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Best Donut Shops in New Orleans
In New Orleans the hometown donut is the beignet, served hot under a snowdrift of powdered sugar from the French Quarter to Magazine Street, with buttermilk drops and creative yeast donuts close behind. Here are the donut and beignet shops we send friends to, grouped by neighborhood so you can plan your route.
By the Underground Donut Tour team · Updated November 2026
Visiting for the holidays? See our Best Holiday Donuts & Baked Goods in New Orleans guide.
Want to taste the best of New Orleans with a guide? See our New Orleans food tours.
FRENCH QUARTER
Cafe Du Monde
The original French Market coffee stand, where hot, pillowy beignets come in threes under a snowdrift of powdered sugar. Pair them with a chicory cafe au lait and watch Jackson Square wake up around you.
Donut Tour Recommends: Beignets
FRENCH QUARTER
Cafe Beignet on Royal Street
Oversized, golden beignets buried in powdered sugar, served on a leafy Royal Street patio with chicory coffee alongside. The Royal Street cafe is the original of a family of French Quarter cafes, so a sugar fix is never far away.
Donut Tour Recommends: Traditional Beignets
FRENCH QUARTER
● Black-owned ● Women-owned
Loretta's Authentic Pralines (French Market)
Light, airy beignets stuffed with warm praline cream make this French Market stall a sweet-tooth essential. Founded by praline legend Loretta Harrison, it also offers chocolate-filled and traditional powdered beignets, plus pralines and king cake.
Donut Tour Recommends: Praline Beignets
FRENCH QUARTER
Restaurant R'evolution
A grand Creole dining room serving crab beignets: crisp, beer-battered puffs filled with blue crab and cream cheese, with a quartet of remoulades for dipping. A stylish savory take on the city's favorite fried dough.
Donut Tour Recommends: Blue Crab Beignets
CBD / WAREHOUSE DISTRICT
New Orleans Coffee & Beignet Co.
Beignets fried to order, in classic powdered sugar plus chocolate and cinnamon-sugar versions. There's even a beignet breakfast sandwich, all served with house coffee in the heart of the Warehouse District.
Donut Tour Recommends: Chocolate Beignets
LOWER GARDEN DISTRICT / IRISH CHANNEL
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PJ's Coffee
A homegrown New Orleans coffeehouse on Magazine Street serving hot beignets dusted in powdered sugar. Order a cafe au lait for dunking, made with beans roasted right here in town.
Donut Tour Recommends: Beignets
LOWER GARDEN DISTRICT / IRISH CHANNEL
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DISTRICT Donuts Sliders Brew
Website · Instagram · Facebook
Next-level yeast donuts with flavors that change every month, like a Thai tea donut with boba pearls or a pineapple upside down donut. Glazed, chocolate sprinkle and cinnamon sugar are always in the case, along with gluten-free Ube Drops.
Donut Tour Recommends: Ube Drops
LOWER GARDEN DISTRICT / IRISH CHANNEL
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The Ruby Slipper Cafe
A sunny Irish Channel brunch spot whose menu starts with hot beignets covered in powdered sugar. Pumpkin praline beignets join the lineup in season, and the rum-flambeed Bananas Foster French Toast is a classic finale.
Donut Tour Recommends: Beignets
GARDEN DISTRICT / UPTOWN
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The Vintage
A chic Parisian-style cafe known for fancy beignets, filled and topped with rotating flavors like s'mores, matcha and raspberry. Order a flight of three, or a bag of cinnamon-sugar beignet bites to go with coffee or a glass of bubbles.
Donut Tour Recommends: Fancy Beignet Flight
GARDEN DISTRICT / UPTOWN
La Petite Grocery
An elegant Magazine Street bistro famous for its golden, rich blue crab beignets, served with a tangy malt vinegar aioli. A must for anyone who wants the savory side of the beignet story.
Donut Tour Recommends: Blue Crab Beignets
GARDEN DISTRICT / UPTOWN
City Donuts & Cafe
A round-the-clock neighborhood donut shop turning out glazed donuts, twists, cake donuts, buttermilk drops and glazed beignets by the dozen. The kitchen also serves hearty breakfast plates for an early start.
