Thanksgiving Dinner Foods Tier List: Every Dish Ranked
Thanksgiving is the one meal where a dozen dishes fight for plate space and somehow all of them get eaten. We ranked all 20 classics, from the bird itself down to that one casserole your uncle insists on making every single year.
This is based on what people actually fight over at the table, what disappears first, and what always ends up in the trash by Saturday. Fans argue about half of this list, so we picked sides. Disagree? That's what the comments are for.
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SS Tier: The non-negotiables
Turkey
It's the whole reason the day is named what it is. A dry turkey gets roasted online every year, but a good one, brined and rested right, is still the centerpiece nothing else can replace.
About Turkey
A large roasted bird that serves as the traditional centerpiece of American Thanksgiving dinner. It's typically brined or seasoned, then roasted whole and carved at the table.
- Role
- Main course
- Cooking method
- Roasted
Stuffing
The dish people build their whole plate around. Whether it's cornbread-based, packed with sausage, or just bread cubes and celery, a Thanksgiving without stuffing basically isn't Thanksgiving.
About Stuffing
A savory bread-based side cooked either inside the turkey or separately in a dish, often mixed with celery, onion, herbs, and sometimes sausage. Also called dressing depending on the region.
- Also known as
- Dressing
- Base
- Bread or cornbread
Mashed Potatoes
The gravy delivery system and the reason forks exist. Lumpy, whipped, loaded with butter, it doesn't matter, everyone goes back for seconds.
About Mashed Potatoes
Boiled potatoes mashed with butter, milk, or cream into a smooth or slightly chunky side dish. One of the most universal comfort foods on the table.
- Main ingredient
- Potatoes
- Common additions
- Butter, cream, garlic
Gravy
Gravy doesn't get its own plate, but it touches almost everything else on the table and makes it better. A dry Thanksgiving plate without gravy is a tragedy nobody wants to sit through.
About Gravy
A savory sauce typically made from turkey drippings, stock, and a thickener like flour or cornstarch. Poured over turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing alike.
- Base
- Turkey drippings or stock
AA Tier: Table royalty
Pumpkin Pie
The dessert everyone expects to see, spiced and smooth, usually the first pie gone even though half the table swears they don't really like pumpkin.
About Pumpkin Pie
A custard pie made with pumpkin puree, warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and a single crust. One of the most traditional Thanksgiving desserts.
- Main ingredient
- Pumpkin puree
- Type
- Custard pie
Sweet Potato Casserole
Marshmallows on top of a vegetable dish shouldn't work as well as it does. It's basically dessert wearing a side-dish costume, and that's exactly why people love it.
About Sweet Potato Casserole
A baked dish of mashed sweet potatoes, often sweetened, topped with either marshmallows or a pecan streusel crust. Popular especially in Southern U.S. Thanksgiving traditions.
- Main ingredient
- Sweet potatoes
- Common topping
- Marshmallows or pecans
Dinner Rolls
Warm, buttered, and gone in minutes. Rolls are the quiet workhorse of the table, mopping up gravy when the fork just isn't fast enough.
About Dinner Rolls
Small, soft bread rolls served warm with butter alongside the main meal. A simple side that's popular for soaking up gravy.
- Type
- Bread
Cranberry Sauce
The most divisive dish on the table and it earns the spot. Canned with the ridges still on it or homemade and chunky, the tart cut against all that richness is exactly what the meal needs.
About Cranberry Sauce
A tart-sweet condiment made from cooked cranberries, served either as a jellied canned log or a chunky homemade relish. Provides acidity to cut through the richer dishes.
- Main ingredient
- Cranberries
- Common forms
- Canned or homemade
Candied Yams
Marshmallows, brown sugar, butter, sometimes a splash of orange juice or bourbon depending whose kitchen you're in. It's basically dessert masquerading as a side, and nobody at the table is complaining. The only debate is marshmallow topping or none, and that argument has ended more than one family dinner early.
About Candied Yams
A sweet side dish made from yams or sweet potatoes cooked with sugar, butter, and warm spices, sometimes topped with marshmallows before baking. It's a Thanksgiving staple, especially in Southern and soul food traditions, prized for its dessert-like sweetness alongside savory mains.
- Main ingredient
- Yams or sweet potatoes
- Flavor
- Sweet, spiced
- Optional topping
- Marshmallows
BB Tier: Reliable and loved
Pecan Pie
Rich, sweet, a little much after a full plate of turkey and stuffing, but the pecan pie fans are loyal and they will fight for the last slice.
