Every Thanksgiving, families gather around tables loaded with turkey, stuffing, and all the traditional fixings.
But when dessert time rolls around, the real battle begins.
And pumpkin pie just crushed apple pie by nearly 2-to-1, leaving one Chicago baker celebrating what's become the season's undisputed champion.
Pumpkin Dominates Thanksgiving Despite Apple's Year-Round Reign
Paula Haney owns Hoosier Mama Pie Company in Chicago, and she's watching something remarkable happen every November.
For most of the year, apple pie is her top seller by a landslide.
"It is the only pie we bake out of season because there would be a riot if we did not have apple pie," Haney told Fox News Digital.¹
But when Thanksgiving arrives, the tables turn completely.
"Pumpkin pie outsells apple at Thanksgiving nearly 2-to-1," she explained.¹
That's not just happening in one Chicago bakery.
Instacart data from 2024 shows pumpkin pie orders surged more than 2,000% the day before Thanksgiving, crushing every other flavor by a mile.²
The numbers back up what Haney sees in her own shop.
A YouGov poll found 29% of Americans pick pumpkin as their favorite Thanksgiving pie, while apple came in second at just 20%.³
In other words, pumpkin isn't just winning the holiday dessert wars — it's dominating them.
The Data Reveals What Democrats Don't Want You To Know About Regional Pride
Here's where it gets interesting.
About 90% of the nation's canned pumpkin is grown in Illinois, where Haney bakes her pies.¹
"For Chicagoans, there's a little local pride in every slice," she said.¹
But this isn't just about Illinois bragging rights.
The West Coast loves pumpkin pie, with California, Oregon, and Washington leading the charge.⁴
The South goes heavy for pecan pie in Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, while sweet potato pie dominates in Georgia, Maryland, and North Carolina.⁴
The Midwest? They're all about that French silk pie in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.⁴
Apple pie still holds strong in the Northeast, where orchards have supplied bakers since colonial times.⁵
But when you look at Thanksgiving specifically, pumpkin crushes apple nationwide.
Pumpkin's Seasonal Power Drives The Demand
Celebrity chef Jason Smith knows why pumpkin dominates despite what people claim about their preferences.
"Most people do not like the texture of pumpkin pie," Smith told Fox News Digital.¹
Wait, what?
"But it has to be on the buffet or something just doesn't seem right," he added. "It's just not Thanksgiving without it."¹
That's the secret right there.
Apple pie works year-round — summer picnics, random weeknight desserts, Fourth of July cookouts.
Pumpkin pie shows up in late October and vanishes by December.
That scarcity builds anticipation that year-round pies can't touch.
Instacart data proves it — sweet potato, pumpkin, and pecan pies saw the most dramatic surges at Thanksgiving, while apple rose gradually throughout fall.⁴
Haney sees the pumpkin obsession firsthand.
"People will request a pumpkin pie in July," she said. "Anything with pumpkin sells. We make pumpkin muffins, we make pumpkin bread, we make pumpkin scones and people just go crazy."¹
Her shop whips pumpkin for chiffon pie, blends it with ginger for cheesecake, swirls it with chocolate for chess pie, and even fuses it with apple for sour cream Dutch apple pie with walnuts.¹
Native American History Gives Pumpkin The Edge
Here's what apple pie fans don't want to admit.
Pumpkins are native to North America, cultivated by Native Americans for thousands of years before European settlers arrived.⁶
When the Wampanoag people met the Pilgrims in 1621, they brought pumpkins as gifts and taught the settlers how to prepare them.⁷
That history gives pumpkin pie a connection to American harvest traditions that apple pie, despite all its popularity, can't match.
Apple pie? It originated in England in the 1300s, and apples aren't even native to North America except for one variety of wild crab apple.⁸
European settlers brought apple seeds and cuttings when they arrived at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.⁸
Both pies became American classics over centuries.
But pumpkin owns Thanksgiving because it's tied directly to the first harvest celebration between Native Americans and Pilgrims.
That's American history you can taste.
And Haney isn't making people choose sides.
Although she secretly prefers sweet potato pie herself, Haney brings both pumpkin and apple to her family's celebration every year.
"You always have to have both," she said.¹
¹ Deirdre Bardolf, "Pumpkin or apple? America's fiercest Thanksgiving dessert debate heats up," Fox News, November 15, 2025.
² Perishable News, "This is Officially America's Favorite Thanksgiving Pie," November 13, 2025.
³ Washington Times, "Pumpkin or apple? The face off for America's favorite holiday pie," November 11, 2025.
⁴ ABC17 News, "Easy as pie: A look at Thanksgiving's most beloved dessert," November 15, 2025.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ The Fact Site, "Why Do We Eat Pumpkin Pie At Thanksgiving?," July 10, 2025.
⁷ I Don't Know All The Answers, "Apple Pie vs. Pumpkin Pie: A Thanksgiving Story," November 27, 2024.
⁸ Yahoo Life, "History of Thanksgiving pies: Apple, pumpkin, pecan and more," November 27, 2020.
