I tried every doughnut I could find at Tim Hortons and ranked them from worst to best

I tried every doughnut I could find at Tim Hortons and ranked them from worst to best
  • I tried every doughnut I could find at Tim Hortons and ranked them from worst to best.

  • I didn't love the vanilla-frosted doughnuts I tried and thought they were too sweet.

  • My favorites included the Canadian maple and Boston cream doughnuts.

I'm not as familiar with Tim Hortons as I am with other doughnut shops. But after trying the chain's Boston cream doughnut, I became a fan.

Named for cofounder Tim Horton, a longtime NHL defenseman and Hockey Hall of Famer, the first Tim Hortons opened in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1964. The chain now has over 5,500 locations in 13 countries, though more than 4,000 are in Canada.

Many of the Tim Hortons locations near my New York City home are partnered with a local gas-and-convenience-store chain called Bolla Market. So, I headed to my local Brooklyn location to try all the doughnuts in stock.

In total, I tried 14 different flavors. Here's how I'd rank them from worst to best.

The honey cruller was my least favorite.

A cruller doughnut topped with a glaze on a white plate
I thought the honey cruller was too airy.Ted Berg

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.

I was disappointed by the apple fritter.

A fritter-like doughnut topped with a glaze on a white plate.
Tim Hortons' apple fritter reminded me of a Little Debbie snack cake.Ted Berg

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.

The Oreo doughnut was too sweet for me.

A doughnut with no hole topped with icing and crushed Oreos on a white plate.
I usually love Oreo-themed desserts, but this doughnut was too sweet for me.Ted Berg

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.

I didn't love the filling in the strawberry-vanilla doughnut.

A doughnut with no hole topped with white icing and rainbow sprinkles on a white plate.
The filling had a gel-like consistency.Ted Berg

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."

The vanilla-dipped doughnut was the best of the varieties with vanilla icing.

A doughnut topped with white icing and rainbow sprinkles on a white plate.
My 4-year-old loved the vanilla-dipped doughnut.Ted Berg

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've had better chocolate-glazed doughnuts.

A chocolate cake doughnut topped with a glaze on a white plate.
Tim Hortons' chocolate-glazed doughnut had an off-putting aftertaste.Ted Berg

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.

Tim Hortons' vanilla-cream doughnut tasted a bit artificial.

A doughnut with no hole topped with chocolate icing and a squiggle of white icing on a white plate.
Tim Hortons' vanilla-cream doughnut reminded me of a Twinkie.Ted Berg

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.

The old-fashioned plain doughnut tasted like it had a hint of nutmeg.

A plain cake doughnut on a white plate.
The old-fashioned plain doughnut didn't taste as fresh as some of the others I tried.Ted Berg

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.

The maple-dipped doughnut was a pleasant surprise.

A doughnut topped with a light-brown icing on a white plate.
The maple frosting had a warm, caramel-like richness.Ted Berg

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.

I was a little confused by the honey-dipped doughnut, but it was tasty.

A doughnut topped with a glaze on a white plate.
I enjoyed the honey-dipped doughnut even though it didn't taste like honey.Ted Berg

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.

The glazed old-fashioned doughnut was a little more moist than its plain counterpart.

A cake doughnut topped with a glaze on a white plate.
The glaze seemed to keep the doughnut a little more moist.Ted Berg

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.

I loved the icing on the chocolate-dipped doughnut.

A doughnut topped with chocolate icing on a white plate.
Tim Hortons' chocolate frosting is delicious.Ted Berg

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.

I didn't expect to like the Canadian maple doughnut as much as I did.

A doughnut with no hole on a white plate.
Tim Hortons' Canadian maple doughnut had a nice, balanced flavor.Ted Berg

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.

The Boston cream was my favorite.

A Boston cream doughnut topped with chocolate icing on a white plate.
My wife, 7-year-old, and I all liked the Boston cream doughnut the most.Ted Berg

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.

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