About Pecan Pie
A rich, sweet pie made with a filling of pecans, eggs, and a corn syrup or sugar base, set into a single crust. Especially popular in Southern U.S. cuisine.
- Main ingredient
- Pecans
Apple Pie
Great pie, just not really a Thanksgiving specialty, it shows up at every other holiday too. Still, nobody's turning down a warm slice with the crumble on top.
About Apple Pie
A double-crust pie filled with sliced, spiced apples. A classic American dessert that shows up at Thanksgiving as well as other holidays year-round.
- Main ingredient
- Apples
Green Bean Casserole
Canned soup, canned onions, and somehow a beloved classic. It's not fancy and it's not trying to be, it's just there every year like a familiar cousin.
About Green Bean Casserole
A baked casserole of green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and crispy fried onions on top. Became a Thanksgiving staple after being popularized in the mid-20th century.
- Main ingredients
- Green beans, cream of mushroom soup, fried onions
Deviled Eggs
Not everyone puts these out, but the tables that do usually see them vanish before the turkey even hits the platter. Underrated early appetizer, honestly.
About Deviled Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs with the yolks mixed with mayonnaise, mustard, and seasoning, then piped back into the egg whites. Often served as an appetizer before the main meal.
- Main ingredient
- Eggs
- Course
- Appetizer
Macaroni and Cheese
A regional Thanksgiving staple in some houses and completely absent in others. When it's done right, baked with a crust on top, it competes with the mashed potatoes for plate space.
About Macaroni and Cheese
A baked pasta dish of macaroni in a cheese sauce, common in Southern and soul food Thanksgiving traditions. Served as a hearty, kid-friendly side.
- Main ingredients
- Pasta, cheese
Butternut squash
Roasted with a little brown sugar and cinnamon, squash does the job without asking much of you. It's the side that shows up, tastes fine, and doesn't get talked about the next day. Solidly middle of the road, which on this table is still a compliment.
About Butternut squash
A winter squash with a sweet, nutty flavor and tan skin, often roasted, mashed, or made into soup for Thanksgiving. Its natural sweetness pairs well with warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, making it a popular fall and holiday ingredient.
- Type
- Winter squash
- Flavor
- Sweet, nutty
- Common prep
- Roasted, mashed, or souped
Collard Greens
Simmered low and slow with some smoked meat, collard greens bring a savory, slightly bitter punch that cuts through all the sweet stuff on the plate. They're a staple on plenty of Southern Thanksgiving tables and deserve more national recognition than they get. Just don't skip the pot liquor for dipping cornbread.
About Collard Greens
A leafy green vegetable popular in Southern U.S. cooking, traditionally simmered low and slow with smoked meat like ham hocks or bacon for deep flavor. They bring a savory, slightly bitter counterpoint to the sweeter dishes typical of a Thanksgiving table.
- Type
- Leafy green vegetable
- Culinary tradition
- Southern U.S. soul food
- Common seasoning
- Smoked meat, vinegar, hot sauce
CC Tier: Fine, but not essential
Cornbread
Great on its own, mostly there to get crumbled into the stuffing anyway. It rarely gets eaten as a standalone side once stuffing duty is done.
About Cornbread
A bread made from cornmeal, often baked in a skillet, served as a side or used as a base for cornbread stuffing. Common in Southern Thanksgiving spreads.
- Main ingredient
- Cornmeal
Biscuits
Solid bread option, but it's fighting rolls and cornbread for the same spot on the plate and usually loses that fight.
About Biscuits
Small, flaky quick breads leavened with baking powder, often served warm with butter. A common bread side, especially in Southern-style Thanksgiving meals.
- Type
- Bread
Broccoli Casserole
Cheese sauce and canned soup can save almost anything, and broccoli casserole is proof. It's fine, it's filling, but it's also the dish most likely to sit there while people go back for seconds of stuffing instead. Nobody's mad it's on the table, nobody's thrilled either.
About Broccoli Casserole
A baked side dish combining broccoli with a creamy sauce, often cheese, and topped with a crunchy element like breadcrumbs, crackers, or fried onions. It's a common addition to Thanksgiving spreads as a way to include a vegetable in a rich, comforting form.
- Main ingredient
- Broccoli
- Common additions
- Cheese, cream soup, crunchy topping
- Prep
- Baked
Ambrosia Salad
Whipped topping, canned fruit, maybe some coconut and mini marshmallows thrown in for good measure. It reads more like a potluck relic than a Thanksgiving staple, and it splits the room hard between people who grew up on it and people who've never trusted it. Charming in a nostalgic way, but it's not winning any blind taste tests.
