this variation means cakey doughnuts cook faster – about a minute and a half. For bready doughnuts, you need about 150 seconds (two and a half minutes). If you’re baking your doughnuts, the recipe will show the best cooking time and oven temps.
- Name: Mrs. Johnson’s Bakery
- Address: 4909 Airport Blvd. Austin, TX 78751
- Website: https://mjbakery.com
- Phone: (512) 452-4750
- Hours: 8.45 p.m. to Noon except Sunday nights
Lots of bakers are early birds that prefer to do their baking before sun up. They tend to serve breakfast, so you may find them closed after 3.00 p.m. But the folk at Mrs. Johnson’s are night owls, so they open after dark and stay open until noon. Don’t look for them on Sunday night though. The bakery is currently closed for renovations, so keep an eye on their website!
7. Angel Donuts
While the dough for doughnuts is generally firm and solid, you can sometimes find a recipe with a thinner batter base. In such cases, you can pour the liquid dough directly into an electronic doughnut maker. Or you can use a doughnut depositor to transfer the dough into your bubbling vat of cooking oil. This takes practice though, so be careful to avoid scalding!
- Name: Angel Donuts
- Address: 8300 N FM 620 Ste 200 Austin, TX 78726
- Website: http://www.angeldonuts.com
- Phone: (512) 330-4825
- Hours: Sun to Tue – 7.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.; Thur to Sat – 7.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Memorizing the opening hours at Angel Donuts can be tricky, but it’s worth it for their chocolate peanut butter stout doughnut! And they open one hour extra in the summer, so that helps. They serve vegan doughnuts with plant-based yeast, but because most of their orders are customized, you should call ahead or email them. And they offer bubble tea too!
8. Little Lucy’s
Which doughnuts are healthier – cake doughnuts or yeast doughnuts? As we said before, the bready type is denser and generally heavier. They cook a bit longer so they absorb more oil, and they have more oil in the dough to begin with. But if you’re worried about calorie counts, the toppings and fillers pack more sugar and carbs than the doughnut. Consider that instead.
- Name: Little Lucy’s
- Address: 75 Rainey St. Austin, TX 78701
- Website: https://littlelucys.com
- Phone: (424) 235-8297
- Hours: Mon to Wed – 5.00 p.m. to 2.00 a.m.; Thur to Sun – 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 a.m.
Austin is known for its artsy outdoors communities, so it makes sense that so many doughnut stores started as food trucks. But Little Lucy’s still runs out of a truck, and their specialty is teeny tiny mini doughnuts. And they’re so cute you just want to eat them! Every bag you order comes with a signature dipping sauce. And the toppings are named after dogs!
9. Donut Tacos Palace
If you’re making doughnuts at home, you can incorporate as little (or as much) sugar into the dough as you like. You can then top the doughnut with a clear sugar glaze to make it glossy and saccharine. For cakey doughnuts, the topping is typically cake frosting over a glassy glaze, though a simpler version uses sprinkles, cinnamon powder, or confectioner’s sugar.
- Name: Donut Tacos Palace
- Address: 1807 W.Slaughter Ln. #200, Austin, TX 78748
- Website: https://www.donuttacopalaceinaustin.com
- Phone: 512-280-8789
- Hours: 5.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
Earlier, we talked about doughnuts from different cultures. One popular option is the famous kolach(e) from the Czech Republic. It’s a puffy doughnut-like pastry with a stuffed center of fruit or meat. The carnivore versions are called klobasnek (singular) or klobasniky (plural), and at the Donut Taco Palace, you can order a jalapeno cheese variant. Or try their El Toro!
10. TLV Austin
Around the world, doughnuts have different designs (meaning they’re not ring-shaped), so they may have varied names. But even in the states, you can find doughnuts marketed as crullers, meaning they have a block-like shape or are twisted into decorative curls and coils. Many outlets have customized doughnut holes with brand names like Munchkin or Timbit.
- Name: TLV Austin
- Address: 111 Congress Avenue Fareground #7 Austin, TX 78701
- Website: https://tlv-austin.com
- Phone: (512) 608-4041
- Hours: Tuesday to Sunday – 11.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m.
Here’s another example of regional doughnuts from Israel – sufganiyot (singular) or sufganiyah (plural). It’s a kosher treat made by stuffing a jelly doughnut with custard, jam, rose water, or Turkish coffee, then sprinkling powdered sugar on top. You can order it at TLV. Berty Richter is the owner and chef, and his store is inspired by Israeli street stalls.
11. OMG Squee
Can anyone eat doughnuts? Probably not, because a lot of the standard ingredients are allergenic. Doughnuts are typically made from wheat flour (so that’s gluten), though you can find variants with fermented rice flour. Doughnuts generally have dairy, though eggs are optional. And if you have crushed nuts in the topping, that could trigger a reaction as well.
- Name: OMG Squee
- Address: 4607 Bolm Rd. Austin, TX 78702
- Website: https://www.squeeclub.com
- Phone: (512) 435 -9113
- Hours: Thursday – 11.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.; Weekends: 11.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m.
OMG Squee is only open from Thursday to Sunday, with shorter hours on Thursday so check the date! Sarah Lim and Michael DeAnda started their pop-up in 2016, touring farmer’s markets with their Asian treats. Sarah has an auto-immune disorder, so all their doughnuts are gluten-free. They use Japanese rice cakes as the base dough, and they now have a store.
12. The Salty (Donut)
Next question – can doughnuts be salty? Well, there’s a spot called The Salty Donut, though most people just call it The Salty so they recently dropped the doughnut, no pun intended. The Salty makes artisanal doughnuts in small batches, and they have outlets in lots of places, including Austin. Their doughnuts aren’t salty, but they sometimes have savory toppings.
- Name: The Salty (Donut)
- Address: 2000 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
- Website: https://www.saltydonut.com
- Hours: 7.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.
The Salty started as a retro camper van filled with migratory doughnuts. The founders were dating when they set up in 2014. They’re now married and have several retail stores. While they’re no longer dishing sweets out of a parking lot, they retain that friendly atmosphere and cozy ambiance. For them, the community is a social factor crucial to their foodie feasts.
13. Gourdough’s Public House
We haven’t quite answered the question though – can doughnuts be salty? Well, no, because if you can taste the salt, it becomes a different category of pastry. Yes, you’ll add a pinch of salt to the recipe, or maybe a teaspoon. Your tongue won’t recognize the salt, but the sodium content plays with your taste buds to dim the saline flavor (e.g. butter) and raise the sweet.
- Name: Gourdough’s
- Address: 2700 S Lamar Blvd Austin, TX 78704
- Website: https://gourdoughs.com
- Phone: (512) 912-9070
- Truck Hours: Mon to Fri – 10.00 a.m. to midnight; Sat to Sun: 8.00 a.m. to midnight
It’s pronounced gordos, (or gore-doze), and it’s the place to go if you want weird doughnuts. They have doughnut sandwiches and doughnut burgers! GPH is their physical store, but you can also order online from their food truck. (The truck has no phone!) The truck was their first premises and still runs. The store and truck have different opening hours double-check!
Do you have a favorite doughnut joint in Austin? Tell us all about it in the comment section!
