Friday, October 17, 2025

Here’s a List of Thanksgiving Foods That Are Allowed Through TSA Security Checkpoints

You desperately want to take that beloved stuffing on board with you on your way to visit family for Thanksgiving, but can you? The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) gives a rundown of food items that can go through security checkpoints without issues.

A general rule of thumb according to the TSA is, “if it’s a solid item, then it can go through a checkpoint. However, if you can spill it, spread it, spray it, pump it or pour it, and it’s larger than 3.4 ounces, then it should go in a checked bag.”

Here is a list of the foods that can fly with you in your carry-on and ones that need to go in checked luggage. Godspeed that yummy pie makes it!

Photo Credit: Юлия Чалова/Pexels

Thanksgiving foods that can be carried through a TSA checkpoint:

  • Baked goods. Homemade or store-bought pies, cakes, cookies, brownies and other sweet treats
  • Meats. Turkey, chicken, ham, steak. Frozen, cooked or uncooked
  • Stuffing. Cooked, uncooked, in a box or in a bag
  • Casseroles. Traditional green beans and onion straws or something more exotic
  • Mac ‘n Cheese. Cooked in a pan or traveling with the ingredients to cook it at your destination,
  • Fresh vegetables. Potatoes, yams, broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beets, radishes, carrots, squash, greens
  • Fresh fruit. Apples, pears, pineapple, lemons, limes, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, kiwi 
  • Candy.
  • Spices.
Photo Credit: Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

Thanksgiving foods that should be carefully packed in your checked luggage:

  • Cranberry sauce. Homemade or canned are spreadable, so check them.
  • Gravy. Homemade or in a jar/can.
  • Wine, champagne, sparking apple cider.
  • Canned fruit or vegetables. It’s got liquid in the can, so check them.
  • Preserves, jams and jellies. They are spreadable, so best to check them.
  • Maple syrup.

The TSA recommends placing those items in a clear plastic bag or other containers when packing them at home and then removing those items from your carry-on bag and placing them in a bin for screening at the checkpoint. You can also tweet @AskTSA to ask how best to travel with a specific food item too! TSA media spokespeople from various airlines can also weigh in!

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Amy Harris
Amy Harris is a writer and photographer who has been traveling for 20 years and flown over 2 million miles to visit over 80 countries on 6 continents. She is a freelance photographer for Invision by Associated Press, AP Images and Rex/Shutterstock. Her work can be seen in various publications and websites including: Rolling Stone, AP Images, National Geographic Books, Fodor’s Travel Guides, Forbes.com, Lonely Planet Travel Guides, JetStar magazine, and Delta Sky Magazine.

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