12 Retro Dishes Popular Among Middle-Class Americans in the 1960s

TV Dinners: The Revolution on Aluminum Trays

The 1960s marked the golden age of TV dinners, transforming how middle-class American families approached mealtime forever. In 1954, Swanson sold ten million trays, with each TV dinner weighing 12 ounces and selling for 98 cents. Banquet Foods and Morton Frozen Foods soon brought out their own offerings, winning over more and more middle-class households across the country, and by the mid-1960s, the frozen food aisle had exploded with choices – from Salisbury steak to Mexican tamales to seafood platters. As prices dropped to around 59 cents, families began relying on them more regularly, and Swanson capitalized on this trend by introducing TV dinners, frozen prepackaged meals that could be heated and enjoyed within 30 minutes.

Jell-O Salads: The Wobbly Showstoppers

In the 1950s, Jell-O salad symbolized modernity and became a way for women to entertain guests and showcase a family’s social status, and preparing a Jell-O mold was something of a status symbol. In the 1960s, things got even crazier and these salads became so popular that Jell-O introduced various vegetable flavors including celery, and in response to the mid-century popularity of jello salads, Jell-O released several savory flavors, including seasoned tomato and celery. These wobbly masterpieces ranged from sweet versions with fruit cocktail and marshmallows to bizarre savory combinations featuring tuna, vegetables, and mayonnaise suspended in lime gelatin. While both sweet and savory gelatin became popular after World War II, Jell-O’s golden years were in the 1950s, when the new American middle class created dishes such as jellied bouillon with frankfurters and strawberry cottage cheese mold.

Swedish Meatballs: The Scandinavian Sensation

In the ’50s and ’60s, Scandinavian design and culture became popular in the U.S. Part of that was the popularity of Swedish meatballs, which were made far easier by the accessibility of cream of mushroom soup. These tender, flavorful orbs served in creamy mushroom gravy became a middle-class dinner party staple, often served over egg noodles or rice. The dish represented the era’s fascination with international cuisine made accessible through convenient ingredients. True story: I have gone to IKEA to eat Swedish meatballs for lunch without any intention of shopping at IKEA on more than one occasion.

Beef Stroganoff: The Russian-French Fusion Hit

Beef Stroganoff was a classic Russian recipe with its earliest reference to an 1861 Russian cookbook, and by the 1950s, it was found in almost every cookbook that included a section on “gourmet” cookery. The recipes varied greatly, some using mushrooms, some adding tomato paste, some using canned cream soup, and hamburger sometimes stood in for the beef filet, with the whole concoction served over buttered noodles or rice. This hearty dish became a weeknight favorite because it could stretch expensive cuts of meat with cream sauce and serve a family of four without breaking the budget. Named after Russian nobleman Count Pavel Stroganoff, this comfort food classic is said to have been invented by a French chef back in the 19th century – but really took the world by storm in the 1960s and 1970s.

Tuna Noodle Casserole: The Ultimate Convenience Food

Much-maligned because it doesn’t take much skill (other than using a can opener), this dish was a staple of the 1950s and 1960s dinner table, containing canned tuna, canned mushroom soup, and various seasonings that ranged from curry powder to grated American cheese. This casserole represented everything wonderful about 1960s convenience cooking – it was economical, used pantry staples, and could feed a family with minimal effort. The 1962 standard Favorite Recipes of American Home Economics Teachers: Meats lists page after page of this casserole including versions with potato chips, whole slices of stale bread, or cashews. The dish became so popular that creative variations emerged across middle-class America, with families adding their own personal touches like crushed potato chips on top for crunch.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake: The Sweet Showpiece

This sunny cake with its slices of pineapple dotted with cherries has been around a long, long time, and in fact, a pineapple upside down cake won the first Dole recipe contest in 1926. By the 1950s and 1960s, the cake was at the peak of its popularity perhaps because of the ease of using boxed cake mixes, which were increasingly available in the post WWII years, and kids from the ’50s and ’60s grew up making it and scarfing down batches. The cake became a symbol of modern homemaking – impressive enough for company but simple enough for a weeknight dessert. The dessert hit its peak in the 1960s and, while upside-down cakes are still around today, they’re usually made using different fruit, so we say bring back the retro appeal of the original, with whole pineapple rings and glacé cherries.

