Where to find the best paczki in Chicago for Fat Tuesday

This Evanston bakery is known for its paczki-eating contest, which is canceled this year for obvious reasons. Still, that shouldn't stop you from devouring as many sugar-dusted, jelly-filled doughnuts as humanly possible. Classic flavors like raspberry and custard are musts, while upgraded options like the fan-favorite fresh banana cream are hard to resist

How to order: Paczki are available for in-store purchase starting February 6, or you can order online. Same-day orders are not accepted on February 15 or 16.

This sweet, family-owned bakery kicks off its paczki celebration early, with jelly-filled doughnuts flying off its pastry racks starting on February 11. Browse all of the delicious flavors online—like strawberry jelly, Oreo and apple-cinnamon—or spring for a dozen for about to try them all.

How to order: Paczki are available for in-store purchase, or you can order online for pickup; online orders are cut off around noon the day before.

All seven Do-Rite locations will have paczki stocked and loaded, with flavors like raspberry sugar, salted caramel and king cake (baby not included). These pillowy pockets are available in limited quantities on February 15 and 16.

How to order: Paczki are available for in-store purchase, or you can place your order online for pickup or delivery.

This old-school Lakeview bakery brings out the paczki and king cake from February 11–16. Order a four-pack of filled doughnuts or upgrade to a dozen. Unique flavors like strawberry cheesecake and chocolate silk are musts, but there's nothing like the fresh strawberry, which is filled with cloud-like cream and ripe berries.

How to order: Place your order online for pickup or delivery; online orders must be placed 48 hours in advance.

Have your paczki and drink it too with Marz's special menu for Fat Tuesday. On February 16, the Bridgeport brewery is pairing a four-pack of its beloved Paczki stout with two or four doughnuts filled with vanilla bean custard and raspberry jam. They'll even toss in a free T-shirt while supplies last. Feeling fancy? For $40, you can get your beer bundled with a truffle paczki that's filled with Acacia honey-truffle custard and topped with shaped winter truffles and gold leaf.

How to order: Place your order online for pickup or delivery; orders must be placed by February 14.

The pastry cases at all Stan's locations will be stocked with paczki from February 12–16. Guests can choose from fillings like cherry, cannoli cream, chocolate cream and vanilla pastry cream. Toss in your favorite Stan's classics, too!

How to order: Paczki are available for in-store purchase, or you can order online. You can also ship paczki anywhere in the U.S. through Goldbelly.

It’s worth taking a ride out to this snug, old-school spot for its seriously tasty take on paczki. Choose from 12 varieties including blueberry, rosehip, cheese and poppy. If you want a taste without committing to a full-sized paczki, four popular flavors (raspberry, custard, apricot and rosehip) are also available in miniature versions.

How to order: Fill out an online order form and drop off or fax to Racine Bakery to schedule pickup.

Take the guesswork out of ordering this year with West Town Bakery's no-fuss paczki six-pack for $20, which comes with two vanilla pastry cream, two raspberry jam and two chocolate fudge. Then, schedule your pickup for West Town or Wrigleyville and let the bakery take care of the rest.

How to order: Place your order online for pickup on February 16 at 7am in West Town or Wrigleyville; orders must be placed by February 11.

Much to the dismay of longtime fans, this Bridgeport icon suddenly closed in 2019, only to reopen under new ownership months later. There's no need to fret, as Paczki Day 2021 is still on. Choose from a whopping 22 flavors, including apple, apricot, peach and pineapple. The bakery will open at midnight on February 16 so that you can get your fix at the crack of dawn.

How to order: Place your order online for pickup or delivery.

Firecakes locations in Lincoln Park, River North and Oak Park are frying and filling dough from February 16–19, with out-of-the-box flavors like blood orange-raspberry, bourbon apple, malted chocolate and meye lemon. Depending on how many mouths you're feeding, you can order one, a half-dozen or 12.

How to order: Place your order online for in-store pickup or schedule delivery via Grubhub.

The Polish pastry specialists at Delightful Pastries keep us on our toes with three "drunken" paczki—named for their fillings, like Jameson-spiked chocolate custard—as well as gourmet selections like passion fruit jelly and from-scratch salted caramel.

How to order: Place your order online, by phone (773-545-7215) or by email (mailto:info@delightfulpastries.com); orders must be placed by February 10.

This beautiful French patisserie is known for its over-the-top cakes and decorated cookies, but in honor of Fat Tuesday, the bakers are rolling out six filled doughnuts in flavors like raspberry-rose, apple-cinnamon and vanilla bean ganache. 

How to order: Place your order online for pickup or delivery, or stop by to browse the in-store selection from February 12–16.

This bastion of Polish deli fare, imported sweets and Eastern European breads enriched with sprouted grains and other good-for-you ingredients is expanding its year-round paczki lineup with some decidedly non-traditional offerings. Look for quirky flavors like chocolate chili, caramel bacon and limoncello.

How to order: Paczki are available for in-store purchase, or you can place your order by Facebook or phone (773-637-3772).