Americans sound off on traditional Thanksgiving dishes they really don't like (2024)

FAQs

What is America's least favorite Thanksgiving food? ›

"For the third year in a row, cranberry sauce takes first place as the most disliked traditional Thanksgiving food. Over 31% of respondents, 82 million American adults, do not want cranberry sauce for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Along with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry the "traditional" table now included white bread, apple pie, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and various fruit pies.

Apparently I'm in the minority, as this poll reported that 80 percent of Americans prefer the leftover version.

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Cranberry sauce is the most disliked Thanksgiving food dish for Americans, according to a survey done by The Vacationer.

Unhealthy: Stuffing

“Bacon, sausage, mince meat, giblets, and a variety of similar ingredients find their way into many a stuffing, which takes an already unhealthy dish — often topping 500 calories per serving, depending on the recipe — to an entirely new level of unhealthy,” she said.

And the least favorite side dish for Americans on Thanksgiving is -- green bean casserole. 31.4 percent of people surveyed do not like it.

Mashed potatoes are a traditional Thanksgiving side dish for a reason, and we definitely look forward to serving up this delicious dish every November.

So while our Thanksgiving dinner table has a big ol' turkey plated in the center, the first Thanksgiving table was likely filled with ducks, geese, eels, lobster, and venison. Maybe there was a turkey, but it was either missing or too dry for anyone to literally write home about it.

There are many reasons, but primarily: Historically, dinner became before supper; it makes for a more relaxed day; it's simply tradition; it's more convenient for traveling guests; and, of course, to watch football.

What is the most important meal on Thanksgiving? ›

The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States is Thanksgiving dinner (informally called turkey dinner), a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey.

It's estimated that 300 million pounds of food are wasted during the Thanksgiving festivities every year. Not only is throwing away food a waste of precious resources, but it also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions when food rots in the landfill.

Some do. My family used to do the same, especially since a lot of us didn't enjoy turkey. Generally, turkey is the main dish for Thanksgiving, and ham is an alternative. On Christmas, ham is the more common food.

It is also worth noting what was not present at the first Thanksgiving feast. There were no cloudlike heaps of mashed potatoes, since white potatoes had not yet crossed over from South America. There was no gravy either, since the colonists didn't yet have mills to produce flour.

“While the list of divisive foods is long, let's focus on the top three hated foods—anchovies, black licorice, and oysters—and what makes each seemingly controversial for American palates.

As far as what everyone considers their favorite Thanksgiving food, stuffing was the winner by a landslide, followed by turkey, mashed potatoes/gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes/casserole, cranberries and last but not least, pumpkin pie.