To celebrate National Donut Day on June 7, we pitted their glazed doughnuts against each other.
Dunkin's doughnut was dense and cake-like, while Krispy Kreme's was lighter.
Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' are two of the biggest doughnut chains, but a few years ago, I wanted to find out which one had the best glazed doughnut. So I set out to do my own taste test to see which one was the victor.
From a pure number perspective, it's hard to figure out which doughnuts reign supreme. There are 13,000 Dunkin' locations around the world while Krispy Kreme has 1,400 retailers worldwide, including doughnut shops and partnerships with retailers.
While Dunkin's profits aren't public, Krispy Kreme, a publicly traded company, increased its net revenue by 5.7% in the first quarter of the year to $442.7 million, according to their quarterly results.
Since pure stats wouldn't help me, I visited both chains and now I can see why the latter is hugely popular.
To celebrate this year's National Donut Day, here's what I thought when I visited the chains back in 2019.
I began my journey to one of the first Krispy Kremes on the island of Manhattan: inside Penn Station.
This photo of Penn Station was taken in 2019.
Gabbi Shaw/INSIDER
For a long time, the Penn Station Krispy Kreme was the only one in Manhattan. Now, there are seven Krispy Kremes in Manhattan, including the huge flagship store in Times Square, which opened in September 2020.
I selected an original glazed, which was $1.49 at the time.
The doughnut display.
Gabbi Shaw/INSIDER
I ended up grabbing two more to get a three-pack, which cost $4.89 (now $6.99) and came with a cute little box. The price has since gone up — a single glazed will now set you back $2.19.
But not on National Donut Day — all regular doughnuts are free, no purchase necessary.
The Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut was light, airy, and straight-up delicious.
The box in question.
Gabbi Shaw/INSIDER
It was just the right amount of sweet, fully glazed all over, and essentially melted in my mouth. The crunch that the glaze added was just right.
The only downside was that the glaze left my fingers pretty sticky.
A fingerprint indentation.
Gabbi Shaw/INSIDER
The glaze is super sensitive, and the minute you touch the doughnut, a fingerprint is left on the pastry. It's not that appealing.
Next up, I trekked over to Dunkin' to see what their glazed option held in store for me.
The Dunkin' doughnut.
Gabbi Shaw/INSIDER
I thought the Dunkin' option was tasty, but essentially the opposite of Krispy Kreme's flaky, light doughnut. This thing was dense.
It also mainly tasted like a doughnut, as the glaze flavor was less pronounced.
If you prefer a thicker and cakier doughnut, you should opt for Dunkin'. It was good, but dense.
I wasn't totally sure about the Dunkin' doughnut.
Gabbi Shaw/INSIDER
At the time, Dunkin's doughnuts cost $1.39 each, 10 cents cheaper than Krispy Kreme's alternative. Now, a glazed one costs $2.09, making them a bit more expensive.
The chain has now leaned away from its food and focuses on its beverages — hence the name change from Dunkin' Donuts to simply Dunkin'.
On National Donut Day, Dunkin' will offer a free classic doughnut with a purchase of any drink.
Dunkin's doughnut looks denser when put next to its Krispy Kreme counterpart.
You can see how dense the Dunkin' doughnut is.
Gabbi Shaw/INSIDER
In my opinion, the taste of the Dunkin' doughnut overwhelmed the glaze. I personally like it the other way around. I'm eating a glazed or frosted doughnut to taste the sugar, not the actual dough.
Overall, the Krispy Kreme classic doughnut is hard to beat — it's exactly what I think of a glazed doughnut: sweet, sticky, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
It's all smiles here.
Gabbi Shaw/INSIDER
This may just come down to personal preference, though. For those who prefer a cake-like doughnut, Dunkin' is the way to go.
Either way, it's never a bad day when you get to snack on glazed doughnuts.
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