11 Underrated Dunkin’ Donut Flavors That Deserve More Attention

I grew up in New England, so it’s fair to say that I’m overwhelmed by all things Dunkin’. I can’t drive a minute down my little Rhode Island street without passing three Dunkin’ locations, let alone advertisements boasting its coffee, breakfast sandwich, and donut specials. However, I’ve noticed that donuts have become less and less prominent for the brand in recent years; maybe it has something to do with the brand dropping “donut” from its name. And, when I do see the infrequent donut billboard or sign, it’s always the same rotating selection of donuts plastered on it: chocolate-frosted, glazed, strawberry-frosted, or whatever seasonal drop it’s offering at the time. These flavors are grossly overrepresented in its cafés, too, and makes me wonder about all of those donut flavors that have been forgotten about. 

The mildly infuriating part of the whole thing is that these underrepresented flavors are not even “bad.” In fact, they boast tons of positive qualities, whether in terms of flavor or texture, that make them far better options than the more popular donuts at the chain. I’ve curated a list of the Dunkin’ donut flavors that are under-appreciated and worthy of more positive press; you’ll just have to taste them yourself to decide if you agree.

I can’t fathom why Dunkin’s blueberry donut has not gotten more attention over the years. While it is a cake donut and, as a result, lacks the same light lift as a glazed or frosted confection, the flavor of this donut is sublime. Each taste bud is hit with a blast of fruity flavor when you bite into it. Plus, you’ll get some supplemental sweetness from the thin coating of glaze on top. What more could you want? 

Even folks who don’t really enjoy blueberry-flavored things can get something out of this donut, which makes it truly one of the more versatile options that Dunkin’ offers. The blueberry flavor here isn’t sickeningly sweet, nor is it obnoxiously artificial. You can see the little specks of blueberry studding the entire donut, while its slightly purple hue gives off the impression that it is indeed made with fresh-ish fruit. 

This donut seemingly gets bulldozed by the other options on the menu, including the sickeningly sweet vanilla-frosted, or perhaps what I consider the worst selection on the menu: the strawberry-frosted. The strawberry-frosted donut is what you order if you enjoy eating candle wax, whereas the blueberry cake donut is where you go for a pleasant and authentic fruity flavor. Case closed.

Butternut is one of the those donuts that you order from Dunkin’ on a whim, likely just because it looks interesting. Whereas the other donuts are coated in a glaze, powdered sugar, or nothing at all (in the case of the dry and tasteless old fashioned), this one has a unique coating that almost resembles crushed, golden gravel. 

I’m not always one for cakey donuts, especially ones that don’t have much going on inside. But, the butternut donut is much more than that. It has more complexity in its coating than any of the other donuts on Dunkin’s menu. Internet users speculate as to what exactly the coating is, though the allergen description notes that it’s made with coconut, yellow corn flour, sugar, and caramel coloring. However, despite coconut being a prominent ingredient in the coating, this donut really tastes nothing like coconut. It’s slightly nutty and complex, with caramel and sweet undertones, but “coconut” is not the word I would use to describe it.

While eating this donut will surely mean that your car, shirt, and every surface within a 10-foot radius is coated in this magical sweet breadcrumby topping, it’s well-worth it. It’s one donut I can’t help but grab whenever I visit a Dunkin’. 

The Dunkin’ coffee roll is like a horse of a different color. Except, this horse is a massive, perfectly twisty confection covered in a sugary glaze. Delicious. 

Technically, Dunkin’ still considers this treat a “donut” on its website, although some may argue that it toes the line of being more pastry-like. And, you’ll want to take note of the fact that the brand doesn’t tout it as a “cinnamon roll.” And semantics matter here more than you’d think. 

