Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Some students will be celebrating Thanksgiving on campus while others will return home for the festivities. We asked Oregon State University students what Thanksgiving food they cannot wait to gorge on this year, as well as their favorite traditions to celebrate the season.

Bob Kaplan, third-year mechanical engineering student

“Turkey, because protein is just the best,” Kaplan said. “I eat until I’m comatose, then do it again when I wake up.”

Devin Bright, third-year computer science student

“Mashed potatoes, because they just taste better on Thanksgiving,” Bright said.

Brandon Addington, third-year business administration student

“Mashed potatoes, because it’s the only good food served at a Thanksgiving table,” Addington said.

Allison Kemmerer, second-year zoology student

“Roasted yams with marshmallows, because it’s nostalgic and super sweet,” Kemmerer said.

Chloe Hubbard, third-year natural resources student

“Stuffing, because my mom makes the absolute best,” Hubbard said. “Usually stuffing has sausage in it but, to accommodate my vegetarian diet, she will substitute for vegetarian soya crumbles that have the same flavor/texture. Stuffing has so much flavor of sweet and savory.”

Mayri Ross, third-year Human Development and Family Sciences and Pre-Education student

“Mashed potatoes; even if they feel like glue, they taste like heaven,” Ross said. “They go well with any take on Thanksgiving, are good for everyone besides people with potato allergies and they taste amazing with butter, salt, garlic and some herbs. My family and I host a Friendsgiving with steak instead, and donate money to Indigenous causes in observance of the truth behind the ‘first Thanksgiving.’”

Noah Oliver, third-year computer science student

“Stuffing—I feel like it is unique enough to the holiday time that I look forward to having it every year,” Oliver said. “My family doesn’t really eat stuffing aside from for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, so both the phenomenal taste and lack of stuffing throughout the year combine to make it my favorite Thanksgiving food.”

Yaoyu Tan, first-year Master of Science in Business supply chain analytics graduate student

“Cranberry sauce,” Tan said. “I am a Chinese international student and we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in China. As much as I love indulging myself with turkey meat and stuffings, it’s always the smaller and lighter things on the table that attracts me the most. Cranberry sauce just happens to be one of them.”

Olivia Hathaway, fourth-year math student

“Controversial pick, but I love the turkey,” Hathaway said. “My family has a Traeger that we cook it in and I love eating it with the mashed potatoes. It comes out just how I like it every year. My mom has a cheesecake recipe that she always made when I was younger, and now I make it every year. It is individual mini cheesecakes so they are really easy to grab and eat. Because they are such a staple, there’s a few family members that secretly grab and hide them around my grandma’s house so they can have dibs on them before dinner even starts! My grandma has said she’s found moldy cheesecakes hidden on the top shelves of cabinets before from people hiding too many and forgetting where they put them, like a squirrel with nuts in the winter.”

Daniella Beci, fourth-year nutrition student

“Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because I love every single dish, but my favorite is scalloped potatoes because they’re so creamy and soft,” Beci said.