Across the United States, mashed potatoes are hands down the most popular Thanksgiving side dish.
But not in Pa.
Zippia.com analyzed Google Trends to determine each state’s favorite Turkey Day side dish. They found that mashed potatoes are No. 1 in nine states. Some like other forms of potatoes including baked and hashbrown casserole.
What about sweet potatoes? They are a Thanksgiving must-have and are No. 1 in South Dakota, New York (specifically, with marshmallows) and Alabama where they specify sweet potato casserole - yes!
Although our family does not include macaroni and cheese on Thanksgiving it is the favorite in Vermont and Virginia so we are moving there.
In Pennsylvania, the favorite side dish is - stuffing. (Am I the only one that calls it filling?)
Stuffing also was No. 1 in New Hampshire and Maine.
Next to mashed potatoes, the second most popular side dish is some form of bread - rolls, crescent rolls, biscuits and cornbread. And, technically, stuffing is a form of bread.
What about “it isn’t the holidays without green bean casserole”?
Green beans are the favorite side dish in Iowa, Indiana and Ohio.
Other favorites included collard greens, creamed corn (really?), mashed cauliflower, stuffed mushrooms, a charcuterie tray, gravy, glazed carrots (just Rhode Island), and - we’re looking at you North Dakota - fruit salad.
Cranberry sauce did not make the list so get it off the table.
Zippia, a job and career website, explained its methodology: “Using Google Trends, we determined what Thanksgiving side each state eats a disproportionate amount of. We examined over 20 Thanksgiving classics. From there, we determined what side is searched a disproportionately, high amount.
For example, while Nebraska eats all the Thanksgiving classics the rest of the country does, the search interest in crescent rolls is excessively higher than the remaining states- making crescent rolls more popular in Nebraska than anywhere else.”
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