Nashville may be best known for hot chicken, meat-and-threes and live music, but the city also has a serious sweet side. From old-school pie and banana pudding to inventive ice cream, cupcakes and doughnuts, these are some of the best desserts in Nashville right now.
Updated September 2026. We refreshed this guide to remove closed or outdated recommendations and verify that the featured Nashville dessert spots are currently operating. Menus, flavors and hours can still change, so check with each business before making a special trip.
This list began with recommendations from Nashville contributor Ella K Sol and has been updated by the Famadillo editorial team.
1. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Jeni’s remains one of the easiest Nashville dessert recommendations, especially if you want creative ice cream flavors and a polished scoop-shop experience. The 12 South shop is still going strong, and Jeni’s now has several Nashville-area locations. Seasonal flavors rotate, so the best move is to sample a few before committing to a scoop.
2. Five Daughters Bakery
Five Daughters Bakery is one of Nashville’s signature stops for doughnuts. Its best-known creation is the 100 Layer Donut, a croissant-style pastry built from layers of flaky dough and finished in rotating flavors. If you want a dessert that feels specifically tied to a Nashville visit, this is one of the strongest choices on the list.
3. The Cupcake Collection
The Cupcake Collection has grown into a Nashville institution while keeping its Historic Germantown bakery at the center of the business. The bakery is known for rich, moist cupcakes with a balanced cake-to-frosting ratio. Strawberry remains a standout, while flavors such as carrot cake, red velvet and Germantown chocolate make it easy to build a mixed box.
The Cupcake Collection Nashville
4. The Loveless Cafe
The Loveless Cafe is worth the drive even before dessert enters the conversation. The Nashville landmark has been serving Southern food since 1951, and its current dessert menu still includes scratch-made pie by the slice, real banana pudding made with house-made vanilla wafers and peach cobbler. If you want a classic Southern dessert experience, this is the stop.
5. Goo Goo Chocolate Co.
For a dessert with genuine Nashville history, head downtown for a Goo Goo Cluster. The candy dates back to 1912, and the current Goo Goo Chocolate Co. storefront sits just off Broadway on 3rd Avenue South. You can buy the classic cluster, try premium versions or design your own candy bar at the in-store kiosks.
Goo Goo Chocolate Co. Nashville
6. La Michoacana Premium
La Michoacana Premium on Nolensville Pike is a great choice when you want something beyond the standard scoop shop. The menu includes a large selection of ice cream and paletas along with flavors such as mango, mamey, pistachio, coconut, Ferrero, rice with milk and strawberry cheesecake. It is especially fun if everyone in your group wants something different.
La Michoacana Premium Nashville
7. Elliston Place Soda Shop
Elliston Place Soda Shop delivers the kind of old-school dessert experience that is increasingly hard to find. The soda fountain still serves milkshakes, ice cream sodas, sundaes, floats, banana splits and pies. If you want a nostalgic Nashville dessert stop rather than a trendy bakery, this is the place to put high on the list.
8. Baked on 8th
Baked on 8th is a strong all-around bakery for cakes, cookies, pies and whatever else happens to be in the pastry case. It is particularly useful for groups because you can pick up several different desserts and share. The bakery also handles custom cakes, but you do not need a celebration to justify stopping in for an individual treat.
9. Arnold’s Country Kitchen
Arnold’s Country Kitchen is famous for its meat-and-three lunches, but dessert deserves its own trip through the line. The current menu still highlights banana pudding, bread pudding, chocolate pie and spicy chocolate pie. Arnold’s is especially good if you want a traditional Southern meal followed by an equally traditional Southern dessert.
10. Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme is not uniquely Nashville, but the Nashville shop on Thompson Lane remains a reliable stop when the craving is for a hot glazed doughnut. The location still runs Hot Light hours, which is exactly when you want to arrive if a warm Original Glazed is the goal.
What dessert is Nashville known for?
Nashville does not have just one signature dessert, but several sweets have strong local ties. Goo Goo Clusters are one of the clearest Nashville originals, while banana pudding, chess pie and other Southern desserts remain staples at long-running restaurants around the city. Nashville’s newer dessert scene adds 100-layer doughnuts, inventive ice cream and specialty cupcakes to the mix.
Where should you go for dessert in Nashville?
For a first visit, start with Goo Goo Chocolate Co. if you want something distinctly Nashville, Five Daughters Bakery for a famous pastry, The Cupcake Collection for cupcakes, Jeni’s for ice cream, or Loveless Cafe and Arnold’s for classic Southern desserts. Elliston Place Soda Shop is the best fit when you want an old-fashioned soda-fountain experience.
Planning more time in Music City? See our guide to top places for teens in Nashville.
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