REVIEW: I Tried Doughnuts From Tim Hortons, Ranked From Worst to Best

The honey cruller had a different shape than the other Tim Hortons doughnuts I tried — a ring of puffy ridges coated in a sugary glaze. I hoped this might make for an interesting texture, but the doughnut was disappointingly squishy and airy inside.

The ratio of glaze to doughnut also felt too high to me, making it very sweet.

This doughnut’s description on the Tim Hortons website advertises “delicious apples and cinnamon in every bite.” However, I didn’t taste the apple at all and thought the cinnamon had no spice to it.

To me, this tasted more like what I’d expect from something wrapped in plastic, like a Little Debbie snack cake.

Tim Hortons’ Oreo variety is a cream-filled doughnut topped with vanilla frosting and Oreo crumbles.

I love Oreos and typically enjoy Oreo-themed desserts. However, I thought the vanilla frosting and the sugary cream in this one made it too sweet.

The Oreo topping was also crumbled so finely that it didn’t add any crunch.

This was the only jelly-filled doughnut I found at Tim Hortons, and for that reason, it made for a nice change of pace. But again, the thick coating of vanilla frosting made the doughnut extremely sweet.

Though the jelly had a distinct strawberry flavor, the consistency was a little odd — it was more of a gel than a jelly.

My 7-year-old loves jelly doughnuts but called this one “too goopy.”

You may notice a theme here — vanilla-frosted doughnuts make up most of the bottom of my list, as I found the thick, sugary coating to be a detriment.

However, the vanilla-dipped doughnut was our favorite of those with this frosting. Tim Hortons’ doughnuts aren’t as sweet as one might expect, so the balance of flavors was better on this one.

My 4-year-old, a passionate fan of rainbow sprinkles, called this one her favorite.

I don’t love chocolate as much as many people do, but I typically enjoy chocolate-glazed doughnuts. Tim Hortons’ version wasn’t disappointing, but it wasn’t very exciting either.

This doughnut had a very mellow chocolate flavor and a thin coat of glaze. The aftertaste was a bit like a chocolate-flavored lollipop, which turned my wife off. However, I liked the way it paired with coffee.

Confusingly, Tim Hortons’ vanilla-cream doughnut is covered in chocolate frosting with a swirl of vanilla-cream filling on top.

I enjoy Tim Horton’s fudgy-chocolate frosting, but wasn’t a big fan of the vanilla-cream filling. I found it reminiscent of Twinkie filling, only with a strong, somewhat artificial-tasting vanilla flavoring.

Even if it’s not the most exciting option in the display case, a plain cake doughnut can be great when served with a hot cup of coffee.

However, this doughnut didn’t taste as fresh as some of the others I tried. It also lacked the crunchy outer crust you might find on other cake doughnuts.

However, it had a pleasant hint of nutmeg, giving it a more nuanced flavor than its equivalents from other doughnut chains.

Since I didn’t especially like Tim Hortons’ vanilla frosting, I was worried I’d feel similarly about the maple version.

I’m normally ambivalent about maple flavoring, and the unnatural-looking orange color of the frosting didn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

However, I actually enjoyed it. The maple frosting had a warm, caramel-like richness, and although it was definitely sweet, it was also very tasty.

The honey dip is Tim Hortons’ standard yeast doughnut in its most straightforward form: just glaze with no frosting.

Despite its name, however, nothing in the doughnut’s flavor, texture, or online description suggested it involved actual honey.

The yeast doughnuts at Tim Hortons seemed a bit denser than those at Dunkin’ (and far denser than those at Krispy Kreme), but this one was nice and soft.

My 4-year-old preferred it over any of the doughnuts that didn’t have sprinkles.

I wasn’t sure if I’d like the glazed version of Tim Hortons’ old-fashioned doughnut better than the plain one. Often, I find that adding an extra layer of sweetness doesn’t improve something that’s already sweet.

But in this case, the old-fashioned doughnut wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet on its own, and the glaze seemed to keep the doughnut a little more moist.

Of the three frosted ring doughnuts I tried, the chocolate-dipped version was the only one where the frosting proved an upgrade.

That’s because Tim Hortons’ chocolate frosting is delicious. It’s got a thick, fudgy texture and is rich with chocolate flavor.

Tim Hortons’ Canadian maple doughnut is identical to its Boston cream, except with maple frosting instead of chocolate. However, I liked this one more than I expected to.

The sweetness of the maple frosting was nicely balanced by the custard filling, which was surprisingly light and had a hint of tanginess. I wouldn’t have guessed this one would land so close to the top of my list.

I’ve had Tim Horton’s Boston cream doughnut before, but I wasn’t sure how it would compare to the chain’s other offerings.

I found that the density of Tim Hortons’ doughnuts makes them well-suited for filling since they’re strong enough to withstand the weight without falling apart. And the combination of the chocolate frosting and custard is a time-honored one for a reason.

Amazingly, this was the favorite for me, my wife, and our 7-year-old.

This story was originally published on November 8, 2024, and most recently updated on May 16, 2025.