Utah is known for its abundance of locally made doughnuts — from traditional cream- and jelly-filled to adventurous recipes featuring maple iced with bacon and the deep-fried gooey honey Greek doughnut.
Here are four examples of homegrown doughnuts available in Utah — whether you’re looking for a light snack, dessert, or a hearty breakfast.
The Texas doughnut
Donut Star Café, 213 E. 12300 South, Draper; 801-790-2615; open 7 days a week, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The size of your head” is how owner Dave Wharton describes this massive doughnut, which costs $3 each. Baked from their standard dough and topped with a choice of icing, it is perfect for special occasions or sharing.
Wharton, who purchased Donut Star Café in 2020, has more than 30 years’ experience in the baking industry. He actually was hired by the original owners to teach them how to make doughnuts.
“These are not your typical Utah doughnuts,” Wharton said. “Our dough is a bit salty, with a sweet icing. Making them a combination of sweet and salty. We also use fresh ingredients; we make everything here. We make several batches of just icing every week.”
Donut Star Café also is known for its cronuts ($4.50 each), a croissant-type donut with butter layers topped with glaze.
(Aimee L. Cook) Greek-style "baby" doughnuts are the attraction at Louks in Cottonwood Heights.
Greek baby doughnut
Louks, 6949 S. 1300 East, Cottonwood Heights; 801-981-8090; babylouks.com; open seven days a week, from 9 or 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Louks, short for “Loukoumades,” look like doughnut holes but have a completely different texture. The light crispy outside gives way to a sweet, chewy center, and when you get the classic flavor, they are dripping in honey, cinnamon, and crushed walnuts ($8).
Doughnuts are fried every 30 minutes, making them fresh no matter what time you visit. There are also vegan options and a rotating monthly flavor.
Owners George Zoumberakis and Konstantine (aka Dino) Marougas opened the original location, in Downey, Calif., in 2019, and opened their second location in the Fort Union area in 2021 — after Zoumberakis moved to Utah and quickly realized he needed to get in the sugar business.
“My wife and I owned coffee shops in California, so when I moved here and saw a line at a local soda shop in the middle of a snowstorm, I reached out to Dino and said I would like to open a Louks,” Zoumberakis said.
(Aimee L. Cook) An assortment of doughnuts — including wild blueberry, top, and maple with bacon, lower right — from Bismarck Doughnuts in Orem.
Sweet and salty
Bismarck Doughnuts, 560 E. University Pkwy., Orem; 801-850-2297, and are open late Monday-Saturday, 9 or 10 p.m.
The 13 classic flavors on the menu at Bismarck Doughnuts are made in small batches throughout the day, so they are always fresh and warm.
From-scratch beignets are made to order, with none of that sitting-on-the-rack stuff here. The beignets are inspired, said owner-chef Chris Chavez, by family trips to Disneyland.
Chavez launched Bismarck in January, and the shop has since been thriving — which he attributed to creating an inviting atmosphere and using top-notch ingredients, such as never-canned fruits. Chavez, a passionate home baker with a lifelong love for doughnuts, created all the recipes.
The most popular doughnuts are the Sweet & Salty — a vanilla bean cake infused with brown butter, topped with brown butter icing and sprinkled with French sea salt — and the Wild Blueberry, made with fresh blueberry, in the cake and the icing. (Both are $3.75 each.)
Square doughnut
Lehi Bakery, 172 W. Main St., Lehi; 801-768-9544; open Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Established in Utah by Arden Tuckett over 50 years ago, the Lehi Bakery might be best known for the square glazed doughnut ($1.15 each), which were created on a whim when Brent Tuckett, one of Arden’s sons, purchased an old square donut cutter at a yard sale.
In 2018, David and Danielle Doty took over the business. The Dotys’ ties to the bakery go back to when David brought his own children into the bakery every Wednesday before school to get doughnuts.
The Dotys were new to the baking business, and Brent Tuckett stayed on board for 6 months, guiding and teaching them how to make the quality of doughnuts and pastries that are now known locally.
Every Saturday morning, no less than 8,000 doughnuts are freshly baked to cater to demand. They often sell out by noon.
“I attempted to change up a doughnut glaze once, but it did not go over well, so I went back to the original recipe and said never again,” Doty said. “The town would come after me.”
Expansion is underway, with a new two-story building at their Main Street location and the addition of a new drive-thru location opening in Saratoga Springs.
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