Top Five Thanksgiving Dishes
“Turkey is one of the most popular Thanksgiving foods. It’s the perfect main dish for your Thanksgiving meal” (Jadyn Jacobs).
Images (from left to right): Diliara Garifullina, Elena Leya, Claudio Schwarz and Prchi Palwe from unsplash.com, and submitted by Amy Jacobs.
November 26, 2025
Jadyn Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief
There are many enjoyable dishes to be had on Thanksgiving, and although I truly love every single one, these are my top five favorite Thanksgiving dishes!
5. Cranberry sauce
Cranberry sauce, although not exactly a particularly filling part of the meal in itself, is a classic Thanksgiving dish. I personally enjoy it on turkey and mashed potatoes along with gravy. It adds a nice sweet tang to these savory dishes as well as a creamier texture. Although I don’t personally love cranberry sauce on its own, many enjoy it as a side all by itself on Thanksgiving. I put cranberry sauce fifth as it isn’t a major part of the meal, but it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without this dish therefore cranberry sauce made the top five list.
4. Apple pie
Very few foods scream fall like an apple pie. Apples are at their prime during the fall season, and what better way to enjoy this delicious fruit than in a pie on Thanksgiving. The warm apples add a pleasant moistness to the pie crust that you really don’t get with any other pie, and apples plus cinnamon and sugar is a winning combo. Put a little bit of whipped cream on top and you have one amazing dessert. Although apple pie is one of my favorites, I don’t only associate the pie with Thanksgiving, which is why I put this pie lower than some of the other Thanksgiving dishes on this list.
3. Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin pie is the most popular Thanksgiving pie and for good reason. This pie screams fall with the sweet pumpkin flavor and fall spices as well as the wonderfully creamy texture. Pumpkin pie tastes best if fresh pumpkin is used, and since pumpkins are usually at their prime in October, making pumpkin pie around Thanksgiving with the fresh pumpkin makes for an especially delicious pie. The gooey pumpkin filling and crisp pie crust perfectly balance each other, and again adding whipped cream to this pie makes for a particularly tasty dessert. All these components make pumpkin pie the perfect end to a Thanksgiving dinner.
2. Sweet potato casserole
For me, Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t be complete without a sweet potato casserole. I love sweet potatoes anyway for their sweet and earthy taste, and they taste especially good with maple syrup. I truly believe, then, that butter, sugar, and sweet potatoes are a winning combination. The smooth, buttery sweet potato with the slight crunch of the sugar topping is heavenly. This is usually the side I grab the most of, as well as the one I save to eat for last because it’s my favorite. Sweet potato casserole is definitely the best side at Thanksgiving.
1. Turkey
Turkey is one of the most popular Thanksgiving foods. It’s the perfect main dish for your Thanksgiving meal. It’s not truly Thanksgiving until the smell of roasted turkey wafts through the whole house, making your mouth water with the thought of dinner just a few minutes away. This dish is great to eat by itself, with some gravy and cranberry sauce or in a pot pie. No matter how you enjoy it, turkey is a staple of the Thanksgiving table. I particularly love eating the roasted turkey skin as soon as it comes out of the oven, and most of the turkey I eat on Thanksgiving day is while it’s still being carved. There’s no doubt that turkey is the best Thanksgiving dish!
