Canned Foods That Were Popular 50 Years Ago But No One Eats Anymore

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If you're looking to make dinner in a hurry, canned foods can be (pun intended) a fantastic solution. But that doesn't mean that everything collecting dust in the back of your pantry knocks it out of the park. There are plenty of once-popular canned foods that just don't have the same appeal on a modern table. But chefs 50 years ago turned to these staples to get dinner prepared quickly without needing a lot of special ingredients.

You probably have some of the must-have canned foods in your own cooking lineup for the days when you need to get something on the table quickly. Some are even just as good as fresh and can be used interchangeably in recipes.

That doesn't mean that all canned foods have stood the test of time. As culinary needs and lifestyles changed, it was inevitable that a few options didn't make the cut. Some of these are still available on shelves while others have gone by the wayside. Maybe you even enjoyed one of these yourself back in the day. 

We are all familiar with boxed macaroni and cheese — one of the most beloved comfort meals known to children and adults alike. There is nothing more nostalgic than that iconic blue box of Kraft mac and cheese, which arguably serves as the face of this popularized food. As common as it is, boxed mac and cheese isn't the only way to get your hands on a mac and cheese that is made with just a snap of your fingers.

Canned mac and cheese, if you can believe it, has a long history in the U.K., where it has been widely produced by the popular brand Heinz (yes, as in the ketchup). While it only recently became available for orders to the U.S., this dish has been well-loved by residents of the U.K. Unfortunately, this canned good hasn't quite caught on with people on this side of the pond.

According to mixed reviews, this product is more of a hit or miss in comparison to the widely loved boxed mac and cheese that has remained a constant in Americans' pantries for years. Despite other brands, such as Chef Boyardee, bringing this dish to the U.S., the trend never quite took flight.

For many Americans, SpaghettiOs are one of those quintessential childhood meals. Easy to make, mess-free for kids, and extremely affordable, this food was at one time one of the hottest canned goods on the market. These days, several brands sell their own version of SpaghettiOs, but we can thank the thinkers at Franco-American for the original product.

While you can still find these canned goods lining the shelves of grocery stores across the country, they've definitely lost the appeal they once held back in the 1960s. The decrease in SpaghettiO consumption could be for a number of reasons, the primary one being that America started to turn its back on processed meats after solid links to cancer-causing substances were made.

This certainly won't stop the average American from consuming mystery meat here and there, but ultra-processed foods such as the once beloved SpaghettiOs are certainly not people's go-to anymore. Despite their fall from grace, SpaghettiOs will forever hold a special place in our hearts as a nostalgia-inducing food.

If the name Hunt's Pudding Snack Pack brings an image of canned pudding to mind, then congratulations, you are part of a very specific subset of people who still remember when these popular desserts were served out of a metal can. Many are familiar with Hunt's modified version of the plastic pudding cups, which are still sold today, but when the product first came about in 1968, this shelf-friendly milk pudding was served out of a can. It came in a variety of flavors and was all the rage due to its convenience and tastiness.

While Hunt's pudding cans may be a symbol of nostalgia, those who know them will also remember these quick desserts for the dangerous metal lids that had to be discontinued due to safety concerns. After the allure of this can changed forever, Hunt's Snack Packs have become more of a symbol of childhood than a highly sought-after dessert. If you find yourself craving pudding, don't fret, there are plenty of delicious (and easy) recipes out there — including dirt pudding.

There are plenty of foods that we are accustomed to seeing in a can, from vegetables to fruits to soups. One thing that we could have never predicted being a hit, however, is cheeseburgers in a can. This canned good is not to be confused with Hamburger Helper, an American favorite. This odd food includes the whole burger in a bun and toppings with a shelf life that rivals your typical ready-made burger.

The expiration date on this canned good may be the only appealing thing about it, and if you're raising your eyebrows at this one, we're right there with you. The canned hamburger was originally made by a German camping supplies company, which gives you a pretty good idea about the quality of the product. This bizarre food can be heated up by placing the can in hot water or by heating the burger itself over the stove. While it's possible that this food was a hit with campers in desperate need of non-perishable food, it never quite took on the same appeal as other popular canned foods.

It might shock you to find out what you could squeeze into a can, especially with this next food that came in handy years ago. Finding a canned food that has chicken in it certainly isn't a shock to anyone, especially considering the popularity of chicken noodle soup by brands like Campbell's. However, a whole chicken in a can is a bit more of a head-scratcher than your typical canned chicken products. Produced by the brand Sweet Sue, the can was labeled as a whole chicken, fully cooked and ready to be served hot.

