“Getting the family together, people are excited, they’re not really thinking about what they’re doing.”
We all have that one Thanksgiving side dish that we can’t wait to gobble up this holiday season.
But have you ever wondered what the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes are in your state?
Every year, Campbell’s — the company you likely turn to when buying cream of mushroom soup for green bean casserole — releases their “State of the Sides” report to help answer that very question.
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And this year’s report was released on Nov. 6, just three weeks out from Thanksgiving Day.
What we learned is that 63% of people prefer eating side dishes over turkey for Thanksgiving dinner and nearly half (47%) would be perfectly fine with a plate full of sides and nothing else.
Other key insights about Thanksgiving sides in the report include:
- 85% of people agree that leftovers are one of the best parts of Thanksgiving
- 66% of people enjoy cooking the sides more than the turkey
- 44% of people say green bean casserole is the most iconic side dish for Thanksgiving dinner
- 70% of people believe mac & cheese should be a staple at every holiday meal
- Mac & cheese is the No. 1 side for Gen Z (people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s)
It’s no secret that Thanksgiving dinner side dishes are one of the biggest draws of the holiday. After all, the more side dishes there are, the more leftovers there are — and the more leftovers, the better.
What are the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes?
While mac & cheese is certainly on the rise, it’s still far from being America’s favorite Thanksgiving side.
In fact, the top three best Thanksgiving sides have remained steady in recent years with stuffing (or dressing), mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes rounding out the top in both 2024 and 2025.
Stuffing/dressing was the most popular Thanksgiving side dish in 42 states this year and goes down as “America’s most-loved side” by cracking the top-three in all 50 states, according to Campbell’s.
Mashed potatoes ranked No. 1 in nine states and cracked the top-three in 44 states this year.
Meanwhile, green bean casserole moved back one spot from No. 4 to No. 5 in 2025 — and was replaced by the real star of this year’s holiday season, mac & cheese, which ranked top-three in 19 states.
Here’s a full list of the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes for each state, per Campbell’s:
- Alabama: Stuffing/Dressing
- Alaska: Stuffing/Dressing
- Arizona: Stuffing/Dressing
- Arkansas: Stuffing/Dressing
- California: Stuffing/Dressing
- Colorado: Stuffing/Dressing
- Connecticut: Stuffing/Dressing
- Delaware: Stuffing/Dressing or Mashed Potatoes
- Florida: Mac & Cheese
- Georgia: Stuffing/Dressing
- Hawaii: Stuffing/Dressing
- Idaho: Stuffing/Dressing or Mashed Potatoes
- Illinois: Stuffing/Dressing or Mashed Potatoes
- Indiana: Mashed Potatoes
- Iowa: Mashed Potatoes
- Kansas: Mashed Potatoes
- Kentucky: Stuffing/Dressing
- Louisiana: Stuffing/Dressing
- Maine: Stuffing/Dressing
- Maryland: Stuffing/Dressing or Yams & Sweet Potatoes
- Massachusetts: Stuffing/Dressing
- Michigan: Stuffing/Dressing
- Minnesota: Stuffing/Dressing
- Mississippi: Stuffing/Dressing
- Missouri: Stuffing/Dressing
- Montana: Stuffing/Dressing
- Nebraska: Stuffing/Dressing
- Nevada: Stuffing/Dressing
- New Hampshire: Stuffing/Dressing
- New Jersey: Stuffing/Dressing
- New Mexico: Mashed Potatoes
- New York: Mac & Cheese
- North Carolina: Stuffing/Dressing
- North Dakota: Stuffing/Dressing
- Ohio: Stuffing/Dressing
- Oklahoma: Stuffing/Dressing
- Oregon: Stuffing/Dressing
- Pennsylvania: Stuffing/Dressing
- Rhode Island: Stuffing/Dressing
- South Carolina: Stuffing/Dressing
- South Dakota: Stuffing/Dressing
- Tennessee: Stuffing/Dressing
- Texas: Stuffing/Dressing
- Utah: Mashed Potatoes
- Vermont: Stuffing/Dressing
- Virginia: Stuffing/Dressing
- Washington: Mashed Potatoes
- West Virginia: Stuffing/Dressing
- Wisconsin: Stuffing/Dressing
- Wyoming: Stuffing/Dressing
Elsewhere in the report, we learned that side dishes create just as much angst as they do joy.
While roughly 81% of Americans “show love for family and friends” by preparing holiday dishes, nearly half (48%) admit to “perfection anxiety” when doing so and 37% worry about being judged by their dish.
To help overcome this, nearly one-third of Americans do a test run before the big day, per Campbell’s.
And since we are in the age of technology, many Americans (77%) are turning to social media and the internet for ideas and some are even turning to artificial intelligence to help influence their decisions.
According to the report, Americans use AI to help create shopping lists, plan menus and organize prep timelines.
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No matter what Thanksgiving side dishes you decide to make this holiday, we hope you have a happy (and safe) Thanksgiving Day with your family and loved ones — and an even better Black Friday!
