13 Thanksgiving Foods Everyone Secretly Hates

We're all about munching on snacks and finger foods before dinner, but a bowl of hot soup is just a distraction from the main event, and can put you in danger of filling up before it's time for your favorite courses.

Raw veggies and heavy dips are the cold equivalent of a Thanksgiving soup appetizer—unnecessary, boring, and filling in a bad way (who wants carrots sticks before pounds of mashed potatoes!?).

Whether it's made from scratch or still shaped like the can it came out of, cranberry sauce is overly tart—borderline bitter—and is seriously pointless amid the rest of the Thanksgiving spread. Don't even get us started on cranberry relish.

Of course nobody hates dinner rolls themselves, but once we realize that the carb-y clouds have taken up precious space in our stomachs, we definitely curse their existence. Steer clear of any and all bread—that means biscuits and crescent rolls, too—to avoid tapping out early.

Your grandma makes them every year, and you take a spoonful to be polite, but pearl onions swimming in bland cream sauce have never hit the spot—and don't help the breath situation during dinnertime chit-chat.

Sure, it's managed to hold down a place at the American Thanksgiving table for over 60 years, but this soggy staple is merely tradition at this point. The green bean and mushroom soup mixture is insanely mushy, and the casserole's only redeeming quality is the crispy topping of French fried onions on top.

It seems almost blasphemous to say aloud, but if you ask us, turkey plays second fiddle to most other items on the Thanksgiving table. Too often the host cooks it to death, and if not for tradition's sake, we probably wouldn't bother chewing our way through the bland meat. No one will notice if you fill up on the real stars—stuffing and mashed potatoes—instead!

Sure, it's a fun idea in theory, but anyone who's actually brought a turducken to a Thanksgiving dinner can attest it's not nearly as fun in reality. Plain old turkey is better. Forgoing all turkey-related proteins is the best.

Creamy, savory gravy is the only condiment we're interested in on Turkey Day, so don't phone it in with flavorless, store-bought gravy that comes in a jar, can or carton. Making it from scratch takes less than 15 minutes, and if you made your own turkey, you most likely have everything you need.

Can we please save boring corn, carrots and Brussels sprouts for like, any other night of year? This holiday is our chance to indulge, and we'd like every part of the meal to be topped with cheese and breadcrumbs or baked with all manner of creamy things in gratin form.

Similarly to the plain veggie sides we just discussed, salads are just...unwanted at a gluttonous Thanksgiving meal. Even the prettiest, most festive of salads fall flat when placed next to carb-filled stuffing and marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes.

We'll admit there are some creative uses of Jell-O that have won us over—like this Strawberry Pretzel Tart—but bringing a quivering gelatin mold to Thanksgiving should not be considered a real contribution. We've seen some scary versions that have vegetables suspended inside (no thanks), and even the fruity varieties are lame excuses for dessert. Go for festive Jell-O shots instead.

We can't get enough of sweet potatoes when they're baked into soufflés or casseroles and topped with toasted marshmallows, but somehow enjoying them for dessert just feels wrong. Sorry Patti LaBelle — though pumpkin pie is polarizing too, there's something so classic about finishing your meal with a slice of it, and sweet potato just can't compete.