Donut Tour Recommends: Glazed Beignets
GARDEN DISTRICT / UPTOWN
Luca Eats
A cozy Carrollton breakfast cafe whose award-winning Oreo beignets are cookies-and-cream bites showered in powdered sugar. Stay for creamy grits, pressed sandwiches and a fried green tomato BLT.
Donut Tour Recommends: Oreo Beignets
MID-CITY / LAKEVIEW
Not Another Donut Cafe
Hand-crafted yeast donuts with generous, glossy icing, from strawberry glaze to chocolate sprinkle. Glazed beignets, apple fritters, maple bacon bars and croissant breakfast sandwiches round out the morning menu.
Donut Tour Recommends: Strawberry Glazed Donut
MID-CITY / LAKEVIEW
Katie's Restaurant & Bar
A beloved Mid-City neighborhood restaurant where crawfish beignets come out hot and cheesy, packed with herbs and Louisiana crawfish. A perfect savory start to a long, happy lunch.
Donut Tour Recommends: Crawfish Beignets
MID-CITY / LAKEVIEW
Morning Call
A New Orleans coffee stand dating to 1870, where you dust your own fresh beignets from a shaker of powdered sugar at the table. A cafe au lait or hot chocolate under the ceiling fans makes it a classic treat.
Donut Tour Recommends: Beignets
TREME / SEVENTH WARD / GENTILLY
● Black-owned
The Buttermilk Drop Bakery & Cafe
Home of the famous buttermilk drop, a tender, glazed, donut-hole-style bite fried fresh and still warm. Red velvet drops, glazed donuts, apple fritters, honey buns and soul food breakfasts make it a Seventh Ward treasure.
Donut Tour Recommends: Buttermilk Drop
TREME / SEVENTH WARD / GENTILLY
Daddy's Donuts
A family-run Gentilly favorite since 2010 for glazed, chocolate glazed and buttermilk donuts, fresh twists, honey buns and giant apple fritters. Get there early, because the donut holes and maple bacon bars go fast.
Donut Tour Recommends: Apple Fritter
MARIGNY / BYWATER
● Black-owned ● Women-owned
Stuph'D Beignets & Burgers
Website · Instagram · Facebook
Beignets fried to order and stuffed with sweet fillings like sweet potato, strawberry, pecan pie and Oreo cheesecake. The savory side is just as fun, led by the Creole Queen with crawfish, lump crab and shrimp.
Donut Tour Recommends: Sweet Potato Beignets
MARIGNY / BYWATER
● Black-owned ● Women-owned
Loretta's Authentic Pralines (North Rampart Cafe)
Loretta's sit-down cafe offers its full lineup of stuffed beignets, from praline and chocolate to peanut butter and jelly. Savory crab beignets and praline cream cheese king cake make it worth a trip to the Marigny.
Donut Tour Recommends: Peanut Butter & Jelly Beignets
WEST BANK / METAIRIE
● Asian-owned
Dough Nguyener's Bakery
A Gretna Vietnamese bakery and cafe whose soft, light donuts include a standout ca phe sua da donut filled with Vietnamese iced coffee cream. Ube cheesecake, banh mi and egg coffee make it a must on the West Bank.
Donut Tour Recommends: Vietnamese Coffee Donut
WEST BANK / METAIRIE
Baker's Dozen Donuts
An early-morning neighborhood donut shop since 1993, known for hot donuts daily, apple fritters, honey buns and creative flavors like salty caramel pretzel. During Carnival season it makes a donut king cake that locals line up for.
Donut Tour Recommends: Salty Caramel Pretzel Donut
Taste New Orleans's best on one walk
Skip the guesswork. Our guides pick the best of the best at each stop, with stories along the way.
Garden District Beignet & Donut Walking Tour →
New Orleans Donut FAQ
Are these donut shops ranked?
No. Every shop here is one we would happily send a friend to, so we list them by neighborhood instead of ranking them.
Can I try several of these on one tour?
Yes. Our Garden District tour visits PJ's Coffee, DISTRICT Donuts Sliders Brew, The Ruby Slipper Cafe and The Vintage, all along Magazine Street. Lineups can vary by day and season.
Are beignets donuts?
Yes. A beignet is a pillow of fried yeast dough dusted with powdered sugar, and we count it as a donut, along with the city's beloved buttermilk drops.
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New Orleans Donut Tour FAQ Stops, timing, kids and diets