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Everyone has a Thanksgiving dish they love — and, of course, one they absolutely can't stand. Which one do you avoid at all costs when you spy it on the table? That's one of the questions that grocery delivery service Instacart sought to answer in a survey of more than 2,000 adults. Here are the eight worst Turkey Day side dishes, according to the survey.
Related: The Least Popular Thanksgiving Dishes — and What to Make Instead
The carb-averse have spoken out against dinner rolls, though only 7% of respondents say these fluffy stomach-fillers are the worst. Granted, they're just empty, boring calories compared with the rest of the Thanksgiving meal, but what has a dinner roll ever done to anyone?
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Only slightly more people — 8% — think mashed potatoes are the worst thing at the Thanksgiving dinner table. It's hard to imagine that there are people who hate that golden pool of melted butter, or who don't need another vehicle for their gravy. We'll chalk this one up to the carb haters again.
Related: Celebrate Spuds With 27 Tasty Ways to Cook Potatoes
When there's a whole table of Thanksgiving dishes, it's easy to skip the salad for something more traditional and — we'll say it — tasty, which 12% of poll respondents seemingly do. After all, you can have salad any day of the year, so don't shoehorn it into this gloriously gluttonous holiday under the guise of health.
Related: 22 Quick and Easy Cold Salads for People Who Hate Lettuce
The same percentage of people, 12%, hate stuffing on their plate just as much as salad. Our theory: These people never got anything expect boxed Stovetop growing up, which is tragic, indeed.
Related: Unexpected Stuffing Recipes to Shake Up Thanksgiving Dinner
Now we're in the big leagues: 21% of people hate sweet potato casserole more than any other Thanksgiving dish. Considering its often-controversial topping, marshmallows, it's not particularly surprising. A full 2 in 5 Americans, or 39%, believe that marshmallows belong in sweet potato dishes, which alienates those who don't want their side dishes to have more sugar than dessert.
Cranberry sauce is another dish that can spark more controversy than a family football game. Twenty-four percent of respondents hate it the most, and the debate between canned and homemade rages. Homemade cranberry sauce is preferred by 37% of respondents, while 35% say they'd rather have canned. Of those who prefer canned, 68% leave it in the shape of the can, opening themselves up to endless ridicule.
Thanks to Dorcas Reilly, who worked in Campbell's test kitchen in the 1950s, Thanksgiving isn't complete without a green bean casserole for many families. On the other hand, 25% of people hate everything about it: The canned beans, the canned cream soup, and the canned onions. It's the Turkey Day dish that most exemplifies the love-hate relationship many Americans have with retro convenience foods.
Related: 25 Betty Crocker-Era Holiday Recipes That We Secretly Love
Drum roll, please: The most-hated Thanksgiving side is candied yams, with 27% of respondents voicing their distaste. The dish consists of sliced or cubed sweet potatoes — not yams, though 39% of survey respondents think they're the same thing — swimming in a gooey, sticky sauce full of sugar. Like sweet potato casserole, this one rubs the desserts-don't-belong-on-the-dinner-table folks the wrong way. It's also a dish that is sometimes made from a can, giving it two strikes for many folks. That all adds up to one very hated Thanksgiving dish.
