I Tried Chocolate Donuts From Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, And Tim Hortons. This Was The Best

Donuts have the distinct advantage of being a sweet treat, that's absolutely acceptable to enjoy any time of the day, especially at breakfast. While they have relatively similar ingredients, it's far less common to grab a cookie or a cupcake for breakfast, and I've certainly never seen anyone try to dunk a cupcake in their morning coffee. Regardless of what time of day you enjoy your donuts, it's also an ideal way for chocolate lovers to get a little boost of their favorite dessert flavor.

Chocolate donuts generally fall into one of two categories: chocolate cake donuts with a plain glaze, and plain yeasted donuts with a chocolate frosting on top. Within those two categories, there's plenty of room for variation, and even a little overlap. In an effort to find the best widely available chocolate donut, I headed to Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, and Tim Hortons to taste everything with chocolate I could get my hands on. While several of the chocolate donuts in this lineup lived up to my usual expectations, I was completely surprised by both the best and worst options along the way. From worst to best, these are all of the treats I tasted to find the best chocolate donut around.

Tim Hortons might not be available in much of the U.S., but the coffee and donut chain has over 690 store locations concentrated in the Northeast, with the majority operating in New York, Michigan, and Ohio. Founded by the famous professional Canadian hockey player, Tim Horton, the restaurant is widely known across Canada, where it has more than 3,500 locations.

All of this to say — don't base your opinion of Tim Hortons on the Chocolate Dip Donut alone. The large, unglazed, yeasted donut looks and smells similar to what you'd find at a Dunkin', although the flavor of the dough has a strange, and somewhat off-putting sour flavor that there isn't quite enough chocolate icing to hide. The chocolate icing itself has actual cocoa in it, but is relatively thin and not very satisfying for someone who is in the mood for a substantial hit of chocolate. I tasted the Chocolate Dip Donut three times from two different locations, and found that it was also a touch drier than I'd prefer each time.

If you're simply interested in giving Tim Hortons' offerings a try, there are more satisfying options available (read on!), or jump into the deep end and treat yourself to a Canadian Maple Donut and a Double Double coffee for a crash course in what Tim Hortons has to offer. A Chocolate Dip Donut has 240 calories, with 9 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein.

Cake-style donuts offer the opportunity to work unique flavors directly into the donut dough, like chocolate, blueberry, lemon, apple cinnamon, red velvet, and countless others. In many cases, cake donuts have a longer shelf life than yeasted donuts, which are at their best the moment they come out of the fryer. On the other hand, many cake donuts are denser, chewier, and disappointingly dry and crumbly.

Unfortunately, Dunkin's Glazed Chocolate Donuts are the dry and crumbly kind of cake donuts, not the tender and flavorful kind. The chocolate flavor is bold enough, but there is so little glaze that the sweetness is nearly imperceptible, making it much less of a treat than it should be. Given how crumbly the Glazed Chocolate Donut is, I wouldn't even recommend dunking it in a cup of coffee to rehydrate, for fear that you'd be left with gritty coffee.

Even though Dunkin's Glazed Chocolate Donut is a pass in my book, it's worth noting that Dunkin's Glazed Chocolate Munchkins donut holes (which are essentially the same thing, but in donut hole format) are practically irresistible. Maybe it's because the ratio of glaze to donut is higher, or that they're gone long before I can really consider the texture of the Munchkins, but this is the only way to enjoy this particular donut flavor from Dunkin'. A Glazed Chocolate Donut has 370 calories, with 23 grams of fat, 41 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein.

Short of creating a Glazed Chocolate Donut that doesn't taste like it's been sitting on the shelf for two days, the next best way to upgrade the donut is to add more chocolate and sugar. And while it's not a huge step up, Dunkin's Double Chocolate Donut does give chocolate lovers a little more to look forward to.

The basic Glazed Chocolate Donut gets a layer of sweet chocolate frosting on top, which doesn't really mask the dryness of the donut, but does add a little more sweetness that seems to be missing without it. If you typically microwave your cake donuts for a few seconds to revitalize them (which I highly recommend, especially when they're this dry), the chocolate frosting on the Double Chocolate Donuts will likely melt and make for a messier donut-eating experience — but it's also about as good as this donut is going to get.

The Dunkin' Double Chocolate Donut has 380 calories, 23 grams of fat, 41 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein.

It's safe to say that while not all chocolate lovers are Nutella lovers, most Nutella lovers are probably chocolate lovers. And if you're very lucky, you'll stumble upon a Tim Hortons location offering one of the chain's elusive Nutella donuts. The donut isn't listed on any of the store menus in my area, but a chance encounter at the third Tim Hortons location I visited brought me face-to-face with this version of the Nutella donut.

At first glance, it might seem like a filled donut, but it's more like a Chocolate Dip Donut that's been topped with chopped hazelnuts and a hefty piping on Nutella in the center. It seems that different versions of Nutella donuts have appeared on Tim Hortons menus, including this style in Dubai as recently as 2022, a pull-apart version in Canada all the way back in 2015, and a "Dream Donut" in 2024, which was a powdered donut with a dollop of Nutella in the center.

The downside is, this is essentially a Chocolate Dip Donut at its core, which is just as dry and flavorless as the regular version. But the addition of nuts and enough Nutella to enjoy with every bite upgrades the base donut to one that you'll actually want to try if you're a Nutella lover, even if it's just as a vehicle for that chocolate-hazelnut spread that people can't get enough of.

