A new study reveals the most popular pumpkin food in every state — and shows the dominance of pumpkin bread.
The answer is probably pumpkin bread.
I really would’ve expected pumpkin pie — or the ever-famous pumpkin-spiced latte — to be higher on the list. But according to a new study, the most widely popular pumpkin food in the United States is pumpkin bread, representing the top Google search trend for pumpkin-related items in states from Alaska to South Carolina. Meanwhile, pumpkin pie ranked first in just North Dakota and Wyoming and the PSL claimed the title in South Dakota alone.
The study from the Coffeeness research team found some clustered results, but for the most part, regionality doesn’t explain people’s preferences here. Pumpkin soup reigns in Texas and Florida… but also New York and Michigan. A few Southwestern states favor pumpkin cookies — but so do Maine, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.
Pumpkin seeds in neighboring Louisiana and Mississippi, but also Hawaii. Pumpkin muffins rule in California and Massachusetts, but also my home state of North Carolina (where I’m obsessed with the pumpkin chocolate chip muffin at Spring Garden Bakery in Greensboro, NC).
Yet pumpkin bread won the day in 20 states — far more than runner-up muffins with 11.
“The data tells such a compelling story about American food culture,” Coffeeness CEO Arne Preuss said in a press release. “Pumpkin bread’s dominance in 20 states suggests that despite all our pumpkin innovations, the U.S. is still a nation that craves homestyle comfort food.”
Pumpkin bread proves to be particularly popular in more rural states (like Oklahoma, Oregon, and Vermont). People often make it with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin puree.
Explore the full results from the study below:
Want to try something more unexpected than the most popular pumpkin food? Experiment with this pumpkin pie cocktail recipe, or 19 of our other pumpkin favorites.