French Onion Dip: The Party Starter

French Onion Dip was a primo thing to have on the dinner table, especially when you wanted to make it seem like you did a lot more work than you did, with a simple recipe: Mix sour cream with some garlic, dill, salt, and pepper; and if you really felt like going for it, you’d fry some onions and mix them in. One of the food items I can’t seem to forget from that era is French Onion Dip, which seemed quite a weird thing to me and my undiscovered pallet, but who would have thought cream mixed with a packet of dry French onion soup could taste so good? This simple appetizer became the unofficial starter of countless dinner parties and family gatherings, served with potato chips or crackers. The dip represented the era’s love affair with convenience foods that looked sophisticated but required minimal cooking skills.

Chicken à la King: The Fancy Weeknight Meal

Invented at the start of the 20th century, chicken à la King became a popular wedding dish in the 1950s and 1960s, written about by James Beard and The New York Times’ Craig Claiborne, and it reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s but disappeared from most menus shortly after, with chicken cooked in a creamy sauce with mushrooms and peppers, then served with rice, pastry or toasted bread. Chicken à la King, for example, was very French sounding to me (even though I had never met a French person to know for sure), and it was a dish consisting of diced chicken in a cream sauce, often with sherry, mushrooms and vegetables, served over rice, noodles, or bread. This elegant-sounding dish made middle-class families feel sophisticated without requiring expensive ingredients or advanced cooking techniques.

Pork Chops with Fruit Glaze: The Sweet and Savory Success

Pork chops had a big moment in the ’60s, usually served alongside some mashed potatoes and gravy, or maybe a fruit glaze if somebody was trying to be fancy. You’d see pork steaks at BBQs and county fairs all over the place, too. These thick, juicy chops often featured glazes made from pineapple, peach, or apple – reflecting the era’s enthusiasm for sweet and savory combinations. The dish became a weekend staple for middle-class families who wanted something special but didn’t want to break the budget on expensive cuts of beef. The fruit glazes made ordinary pork chops feel restaurant-worthy, and the combination perfectly captured the optimistic, experimental spirit of 1960s home cooking.

Meatloaf: The Economical Family Favorite

Everybody’s mom had a different recipe, but chances are, it was on your table at least once a week, and according to Bon Appetit, meatloaf became a staple during the Great Depression when meat was pricey, but growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, it was a simple, cheap way to feed the family, then have leftovers for sandwiches the next day. Meatloaf is really just a big, meaty, hamburger casserole if you think about it, and the key was, everybody did it a little bit differently. Some families topped theirs with ketchup, others preferred brown sugar glazes, and creative cooks added everything from diced vegetables to crushed crackers as fillers. Whether you like yours slathered with ketchup or not, meatloaf retains its status as an American classic, even if you haven’t made it in years.

Wedge Salad: The Steakhouse Standard at Home

In the 1960s, it was extremely common to find them as part of a power lunch or steakhouse situation, and with crisp enough lettuce, you could easily to fake a cheap version at home. Some people are against wedge salads; personally, I think they help you craft a perfect bite every time you take one, so I’m all for ’em, and in the 1960s, it was extremely common to find them as part of a power lunch or steakhouse situation, and with crisp enough lettuce, you could easily to fake a cheap version at home. This simple salad – a quarter head of iceberg lettuce topped with blue cheese dressing, bacon bits, and tomatoes – brought restaurant sophistication to the suburban dinner table. Middle-class families could recreate the steakhouse experience at home for a fraction of the cost.

Casseroles: The One-Dish Wonders

Casseroles are still popular today for the same reason they were popular in the 1960s: They’re the easiest dinner you can make – grab some stuff, stick it in the oven, bake it up, and enjoy. These one-dish meals represented the ultimate in convenience cooking, combining protein, starch, and vegetables in a single baking dish. Popular variations included green bean casserole with French’s fried onions, broccoli rice casserole, and King Ranch chicken. The beauty of casseroles lay in their flexibility – home cooks could adapt recipes based on what they had in the pantry, making them perfect for stretching the household budget while still putting a satisfying meal on the table.