6 Old-School Recipes That No One Makes Anymore (2024)

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6 Old-School Recipes That No One Makes Anymore (1)

We all have those one or two recipes from grandma that have been passed down for generations, and they bring back so many memories of family fun around the table. However, what about old recipes that have been forgotten?

While the depression greatly affected how people fed their families, we can’t overlook the imagination and tenacity of past generations. Many of these recipes are easy on the budget, which makes them a great choice to add to modern tables, given the recent rise in inflation at the grocery store.

Article continues below.

These old-school recipes may sound odd, but they are quite delicious! Consider trying one of these vintage recipes out, and you may even add one to your regular meal rotation.

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Main Dishes

Vintage recipes were designed to be hearty and feed a crowd. Families often had a lot more kids in the house than we do these days, making it even more important to satisfy bellies and stretch the budget.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

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Canned tuna is often an overlooked protein that is relatively cheap. Tuna noodle casserole is an old-school dish that could feed an army and was still tasty. It includes the classic casserole mixture of protein, noodles, vegetables, and creamy sauce.

You can substitute cornflakes for the bread crumbs and add in other veggies that your family prefers. Easily double this recipe if feeding more than four people. Bring back this old-school recipe this week!

Ingredients:

  • 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 2 cans tuna in water, drained
  • 2 cups cooked egg noodles
  • 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Mix together the soup, milk, peas, tuna, and noodles together in a large bowl.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Pour into a greased 1.5-quart casserole dish.
  • Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until hot.
  • Meanwhile, combine the bread crumbs and butter in a small bowl.
  • Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the hot casserole and place back into the oven for 5 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden brown. Serves 4.

Cabbage Soup

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While you may get mega Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibes with this recipe, it was a staple for many homes for a good reason. Cabbage soup takes a cheap and easy-to-find vegetable and turns it into something that could fill you up.

Even if the main part of the soup consisted of hot water, many families relied on soup to help fill up bellies, and they could be stretched to accommodate guests or random neighborhood kids by just adding a bit more water to the pot.

Ingredients:

  1. 3 tablespoons olive oil
  2. ½ onion, chopped
  3. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  4. 2 quarts water
  5. 4 cups chicken stock
  6. 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  7. ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
  8. ½ head cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
  9. 1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, drained and diced

Directions:

  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stockpot.
  2. Stir in the onion and garlic; cook until the onion is transparent.
  3. Add in the water, chicken stock, salt, and pepper.
  4. Bring to a boil and stir in cabbage.
  5. Simmer until the cabbage wilts, about 10 minutes.
  6. Stir in the tomatoes and return the soup to a boil.
  7. Simmer for about 15-30 minutes, stirring often. Serves 8.

Side Dishes

Classic old-school recipes included side dishes that were quick and easy to make. Both of these recipes could be seen on any table a century ago as a way to round out a meal. Just chop and chill for a classic dish that no one seems to make anymore.

Waldorf Salad

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Said to originate from a fancy hotel in New York City, the Waldorf salad really isn’t fussy or fancy at all. This simple combination of fruits and vegetables makes it a great addition to any table at any time of the year.

The key to making a great Waldorf salad is to chop all of the ingredients into the same bite-sized pieces. There are many variations of this old-school dish, so mix and match to your heart’s content!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups tart apples, diced
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 cup grapes, halved
  • ½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup whipping cream
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. Add the diced apples into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice.
  2. Toss the apples to coat.
  3. Add in the celery, grapes, and nuts and mix.
  4. In another bowl, whip the whipping cream until peaks form, and then gently fold in the mayonnaise.
  5. Add the cream mixture into the apple bowl and gently fold together.
  6. Season with salt and fold again.
  7. Chill the mixture for at least one hour before serving. Serves 6.

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

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Another old-school side dish that includes fruit and cream is the ambrosia salad. While you can find people making fruit salad these days, ambrosia salad takes it one step further by adding marshmallows.

Really, this salad could be considered dessert with how sweet it is. As with any of these classic recipes, home cooks were known for making their own versions, so use what you have on hand and be very creative with this one!

