Thanksgiving without Turkey? 63% of Americans would rather skip the main course
Traditions are changing and younger generations would prefer to spend Thanksgiving chilling with snacks than a full-blown roast dinner.
Roast turkey is the traditional main course served during Thanksgiving - a celebration to give thanks for the autumn harvest. Around 40 million turkeys are sold in the US during the run-up to Thanksgiving, but not everyone is a fan of it - and some can’t stand it.
The Campbell’s Company (the canned soups people) recently released their annual State of the Sides report, which collects from all 50 states about eating habits, trends and holiday meals.
According to the report, new traditions are coming to the Thanksgiving table. It says that around 82% of Americans will attend a Thanksgiving dinner this year and 77% of them will involve a family recipe.
A less formal Thanksgiving
But generally, gatherings are getting more causal, and just under half of the participants in the survey said that they would be quite happy to munch on snackable side dishes or dips than sit down to eat anything more fancy - 47% said they’d be “quite happy with a Thanksgiving plate full of sides and nothing else” up from 38% in 2024.
Interestingly, the Campbell’s report notes that 63% of Americans prefer eating the sides over the main course at Thanksgiving, up from 56% last year. And another survey by The Vacationer about the least popular Thanksgiving dishes had turkey in top spot with 34.84% of those taking part saying they’ll swerve the roast meat and try something else instead.
8 Cheese Mac N Cheese pic.twitter.com/xjexTAm1ck
— Tasty (@tasty) November 17, 2025
What’s the most popular side dish? For Gen Z, it’s Mac and Cheese (41%), an opinion shared by Millennial cheddarheads (62%). It’s among the top five side dishes nationally and the top choice in New York and Florida.
In close pursuit is green bean casserole which made the top 3 in eight states and a firm favorite in Iowa, Kansas and Indiana. And stuffing - “whether baked inside the bird or served up in a casserole dish, it’s the dish no Thanksgiving table feels complete without.”
So if you are planning to give turkey a miss this year, don’t fret, as there are plenty of alternatives.
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