Thanksgiving produce prices 2026
Updated with supermarket flyers for the week of October 23, 2026, from USDA
Thanksgiving is November 26, 29 days away. Sweet potatoes, cranberries, celery, Brussels sprouts and mandarins usually get much cheaper the week before, when supermarkets run their holiday sales, so it pays to wait. Green beans, mushrooms, pears and garlic usually cost a bit more by then.
Buy now or wait?
Right now, cranberries, carrots, apples, oranges, mandarins and bagged salad are cheaper than usual for this time of year. Sweet potatoes, celery, Brussels sprouts, green beans, onions, mushrooms and garlic are pricier than usual.
| Item | On sale now | Last Thanksgiving week | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet potatoesFresh-harvested and cured. | $1.21/lb | $0.66 | Wait for the saleWait for the holiday sale: usually 37% cheaper Thanksgiving week, when 6 times as many stores put it on sale. |
| Brussels sproutsPeak fall harvest. | $3.46for 1 lb | $2.45 | Wait for the saleWait for the holiday sale: usually 20% cheaper Thanksgiving week, when 5 times as many stores put it on sale. |
| CranberriesFresh harvest. | $2.29for 12 oz | $1.97 | Wait for the saleWait for the holiday sale: usually 19% cheaper Thanksgiving week, when 8 times as many stores put it on sale. |
| MandarinsImports from Peru, Chile and South Africa. | $4.78for 3 lb | $4.08 | Wait for the saleWait for the holiday sale: usually 15% cheaper Thanksgiving week, when 3 times as many stores put it on sale. |
| CeleryGrown all year in California. | $2.00each | $1.29 | Wait for the saleWait for the holiday sale: usually 13% cheaper Thanksgiving week, when 6 times as many stores put it on sale. |
| Potatoes (Russet)New-crop potatoes. | $2.97for 5 lb | $2.79 | No rushUsually little change by Thanksgiving week. Buy whenever it suits you. |
| Onions (Yellow)Fresh or from storage all year. | $3.12for 3 lb | $2.68 | No rushUsually little change by Thanksgiving week. Buy whenever it suits you. |
| Carrots (Baby peeled)Grown and stored all year. | $1.20for 1 lb | $1.32 | No rushUsually little change by Thanksgiving week. Buy whenever it suits you. |
| Bagged saladBagged greens all year. | $2.30for 10-12 oz | $2.81 | No rushUsually little change by Thanksgiving week. Buy whenever it suits you. |
| Oranges (Navel)Valencias and imports from South Africa and Chile; juicy but often greener-skinned. | $1.19/lb | $1.64 | No rushUsually little change by Thanksgiving week. Buy whenever it suits you. |
| Apples (Honeycrisp)New-crop apples, fresh from the fall harvest. | $1.83/lb | $1.74 | No rushUsually little change by Thanksgiving week. Buy whenever it suits you. |
| GarlicFrom storage and imports all year. | $2.33a sleeve | $2.05 | Buy aheadBuy ahead if you see a good price: it usually costs 6% more by Thanksgiving week, and it keeps. |
| Pears (Bartlett)New-crop Bartlett, Anjou and Bosc from the Pacific Northwest. | $1.71/lb | $1.71 | Buy on a good saleUsually 9% more by Thanksgiving week. Buy when you see a good sale, a few days ahead. |
| Green beans (Round green)Grown all year in rotating regions. | $2.75/lb | $1.95 | Buy on a good saleUsually 9% more by Thanksgiving week. Buy when you see a good sale, a few days ahead. |
| Mushrooms (White)Grown indoors all year. | $2.27for 8 oz | $1.97 | Buy on a good saleUsually 11% more by Thanksgiving week. Buy when you see a good sale, a few days ahead. |
“Usually” is the median change in the average flyer sale price from this point in the fall to Thanksgiving week, 2016 to 2025 (five years for items added in 2021). Sale prices, not everyday shelf prices.
Questions shoppers ask
When is the best time to buy produce for Thanksgiving?
For sweet potatoes, cranberries, celery and Brussels sprouts, the week before Thanksgiving: supermarkets put them on sale then, and prices usually drop well below late-October levels. Green beans and mushrooms usually go the other way, so buy them when you see a good sale.
Are Thanksgiving vegetables more expensive this year?
Right now, cranberries, carrots, apples, oranges, mandarins and bagged salad are cheaper than usual for this time of year. Sweet potatoes, celery, Brussels sprouts, green beans, onions, mushrooms and garlic are pricier than usual.
Why are sweet potatoes and cranberries so cheap at Thanksgiving?
Stores use them as holiday specials to bring shoppers in, so many more stores put them on sale that week; in past years six to eight times as many stores ran sales on them as in late October.