New Hampshire Favors Apple Pie and Potatoes for Thanksgiving
Apple pie and potatoes are New Hampshire’s favorite Thanksgiving dessert and side dish pairing, according to search data tracked by Only In Your State during November 2025.
The Tech TL;DR:
- Granite Staters buck the national sweet-potato trend by pairing apple desserts with savory potatoes.
- The specific combination of apple pie or crumble and potatoes appears in only four states nationwide.
- Search parameters covered all 50 states and Washington, D.C., analyzing 12 pies and 18 side dishes.
Turkey dinners across the country usually stick to familiar scripts, but New Hampshire’s combination of desserts and sides stands out as unusually specific. Between all 50 states and Washington, D.C., search algorithms found 51 unique pairings in total.
Only three other places matched New Hampshire’s exact mix of fresh-baked fruit pastry and hearty spuds. The most popular match nationwide pairs pumpkin pie with sweet potatoes, sweet potato casserole, or yams, taking the top spot seven times.
Granite Staters skipped that national favorite in favor of fresh-baked apple and potatoes. The search data groups apple pie and apple crumble together, meaning the double-crust classic and its crumb-topped cousin share the top spot. Together, they outpaced pumpkin, pecan, chocolate, and every other dessert on the list in local queries.
For those looking to taste the winner rather than just read about it, Hanover serves as a primary destination. Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery serves up a Mile High apple pie made with local fruit. As the name suggests, they do not skimp on the filling.
Mashed, au gratin, and scalloped potatoes count as a single side in the search data, meaning whether families make fluffy spuds or a bubbling casserole, it contributes to the win. Nationwide, that specific potato grouping placed second among all side dishes, surpassed only by the sweet potato category. New Hampshire ensures its side dishes remain entirely savory, reserving all the sweetness for the dessert course instead.
New Hampshire has company right down in southern New England. Apple pie or crumble combined with potatoes unites Connecticut and Rhode Island in this distinct four-state New England preference. Apple dessert loyalty stretches beyond the region, topping searches in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Immediate neighbors do not follow the pattern quite as neatly. Massachusetts matches the potato preference while selecting cranberry pie instead of apple, whereas Maine carves out a distinct path featuring blueberry pie alongside cranberry sauce. Both of those states incorporate cranberry into their holiday meals, though Massachusetts assigns it to dessert while Maine uses it as a side dish.