These Are Most Popular Thanksgiving Side Dishes In Every State
Which dish are you most excited for?
What’s your favorite Thanksgiving side? For me, it’s all about the mashed potatoes. I remember at my first Thanksgiving with my now-husband and his family, I was absolutely APPALLED that no mashed potatoes were in sight. Yes. Not a single tater was mashed on their Thanksgiving table.
Our relationship almost ended then and there. Luckily, I muddled through (thank you, pinot grigio), and now when we spend Thanksgiving with his family, I bring the potatoes! (This is my favorite recipe, BTW. You can thank me later).
As my mashed potato-less Thanksgiving proves, not everyone serves up the same side dishes. In fact, the menu seems to vary depending on where you live. Google created a list of the most popular Thanksgiving side dish in each state, based on unique searches in 2017—and the results are interesting.
Not surprisingly, stuffing is a top contender. Folks in California, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut (where they add sausage) can’t get enough of it!
Save your pumpkin pie when you go to Arkansas—they prefer sweet potato pie. Pecan pie is the top choice for people in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. Floridians say no Thanksgiving is complete without a corn souffle. In a similar vein, Iowans love corn casserole.
Michiganders crave roasted Brussels sprouts, while New Yorkers are all about the acorn squash. And here’s a shocker—you might think that folks in Idaho would pick potatoes as their favorite side, but no dice. It’s all about the sourdough bread for them.
There are some unique picks on the list as well. In Arizona, they love pumpkin rolls, which I must admit, I had never even heard of. Turns out, it’s a rolled pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting inside. Here’s a recipe if you want to try this Arizona favorite.
People in Maine love mashed squash, and this another one that I hadn’t heard of before, but from recipes I read online (like this one from Erren’s Kitchen), I am drooling!
As luck would have it, I am sort of alone in my love of mashed potatoes. Only the good people of Wisconsin share my passion.
Without further ado, here is the entire list of the most-Googled Thanksgiving side dish in each state of the U.S.:
- Alabama: Squash casserole
- Alaska: Green beans
- Arizona: Pumpkin roll
- Arkansas: Sweet potato pie
- California: Stuffing
- Colorado: Pecan pie
- Connecticut: Sausage stuffing
- Delaware: Butternut squash
- Florida: Corn souffle
- Georgia: Squash casserole
- Hawaii: Sweet potato
- Idaho: Sourdough bread
- Illinois: Sweet potato casserole
- Indiana: Roasted sweet potatoes
- Iowa: Corn casserole
- Kansas: Yams
- Kentucky: Broccoli casserole
- Louisiana: Yams
- Maine: Mashed squash
- Maryland: Collard greens
- Massachusetts: Butternut squash
- Michigan: Roasted brussel sprouts
- Minnesota: Thanksgiving sweet potatoes
- Mississippi: Cornbread dressing
- Missouri: Thanksgiving rolls
- Montana: Cranberry sauce
- Nebraska: Sweet potatoes
- Nevada: Pecan pie
- New Hampshire: Homemade stuffing
- New Jersey: Butternut squash soup
- New Mexico: Pecan pie
- New York: Acorn squash
- North Carolina: Corn pudding
- North Dakota: Sweet potatoes
- Ohio: 7 layer salad
- Oklahoma: Cornbread dressing
- Oregon: Ambrosia salad
- Pennsylvania: Candied sweet potatoes
- Rhode Island: Stuffing
- South Carolina: Cornbread dressing
- South Dakota: Ambrosia salad
- Tennessee: Mac and cheese
- Texas: Broccoli rice casserole
- Utah: Yams
- Vermont: Butternut squash
- Virginia: Corn pudding
- Washington: Green beans
- West Virginia: Broccoli salad
- Wisconsin: Garlic mashed potatoes
- Wyoming: Sweet potatoes
Whatever sides accompany your turkey this year, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!