What was your favorite food growing up? Can you remember your mother or father making a specific recipe during your childhood? We’ve found the most trendy foods from each year from 1950 through 2005, and chances are you’ll recognize a lot of them.
Just like anything else in society — clothing, hairstyles, slang, and entertainment — food also goes through the ebbs and flows of popularity and hype. Living in 2019, we probably can’t dream of eating any solid food encased in gelatin. However, back in the ’50s and ’60s (and even up through the ’70s and ’80s), putting fruits, veggies, and even hard-boiled eggs in a gelatin prison was ~the~ thing to do. In the same vein, homemakers in the 20th century probably wouldn’t dream of combining rice, veggies, guacamole, and sour cream in a single bowl — but come on! It’s Chipotle!
Skim through the years and see what people were obsessing over at restaurants and grocery stores in decades past. Find the food that was most popular the year you were born and celebrate by maybe trying it on for size. Although, if it’s something trapped in gelatin, we certainly won’t blame you if you decide to leave it in the past.
1950 — Tuna Casserole
Somehow, some way, noodles, cheese, cream, and tuna all seemed to go well together in a single casserole dish. Tuna casserole was the dish that defined a decade and stayed hugely popular throughout the ’50s.
1951 — Baked Alaska
You were the hostess with the mostess if you placed a flaming Baked Alaska on your dining room table after that tuna casserole. Scorched meringue coating a strawberry, chocolate, vanilla ice cream mashup dolloped on a pound cake was the dessert of the decade.
1952 — Spam
The canned meat (consisting of pork, mainly) that could be used at every meal time. Spam sandwiches, Spam-cakes, Spam and pineapple appetizers — you name it, the salty packaged pork could be turned into anything.
1953 — Deviled Eggs
Deviled Eggs were a staple at every cocktail party throughout the 1950s, and are still popular appetizers today. These were especially popular in Britain, where cheese and meat rationing dictated what could and couldn’t be served.
1954 — Chicken TetrazziniÂ
Chicken casserole-like dishes were all the rage around 1954. Chicken Tetrazzini, a creamy pasta with a vegetable and chicken sauce, was one such meal that Americans couldn’t get enough of.
1955 — Green Bean Casserole
Campbell’s came out with their famous crunchy, creamy, green bean casserole recipe (complete with fried onions on top) in 1955, and Thanksgiving was forever changed.
1956 — Banana Cream Pie
Carnation came out with a new banana cream pie recipe using its instant “dry milk.” The brand marketed the recipe as a “lighter” version of the old classic dessert.
1957 — Barbecue
After WWII, former soldiers and their families settled in the suburbs. And with the burbs came backyards. Barbecuing became especially popular mainly because people were able to head outside and take in the fresh air while grilling dinner.
1958 — Pancakes
The first IHOP opened its doors in Burbank, California in 1958 and was a game-changer for breakfast lovers. Betty Crocker also included a pancake recipe in her 1957 book, Betty Crocker’s Cook Book for Boys and Girls, which was a household read by 1958.
1959 — Cheese Ball
The Chicago Tribune included the pecan-coated cottage and blue cheese ball in a roundup article of easy-to-prepare cocktail party snacks.
1960 — Gelatin, Gelatin, and More Gelatin
Everything was thrown into a Jell-O mold in 1960. Serving an entire dinner encased in gelatin was the way of the future. This mod meal got its start in the ’50s and stuck with us throughout the rest of the next decade and beyond. Jell-O even introduced vegetable flavors to suit the trend…
1961 — Pineapple Upside Down Cake
In the 1960s people were going ham for pineapple, so to speak. Pineapple was no longer just a breakfast snack or part of a fruit cup. It was paired with spam, ham, molded into gelatin, and baked into cakes. Dole canned pineapples and pound cake were two peas in a pod, like in this recipe from 1961.
1962 — Chicken Cacciatore
Stewed meals were popular in the 1960s, and people in 1962 were all about chicken cacciatore. Usually served over pasta, chicken cacciatore is made with sautéed chicken stewed in simmering canned tomatoes, broth, white wine, bell peppers, onions, and capers.
