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Home › Donut Guides › Best Holiday Donuts & Baked Goods in New Orleans
Best Holiday Donuts & Baked Goods in New Orleans
New Orleans celebrates twice: Christmas brings Reveillon dinners, doberge cakes and festive beignets, and king cake season kicks off on Twelfth Night and runs all the way to Mardi Gras. Here are the holiday and king cake spots we send friends to, grouped by neighborhood so you can plan your route.
By the Underground Donut Tour team · Updated November 2026
Looking for year-round favorites? See our Best Donut Shops in New Orleans guide.
Want to taste the best of New Orleans with a guide? See our New Orleans food tours.
FRENCH QUARTER
Cafe Beignet on Royal Street
Cafe Beignet's courtyard on Royal Street is a French Quarter classic for fluffy, sugar-dusted beignets and live jazz. When Carnival season starts, King Cake Beignets in purple, green and gold join the menu. Perfect fuel for a stroll past the holiday lights.
Donut Tour Recommends: King Cake Beignets (Carnival season)
FRENCH QUARTER
● Black-owned ● Women-owned
Loretta's Authentic Pralines (French Market)
Loretta's is famous for creamy pralines and praline-stuffed beignets, and its king cake is a local favorite. The praline cream cheese king cake brings two New Orleans traditions together in one sweet slice. A box of pralines makes a great holiday gift too.
Donut Tour Recommends: Praline cream cheese king cake (Carnival season)
FRENCH QUARTER
Restaurant R'evolution
Restaurant R'evolution puts a modern spin on Creole and Cajun cooking in a grand Royal Street setting. It is a longtime part of the Reveillon tradition, the festive December dinners that date back to old New Orleans, and the decadent desserts are the grand finale. Book ahead for December.
Donut Tour Recommends: Reveillon menu desserts (December)
CBD / WAREHOUSE DISTRICT
Bittersweet Confections
Bittersweet Confections is a chocolate shop and bakery in the Warehouse District with handmade truffles, cookies and cakes. Its chocolate king cake is a rich twist on the Carnival classic, and holiday chocolates make easy gifts.
Donut Tour Recommends: Chocolate king cake (Carnival season)
LOWER GARDEN DISTRICT / IRISH CHANNEL
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PJ's Coffee
PJ's Coffee is a New Orleans original, and every Carnival season brings a cult favorite back. The Frozen King Cake drink tastes like a slice of king cake blended up with cinnamon and icing. Warm up with a latte the rest of the year.
Donut Tour Recommends: Frozen King Cake drink (Carnival season)
LOWER GARDEN DISTRICT / IRISH CHANNEL
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DISTRICT Donuts Sliders Brew
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DISTRICT makes creative doughnuts from scratch on Magazine Street. Its king cake doughnut, a Danish-style twist with an almond creme ribbon, is a Carnival season must. Grab a slider while you are there.
Donut Tour Recommends: King cake doughnut (Carnival season)
LOWER GARDEN DISTRICT / IRISH CHANNEL
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The Ruby Slipper Cafe
The Ruby Slipper is a beloved New Orleans brunch spot, and Carnival season brings sweet specials. King Cake Stuffed French Toast has been a favorite on past seasonal menus. Arrive early, because weekend waits are part of the fun.
Donut Tour Recommends: King Cake Stuffed French Toast (Carnival season)
GARDEN DISTRICT / UPTOWN
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The Vintage
The Vintage is a stylish Magazine Street cafe and bar known for made-to-order beignets and bubbly. During Carnival season, its king cake beignets are a festive treat. Pair them with a glass of champagne.
Donut Tour Recommends: King cake beignets (Carnival season)
GARDEN DISTRICT / UPTOWN
City Donuts & Cafe
City Donuts is a neighborhood shop on South Claiborne with a big case of classic doughnuts. It sells king cake doughnuts all year, so you can get your king cake fix even before Twelfth Night. Grab a dozen for the office party.
Donut Tour Recommends: King cake doughnut
GARDEN DISTRICT / UPTOWN
Breads on Oak
Breads on Oak is an organic, plant-based bakery on Oak Street in Carrollton. Its vegan king cake means everyone can join in on Carnival season. The croissants and breads are excellent any day.
Donut Tour Recommends: Vegan king cake (Carnival season)
MID-CITY / LAKEVIEW
● Latino-owned ● Women-owned
Norma's Sweets Bakery
Norma's Sweets Bakery brings Latin American baking to Mid-City, with pastries, cakes and fresh bread. Its guava and cream cheese king cake is a fan favorite, and rosca de reyes shows up in early January. A true neighborhood gem.