When I think of a “cinnamon roll,” I envision something taller, plushier, and with more layers to it. This coffee roll is not that. It’s almost like a repurposed donut that’s been rolled out thinly and twisted in on itself until it resembled the curly treat. If it was called a “cinnamon roll,” it would have gotten my hopes up a little too much. But, as it stands, this coffee roll is delectable. It’s filled with a light, cinnamon sugar filling — though it’s hard to tell if that flavor is just a part of the donut recipe or a different spread entirely. Regardless, it’s a step up from the ho-hum glazed donut in terms of flavor — and it brings back memories of gas station honey buns. 

The sour cream donut placed very high on this list of the best donuts at Dunkin’ and unsurprisingly, it’s also one of the most underrated selections from the chain. Your first inclination when you look at it may be that it was just a misshapen donut that got put out on the bakery rack by mistake. But if you order one for yourself, you might just discover your new favorite donut. 

Sour cream can add more moisture to baked goods, and that includes donuts like these. The sour cream donut walks a thin line between being a dense cake donut and one of the chain’s lighter selections. It looks craggy and a bit strange, but those marks give the glaze more surface area to stick to, in turn sweetening the donut just enough. If you don’t like the dry mouthfeel of an old fashioned or a powdered donut, this might be selection that you’ll want to turn to the next time you’re at Dunkin’. 

For a chain that’s supposed to be all about dunking donuts, it didn’t really think too much about the design of its treats with this purpose in mind. Normal, round donuts are not at all conducive to dunking into a cup of coffee, as you have to repeatedly dunk the donut, or break it into pieces, in order to have it properly soak up the liquid. But, Dunkin’ also offers a glazed stick that will solve this problem, and cure your hankering for something sweet at the same time.

The design of this donut is simple; it’s like a glazed cake donut, just in stick form. However, the fact that it has tons of crags and ridges increases the amount of glaze on it, which I think gives it a sweeter flavor than a standard glazed donut. Plus, now that it’s in stick form, it’s easy to dunk straight into the coffee, lift upwards, and transfer it into your mouth. Necessity is the mother of invention — right? 

Woah, woah, woah. Isn’t a fritter technically not a donut? Yes and no. Homemade apple fritters are often fried and coated in a thick glaze, not unlike other donuts. However, they tend to be slightly more dense and take on a more avant-garde shape — plus they’re studded with tasty seasoned apple pieces. Dunkin’, like the coffee roll, classifies its apple fritter as a donut on its website, so we’re going to run with it. 

While these apple fritters will not compare to what you will find at a county fair (where the air is seemingly thick with the smell of frying grease), they are still an excellent thing to order if you’re craving something sweet. These fritters are hearty, studded (but not overwhelmed) with apple, and have a thick coating of glaze to add an extra dimension of sweetness. The main reason why this fritter appears on this list is because it’s quite hefty and is one of the few donuts at the chain that can be easily shared. Dainty it is not, but tasty it is. 

The chocolate cake donut at Dunkin’ is truly one of the most under-appreciated offerings on this list. It’s always hiding in the shadows of its more popular cousin, the chocolate-frosted yeast donut, or it’s being twisted and turned into entirely separate creations, like the whoopie pie donut. Can we please leave the chocolate cake donut alone and give her some time in the spotlight? 

The chocolate cake donut is especially chocolatey, which makes it a must-order for chocolaholics everywhere. My main gripe with cake donuts is that they’re always so dense and dry, but the chocolate cake donut doesn’t suffer from these same pitfalls. It’s a simple, chocolate-flavored cake donut with a light icing on top. The icing seemingly seals in the moisture, which keeps this donut perfectly textured. Even if you don’t like cake donuts, you can probably find a way to like this one, or its smaller Munchkin counterpart. The only chocolate donut that’s better than this one is the double chocolate donut, which swaps out the plain glaze for a chocolate coating. But, I think that one gets more than enough hype; there’s no need to inflate its ego any more. 

If you see me ordering a chocolate, vanilla, or (even worse), a strawberry-frosted donut at Dunkin’, just know that something is very, very wrong. Because why would you ever order one of those varieties when you could pick up this glorious maple-frosted selection? It pairs a sweet maple frosting with a yeasted base, making it an excellent option for folks who don’t prefer the heft of a cake donut. 