1963 — Beef BourguignonÂ
A hearty dish of braised beef stewed in red wine and beef stock along with carrots, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. This was the first dish Julia Child ever made on her show The French Chef. From there, she took the nation by storm.
1964 — Swedish Meatballs
Swedish meatballs have been around since at least the 18th century. However, the Swedish dish consisting of meatballs and a light cream and gravy sauce, made a resurgence in America in the 1960s.
1965 — Onion Dip
Thanks to canned soups and dried soup and dip mixes, onion dip was easy to whip up on a whim when company was on its way. And honestly, onion dip has lasted the test of time and is still a favorite partner to our Ruffle chips.
1966 — Tunnel of Fudge Cake
When the Tunnel of Fudge bundt cake won the Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1966, every at-home baker was chomping at the bit to try it out for themselves. Pillsbury reportedly received over 200,000 letters from people asking for the recipe.
1967 — Surf & Turf
The term “surf & turf,” meaning a dish that includes both meat and seafood, was coined in the mid-’60s, and by 1967 everyone wanted to try it out. A Chicago Daily Defender piece from May 1967 called surf & turf “Food With a Foreign Flair.”
1968 — Carrot Cake
Who would have thought carrots and cream cheese would make such a brilliant dessert item? Carrot cake shot to the top of everyone’s favorite dessert list in 1968 and has remained a fave for sweet-toothed Americans since.
1969 — Tang
The instant breakfast drink packed with Vitamins C and A was first trademarked in 1957. But people went gaga for Tang when it was sent into space in 1965, and later landed on the moon with the Apollo 11 crew in 1969. After that, everyone and their mother wanted the literal space-age beverage.
1970 — Quiche
Thanks to Julia Child, Americans in the 1970s became obsessed with French cooking — including quiches. Quiches are easy-to-make egg pies that can include anything from veggies to sausage and bacon.
1971 — Eggs Benedict
After the Chicago Tribune released a 1971 article called “Adventuring with Eggs,” the popular dish at the acclaimed Waldorf-Astoria New York hotel became a delicacy one could make at home.
1972 — Tequila Sunrise
Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones was the first to ever sample the Tequila Sunrise, a drink made with tequila, orange juice, and grenadine. He did so in 1972 at a San Francisco bar called Trident. From there, the Stones exclusively drank Tequila Sunrises for the remainder of their 1972 tour.
1973 — Granola
The Granola Cookbook by Eric Meller and Jane Kaplan was released in January of 1973 and turned the public on to the health benefits of granola. Rolled oats, brown sugar, dried fruit, honey, and nuts were a new and trendy alternative to heavy breakfast foods.
1974 — Fondue
Fondue was big in the 1970s. The community aspect of cooking together at the dining table (or perhaps the coffee table) was appealing to those trying to break away from tradition. Veggies, bread, or meat could be dunked into the communal fondue pot and then be eaten in a single bite, which was totally groovy.
1975 — Watergate Salad
Whether it’s named for the Watergate Hotel where it was originally invented, or named for the Nixon scandal that rocked headlines earlier in the decade, Watergate salad was all the rage in 1975 when Jell-O’s instant pistachio pudding mix and Cool Whip came out. It’s a mix of both creations with canned pineapple and marshmallows.
1976 — General Tso’s Chicken
Although it’s commonly found at Chinese food restaurants, the General Tso’s Chicken we eat in America is pretty unique to the states. It’s debated who actually came up with the recipe — Taiwanese chef Peng Chang-kuei or New York’s T.T. Wang — but whoever dreamt up the idea did a great thing.
1977 — Buffalo Wings
People had been eating buffalo wings for almost a decade at this point. But in 1977, the city of Buffalo, New York dubbed July 29th as Chicken Wing Day. And man, did people celebrate.
