DoorDash’s inaugural Thanksgiving Trends Report — a data-packed look at how America really eats, orders, and celebrates the holiday — has revealed some surprising American holiday habits. This year’s findings revealed America’s favorite flavors and last-minute orders that save the holiday. Thanksgiving Eve is DoorDash’s biggest grocery delivery day of the year, with consumer orders surging nearly 90% higher than a typical day. Here’s what the report revealed that might surprise you:
Favorite sides & desserts
Mashed potatoes took the crown as America’s favorite Thanksgiving side, followed by corn, gravy, sweet potatoes, and cranberries, respectively. Surprisingly, stuffing and cornbread ranked #9 and #10 on the favorite side list.
While Pumpkin pie remained the all-time favorite dessert, surprisingly, Sweet Potato Pie, a fall favorite, ranked #9 for America’s favorite holiday dessert. Cheesecake took second place for desserts, followed by Apple Pie, Chocolate Pie, and Pecan Pie, respectively. Data also suggests that regional considerations impact holiday favorite desserts. For example, cheesecake stole the show as the creamy dessert favorite in 8 states, including Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas, while New Englanders prefer apple pie (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and New York).
Other surprising findings
- Meat thermometers topped Thanksgiving Day orders as cooks realized last-minute they weren’t quite equipped to properly cook a turkey to the right temperature.
- After all that Thanksgiving dish prep, Americans don’t want to cook! Nearly five million restaurant orders rolled in across the U.S. on Thanksgiving Eve.
- On Thanksgiving Day itself, other top-ordered DoorDash items included peanut oil for roasting turkeys, cake pans, disposable items, and toothpicks.
