Worst Thanksgiving Food that Should Be Forbidden

Ever wonder what the worst Thanksgiving foods are? Thanksgiving is known for its delicious feasts, but let’s be honest—some vintage dishes are downright terrible! From gelatin-based nightmares to dried-out turkeys, this list of the worst Thanksgiving foods will have you laughing along with Reddit’s funniest commentary. Get ready for a trip down memory lane, filled with culinary disasters!

Ambrosia Salad

Even though it has a rather specific ingredient combo, Ambrosia salad still makes an appearance at Thanksgiving tables very often. The original recipe calls for a canned fruit cocktail, mini marshmallows, shredded coconut, and sour cream, but one aunt decided to swap cream for mayo.

She hoped to take her Ambrosia salad to the next level. News Flesh: it did NOT! The best thing is that everyone had to find a creative way to avoid putting it on their plate so the aunt wouldn’t notice! It was definitely a running joke in the family for years!

Turducken Fail

I mean, turducken is an ambitious three-bird roast that sounds like the ultimate Thanksgiving treat, but if you’re not a great cook, it is a recipe for disaster. It is a turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken, so it is tricky to bake it. It is huge and thick, and if the insides are undercooked – you can toss it in the bin because it is unsafe to eat.

Southern Pear Salad

This is a vintage recipe, but people on Reddit are confirming the salad is still making regular appearances at different get-togethers. One girl wrote, “I’d still starve before I’d eat one.” and I totally get it! If you don’t know what this salad is, let me explain: canned pear half with a spoonful of mayo in the middle, shredded cheddar on top, and a maraschino cherry for a finishing touch. There are people who love it, though!

Giblet Gravy

There are like a million posts and stories about how much people hate giblet gravy. The sight of the organ meats floating in gravy is definitely not the most pleasant one, but hey, some people really enjoy it.

Sunshine Salad

Many people adore this, and others are dreading it! It is a weird combo whatsoever – jello, carrots, and pineapple. It looks like an orange, jiggly pound cake, and I really don’t know what to feel about it.

Tomato Aspic

I really don’t know how to explain this one… One Reddit user knew, though, as they said tomato aspic looks like a wiggly blood clot, and it is spot on! Some people add chopped green olives or celery in, so yeah, it’s a jelly bloody Mary.

I need to quote this post because I laughed so hard at the description: “Tomato aspic is what happens when you take all the joy out of tomatoes and put it into a wobbly mold.” It is oddly specific yet super accurate.

Candle Salad

I don’t know what I expected, but this is not it! Reddit has a whole thread about this one, and people are mortified (it does NOT resemble a candle). It definitely looks weird, but hey, at least it is edible!

Salad with Meat Gelatin

It is even worse than it sounds! For this one, you need to make gelatin with meat broth, pour it into the mold, and enrich it with meat pieces, eggs, and veggies. People say it is even more horrendous when you top it with a layer of mayonnaise or sour cream on top as garnishing. 

Watergate Salad

This is a fluffy dessert made with pistachio pudding mix, crushed pineapple, marshmallows, nuts, and coconut. I bursted out laughing when I read a post on Twitter that basically said it looks like something from a science project, and it is true!  

Watergate salad tastes incredibly sweet, plus the texture of marshmallows and pineapple becomes suspiciously slimy because of the pistachio pudding. 

Overcooked Turkey

Turkey is the superstar of the Thanksgiving table, so you know that a badly prepared one can’t go unnoticed. Undercooked turkey is a safety hazard, but overcooked turkey is an inedible, chewy hell. Do you know the moment when the meat is so dry that even a gallon of gravy can’t save it?

It is best to admit the war is over and try to save a day with side dishes and desserts. 

Hot Dogs in Jello

One more horror story about jello recipes. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything this gross; it makes me shiver! I would love to know the thought process behind this recipe because I can’t comprehend it. Just imagine a bunch of WHOLE hot dogs and sliced pickles floating in seethrough jelly.

And, of course, it is in a famous ring mold! If anyone has tried this, I want to know how it tastes!

Waldorf Salad

This is one more salad drowned in mayonnaise with odd ingredient fusion. It marries apples, celery, walnuts, grapes, and sometimes marshmallows. The salad is actually a tradition, so many people make it just for that reason, not because it tastes good. 

Shrimp Mold

If you haven’t had your fair share of ring mold horror for today, here is one more. This is one of those dishes that no one knows what it is when you serve it. When they find out, though, it is an utter disappointment. Simply put, this is a shrimp in gelatine, wobbly and suspiciously pink-orange-ish in color. 

Tofurkey

If you’re confused about what this is, tofurkey is a vegan substitute for turkey. Those who tried to make it said it was so rubbery that the knife simply bounced off of the “roast.” The others, though, said they made it once and are now using it as a doorstop! 

Applesauce Jell-O Mold

This vintage dessert has odd ingredients: applesauce, cinnamon, evaporated milk, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and cherry-flavored jelly. It comes out in this uncanny pinkish shade of red, so you can’t put a finger on what it really is. I love the description from Twitter: “It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, and no one dared to try it.” Hahaha