About Ambrosia Salad
A sweet fruit salad typically made with citrus segments, pineapple, shredded coconut, marshmallows, and whipped cream or sour cream. It's a classic potluck-style dish that shows up on many Thanksgiving tables, especially in Southern households, occupying a space somewhere between salad and dessert.
- Type
- Sweet fruit salad
- Common ingredients
- Citrus, pineapple, coconut, marshmallows
- Served
- Chilled
Creamed Corn
Sweet, rich, and a little forgotten next to the mashed potatoes hogging the spotlight. It's basically corn's way of saying it wants to be a side dish worth remembering, but it usually just gets one scoop and moves on. Fine on the plate, never the one anybody's asking for seconds of.
About Creamed Corn
A side dish made from sweet corn kernels in a rich, creamy sauce, often served warm as part of a holiday spread. It can be made from scratch with fresh or frozen corn, cream, and butter, or from canned creamed corn as a quick shortcut.
- Main ingredient
- Corn kernels
- Texture
- Creamy, slightly sweet
- Common prep
- Stovetop or baked
Corn
Corn is fine. It's sweet, it's yellow, it does its job as a side without asking for much attention. But on a table packed with mashed potatoes and stuffing and candied yams, plain corn just kind of disappears. Nobody's going back for seconds of corn when there's gravy left.
About Corn
A simple vegetable side, served whole-kernel, creamed, or on the cob depending on the household. Often one of the plainer dishes on the table.
- Type
- Vegetable side
DD Tier: Tolerated at best
Brussels Sprouts
A polarizing green that's had a real image makeover with bacon and balsamic, but plenty of tables still just boil them plain and wonder why nobody's eating them.
About Brussels Sprouts
A small cruciferous vegetable, often roasted with bacon or balsamic glaze to balance its natural bitterness. Has grown more popular as a Thanksgiving side in recent years.
- Type
- Vegetable side
How we ranked them
We ranked each dish on taste, how essential it is to the meal, how often it's actually done well versus done badly, and its track record of being the first thing gone or the thing nobody touches. We leaned on years of forum debates, food polls, and family arguments, then made the final call ourselves where consensus splits, looking at you, cranberry sauce discourse.
Think we got it wrong?
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
What is the most essential Thanksgiving dish?
Turkey and stuffing are usually considered non-negotiable, with mashed potatoes and gravy right behind them as the dishes people build their whole plate around.
Is cranberry sauce supposed to be canned or homemade?
Both have huge fan bases. Canned brings nostalgia and that signature jelly texture, homemade brings tartness and texture. It's genuinely split down the middle.
Why is green bean casserole on so many Thanksgiving tables?
It's a mid-20th-century American classic built around canned cream of mushroom soup and it stuck around because it's easy, cheap, and comforting.
What's the most overrated Thanksgiving side?
Corn tends to get called out the most. It's a fine vegetable but it doesn't do anything special compared to the rest of the table.
Is macaroni and cheese a real Thanksgiving dish?
In a lot of Southern and soul food traditions, yes, it's a full staple. In other households it barely shows up. Regional split.
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Image credits
- TurkeyPhoto: Patrick Fitzgerald from Atlanta, GA, USA, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- StuffingPhoto: Dorevabelfiore, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Mashed PotatoesPhoto: sousvideguy, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- GravyPhoto: Scott Veg, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Pumpkin PiePhoto: Evan-Amos, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Sweet Potato CasserolePhoto: mroach, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source
- Dinner RollsPhoto: Daderot, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Cranberry SaucePhoto: Veganbaking.net from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Candied YamsPhoto: Teresa Trimm, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source
- Pecan PiePhoto: Librarygroover, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Apple PiePhoto: Shisma, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Green Bean CasserolePhoto: Rick Kimpel from Spring, TX, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Deviled EggsPhoto: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Macaroni and CheesePhoto: Texasfoodgawker, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Butternut squashPhoto: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Collard GreensPhoto: RightCowLeftCoast, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- CornbreadPhoto: Zankopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- BiscuitsPhoto: Dale Cruse, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Broccoli CasserolePhoto: Wesley Fryer, CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source
- Ambrosia SaladPhoto: Marshall Astor from Olympia, WA, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Creamed CornPhoto: Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- CornPhoto: liz west, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Brussels SproutsPhoto: Missvain, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source