1978 — Pasta Primavera
Essentially just pasta with lightly cooked vegetables and a cream sauce, pasta primavera took off after The New York Times published the recipe and credited Sirio Maccioni, the owner of New York City’s renown Le Cirque restaurant, who reportedly first came up with the dish.
1979 — Goat Cheese Salad
Northern California chefs Alice Waters and Jeremiah Tower began adding goat cheese to dishes on their menus. Tower’s and Waters’ warm goat cheese on greens salad was an upscale hit in the late ’70s.
1980 — Ranch Dressing
Hidden Valley Ranch made its debut at American supermarkets in the mid-70s, but it didn’t quite pick up steam until the next decade. Ranch powder packets and dressing crept its way into many meals come 1980, and its tanginess is still beloved by pretty much everyone.
1981 — Baked Brie
Baked brie became a favorite appetizer at cocktail parties in the 1980s, and couldn’t be simpler to make. Wrap the brie wheel in pie crust or leave it on its own, throw it in the oven, and presto! You have yourself a crowd-pleaser.
1982 — Pasta Salad
In 1982, The New York Times wrote, “the pasta salad, that darling of the carry-out shop, is here to stay.” And they weren’t wrong. Pasta salad, penne with either raw or grilled veggies, peaked in the ’80s and is still a popular cook-out side dish in 2019.
1983 — Bloody Mary
The Bloody Mary jumped from being a drink simply used to cure a hangover to one that was ordered at brunch, lunch, and dinner in 1983. The famous Bloody Mary tomato juice mix, Mr & Mrs T, became super popular and added the spicy, peppery bite Bloody Mary lovers crave.
1984 — Cajun Blackened Fish
Chef Paul Prudhomme opened up his K-Paul Louisiana Kitchens in 1979 and put all things blackened and charred on the American public’s mind. Then, in 1984, Prudhomme released Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen, allowing the masses to bring his cajun flavors into their homes.
1985 — Fajitas
With cowboy roots, fajitas rose in popularity in the mid-’80s after Tex-Mex became a thing in the ’60s and ’70s. Chef George Weidmann put “sizzling fajitas,” a pan-fried mix of meat and veggies, on his menu at Austin’s Hyatt Regency in ’85, making fajitas a staple at Hyatts all over the country.
1986 — Monkey Bread
Deliciously sweet and sticky, Monkey Bread was on kitchen breakfast tables all over the country after Nancy Reagan served it at casual White House functions during her husband’s presidency. It’s a type of Hungarian coffee cake, made up of individual dough balls, which makes for easy picking. It’s cinnamon flavored and usually topped with a gooey sugar icing.
1987 — Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate truffles, the decadent balls of fudge chocolate rolled in cocoa powder, had been around for a while before they spiked in ’87 when The New York Times finally wrote about chocolatier Alice Medrich and her truffles, calling them “all wickedly sensuous, velvety smooth and filled with calories.”
1988 — Sushi
Sushi’s rise in popularity in the states started slow in the ’50s and ’60s in Los Angeles. It began to gain traction in the ’70s with the introduction of the California roll. And by the late ’80s sushi of all varieties was the hottest “new food” one could indulge in. Eating raw seafood was considered healthy and posh.
1989 — Veggie Burgers
Before there were black bean and mushroom burgers, there was “VegeBurger,” a dried meatless mix that could be rehydrated and formed into a patty. As VegeBurgers became more popular toward the end of the ’80s, Gardenburger vegetarian patties were then introduced.
1990 — Gourmet Pizza
The ’90s ushered in the era of extreme pizza. We’re talking chicken teriyaki, shrimp scampi, and Caesar salad on pizza. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck spearheaded the gourmet pizza movement and we are forever grateful for him.
1991 — Chinese Chicken Salad
In January of 1992, TIME called Cal-Asian cuisine (also known as Pacific Rim Cookery) “[1991’s] best new gourmet trend.” Wolfgang Puck’s Chinese chicken salad was the stand out within the new cuisine. Noodles, grilled chicken, julienned veggies, with an Eastern Asian-inspired dressing is still a favorite dish on fusion restaurant menus.
