If you’re traveling by air this holiday season, you’re far from alone: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects that 2024 will bring some of the busiest holiday travel days ever recorded. (Better pack your patience.)

So if you plan to travel with food this holiday season — whether on your way to visit loved ones, or on your way back home with gifts or leftovers — being prepared is key. If you don’t know the rules about what you can legally carry through TSA checkpoints, you may end up being the source of an annoyed bottleneck in a snaking line behind you — or see that favorite dish tossed right into the bin. 

Here’s the good news: Most foods can actually be carried through TSA security checkpoints. But some holiday favorites will have to go into your checked baggage. Here’s the rule of thumb, according to the TSA: “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.”

To help you handle all those traveling delectables this holiday season, here’s a handy cheat sheet to what holiday foods you can bring through the TSA checkpoint in your carry-on luggage and which ones you must check instead.

Holiday Food That Can Go in Your Carry-on

• Baked goods and candies. This includes homemade or store-bought and packaged pies, cakes, cookies, brownies, chocolates, and more.
• Meats. Whether cooked or uncooked, and whether frozen or thawed, meats are A-OK to bring through TSA checkpoints. So your holiday turkey, ham, chicken, and steak are all good to go. 
• Stuffing. Boxed or bagged stuffings, cooked or uncooked, are all fine to take through TSA checkpoints.
• Casseroles. Casseroles count as a solid, so green bean casserole, baked macaroni and cheese, and all the other holiday favorites work as carry-on items.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables. Apples, pears, cranberries, yams, potatoes, and all the other fresh produce you need for your holiday dishes work in your carryon.
• Spices. The spices you need to prepare your holiday dishes are all fair game to bring with you in the airplane cabin, as are any spices you give or receive as gifts.

Holiday Foods That Must Go in Checked Luggage

• Cranberry sauce. This counts as a spreadable item and must be checked.
• Preserves, jams, and jellies. These items, too, are spreadable, so they need to be checked.
• Gravy. Whether the gravy is homemade or store-bought in a jar or can, it’s a liquid and can’t pass through TSA security in your carry-on.
• Canned fruit or vegetables. Yes, fresh fruits and veggies can go in your carry-on. But canned versions that have liquid in them must be checked.
• Maple syrup. Albeit a thick one, syrup is a liquid and must go in your checked bag.
• Preserves, jams, and jellies. These items are also spreadable, so they should be checked.
• Wine. Popular to give and receive as a host or holiday gift, these bottles are responsible for a lot of bag checking during the festive season. Wine, champagne, sparkling cider, and all other festive drinks must be checked.

While you’re focused on wrapping and packing food items this holiday season, don’t forget about food safety, too: If you need to keep items cold while you travel, you can bring ice packs through TSA screening checkpoints in your carry-on. But do note that they must be fully frozen and cannot have melted by the time you reach the screening point.

Bon voyage… and bon appétit!