The Most Popular Thanksgiving Side Dish in Every State

As you're planning this year's Thanksgiving dinner menu, you've probably got all the basics covered: Green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and stuffing are among the most classic Thanksgiving side dishes. But as it turns out, the most popular side dishes vary by state—and your state's favorite dish may surprise you.

Career website Zippia recently published a state-by-state guide of the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes, and not all of the results were what we expected to see. The company compiled Google Trends data from November 2019 to determine what recipes were searched on Google in each state in the days leading up to the big holiday last year. If people in Nebraska searched, "how to make green bean casserole," more than any other Thanksgiving-related recipe, Zippia concluded this was their most popular dish.

They excluded main dishes and drinks—because wine and roast turkey are a given at many Thanksgiving dinners—but they did include gravy as a side dish since it was such a popular search.

They found that mashed potatoes were the country's most popular side dish, beating out all other recipes in 10 states. The next most popular dish was mac and cheese. Not as surprising was their finding that the Midwest states love a good green bean casserole (one of my personal favorites). They also noted that regional differences in dialect played a part in the winning dishes, even though they use similar recipes: In Southern states, searches for "dressing" were common, while the rest of the country searched "stuffing," expecting the same result.

To see whether your state's favorite is represented on your Thanksgiving dinner menu, check out the results below.

Alabama: Dressing

Alaska: Hashbrown Casserole

Arizona: Green Bean Casserole

California: Mashed Potatoes

Arkansas: White Gravy

Colorado: Mashed Potatoes

Connecticut: Mashed Potatoes

Delaware: Mac and Cheese

District of Columbia: Mac and Cheese

Florida: Sweet Potato Casserole

Georgia: Mac and Cheese

Hawaii: Turkey Gravy

Idaho: Green Bean Casserole

Illinois: Mashed Potatoes

Indiana: Deviled Eggs

Iowa: Corn

Kansas: Creamed Corn

Kentucky: Broccoli Casserole

Louisiana: Cornbread Dressing

Maine: Side Salad

Maryland: Mac and Cheese

Massachusetts: Stuffing

Michigan: Green Bean Casserole

Minnesota: Mashed Potatoes

Missouri: Rolls

Mississippi: Baked Sweet Potatoes

Montana: Mashed Potatoes

Nebraska: Green Bean Casserole

Nevada: Mashed Potatoes

New Hampshire: Cranberry Sauce

New Jersey: Stuffing

New Mexico: Green Bean Casserole

New York: Stuffing

North Carolina: Mac and Cheese

North Dakota: Mashed Potatoes

Ohio: Green Bean Casserole

Oklahoma: Rolls

Oregon: Biscuits

Pennsylvania: Stuffing

Rhode Island: Stuffing

South Carolina: Mac and Cheese

South Dakota: Crescent Rolls

Tennessee: Sweet Potato Casserole

Texas: Green Bean Casserole

Utah: Rolls

Vermont: Stuffing

Virginia: Mac and Cheese

Washington: Mashed Potatoes

West Virginia: Rolls

Wisconsin: Mashed Potatoes

Wyoming: Brown Gravy