1992 — Starbucks
After getting its start as a small single coffee shop in the middle of Seattle in 1971, Starbucks went national in 1992. They had 165 stores at this point, which would double by 1993.
1993 — Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Italian food was booming in the states in the 1990s. Recipes that included sun-dried tomatoes and vinegar were popping up on menus all over the country. Pastas, pizzas, and salads were all made better with a bit of sun-dried tomato sprinkled on top.
1994 — Caesar Salad
By 1994, people were dining out specifically to order a Caesar salad. The creamy, tangy, and sometimes anchovy-salted dish was a favorite among those who wanted to eat healthy but still enjoy their dining experience. “Caesar salad is the fettuccine Alfredo of the ’90s,” a 1993 New York Times piece read.
1995 — “Tall Foods”
The “Tall Food” movement began in the early ’90s as a response to the ’80’s nouvelle cuisine — or, teeny-tiny portion sizes. By 1995 chefs were serving up towering sandwiches, mountainous salads, and onion ring displays that hit the ceiling. “No dish is too lowly to be built up,” Carl Quintanilla wrote in a 1995 “Tall Foods” piece for the Wall Street Journal.
1996 — Fried Calamari
Although the ’90s were a time where eating healthy and staying slim was trendy AF, no one could turn down an appetizer plate of fried calamari, seasoned and fried squid, when out to eat. According to a 2014 New York Times piece, “The term [fried calamari] peaked in 1996, mentioned in 56 articles, and has come down significantly since then.”
1997 — Lava Cake
It’s hard to believe there was a time when molten lava cake wasn’t on menus at every restaurant around the States. Although it first came about in the ’80s, lava cake, the mini chocolate cake with an ooey-gooey, fudgey center, didn’t become popular until chefs began putting it on their menus in the ’90s.
1998 — Cosmopolitan
The debut of Sex and the City in 1998 made the Cosmopolitan, the pink citrus-cranberry vodka drink, a go-to drink of city socialites. Are you a Carrie or a Miranda?
1999 — Crab Cakes
At the tail end of the 20th century, crab cakes traveled out of Baltimore, Maryland and into restaurants across the country. Gourmet crab cakes are stuffed to the brim with fresh crab meat, whereas “hockey puck” crab cakes probably contain more stuffing and breading than crab.
2000 — Smoothies
The health kick from the ’90s rolled over into the early 2000s (and is honestly still going strong today). Smoothies became the “it” thing after Jamba Juice grabbed the appetites of Americans with their Razzmatazz and Mango-A-Go-Go smoothies. Now smoothies are easily made at home and have spilled out of the glass and into bowls with the trend of acai bowls.
2001 — Vodka Red Bull
Well, not everyone was invested in the early-2000s health craze. Red Bull, the caffeinated energy drink that gave us wings, was on the rise and someone somewhere had the bright idea of mixing it with vodka. Presto! It was the birth of a tasty but dangerous cocktail.
2002 — Organic Produce
In 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture set firm guidelines into place defining what makes produce organic. This was due to consumer interest in buying organic foods, and farmers even began experimenting with growing more organic crops.
2003 — Lattes
Starbucks was already ruling the corporate coffee world well by the early 2000s. Because of this, people were demanding lattes wherever they went. Lattes instantly became the posh coffee to be seen with in 2003.
2004 — Yogurt
Yogurt in general was much-loved by health-conscious people in the early 2000s. Greek yogurt, the thicker, creamier version of everyone’s favorite breakfast snack came into the picture and changed everything. Plus, who didn’t love finding a Go-Gurt in their lunchbox in the cafeteria?
2005 — Cupcakes
Again, the fictional Carrie Bradshaw and friends set a real-life trend into motion. Thanks to Sex and the City’s Magnolia Bakery, people fell back in love with cupcakes. People were even beginning to quit their jobs in order to start bakery businesses.
All this talk of food has made us starving. We may just have to sample each trendy food from every year.
