Take a Self-Guided Tour of Portland’s Doughnut Shops
They say that if you want to get to know a city, you need to eat its food, and even though there has been no legislative statement, doughnuts are practically the city’s official food. Everyone has a favorite place to pick up one of these sweet treats, be it your local baker set up at the farmers market, or a Portland institution with national recognition. Either way, this city is set on making sure that these fried pieces of dough continue to elevate the dessert and please its customers with every new shop that opens up.
We’ve rounded up a few of the best doughnut shops in Portland so that you can take an afternoon and go on a self-guided tour around the city, tasting the best doughnuts we have to offer. It’ll be a blast, we promise.
Mikiko Mochi Doughnuts
The pop-up turned donut delivery turned city-wide sensation is the first of several mochi donut shops to open in Portland. Mikiko started in February 2020, just before the pandemic, and has since gotten a foothold in the city’s donut landscape by creating beautiful and indulgent mochi donuts that are naturally gluten and dairy free. Their intricate flavors range from filled Passionfruit, Guava, and Marionberry Jam to glazed Thai Tea, Yuzu Vanilla Funfetti, and Umeshu Plum Wine.
In addition to opening their first brick and mortar store, Mikiko offers some of their donuts in stores around the Portland area. You can find them in Tea Bar, Capitola Coffee, and Helvetia Farm Market.
Recommended: Black Sesame + Marionberry Jam, Strawberry+Matcha Pudding, KatDog
Website: https://www.mikikodonuts.com/
NOLA Doughnuts
NOLA’s signature brioche doughnuts stand out among the crowd for their rich and flakey texture. To create the dough, they use a lamination process which consists of a three-day period of layering the pastry dough with grass-fed European butter. The result in flaky and airy dough that melts in your mouth.
But it doesn’t stop at the dough. NOLA carries a variety of glazed, coated, and filled doughnuts with exceptional flavors that compliments the natural dough flavor. They also serve mini beignets, apple fritters, and doughnut holes.
Recommended: Cocoa Nib, Cinnamon & Sugar with Chocolate Ganache, Lemon Poppyseed with Raspberry Jam, Orange Grapefruit Glazed
Website: https://www.noladoughnuts.com/
Blue Star Doughnuts
Blue Star Doughnuts came onto the scene in 2012 with a mission to elevate the lowly doughnut to something of a culinary delight. Executive Pastry Chef, Stephanie Thornton, creates flavors of doughnuts with fresh herbs, spices, fruits, and liquors. The unique flavor combinations tend to be popular favorites with adults, while still being fun treats for adventurous kids.
Recommended: Raspberry Rosemary Old-Fashioned, Blueberry Basil Cake (V), and Grapefruit & Smoked Paprika.
Website: https://bluestardonuts.com/
Doe Doughnuts
Doe Donuts is a women-owned shop that specializes in vegan doughnuts and ice cream. Everything in the store is made from scratch with locally sourced ingredients that are often organic, fair trade, and non GMO.
The doughnuts here are made fresh everyday with the finest of ingredients. They use a “quality over quantity” approach, so occasionally they might run out of stock. But just know that your money is going toward a business that pays its workers a living wage and that gives back to the community. Each month, the store chooses two organizations to support, either through cash donations, free doughnuts, or a percentage of sales.
Recommended: Portland Fog, Tiramisu Filled
Website: https://www.doedonuts.com/
HeyDay
Another recent addition to Portland’s doughnut scene is HeyDay Doughnuts. The pop-up doughnut shop has captured the hearts of everyone with its Southeast Asian inspired flavors and chewy rice-flour dough. If you’ve never had one of their doughnuts, you can expect something similar to a mochi doughnut.
Soon, HeyDay is going to be opening a permanent location in one of the interior spaces at CORE PDX, giving Portlanders the opportunity to get these delicious doughnuts any time they want. Stay tuned for more info on their opening.
Recommended: Either of their classic flavors; Coconut Sweet Corn or Pandan
Website: http://heydaypdx.com/
Delicious Donuts
Don’t let Delicious Donuts’ unassuming facade trick you into going somewhere else. These doughnuts are consistently some of the most fresh, classic doughnuts in Portland. They have a loyal customer base, and it shows. Even though they officially close at 1 PM, they often wrap up early because they sell out of their inventory. If you want to try a doughnut from here, you’ve got to go early in the day. In addition to doughnuts, they also have a full breakfast menu available.
In 2018, Delicious Donuts was ranked number one in OregonLive’s “Portland's best doughnut shops, ranked”
Recommended: Peanut Maple Cake, Apple Bear Claw
Website: https://www.deliciousdonutspdx.com/
Coco Donuts
Coco Donuts is the only donut shop in Oregon that makes both their donuts and house roasted coffee. They’ve been perfecting their approach to coffee roasting and doughnut making for over a decade and pride themselves on giving customers an experience instead of just a product. Their donuts are made fresh daily and use a secret family recipe that has been passed down over 30 years.
There are seven Coco Donuts in the Portland metro area, so wherever you are you’re sure to be close enough to grab a bite.
Recommended: Lavender Raised, Signature Coco Raised
Website: https://www.cocodonuts.com/
Voodoo Doughnuts
Voodoo Doughnuts doesn’t really need a whole introduction, but we can’t do a doughnut story without them. They have tons of unique flavors, some with refined flavor profiles, and some with just fun variations of sugar. Whatever you’re in the mood for, you can probably find it here. Just be prepared to wait for a while to get your doughnuts, as they have lines wrapped around their stores almost on a daily basis.
Recommended: Vicious Hibiscus, Ring of Fire, Strawberry Go-Tart
Website: https://www.voodoodoughnut.com/the-voodoo-doughnut-story/
Fills
If you really want to take a drive, one of the best places outside of city center is Fills in Lake Oswego. Fills is mainly known for their berliner-style donuts with filling (hence the name of the shop,) but also serves burgers on the same brioche dough buns used for their doughnuts. Their traditional German pastries are made using natural levain, Central Milling organic flour, and organic sugar.
They have a seasonal, ever evolving menu, but you really can’t go wrong with any of their flavors.
Recommended: Everything Bagel Doughnut, Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Rhubarb
Website: https://fillspdx.com/
