Thanksgiving’s snack opportunities revealed:
- Campbell’s finds 46% of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving would welcome a meal made entirely of sides.
- Familiar holiday flavours are moving into crisps, dips and spreads as consumers increasingly replace meals with snacks.
- Recipes using snacks as appetiser bases, toppings and accompaniments give established products more reasons to enter the shopping basket.
Turkey remains the linchpin of Thanksgiving dinner, but plenty of Americans would happily let the sides become the main event. According to Campbell’s latest State of the Sides Report, 46% of those celebrating would welcome a meal made entirely of accompaniments, rising to 65% among Gen Z and 56% among Millennials.
The affection extends well beyond politely accepting another spoonful of stuffing. Some 80% enjoy cooking the sides more than the turkey, while 86% expect to serve at least four this year, up from 70% in 2023. Campbell’s estimates around 749 million side dishes will reach Thanksgiving tables.
Producers have already recognised that Americans don’t need a roast dinner to enjoy its most popular flavours. Stuffing seasoning, roast turkey and cheesy potato dishes have found their way into snacks, bringing tastes associated with the holiday into more casual eating occasions. Their appeal also involves the richness consumers associate with those dishes: Campbell’s finds that 44% want more creaminess from their sides and 41% more cheesiness.
As more Americans replace conventional meals with snacks, those preferences give producers a clearer understanding of the flavours and textures consumers enjoy. Alongside seasonal products, recipe suggestions can give existing crackers, pretzels and other packaged foods a place in the celebration, whether as an appetiser, accompaniment or topping.
Americans are making a meal of the accompaniments
Campbell’s fifth annual State of the Sides Report, based on research by Reputation Leaders among 5,017 US adults who celebrate Thanksgiving, finds that 88% like the traditional accompaniments. Producers adapting those dishes have the advantage of flavours consumers already know and actively enjoy.
That familiarity has value in a market where snacks increasingly stand in for meals. Mondelēz’s 2026 State of Snacking report noted that 41% of US snack consumers eat snacks in place of a regular meal. Among snack consumers aged 18-24, 38% say snacking is less stressful than preparing meals, while 57% of those aged 25-34 consider snacks better value than a full meal.
Convenience and cost therefore influence the choice alongside appetite. A side or appetiser that’s easy to prepare and portion can become part of a meal consumers assemble for themselves, bringing it into competition with other dinner options.
Circana has identified a similar shift among European consumers, suggesting the behaviour extends beyond the US. “At a time when snacking has traditionally been between meals, what we’re finding is consumers are replacing a meal in some cases,” Ananda Roy, who leads Circana’s consumer packaged goods insights across EMEA, told us. “The opportunity to widen the repertoire of snacking has become a very real opportunity for growth.”
Campbell’s Thanksgiving findings add another consideration: consumers enjoy choosing among several dishes, with the accompaniments capable of supplying much of the pleasure themselves. Smaller foods give producers ways to participate in those combinations, rather than relying on a single product to supply the entire meal.
Holiday flavours have already escaped the dinner table
Lay’s is taking that approach into this year’s holiday season. Its Cheddar Scalloped-Style Potatoes and Roasted Holiday Turkey crisps translate both an accompaniment and the centrepiece into flavours consumers can eat straight from the bag. The scalloped potato version also taps into the appetite for cheesiness identified by Campbell’s.
Trader Joe’s explores similar territory with its Thanksgiving Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips, giving consumers the savoury flavour of stuffing without the preparation associated with the original dish.
These products let consumers enjoy the flavours of Thanksgiving whenever the craving strikes. Producers can draw on that familiarity to give an existing snack seasonal appeal, with stuffing or scalloped potatoes providing an alternative to another variation on cheese or barbecue.
Creamier dishes can travel through dips and spreads. PopUp Bagels explored that possibility in October through a limited-edition Spicy Mac & Cheese Schmear developed with Tabasco and chef Keegan McManus. Cream cheese, sharp cheddar, white cheddar and Parmesan brought richness to a spread customers could scoop with pieces of bagel.
Campbell’s findings suggest why mac & cheese makes a useful starting point. Some 57% consider it the dish everyone can agree on, while 51% identify it as the Thanksgiving dish they eat most often throughout the year, rising to 68% among Gen Z.
Consumers also allow considerable freedom to adapt it: 96% would consider an addition, including a different cheese, meat or spices. That gives developers scope to build on a familiar flavour while introducing something distinctive, as the spicy spread demonstrates.
Recipes can put an existing snack on the table
There’s also a way for manufacturers to earn a place in the celebration through products already on the shelf. Recipes that use packaged snacks as bases, toppings or accompaniments give shoppers another reason to add them to their basket.
Campbell’s provides recipe suggestions for foodservice operators, including Cheesy Mac Topped with Goldfish Cheddar Crackers, using the snack to add crunch to a creamy dish. Another pairs Goldfish crackers with a Mexican-inspired pasta casserole containing turkey, tomatoes, peppers and cheese.
Its green bean casserole bites recipe gives consumers a way to turn a familiar side into individual appetisers. Beans, mushroom soup and cheese fill Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, finished with crispy fried onions. Across these recipes, packaged foods contribute texture, accompany a meal or provide a casing that makes a dish easier to pick up and share.
Mondelēz makes the Thanksgiving connection explicit through its Holiday Monte Cristo Ritzwich recipe, available through its Snackworks platform. Leftover turkey, Swiss cheese, bacon and cranberry sauce sit between Ritz crackers, turning food remaining after the celebration into small sandwich bites. Its Cranberry-Cheese Bites offer a simpler combination of crackers, Brie and cranberry sauce.
General Mills extends the idea to foods served while guests gather. Its Thanksgiving recipe selection at Chex.com includes a Rosemary and Thyme Cocktail Chex Party Mix combining Corn and Rice Chex cereals, mixed nuts and bite-size crackers. Seasoning and assembly turn a product associated with breakfast into a savoury sharing snack.
Give the snack another job
Campbell’s findings suggest hosts want to expand the spread without multiplying the work: three-quarters are adding something new to their Thanksgiving table, but 57% prioritise convenience and 84% are open to preparing or assembling ingredients the night before.
A host looking for one more dish could turn crackers into appetisers or cereal into a sharing mix with a few extra ingredients. Showing how to do that gives producers another reason for shoppers to buy an existing product, particularly when the recipe saves time or makes use of food already in the kitchen.
Campbell’s research found that only 19% would change their green bean casserole recipe, suggesting producers may find a warmer welcome for an additional appetiser or crunchy accompaniment that brings variety without disturbing the dish everyone expects.
Seasonal flavours give shoppers a reason to try a snack; useful recipes give them more reasons to buy one they already know. Manufacturers can pursue both, drawing on the tastes people associate with Thanksgiving while showing how their products fit around the meal.
A bag of crackers, therefore, can carry the appetisers, add crunch to the sides and give leftover turkey another outing. That’s three jobs for one product and a more persuasive place on the shopping list than simply being another bag to open.