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • ½ cup vanilla yogurt
  • 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
  • 1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
  • 1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
  • 1 cup maraschino cherries, drained
  • ½ cup chopped pecans, optional
  • 1 ½ cups mini fruit-flavored marshmallows

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, stir together the whipped topping and yogurt.
  2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and gently fold together so that everything is combined but not crushed.
  3. Chill this salad for at least one hour before serving. Serves 8.

Desserts

While some Americans have dessert with almost every meal, a dessert a century ago usually appeared after dinner. Sugar was sometimes expensive and hard to come by, so many home cooks used what they had on hand to make it work.

Bread Pudding

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Many home chefs made their own bread every day to serve to the family, and sometimes there was some bread left over. Bread pudding is a great dish that uses this old bread for a sweet treat.

It doesn’t require any kind of special ingredient and is a warm dessert, making it satisfy stomachs at the end of a hard day. Try making this dessert tonight!

Ingredients:

  • 5-6 cups of bread, cut into 2-inch cubes
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • Salt, to taste
  • 2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Grease a 1.5-quart baking dish and layer in cubed bread into the dish.
  3. Add milk, butter, vanilla, sugar, and salt into a small saucepan over low heat.
  4. Cook the mixture together until the butter melts, then take it off the heat and allow it to cool.
  5. Once the milk mixture is cool, add eggs to the pan and whisk.
  6. Pour the mixture over the bread and allow the bread to soak in the liquid for at least an hour.
  7. Bake the bread pudding for 30-45 minutes, or until custard is set and edges are brown.
  8. It is okay if the middle is still a little wobbly.
  9. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 6-8.

Bananas Foster

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Another old-school dessert includes more ingredients that you probably already have in the cupboard. Bananas foster is easy to make and is a sweet mixture of fruit, rum, and ice cream, making it a real treat!

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup butter
  • ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
  • 3 ½ tablespoons rum
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • 1-pint vanilla ice cream

Directions:

  1. Melt butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.
  2. Stir in the brown sugar, rum, vanilla, and cinnamon.
  3. Bring to a low boil and place the bananas and walnuts into the pan.
  4. Cook the bananas until they have softened, about 1-2 minutes.
  5. Turn the bananas over in the mixture so that both sides are glazed.
  6. To serve, scoop ice cream into bowls and place bananas on top.
  7. Pour the rum sauce over the bananas. Serves 4.

These old-school recipes may not be modern dishes, but they did the job of filling up bellies and satisfying the taste buds of our grandparents a century ago. Step back in time and consider making one main dish, side dish, and dessert for your crew this week as an ode to the good old days.

No matter what you choose, you’ll get a different mix of flavors, and a meal that is light on the budget since most of these ingredients are already in your kitchen.

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FAQs

6 Old-School Recipes That No One Makes Anymore? ›

Sprite, Gatorade, pop tarts, and tang were all new to the 1960s market. Tang became incredibly popular when astronauts took it to space! Metrecal was the fad diet of the 1960's. THey sold meal replacement shakes, cookies and soups.

What are some of the oldest recipes? ›

The World's 10 Oldest Dishes And Where They Are Today
  1. Indian curry, circa 2200-2500 B.C. ...
  2. Pancakes, circa 11650 B.C. ...
  3. Linzer Torte, circa 1653. ...
  4. Tamales, circa 5000 B.C. ...
  5. Burgers, circa 100 century A.D. ...
  6. Mesopotamian Stew, circa 2140 B.C., and bone broth, circa 400 B.C. ...
  7. Rice dishes, circa 4530 B.C. ...
  8. Beer, circa 3500 B.C.
Sep 2, 2023

What is a very difficult meal to make? ›

The World's Most Difficult Dishes to Prepare
  • The Fugu Puffer Fish. A Japanese delicacy, this deadly dish's organs contain a neurotoxin 1,000 times more powerful than cyanide. ...
  • Mole Poblano. Some date this difficult dish from as far back as 500 years ago. ...
  • Soufflé ...
  • Turducken. ...
  • Consommé
Nov 14, 2017

What food was invented in the 1960s? ›

Sprite, Gatorade, pop tarts, and tang were all new to the 1960s market. Tang became incredibly popular when astronauts took it to space! Metrecal was the fad diet of the 1960's. THey sold meal replacement shakes, cookies and soups.

