Just How Standard is the “Standard” Thanksgiving Menu?

Every November, Americans start looking forward to getting together with family and friends for the biggest feast day of the year. The day is full of ritual and tradition, but the Thanksgiving table is a curious one. There’s a definite menu of Turkey Day “standards” (most critically, the turkey), but there are some things on that list I’ve never tasted in my decades of American Thanksgiving eating, and I suspect I am not alone. One of the things that makes the American dining table so special is how it represents a medley of cultures, traditions, and flavors, and Thanksgiving just might be one of the best days of the year to recognize and celebrate our delicious diversity.

I knew my family’s menu quirks, but I wanted to learn more, so I first set out to define a “classic” Thanksgiving menu (the kind you see slow-panned on television), and then turned to my Yankee coworkers to measure the overlapping dishes…and the outliers. The always, never, and extras, if you will.

I asked AI for a “standard” American Thanksgiving menu, including sides and desserts, and here’s what it said:

• Roast Turkey
• Stuffing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Cranberry Sauce
• Green Bean Casserole
• Sweet Potatoes
• Corn
• Other Veg Sides (Creamed Spinach, Roasted Brussels, Sauteed Carrots)
• Cranberry Relish
• Mac and Cheese
• Salad
• Dinner Rolls
• Pumpkin Pie
• Pecan Pie
• Apple Pie

But does anyone actually sit down to this menu?

Here’s how my family stacked up:

We always have roasted turkey, gravy, Bell’s stuffing, mashed potatoes (no lumps!), canned cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and apple pie. There are a few cooked vegetables, but they are unremarkable.

We never have sweet potatoes in any form, green bean casserole, or pumpkin pie.

And our unique Thanksgiving additions? When my Nana was cooking, it was Italian wedding soup to start and stuffed shells with the main course in a nod to my maternal Italian side of the family. Plus chocolate and vanilla pudding pie with graham cracker crust for dessert. And my husband’s family loves their French-Canadian meat stuffing.

Curious, I asked my fellow editors to compare their own table to AI’s suggestions. Here’s what they shared:

Travel Editor Kim Knox Beckius

It’s not Thanksgiving morning for me without Robinhood Meetinghouse Cream Cheese Biscuits. I literally cry if I can’t find them anywhere. They’re the creation of Chef Michael Gagne and made in Bath, Maine. The only must on my family’s holiday dinner menu has always been… Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. I think even the turkey is more optional. Green Bean Casserole is a big no for me, too.

As we’ve lost family members, we’ve had to be really flexible about where we celebrate the holiday and what we eat. Morgan’s Restaurant at Interlaken Inn in CT is one of the best dining out experiences we’ve had on Thanksgiving. Last year, I got THE most incredible apple pie from Christie Caters in Barkhamsted, CT. They do full to-go meals, too.

Associate Editor Joe Bills

Our family gatherings “always” list included pumpkin and squash pie. Also plates of mixed nuts still in the shells and dates stuffed with peanut butter. We seldom had salad and never mac and cheese. Green bean casserole was never big in my family, but it was a huge deal with my southern in-laws!

Associate Digital Editor Katherine Keenan

I’ll be blunt: The stuffing is the most important part of Thanksgiving, with the gravy coming in at a close second. But obviously the turkey, the mashed potatoes, and the cranberry sauce play a role in making those taste good (I’m a little-bit-of-everything-on-the-fork-at-once sort of Thanksgiving participant). We never had green bean or sweet potato casserole growing up, but I shamelessly adore both. And as for the standard pie trifecta: All three are necessary in my opinion, no matter the crowd size. Otherwise what would you eat for breakfast for days afterward?

I could take or leave everything else, though I’m tempted to make Parker House Rolls this year. Because, if anything, Thanksgiving should be a bit excessive.

Senior Food Editor Amy Traverso

We always have my mom’s green onion dip, turkey, Pepperidge Farm stuffing (if mom is making it), candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans with mushrooms, and both canned and homemade cranberry sauce. Historically, I’d be assigned desserts: pumpkin chiffon pie and deep-dish apple pie. This year, my sister and I will be taking over all the cooking and I plan to do a cornbread dressing (in my book) as well as the Pepperidge Farm classic and a dry-brined turkey. I may try doing homemade squash ravioli, or the ravioli di Gavi recipe that I learned this year in Italy. 

We never have sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. I don’t really get it.  

Our weird additions are sadly lacking. Italian dishes show up at Christmas, but not Thanksgiving. My dad’s mom used to make a pumpkin custard. And she’d make a self-basting turkey by draping slices of bacon over the breast meat. I plan to resurrect the custard this year. Keep the pies. And add a different green bean preparation that I did at Sunset magazine.

So now we want to hear from you! What “standard” Thanksgiving dishes does your family always have? Never have? Do you have a random dish that’s become a Thanksgiving essential? Let us know in the comments below!