For many Americans, side dishes like stuffing and mashed potatoes are the highlight of a Thanksgiving feast. But others focus on saving plenty of room for dessert.
“I love that every holiday has its own dessert tradition, and with Thanksgiving, pies come front and center,” Jenny Lee, Google Trends’ lead analyst, told HuffPost. “To get into the spirit, we decided it would be fun to look into what types of pies people search for the most while planning out their holiday meal.”
The folks at Google put together a map breaking down the top-searched Thanksgiving pies in every state. Drawing from searches between Oct. 13 and Nov. 13, the analytics show that pumpkin pie dominated in most states ― but there were were also plenty of places where pecan pie, chocolate pie, apple pie and sweet potato pie got some love.
“I was surprised that there weren’t more states searching for apple pie,” Lee said. “I feel like Thanksgiving is about either pumpkin pie, apple pie or both, but apparently pumpkin pie is more popular across the country.”
The team at Google wasn’t alone in looking into Americans’ Thanksgiving treat preferences. DoorDash also released a Thanksgiving Trends report breaking down the most-ordered desserts in each state ― which includes classics like pumpkin pie, pecan pie and apple pie, as well as the less classic o=pound cake and carrot cake.
“Pumpkin pie may be the national default, but the real story in our data is how differently the ‘sweet treat’ looks from table to table,” Cristen Milliner, a consumer trends expert at DoorDash, told HuffPost. “The unexpected trend was that it wasn’t another classic pie trailing behind pumpkin, but a new contender in cheesecake.”
She believes younger generations are driving that shift.
“As many of them step into hosting roles for the first time, they tend to have fewer non-negotiable Thanksgiving rules, which creates more room to choose something that feels a little more modern,” Milliner said. “And for people who didn’t grow up with staples like apple pie, this is exactly where new traditions start to take shape. Cheesecake also leads the charge in the pie vs. cake debate, and that ‘best of both worlds’ vibe that feels modern but still close enough to tradition to keep everyone happy definitely plays a role in its rise.”
The DoorDash report reflects the most-ordered desserts during Thanksgiving week last year.
“This report is meant to show that Thanksgiving isn’t one set menu ― it’s a collection of millions of small traditions,” Milliner noted. “The data gives us a window into what people hold onto, what they experiment with, and how regional identities and flavors show up on the table. And if it inspires someone to mix up their menu this year, whether that’s trying a new side or adding a different pie, even better.”