The Thanksgiving holiday is synonymous with turkey, overeating, and family.  While turkey seems to be a staple for most Thanksgiving meals, the argument about the best Thanksgiving dish is still a hotly debated topic. There are those who insist that the side dishes are the real highlight of the meal, while others say that they anxiously wait all year for the pumpkin pie served after the big meal. Here we discuss the five most popular Thanksgiving dishes that will be on every table this November 23rd. 

Turkey is a symbol for Thanksgiving and more than 80% of Americans will have this on their table for the meal. As cooking techniques become more sophisticated, the methods to prepare turkey are endless, ranging from baking in the oven to deep frying in oil to bringing it for days and smoking it over low heat in a smoker, the many approaches to cooking turkey continue to increase.  The challenges to cooking turkey consist of the need to thaw the large bird for days before the holiday, as most people will purchase frozen turkeys far in advance of actual Turkey day. Today the average turkey weighs twice as much as it did in the 1960s with an average weight of 31 lbs today, compared to 15 pounds 60 years ago. The larger turkeys mean people are buying and eating more turkey on Thanksgiving. 

The second most popular dish is mashed potatoes, a critical staple to go alongside the turkey.  Whether you like your mashed potatoes smooth, lumpy, with garlic, with cheese or more unusual additions such as peas and onions, bacon and cream cheese, or herbed brown butter, mashed potatoes are almost a necessity to hold the thanksgiving meal together. A close third is green beans in some form and frequently in some type of casserole. However, one of the unique aspects of greens beans is to cook it in many different forms, giving it completely different tastes. Whether you blanch them, saute them, grill them or mix them with a can of cream of mushroom soup and bake them, they always seem to have a spot on the Thanksgiving table providing a pop of bright green color.  It goes without saying that dinner rolls are a critical part of the Thanksgiving meal. They are a staple of the meal and play an important functional role, soaking up the gravy and cranberry sauce on your plate. They play a starring role on the day after Thanksgiving when leftover turkey is devoured as turkey sandwiches using the dinner rolls. From the classic Parker house rolls to the Pillsbury dough rolls to the hot fluffy rolls from your local bakery, there is nothing quite like the smell of rolls baking the oven mixing with the aroma of turkey. 

Last but not least is pumpkin pie. Originating from the first Thanksgiving between the pilgrims and Native Americans with pumpkin a staple of the Native American diet, the pumpkin is  a symbol of farming traditions. The first pumpkin pie recipe was published in the late 1700s and has never left the Thanksgiving table. Topped with whip cream or vanilla ice cream, no Thanksgiving meal is complete without one or ten bites of pumpkin pie. All of these dishes have their advocates and detractors, but the beauty of Thanksgiving is that there is an abundance of dishes to choose from and everyone will leave the table loosening their belt buckles and with a smile on their face.