While there are multiple reasons why this food could have come to be, the idea of low-cost, ready-made food with extremely long shelf lives was highly appealing throughout history — especially during times of economic peril. Nowadays, you would be hard-pressed to find a canned whole chicken anywhere and would be rightfully weary about consuming such a thing.

If you've ever attempted making tamales from scratch, you know what a laborious task this can be. While it undoubtedly pays off to have a fresh tamale, not everyone has the time (or energy) to make this delicious creation by hand. These days, there are plenty of options from all of the frozen tamales that can be found at any grocery store. This wasn't always the case, though, and one popular alternative that came to be was a canned version of this food.

A canned variety of tamales came to be in the 1900s, thanks to the Workman Packing Company. Nowadays, there are quite a few different companies that sell what became a popular hit upon its original release. The decline in this food's popularity may not be for lack of quality, as it seemed to be a hit back in the day, but more in part due to the rise of frozen options that seem to be a satisfactory solution to the decline in fresh tamales that were once popularly sold by local street vendors.

Unlike many of the canned items on this list, the popularity of canned, boiled peanuts is not rooted in a need for a long-lasting food of convenience. Rather, boiled peanuts have staked their claim as a deeply beloved food that is tied to traditions across the American South. This snack's history predates the Civil War and has remained a staple in that part of the country. Today, it has become widely recognized as a common dish served at weddings and other occasions.

Since it's best served fresh and hot, this food has a short shelf life that inevitably led to the creation of a canned version. However, the nonperishable rendition of this beloved food never quite caught on in the same way that the fresh version did. While the canned version is something that has remained in the past, avid peanut consumers will be relieved to find that the fresh version of this food is still a hot commodity in the South.

If you thought freezing bread was the only way to preserve it, think again. B&M's canned brown bread is a pantry staple that lives fondly in the minds of those who grew up in the New England region of the U.S. during the 1960s and beyond. If you're wondering what canned bread is, it's exactly as you might imagine –- a muffin-like loaf of brown bread that has been compressed into a can. The product comes in both an original brown bread flavor and raisin, which was favored as more of a sweet treat for many families.

This regional staple, albeit well-known by many New Englanders, wasn't exactly agreed upon as being the most delicious canned good. Canned bread's popularity also seems to be limited to the region of its origin, which is where the rest of this story ends. If you're genuinely curious to try out canned bread for yourself, buyers can still find B&M's products sold online and in certain grocery stores.

There is no denying the place that Campbell's soup holds in all of our hearts, nor the brand's notoriety as being the most popular canned soup brand out there. However, not all of this brand's products have been popular hits across the states. One product in particular, Campbell's Pepper Pot Soup, is another canned good that never gained traction in the U.S.

While many of us might not be familiar with this soup, it is widely considered to be a signature in the city of Philadelphia and was sold for over one hundred years in the States before being discontinued in 2010. It's possible that many Philadelphia locals were disheartened by the loss of this canned good that was otherwise a bust in other parts of the country. There don't seem to be any glaring reasons why this food never caught on, and despite its discontinuation, there are still many copycat recipes out there for those looking to recreate this nostalgic dish.

Chef Boyardee, the king of ravioli in a can, has long and wide dominated the market for canned meals. However, despite the hold that Chef Boyardee products have held over Americans for years, not all of its products could be a smashing success. In the 80s, Chef Boyardee released a version of its classic ravioli in a can that included colorful images of the iconic movie characters, The Smurfs — naming it Smurf's Beef & Ravioli Pasta. Everybody loves a good collaboration, and Chef Boyardee saw the marketing opportunity and took it.

Despite the uptick of movie-inspired ad campaigns in the 80s, particularly with popular food brands, this product has failed to find longevity in the canned food market. Some might recall the television commercial that aired to promote this crossover, playing into a craze that has since died down. Both the Smurfs and their pasta product had a moment in the spotlight but are unlikely to spark excitement in Americans these days. This canned food remains in a nostalgic part of the past.

Cheese makes the world go round and comes in all shapes, sizes, textures, and flavors. One thing that we never expected, however, was canned cheese. We're not talking about Easy Cheese or Cheez Wiz, the well-known and loved sprayable cheese that is still sold in grocery stores today. We're talking about Cougar Gold canned cheese, the brainchild of Washington State University and a highly forgotten-about version of everyone's favorite food.

