- Stuffing is the top-searched side in 42 of 50 states (84 percent).
- The least popular sides by state count are deviled eggs and cranberry sauce at 2 percent each.
- Fusion menus, “healthy” swaps, and travel logistics are also surging in searches.
Stuffing runs this country. Google’s latest map of the top-searched Thanksgiving sides shows stuffing leading in 42 of 50 states (84%), green bean casserole in 4 states (8%), and sweet potato casserole in 2 states (4%). Then we’ve got the loners at the bottom of the pile: cranberry sauce in Nevada and deviled eggs in New Hampshire, one state each, 2 percent apiece.
If you’re keeping score at home, that means the least popular sides are deviled eggsand cranberry sauce. I will defend the canned stuff to my last wobble, but the map is the map. As for New Hampshire riding for deviled eggs on Thanksgiving, I have some serious follow-up questions.
None of this shocks me, TBH, because sides have quietly become the main event at the dinner table. Turkey is there for tradition and sandwiches the next day, but personally, I’m in it for starch, cheese, pie, and the kind of plate that makes your sweater fit differently by halftime.
There’s also a couple of fun side quests in the Google data. Fusion Thanksgiving is rising, with “Thanksgiving Asian fusion” and “Indian fusion Thanksgiving” topping search growth, and “kimchi mac and cheese” leading the fusion recipe hunt. People are also trying to keep things lighter, at least on paper. The top “healthy Thanksgiving sides” searches in the past month are cranberry sauce and cauliflower mashed potatoes.
Even logistics Turkey Day food questions are trending, too: “How to transport mac and cheese for a 4-hour drive” and “how to transport my raw turkey by car” both spiked, which is the most Thanksgiving sentence of all time. And if you’re gluten-free, you’re not alone. “Thanksgiving gluten-free” was searched over ten times more than “Thanksgiving high protein.”
So yes, turkey will show up. But the clicks don’t lie. Sides are the star, stuffing is the people’s champ, and somewhere in Nevada, a can of cranberry jelly is shaking like it just heard its name.