Tennessee’s Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes

It’s the time of the season to be thankful, with the nation’s eminent turkey-themed holiday fast approaching and countless Tennessee residents hitting the road to celebrate Thanksgiving with their friends and family when the big day arrives on Nov. 28.  

This year, based on the digital tea leaves known as search interest scores, we can determine which Thanksgiving sides are the Volunteer State’s favorite, with holiday stalwarts like stuffing (17 search interest score), mac & cheese (nine search interest score), green bean and sweet potato casserole (six search interest score each) ranking atop the list in Tennessee in 2024.  

Utilizing Google Trends, BetTennessee.com (home to all things Tennessee sports betting) analyzed the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes of Tennessee residents by looking at the search results of each side dish from 11/01/2023 to 11/30/2023. The dishes analyzed were the most in total searches in the United States, including Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Mac & Cheese, Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato Casserole, Candied Yams, Brussel Sprouts and Cranberry Sauce. 

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Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes of Tennessee Residents

Rank 

Side Dishes 

Interest Over Time Period 

Stuffing 

17 

Macaroni & Cheese  

T-3 

Green Bean Casserole 

T-3 

Sweet Potato Casserole 

Mashed Potatoes  

Most Popular of Each Major City Area 

 Jackson 

  • Stuffing – 42% 
  • Mac & Cheese – 22% 
  • Green Bean Casserole – 14% 

Memphis 

  • Stuffing – 41% 
  • Mac & Cheese – 23% 
  • Green Bean Casserole – 14% 

Chattanooga 

  • Stuffing – 40% 
  • Mac & Cheese – 23% 
  • Sweet Potato Casserole – 15% 

Nashville 

  • Stuffing – 40% 
  • Mac & Cheese – 20% 
  • Green Bean Casserole – 15% 

Knoxville 

  • Stuffing – 38% 
  • Mac & Cheese – 19% 
  • Green Bean Casserole – 16% 

What’s Tennessee’s Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish?

When it comes to Thanksgiving sides, no dish has the kind of carte blanche in Tennessee that stuffing does, beating out mac & cheese, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and mashed potatoes, with the fifth and final dish scoring a search interest total of five during the period in question.  

When broken down by city, stuffing was king in places like Chattanooga, Jackson, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville, with percentages that ranged from 38% (Knoxville) to 42% (Jackson), while mac & cheese plateaued at 23% in cities like Chattanooga and Memphis and green bean casserole peaked at 16% in Knoxville.  

In between, stuffing notched scores of 41% in Memphis and 40% in Chattanooga and Nashville, while green bean casserole had scores of 14% in Jackson and Memphis to go with 15% totals in places like Chattanooga and Nashville.  

Overall, there was no topping stuffing in the Volunteer State this year, with the starchy side dish ranking atop Tennessee’s Thanksgiving side dish mountaintop in 2024, beating out a trio of holiday staples to take home the top spot in a heated culinary race.    

Also of interest: Top 15 Most Famous Tennessee Celebrities.

USA Today photo by Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal.

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Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan writes for BetTennessee.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.