Now, I won’t lie to you and say that the maple frosting on this donut isn’t sweet — because it is really, really sweet. But, the maple flavor tastes slightly more genuine than the plasticky vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry frosting it uses on its other yeast donut flavors. Maybe it’s the Vermonter roots talking, but the maple is an excellent pairing for a cup of coffee and there is just enough icing on top to make it clear that you’re eating a maple-flavored treat. And if you want to upgrade this donut even more, consider ordering a side of Snackin’ Bacon and sprinkling it on top. You’ll get the perfect mashup of sweet and savory. 

New Englanders have a true appreciation and pride for being the origin of the Boston cream pie. So, it was only a little bit of time until another one of the best things to come out of New England, Dunkin’, would release a donut-ifed version of this classic American dessert. 

Dunkin’s adaptation is humble and simple, but I think it has a little more going on than the other filled donuts that the chain offers. You get the perfect marriage of a Bavarian Kreme custard and chocolate frosting inside of a yeast donut shell. Its main competitor, the plain Bavarian Kreme, only has a powdered shell, and it’s not really an interesting enough donut to be worth ordering. The Boston Kreme is also more exciting than the jelly-filled donuts. It should be no surprise that Dunkin’ tends to under-fill its donuts, so if you order something like a raspberry-filled, you may get some bites without a jelly filling. While the same can be said about an under-filled Boston Kreme, at least you have that chocolate frosting on top to carry the bite through and offer your taste buds something other than “dry donut.” 

Before you get all up in arms about Dunkin’s interpretation of a New England staple being on this list, take a breath. I will never say that Dunkin’s donuts are even in the same league as my favorite local orchard’s apple cider donuts. But, if you live far enough away from an orchard, rest assured you can still find a reliable, passable alternative at your local Dunkin’. 

Even though Dunkin’s apple cider donuts are not as fully-flavored or fresh-tasting as what you would get from an orchard, the donuts still have a delectably soft interior and the slight tanginess of the cider. They’re also a better choice to dip into your coffee, seeing as how they have some more by way of flavor than a classic old fashioned donut. It’s a better option than most of the cake donuts on the menu, and I think you should operate by the “don’t knock it until you try it” philosophy when it comes to this sweet treat. 

The classic glazed donut is like the boring babysitter that your parents hired on a whim because they seemed somewhat qualified. The cruller, on the other hand, is like the fun, cool cousin that lets you stay up, order pizza, and play video games until midnight while you’re parents aren’t home. And it’s not just the looks that are different here. Crullers are set apart from classic donuts because they’re made with choux, rather than batter. Though, I doubt that Dunkin’ is hiring highly-skilled pastry chefs to pump out choux dough for these donuts (especially because I’ve never actually seen anyone order one), but the brand still notes that there is a flavor difference between this donut and a regular yeasted one. Per the chain, the French cruller has an eggy flavor and a moist center. 

In a comparison of Tim Hortons’ donuts and Dunkin’s, our reviewer found that Dunks made a good effort to capture this egg-like flavor, despite the fact that the donuts are actually not made by hand. Besides this slight flavor upgrade, it’s clear to see how this donut could also hold onto more glaze in its ridges, which makes it a sweet tooth’s dream. And, since no one orders these donuts, you can assume that your store will have more than enough for you to try and form your own opinion about them. 

In order to decide which of Dunkin’s donuts are deserving of more positive praise, I considered both my own personal tasting experience as well as how well these donuts are received by the Dunkin’ community. The donuts on this list boast an array of different qualities, including diverse textures, great moisture levels, and punchy flavors, yet are not talked about as much as other donuts at the chain. In many cases, the donuts on this list possess qualities that may even make them better than some of Dunkin’s more popular donuts, which makes them worth trying.