Have you made up your holiday dinner menu yet? Some people know what they're putting on the holiday table every year, but others like to change things up. Whether you're looking for a classic Christmas dinner entree or a new perfect side dish, you probably spend some time searching for the right recipe online. Treetopia gathered their own Christmas list of the top holiday dish searches in every state and put together this map of the most popular holiday dish by state.
Of course, this map doesn't cover all the holiday dishes you already know by heart, like your grandmother's recipe for buttermilk cornbread dressing or buttery mashed potatoes. And it doesn't cover holiday party appetizers. But it is an interesting look at what folks in each state look for in their online recipes.
Here's what they found about the most popular holiday dish in each state.
The centerpiece of your holiday table is the entrée, and in seven states, prime rib is the king of the Christmas table. People in Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming all searched for prime rib recipes around the holidays. However, turkey is still popular, with Arizona, Connecticut, Florida and Hawaii all looking for the right turkey recipe. And Oklahoma is all about the honey baked ham.
Holiday meals wouldn't be the same without a bunch of amazing vegetable sides. And hands down, the two most popular holiday side dishes are sweet potatoes and green bean casserole (we agree, because crispy fried onions are the best). 17 states and Washington, DC, searched most for these veggie side dish recipes, with Alabama, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah on the green bean casserole side and Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia sticking to sweet potatoes (and, we assume, the beloved marshmallow topping). Louisiana and California keep it classic with recipe searches for stuffing.
And just in case anyone in those states is looking for some variety in their side dishes, might we recommend a butternut squash gratin or roasted acorn squash with pomegranate seeds?
One state that goes their own way for holiday sides is New Mexico. The most searched holiday dish there was Brussels sprouts (hopefully, roasted and topped with parmesan cheese). Massachusetts likes cranberries, with cranberry sauce on the top of the search list.
More than a few states are fans of holiday dessert. New York searched for gingerbread recipes, while Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Mississippi and South Carolina go for pecan pie during the holiday season. Wisconsin, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio, Maine, Minnesota and West Virginia all searched for various Christmas cookies.
The strangest holiday dish search? The good people of North Dakota apparently like pizza during the festive season. And really, when you've spent days making flaky pie crust, roasted every veggie from broccoli to sweet potatoes, and baked up trays of cookies, ordering pizza to eat while watching the lights on the Christmas tree sounds pretty good.
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