The Chocolate Frosted Donut from Dunkin' might not be the most incredible chocolate donut in this lineup, but it absolutely gets the job done. The yeasted donut is substantially fresher-tasting than Dunkin's Chocolate Glazed Donuts, and the flavor and texture is noticeably more appealing than the Tim Hortons Chocolate Dip Donut. Soft, yeasty, and buttery, the base donut is easy to like, even though it's a little starchy tasting. The chocolate frosting is sweeter than the Tim Hortons chocolate frosting, with a slightly less intense chocolate flavor.

Ultimately, what the donut loses with the intensity of the chocolate flavor, it makes up for with overall enjoyability of the donut. The Chocolate Frosted Donut is available both with sprinkles and without, although availability depends based on location, and the day's stock. If you're in the mood for a no-frills donut, with a sweet punch of chocolate frosting, this is an absolutely serviceable option, which might not blow you away, but always satisfies that particular craving.

The Dunkin' Chocolate Frosted Donut has 260 calories, 11 grams of fat, 34 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts are known for their pillowy softness, sweet and paper-thin glaze that shatters on your fingers, and yeasted doughnuts that are so fresh, you can buy them hot off the conveyor belt as they come through the glazer in many locations. Take that melt-in-your-mouth goodness, and add a layer of chocolate icing to the top, and you've practically ascended.

The Krispy Kreme version of this doughnut is somewhat smaller than the Tim Hortons and Dunkin' versions. Additionally, the base of the Krispy Kreme Chocolate Iced Doughnut is also glazed, in contrast to the unglazed bases from the others. The smaller size and the additional icing makes for a sweeter, more indulgent dessert overall, so it's understandable that there's also a little less chocolate icing on top than there is on other versions. But even with less chocolate icing on top, you won't feel like you're getting short-changed on chocolate. Until this tasting, this was what I considered to be the ideal chocolate doughnut. While it's still a step above most of the competition, it has met its match with the remaining two chocolate doughnuts in this lineup.

The Krispy Kreme Chocolate Iced Doughnut is available with and without sprinkles, and also in a mini size, with and without sprinkles. The regular-sized version without sprinkles has 240 calories, with 11 grams of fat, 33 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of protein.

What could be better than Krispy Kreme Doughnuts' Chocolate Iced Doughnut? More chocolate, of course. And that's exactly what the Hershey's Double Chocolate Doughnut delivers. The Double Chocolate doughnuts are dipped in a Hershey's milk chocolate icing, and have a sweet chocolate buttercream-like frosting piped into the center. All piled onto the same dreamy Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut base that we already know and love.

The color of the chocolate icing on top of the doughnut is a little darker than the usual Krispy Kreme chocolate icing, but aside from that, it doesn't have a standout "Hershey's" chocolate flavor. There's a touch more chocolate icing overall, and plenty of chocolate frosting in the center of the doughnut to intensify the sweetness and chocolate flavor with every bite.

The only problem with the Hershey's Double Chocolate Doughnut, is that it's only available seasonally. It was most recently available as part of the Spring 2026 lineup of seasonal doughnuts, but occasionally makes an appearance as a limited edition collaboration with Hershey's. Needless to say, the next time you see it, make sure to grab one while you can. The Krispy Kreme Hershey's Double Chocolate Doughnut has 320 calories, with 15 grams of fat, 43 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of protein.

If given the option, I will reach for a yeasted donut over a cake donut every time. Given the previous disappointment with both the Tim Hortons Chocolate Dip and the Dunkin' Chocolate Glazed Donuts, there were a lot of doubts about how good the Tim Hortons Chocolate Glazed Donut would be. Luckily, all of my expectations were completely wrong, and Tim Hortons Chocolate Glazed Donut instantly became my favorite of the lineup.

Unlike the yeasted donut from Tim Hortons, the chocolate cake donut is far from stale tasting, and surprisingly tender for a denser cake donut. And unlike the Dunkin' Donuts version, this Chocolate Glazed Donut is packed with chocolate flavor, and has an obvious layer of shatteringly delicious glaze covering the entire donut. These donuts were so good, that they didn't even need the obligatory 15 seconds in the microwave to soften and transform them into a more delicious donut — they were perfect straight out of the box.

Fans of yeasted donuts might not be easily convinced to put their pillowy soft favorites aside for a cake donut, but in this case, it's absolutely worth it for the chocolate donut lovers out there. The Chocolate Glazed Donuts are also available as Timbits (donut holes), which the brand noted as one of the most popular menu items in 2025. Tim Hortons Chocolate Glazed Donut has 330 calories, with 21 grams of fat, 34 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of protein.

Many years ago, Dunkin' offered a Chocolate Creme Filled Donut, which consisted of a powdered donut, stuffed full of what tasted like whipped chocolate frosting — and despite the powdered sugar mess it made, it was absolutely everything my chocolate donut-loving heart could ever want. Unfortunately, the Chocolate Creme Filled Donut has been widely discontinued at most Dunkin' locations, and a successor to the chocolate donut throne must be found to take its place.

As a self-proclaimed chocolate donut lover, I put my preferences aside, and included every kind of chocolate-forward donut available at Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, and Tim Hortons. Whether cake or yeasted, as long as the featured flavor was chocolate, it made the cut. All of the donuts were tasted individually, and side-by-side to help define where each would land in the ranking. The strongest consideration was given to how fresh the donuts tasted, donut texture, and overall chocolate flavor and intensity. Price and nutrition were not a considered when ranking these donuts, although basic nutrition information is included here (when it was available) for anyone who may be interested.