Wondering how many calories in a glazed donut? Wonder no more, as we’ve meticulously researched 9 popular donut brands in the US to work out who has the lowest (or highest) calorie glazed donut on the market.
The information used in this article is sourced directly from nutritional information provided by the donut store brand. These nutritional facts are specifically for the glazed donut product they sell. Some products will differ in terms of ingredients and size which will affect the overall nutritional information. In the case where I was unable to reference accurate information from the source, we relied on corroborating sources available on the internet.
The brands featured in this article are:
Dunkin’ – How Many Calories in a Glazed Donut?
It makes the most sense to kick off this list with Dunkin’ Donuts. Established in 1950, Dunkin’ is the largest coffee and donut brand in the United States with more than 13,200 stores across nearly 40 countries. According to Coffee Affection, Dunkin’ sells 2.9 billion donuts each year. That’s a whole lot of dough, both literally and figuratively.
So how does the coffee and donut giant’s glazed donut measure calorically? So how many calories in a glazed donut? Dunkin’s nutritional information states that the Dunkin’ glazed donut has 240 calories, which is equivalent to a 30 minute walk… upstairs or roughly 2½ medium sized apples.
Tim Hortons – How Many Calories in an Old Fashion Glazed Cake Donut?
Canadian coffee house chain Tim Horton’s was founded in 1964 by the NHL player of the same name. As of 2022, the restaurant chain is the largest Canadian quick-service brand with 5,352 restaurants in 15 countries including the United States, UK and Asia.
Now unfortunately, I could not find the nutritional information for Tim Horton’s old fashion glazed cake donut on their website so I’ve referred to 3 other sources.
Calorie King says the old fashion glaze is 270 calories while Fat Secret Canada claims it’s 320 calories. We found a third opinion from Nutrition IX which corroborates Calorie King’s 270 calories.
Hostess – How Many Calories in a Glazed Jumbo Donette?
Hostess was formed in 2013 and is bakery chain specialises in snack cakes products for supermarkets. Twinkies and Ding-Dongs rank among some of their most well known products. We also featured Hostess in our May article Filled Donut: Comparing Popular Brands.
So how many calories in a glazed donut? The nutritional information for the glazed Jumbo Donette, an individually wrapped cake donut is 230 calories per serving. So far, the glazed Jumbo Donette leads the charge in lowest calorie donut.
It is a store bought donut, meaning you often won’t get them freshly made most of the time. To counter this point, the plastic packaging preserves a lot of the freshness, and they have a shelf life of approximately 9 months after production date.
Daylight Donuts – Glazed Old Fashion Cake
Daylight Donuts was founded in 1954 by Tommy and Lucille Day. The company initially started out as flour company, producing donut mix and selling it to individual stores from the trunk of their car. Today, Daylight Donuts stocks over 900 donut shops in 30 states and 8 countries. All licensed Daylight Donut shops are individually owned and operated.
According to Daylight Donuts, the glazed old fashion cake comes in at 367 calories. While so far on the higher side of the calorie equation, the benefits of a Daylight Donut are that you are supporting local business owners and enjoy hopefully eating one of America’s favorite donuts.
Shipley Do-Nuts – How Many Calories in a Plain Glazed
A donut veteran of 87 years, Shipley Do-Nuts is the oldest donut brand on this list. It was 1936, the end of the Great Depression, when Lawrence Shipley, Sr. created a gourmet recipe for Do-Nuts. Shipley’s was initially a wholesale operation selling a dozen donuts for $0.05 (the equivalent of a $1.10 in 2023) but the company was so successful that it branched out to retailing by the mid 1940s.
So how many calories in a glazed donut? Shipley’s nutritional information says their popular plain glazed donuts ranks in with a light weight 190 calories and like that, supermarket bakery brand Hostess surrenders first place to the long running family business.
Winchell’s Donut House – How Many Calories in a Glazed Old Fashion Donut
Established in 1948 by Verne Winchell, the entrepreneur originally envisioned opening a hamburger stand but was beaten to the idea by a shop opposite his location. He then decided to sell coffee and donuts, where customers could watch staff make the tasty treats. The concept proved a success and Winchell’s began opening new locations and franchises over the next 2 decades, eventually securing 1,000 locations across the US, Japan, Spain and Korea.
Faced by increased competition and the shift to healthier food choices for Americans, Winchell’s languished and hopped from different owners such as Denny’s and Pizza Hut. Once the 2nd largest donut chain in America, Winchell’s closed a majority of unprofitable stores, reducing to around 200 before being acquired by rival donut brand Yum-Yum Donuts in 2004. Wikipedia states that there are now 170 Winchell’s Donut Houses.
