Whenever I am asked what my unpopular opinion is, I always say that I don't think Thanksgiving Day food is that good and it is overhyped. I'm not sure why but ever since I was a kid, I've always dreaded Thanksgiving dinner because I've never enjoyed the food and while my family filled their plates with everything in sight, I would always just stick to one or two foods. Thankfully as I've gotten older, I've expanded my palette in terms of what I eat on Thanksgiving, however, I stand by my earlier comments of Thanksgiving Day food being a bit overhyped. That being said, I decided it would be fun to rank the Thanksgiving foods from worst to best in honor of tomorrow being Thanksgiving.
Cranberry Sauce
Coming in at dead last in my ranking of Thanksgiving Day food we have cranberry sauce. I've tried cranberry sauce a grand total of four times and every time I've found it to be disappointing. It is always overly sweet and I am still not sure what you are supposed to put it on. There is a reason why we only eat cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving and it isn't because it's a designated Thanksgiving food.
Stuffing
Yes, I am well aware that stuffing is just bread, herbs, onions, celery, and butter but I still just don't think it is that good. Maybe it's because it looks a bit unappetizing or maybe it is because I think celery and bread is a strange combination but whenever I eat stuffing, I am thoroughly underwhelmed. While I don't think stuffing is that good, it is not nearly as bad as cranberry sauce thus making it sixth in my ranking of Thanksgiving Day food.
Pumpkin Pie
This may be my most unpopular opinion but bear with me. Pumpkin pie is not something I look forward to at the Thanksgiving meal because I don't really enjoy pie and that coupled with my dislike of pumpkin-flavored items make it an unappealing dessert. Generally, I opt out of the pie and just eat the vanilla ice cream that is supposed to top the slices of pie. I have tried to enjoy this holiday favorite but I just can't however at least I get vanilla ice cream out of it which makes it ranked fifth.
Green Beans
Green beans while often an overlooked Thanksgiving side, they happened to be one of the only two things I would eat at a Thanksgiving meal for years placing them within the top four. I actually enjoy green beans, especially when they are cooked with butter and some salt so I always have them on my plate at Thanksgiving. The reason why they are not ranked higher is that when I finally started expanding my palette, they became overshadowed by other Thanksgiving foods that take priority over green beans.
Gravy
Although I wouldn't consider gravy an actual food and I would consider it more of a sauce, gravy still is in my top three. While I have only started eating gravy within the last four years, its ability to automatically make any food a thousand times better have quickly made it one of my Thanksgiving Day favorites. If gravy were an actual food, I honestly would eat it plain, but since it's not, I'll settle for putting it all over my Thanksgiving Day plate.
Turkey
Turkey was one of the two Thanksgiving foods I would eat for years and it wasn't because I loved it but because I needed to eat something with protein. Thus, it still makes it into the top two because after years of just eating Turkey, I'm not sure if I've been conditioned to like it or if I actually have grown to like it but Turkey is good. The combination of gravy and turkey is amazing and I look forward to that every year at Thanksgiving.
Mashed Potatoes
By far, mashed potatoes are my favorite thing to eat at a Thanksgiving dinner. I love mashed potatoes normally and they were a staple of my diet when I got my wisdom teeth out but something about the mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving just makes them absolutely delicious and addicting. Mashed potatoes plain or mashed potatoes with gravy always take up half my plate and I always go for seconds and thirds and sometimes fourths.
Thanksgiving food may not be the best however Thanksgiving Day is a day you spend with your family and for that, I am forever grateful. Even though this year's Thanksgiving may look different due to Covid, hopefully, you can still enjoy some of your favorite Thanksgiving Day traditions like mine which is getting out of eating cranberry sauce. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!
