I tried jelly doughnuts from 4 chains, and the winner was a classic
- I tasted jelly-filled doughnuts from four popular chains: Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, Voodoo Doughnut, and Yum Yum Donuts.
- Each doughnut was delicious, but the ones from Krispy Kreme were my favorites because of their flavorful jelly and great dough-to-filling ratio.
- The raspberry doughnut from Yum Yum Donuts was the cheapest, but I thought it was a bit lacking in flavor.
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There are few things more wonderful than enjoying a jelly-filled doughnut with a cup of coffee on Sunday mornings. So, I decided to hunt down the best jelly doughnut from popular doughnut chains.
Factoring in size, taste, and price, I tried seven varieties of jelly doughnuts from four different doughnut chains in the Los Angeles area.
It's worth noting that some of these (like Dunkin' and Krispy Kreme) are more readily available in the US than others (Voodoo Doughnut and Yum Yum Donuts):
Here's how the doughnuts stacked up.
The raspberry doughnut from Yum Yum Donuts was the cheapest, but I thought it was a bit lacking in flavor.
The raspberry-filled doughnut from Yum Yum Donuts was huge and it was also the most affordable option at only $1.19.
Even though the texture of the dough was soft and not too dense, I felt the doughnut needed a touch more glaze overall.
It was filled with the perfect amount of jelly.
There was a perfect amount of filling, but I would have wanted it to be more flavorful.
The lemon-jelly doughnut from Yum Yum Donuts was a bit too dry.
The lemon-filled variety was covered in powdered sugar instead of a glaze. Again, Yum Yum Donuts wins on value: these doughnuts are large and only cost $1.19.
But there wasn't enough of the tasty jelly in this doughnut for my liking.
In my opinion, there wasn't quite enough filling and the dough was a bit dense. Add in the powdered sugar, and the doughnut overall was a little bit too dry.
The raspberry doughnut from Krispy Kreme was light, fluffy, and flavorful.
When I pulled the doughnut from the bag, I was initially disappointed. The doughnut from Krispy Kreme was the smallest one I sampled.
But upon taking a bite, I was pleasantly surprised — the dough was light and fluffy.
There was the perfect amount of glaze and jelly.
The jelly-to-doughnut ratio was spot-on, and the raspberry filling was flavorful without being too sweet. I also felt there was the perfect amount of glaze, since the sweetness wasn't overpowering but I could still taste it.
Although it was a smaller doughnut, it was only $1.59.
Krispy Kreme also offers a tasty strawberry-filled option.
The strawberry-jelly doughnut at Krispy Kreme was also a bit small, but it only cost $1.59.
The jelly was tasty.
Unlike the raspberry jelly-filled doughnut, this one was coated in powdered sugar. Fortunately, it wasn't dry thanks to an appropriate amount of filling. The flavor of the jelly was also delicious.
Since Dunkin' was out of jelly doughnuts when I arrived, I sampled some jelly doughnut holes.
Dunkin' Donuts offers one type of jelly doughnut, but they were out of it when I arrived.
Instead, I got a five-pack of jelly-filled doughnut holes for $1.79. They had a sugary coating that was neither glaze nor powdered sugar and were filled with a berry-flavored jelly.
There wasn't quite enough jelly for my taste.
Oddly enough, the dough tasted like coffee. The inside was a nice, soft texture, but the outside was a bit dry. The jelly was delicious, but there just wasn't enough of it in each doughnut hole for my liking.
Voodoo Doughnut offers a huge, delicious raspberry-filled doughnut, but it was pricey.
Voodoo Doughnut is a Portland-based shop that offers fun "out-there" doughnuts in a handful of locations around the US.
The one I visited attracts a lot of tourists, which might explain why the raspberry doughnut (which was large but similar in size to the raspberry doughnut at Yum Yums) cost $2.15.
The jelly was delicious, but I think there was too much of it.
Even so, the doughnut tasted pretty great. The dough was soft and the jelly was sweet but not too sweet. I never thought it was possible, but I feel like there was a bit too much jelly in this doughnut — it made a mess.
The jelly-filled Mango Tango doughnut at Voodoo made me nostalgic for orange creamsicles.
At $2.65 a pop, the Mango Tango was the most expensive of the doughnuts sampled. This one was filled with a mango jelly, and in a surprising twist, the top was iced in vanilla frosting and sprinkled with Tang.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this doughnut.
I really thought I would hate this doughnut because it was topped with Tang (a type of powdered fruit drink), which seemed strange to me, but I actually really enjoyed it. It tasted shockingly similar to an orange creamsicle.
Both of Krispy Kreme's doughnuts ended up being my favorite, but the raspberry-filled one wins overall.
With their affordable price, light and fluffy dough, and flavorful jellies, Krispy Kreme's doughnuts were my favorites overall. And, out of the two Krispy Kreme doughnut I tried, the classic raspberry-filled doughnut earned top marks.
Although the doughnuts were a bit smaller than the other chains' offerings, they were still the perfect size for breakfast, a snack, or dessert.
But let's be honest — no matter where you pick up a jelly doughnut, it's bound to be a winner.
Read More:
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