What food was popular in 1963? ›

Chicken and dumplings, pot roast, casseroles, fried chicken and biscuits were just a few of readers' favorite dishes that are as popular now as they were in 1963, but few of us are killing the chickens we eat.

What is the oldest dish we still eat? ›

There is evidence that rice was being eaten by humans at least 13,500 years ago. Rice is therefore one of the oldest foods that we still eat today.

What is the oldest food we still eat? ›

First found in a tomb in Ancient Egypt, honey is about 5,500 years old. Revered in ancient Egypt, honey remains edible over long periods. In 2015, while excavating tombs in Egypt, the archaeologists found about 3000-year-old honey that was fully edible.

What is the easiest food in the world to make? ›

17 Of The Easiest Recipes Of All Time (Seriously)
  • Honey Balsamic Chicken. ...
  • Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps. ...
  • White Bean Soup With Vegetables. ...
  • Smoked Gouda and Mushroom Quesadillas. ...
  • Sheet Pan Lemon Butter Veggies and Sausage. ...
  • Scrambled Egg Tacos. ...
  • 15-Minute Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry. ...
  • One-Pot Chicken and Rice with Artichokes.
Jan 2, 2019

What is the hardest meat to cook? ›

Brisket takes about twice as long to turn tender as do other braising cuts. We've always thought that's because brisket has more chewy collagen (the main component in meat's connective tissue) than other cuts, which needs more time to convert to soft gelatin for the meat to fully tenderize.

What is the world's most difficult food? ›

World's 10 Most Challenging Foods
  1. 1 Sardinian Maggot Cheese. ...
  2. 2 Peruvian Guinea Pig. ...
  3. 3 Filipino “Balut” ...
  4. 4 Mongolian Horse Milk. ...
  5. 5 Japanese Gizzard Soup. ...
  6. 6 Cambodian Tarantulas. ...
  7. 7 Moroccan Sheep's Head. ...
  8. 8 Icelandic “Hakarl”

What candy came out in 1960? ›

Ready to burst with that fruity and juicy candy flavour that only the iconic Starburst Candy can deliver! It started off in England in 1960 and was originally named "Opal Fruits".

What food was popular in the 70s? ›

18 retro dishes from your childhood
  • Bombe Alaska. Nothing screams the 70s quite like sponge, ice cream and meringue drenched in rum and set on fire, right? ...
  • Vol-au-vents. ...
  • Mini ham and pineapple pizzas. ...
  • Battenberg cake. ...
  • Scotch eggs. ...
  • Cheese fondue. ...
  • Crepes Suzette. ...
  • Apricot chicken.

What snack came out in 1962? ›

Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin introduced Goldfish crackers to the United States in 1962 after having tried them while on vacation in Switzerland. The five initial flavors of Goldfish crackers launched in the US were lightly salted (later designated "original"), cheese, barbecue, pizza, and smoky.

What food came out in 1966? ›

One of the biggest snacks of the 1960s that we still enjoy today are Doritos, which were invented in 1966 at a Frito Lay restaurant in Disneyland, according to Insider. Other treats invented in the 60s include Oatmeal Creme Pies, Starburst, Sprite and Pop-Tarts.

What food was invented in 1958? ›

In 1958, a new food was invented with the goal to help. end hunger in Japan. That food was a 29-cent pack of. instant ramen.

What is the oldest known dessert? ›

Ashure (Noah's Pudding) is thought to be the oldest dessert in the world, first made by Noah after his fabled landfall at Mt Ararat. It is a delightful mix of dried fruit, nuts, grains and beans (yes, beans!) made in Turkey and all over the Middle East. Give it a try - you'll be glad you did!

What food did they eat 100 years ago? ›

Bread, potatoes, cabbage, beans, and various kinds of cereal were the base of local cuisine. There was usually only one dish per meal on the table on regular days. On holidays, there could be several dishes served during the same meal, but they were the same as those cooked on regular days, as a rule.

What is the oldest known casserole? ›

Macaroni and cheese is the oldest written casserole recipe found in 1250.

What food did they eat in the olden days? ›

The only kind of stuff you could eat year-round would be stuff like grains (barley, rice, buckwheat, flour, oats), dried legumes (beans, split peas, lentils), dried nuts and seeds, dried fruits (think of stuff like prunes, raisins, dates, etc.)

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