So how many calories in a glazed donut? Nutritional information for the Winchell’s glazed old fashion states the donut has 410 calories which is unsurprisingly identical to its parent brand, Yum-Yum Donuts.
Top Pot Doughnuts – How Many Calories in a Glazed Cake Doughnut
Top Pot Doughnuts opened its doors in February 2002 on Capitol Hill run by brothers Mark and Michael Klebeck. The single storefront expanded to 18 locations throughout the Puget Sound region, and 3 in Texas. The Top Pot doughnut recipe is utilised by over 7,000 Starbucks stores across US and Canada.
So how does Top Pot measure against other glazed options? According to official nutrition information, Top Pot tops the scale at a colossal 480 calories. The Top Pot glazed doughnut is highest calorie donut on our list.
LaMar’s Donuts – How Many Calories in a Ray’s Original Glazed
In 1933, Ray LaMar was 17 when he was first working for Jack Frost Donuts. He started his midtown Kansas donut shop in 1960. The business didn’t start franchising until 33 years later and there are now 25 LaMar’s Donuts locations across 5 different states. At age 82 Ray LaMar made a television appearance on the Jay Leno show. He commented that in his store he would make as many as 11,000 donuts a day.
Although it is one of the smaller chains included on this list, LaMar’s has developed a following of coffee and donut lovers that just has to be acknowledged. How many calories in a glazed donut? According to LaMar’s Donut’s official website nutrition information, Ray’s Original Glazed clocks in at a lean 200 calories.
Krispy Kreme – How Many Calories in an Original Glazed Doughnut
Vernon Rudolph founded The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Company with his uncle Ishmael Armstrong after transplanting to Nashville, Tennessee from the small town of Paducah, Kentucky. The two businessmen wanted a new focus after Ishmael proved there was a demand in the market for the light and fluffy donuts he previously sold at his last business in Kentucky.
After the idea had been proven, Rudolph opened his own Krispy Kreme store in Winston-Salme, North Carolina in 1937. He primarily served convenience stores but also sold hot fresh donuts to customers that would show up during his production times (between midnight and 4am).
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts today now sells donuts in more than 1,400 of its shops and 12,000 other stores across 30 countries. As the 3rd largest donut chain in the US after Dunkin’ and Tim Horton’s, the reputation of light and fluffy donuts has followed the Krispy Kreme closely.
How many calories in a Krispy Kreme glazed donut? Krispy Kreme’s nutrition information states the light and fluffy original glazed matches Shipley’s Do-Nuts at 190 calories.
Summary of Results
- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts – 190 Calories
- Shipley Do-Nuts –190 Calories
- LaMar’s Donuts – 200 Calories
- Hostess – 230 Calories
- Dunkin’ – 240 Calories
- Tim Horton’s – 270 Calories
- Daylight Donuts – 367 Calories
- Winchell’s Donut House – 410 Calories
- Top Pot Doughnuts – 480 Calories
Glazed Donuts with the least Calories
So how many calories in a glazed donut? We’ve reordered the list above and the results are clear. Krispy Kreme’s Original Glazed and Shipley Do-Nuts’ Plain Glazed came in tied with 190 calories. Lamar’s Donuts came in 3rd with a respectable 200 calories. Krispy Kreme was a particularly surprising result considering the 50 calorie difference with Dunkin’.
Glazed Donuts with the most Calories
On the opposite side, Daylight Donuts and Winchell’s versions of the old fashioned glaze donuts clocked in at 367 and 410 calories respectively while Top Pot’s Glazed Cake Donut takes the cake with 480 calories, more than twice the combined number of calories of the donuts in joint first place.
Eat what you want, numbers aren’t Everything
When considering how many calories in a glazed donut, the answer is between 190-480 calories.
The data collected in this article is purely calorie numbers. We did not take into consideration the fat and carb content of the donuts featured. In terms of caloric figures, depending on the size, a person would have to jog 30 minutes to burn between 280-500 calories.
Ultimately, donuts should be eaten in moderation as a treat. Multiple donuts should be consumed in the company of friends and family and enjoyed.
The numbers are provided by the brands. Consider what matters to you most and eat what you want to eat. If you enjoy the taste and texture are some of these heftier donuts choices that is ok, but now you know there are calorie differences between similar offerings and this might help you understand how many calories in a glazed donut.
