Grab a sweet treat with your little one at one of these great local doughnut shops.
Some parents take their kids out for milkshakes or ice cream for an extra special treat. In our house, we get doughnuts! My kids go crazy over that sugary fried dough and brightly colored frosting. It’s the perfect pick-me-up for those days when everyone could use one.
Thankfully, we live in a city that shares our love of these delectable treats. And honestly, what’s not to love? Doughnuts are basically dessert for breakfast. From the simple and cheap to the elaborate and gourmet, every neighborhood has its local favorite doughnut shop. But if you were to ask my family, we’d say parents, sitters, and nannies looking for a doughnut fix should start with these 10.
B&B Donuts
Address: 515 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77006
Hours: Monday – Friday, 5 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Saturday & Sunday, 6 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Phone: 713-520-7557
For simple, no-nonsense doughnuts that are cheap and tasty, you can’t go wrong with B&B Donuts in Montrose. You could easily get a dozen doughnuts and a large coffee (no judgment) for under $10. While you won’t see a mile-long list of flavor combos, the selection is respectable and includes all of the child-friendly favorites like plain sugar doughnuts or pink with sprinkles. For a salty treat, the shop also sells kolaches, hamburgers, and — believe it or not — fried rice.
Lee’s Fried Chicken and Donuts
Address: 601 Heights Blvd., Houston, TX 77007
Hours: Open daily, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Phone: 713-880-3550
As the name would suggest, Lee’s Fried Chicken and Donuts serves up some of the best of both in the entire city. The all-natural and hormone-free chicken is battered and breaded in-house and are a savory complement to the shop’s doughnut selection. Lee’s offers premium staple flavors like its Mexican chocolate and praline/bacon/caramel, but the staff are always experimenting with new and different flavors to try. If your family is looking for the ultimate sugar rush, try the doughnut double-scooped ice cream sandwich — rich, creamy ice cream squished between two doughnuts of your choice.
Pro tip: In a rush? Lee’s has a drive-thru window, so you can order your food fast and to-go.
Hugs & Donuts
Address: 1901 N. Shepherd #4, Houston, TX 77008
Hours: Sunday – Thursday, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Friday & Saturday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Phone: 713-485-6443
Another Heights-area favorite is Hugs & Donuts. This shop boasts gourmet doughnuts in often crazy combinations — like mint chocolate chip or hibiscus with mango chips. Tamer — but still creative — options are available for those with a milder palate, like Biscoff cookie and pumpkin cheesecake. The shop also sells vegan cake doughnuts on the weekends, Friday through Sunday, in six different flavors.
A nice feature is the shop’s app, which lets you select what you want ahead of time and pick it up at the store. The app will even let you order bulk party boxes, making last-minute dessert plans a breeze.
River Oaks Donut
Address: 3601 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77027
Hours: Open daily, 6 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Phone: 713-961-9458
This River Oaks shop might be tiny, but its menu is a mile long. With literally dozens of varieties of cake, filled, iced, and raised doughnuts to choose from, you are sure to find something for even the pickiest of eaters. And the variety isn’t just limited to flavors. Doughnuts here come in all shapes and sizes, from the quintessential doughnut holes to alphabet letters to doughnut bouquets — though the latter two are only available through advanced order. The shop is also well known for its kolaches — especially the piglets (mini sausages wrapped in dough and stuffed with cheese) and the whole wheat spinach and feta.
Pro-tip: Seating is extremely limited. Plan to grab your items to go, or better yet, run through the drive-thru.
The DoughCone
Location & Hours: Vary, check the truck’s Yelp page for details
Phone: 832-863-5224
OK, so this isn’t technically a doughnut shop, but hear me out. This food truck makes flaky, cinnamon-and-sugar doughnuts in the shape of a cone and — wait for it — fills them with ice cream. But it doesn’t stop there. The “doughcone” is also lined with warm nutella, and the ice cream is capped off with any number of toppings. If there’s a better dessert out there, I don’t know what it is.
This food truck launched in 2016 and has since made a name for itself as one of the best food trucks in Houston. While it typically hangs out in the Rice Village area, be sure to check out the truck’s Yelp page for details on its exact address and hours on any given day.
Glazed the Doughnut Cafe
Address: 1333 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, TX 77054
Hours: Monday – Thursday, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Friday, 6 a.m. – Sunday, 9 p.m.
Phone: 281-402-1868
Like Hugs & Donuts, Glazed has a fun assortment of toppings and flavors to pick from — including many with favorite cereals or candy bars crumbled on top — but what sets it apart from other doughnut shops is its outside-the-box applications. The menu boasts a range of savory entrees where doughnuts are used in place of bread, such as grilled cheese, bacon and egg, or fried chicken sandwiches.
Fair warning: Eating here is messy business. Toppings are crumbly, the icing sticky, and fillings drippy, but it’s oh so worth it. Just be sure to grab a few napkins with your order.
Queen Donut Shop
Address: 1806 W. 18th St., Houston, TX 77008
Hours: Open daily, 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Phone: 713-869-2335
The Heights doesn’t have a monopoly on doughnut shops, but it certainly has the market cornered. In contrast to some of the other neighborhood favorites, however, Queen Donut Shop is a great go-to for cheap-but-tasty treats you can grab quickly. In addition to all the standard favorites like doughnut holes or simple glazed, the shop also offers a doughnut-kolache hybrid where salty meat and cheese is stuffed inside sweet dough. Yum!
Morningstar
Address: 4721 N. Main St., Ste. M, Houston, TX 77009
Hours: Open daily, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Phone: 832-806-1115
For a great doughnut shop that also has good coffee (for you, of course, not the kiddos!), Morningstar fits the bill. This shop has espresso coffees, as well as a range of fancy doughnuts and a satisfying breakfast menu. On top of the traditional lattes, this spot also serves a variety of matcha beverages. The finely ground green tea can be prepared much like coffee — offering a slightly more zen alternative for your morning jolt and a nice complement to both the traditional doughnut flavors available as well as the more adventurous combos.
As an added bonus, everything about this place is Instagram-worthy. The doughnuts are meticulously decorated, and the space itself has a ton of natural light that allows for a perfect shot every time. No filter required.
Peñas Donuts & Diner
Address: 10555 Pearland Parkway, Houston, TX 77089
Hours: Open daily, 6 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Phone: 832-831-9630
Up front at Peñas Donuts & Diner, the glass case showcases doughnuts of all colors, flavors, and toppings. But the real draw here is its Texan brisket doughnut. The sandwich is filled with smoky chopped brisket, smothered with barbecue, and piled high inside a glazed doughnut. If brisket isn’t your thing, the menu also boasts several other such sandwiches, including its popular doughnut cheeseburger.
The diner took a hit during Hurricane Harvey and had to be temporarily closed to repair some of the damage. It is expected to reopen at the end of December 2017 just in time for the new year.
Shipley Do-Nuts
Address & Hours: Vary by location. See the website for details.
Shipley Do-Nuts might be a national chain, but its roots are right here in Houston. The original store was built on Crockett Street in the Fifth Ward back in the 1930s, and since then, Shipley’s has become a beloved Houston institution and many families’ go-to doughnut shop. You can easily feed the whole crew for under $10, and drive-thrus at most locations mean you can get in and out quickly, doughnuts in hand.
Did your kiddo’s favorite doughnut shop make the list? Let us know in the comments below!
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