Donut Tour Recommends: Guava and cream cheese king cake (Carnival season)
TREME / SEVENTH WARD / GENTILLY
● Black-owned
The Buttermilk Drop Bakery & Cafe
The Buttermilk Drop is famous for its namesake buttermilk drops, warm little doughnut bites with a crisp shell. Its award-winning king cakes are a Carnival staple in Tremé. Get both and thank us later.
Donut Tour Recommends: King cake (Carnival season)
MARIGNY / BYWATER
Bywater Bakery
Bywater Bakery makes more than 10,000 king cakes a season, and one bite of the Chantilly king cake tells you why. Adventurous eaters can try savory versions with crawfish or boudin. The neighborhood vibe makes it a fun stop.
Donut Tour Recommends: Chantilly king cake (Carnival season)
MARIGNY / BYWATER
Ayu Bakehouse
Ayu Bakehouse is a laminated pastry star on Frenchmen Street, with crisp croissants and creative bakes. Its croissant-style king cake and chocolate babka king cake are Carnival highlights.
Donut Tour Recommends: Chocolate babka king cake (Carnival season)
NEW ORLEANS EAST
● Asian-owned
Dong Phuong Bakery
Dong Phuong is a James Beard-honored Vietnamese bakery in New Orleans East, famous for banh mi bread and one of the most sought-after king cakes in town. Its flaky, laminated king cake with whipped cream cheese icing is baked only during Carnival. Order early, because it sells out.
Donut Tour Recommends: Laminated king cake with cream cheese icing (Carnival season)
METAIRIE / JEFFERSON PARISH
Haydel's Bakery
Haydel's Bakery is a king cake institution that once baked a record-setting world's largest king cake. Its brioche-style king cakes come generously iced and ship nationwide. A classic pick for any Carnival party.
Donut Tour Recommends: Classic brioche king cake (Carnival season)
METAIRIE / JEFFERSON PARISH
Caluda's King Cake
Caluda's is a family-run king cake specialist in Harahan, baking Danish-style cinnamon king cakes all year. Praline and strawberry cream cheese fillings are local favorites. Pick one up to bring the party home.
Donut Tour Recommends: Praline-filled king cake
METAIRIE / JEFFERSON PARISH
Gambino's Bakery
Gambino's has been baking for generations, and its doberge cake is a holiday table staple, with towering layers of cake and pudding under a glossy icing. Its king cakes come in praline, cream cheese and wedding cake flavors once Carnival starts.
Donut Tour Recommends: Doberge cake
METAIRIE / JEFFERSON PARISH
Maurice French Pastries
Maurice French Pastries is a Metairie favorite for French pastries, petit fours and cakes. Its king cakes are a Carnival season tradition for many local families, and the pastry cases are worth a browse any time of year.
Donut Tour Recommends: King cake (Carnival season)
WEST BANK
● Asian-owned
Dough Nguyener's Bakery
Dough Nguyener's in Gretna blends Vietnamese flavors with New Orleans bakery traditions. Its cafe sua da king cake, filled with Vietnamese coffee cream, became an instant local favorite. Worth the drive across the river.
Donut Tour Recommends: Cafe sua da king cake (Carnival season)
WEST BANK
● Black-owned
Antoine's Famous Cakes & Pastries
Antoine's has been a Gretna favorite since 1991, known for braided king cakes and celebration cakes. Holiday treats like a Candy Cane cake and Kringle join the lineup, along with its Queen Cakes.
Donut Tour Recommends: Traditional braided king cake (Carnival season)
WEST BANK
Hi-Do Bakery
Hi-Do Bakery is a classic Terrytown bakery with an old-school neighborhood feel. Its sugar-top king cake is the kind locals grew up on, simple and perfect with a cup of coffee.
Donut Tour Recommends: Sugar-top king cake (Carnival season)
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 holiday spots ranked?
No. Every bakery and donut shop here is one we would happily send a friend to, so we list them by neighborhood instead of ranking them.
When can I find these holiday treats?
Christmas treats and Reveillon menus run through December, and king cake season starts on Twelfth Night (January 6) and lasts until Mardi Gras. Menus change every season, so check each shop's site or social before you go.
Can I taste some of these on a tour?
Yes. Our Garden District Beignet & Donut Walking Tour visits PJ's Coffee, DISTRICT Donuts Sliders Brew, The Ruby Slipper Cafe and The Vintage. Lineups can vary by day and season.
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