Cougar Gold is recognized for making an imperishable cheese product that claims to last indefinitely when placed in the fridge. The other major pull of this product is that it isn't processed and is labeled as completely natural. Even though the method for creating this long-lasting cheese product is recognized as being the first of its kind, it has not made a lasting impression on the consumer population. So, do not worry if this is your first time hearing of such a product – you're not the only one. Buyers can still find Cougar Gold on the market, though the prices of these canned goods are staggering due to the limited amount that Washington State produces each year.

Today, Alaskan king crab is notoriously known for being an expensive delicacy, only in season for a very brief period, making them less readily available. However, one popular solution to this came to be in the early 1900s, when a brand known as Monarch found a way to preserve and can this highly sought-after food so that people across the country could enjoy it. While there certainly may be some debate over how great the quality of the crab is in its preserved state, this method worked for those looking for a way to get crab meat on the table.

Despite all of the rage around Alaskan king crab, Monarch's vintage product never seemed to be a huge sensation, although for 1930, it seemed to be an innovative feat. Other fish like canned tuna and canned salmon can easily be found in any grocery store, but crab meat of the same quality as the Alaskan King Crab is hard to find by way of can these days.

Bear with us on this next one — canned pork brains are next up on a list of once-popular canned foods. While you might be wondering how canned pork brains have been made appealing to the masses, many might be surprised to find that the consumption of this food has been and is quite the norm in certain parts of the world, including the United States. In particular, pork brains are commonly seen in many dishes throughout the South, including things like scrambled eggs with pork brains. Another popular food that has traditionally incorporated brains as food is the taco — as certain parts of Mexico often use this as a protein in the dish tacos de sesos.

While this food may not appear to be as common today, there are still many readily available products. Rose Pork Brains is a popular brand that is widely sold on Amazon and other sites. If you're feeling brave and adventurous, take a blast to the not-so-distant past and try this canned food out for yourself.

The South is bringing us all of the most popular canned foods from the past, including something known as deviled ham — a pantry staple for many that has a longer history than you might think. While popular in the South, this canned good's origins start in New England. Beginning back in 1868, a New England-based manufacturing company began producing this funky product.

Deviled ham, if you're unfamiliar, is simply ground-up ham spiced and packed into a tin can and used primarily as a spread eaten on sandwiches. Now owned by the company Underwood Spreads, this home favorite for many is still sold in grocery stores today. There are various other ways to eat this product, including as a dip for crackers or vegetables. Aside from the fact that it never gained traction in other parts of the country, there's nothing that points to the fact that deviled ham isn't still enjoyed by some today.

Old El Paso canned tortillas worked to bring everything from enchiladas to tacos to life without the need for homemade tortillas. According to history buffs in Texas, these canned tortillas appeared in cookbooks from the 1960s, but plenty of people remember enjoying them well into the late 1970s as well.

They were made with just corn, water, and salt but let you store tortillas on the shelf. Old El Paso also provided a recipe book to use alongside the tortillas, although you had to write to Old El Paso to get your free copy sent to your home.

Did these taste just like homemade? Probably not, but many people commenting on old social media posts reminisced about how much they enjoyed the full flavor of Old El Paso tacos. Even though you can't get them in a can anymore, you can still pick up a package of Old El Paso tortillas, then cook them in a muffin tin for your next low-mess taco night.

Swanson's Chicken a la King in a can combines dark and white meat chicken with a vegetable mixture in a rich, creamy white gravy that brings it all together. Chicken a la King itself, either in a can or homemade, is an old-school chicken dish that isn't as common now as it once was. But chicken casseroles are a classic, so you may find that this canned version hits just right when you want the comfort of a nostalgic chicken dish without all the prep or cleanup.

The Swanson company also played a large role in the rise in popularity of convenience food in the freezer section and Swanson's frozen TV dinners were a staple in many households. Unlike Swanson's TV dinners, however, you can still pick up a pack of canned Chicken a la King on Amazon if you want that classic chicken flavor.

Spam Spread is a salty canned meat, but has a spreadable consistency very different from the Spam we're used to eating today. Made with pork, ham, and a variety of spices and binders, Spam is particularly popular in Hawaii, where it's the key ingredient in the desirable spam musubi snack. The Spam spread added chicken to the mix, but it was the consistency that was the most noticeable difference. While there are a lot of varieties of Spam — just head to this Minnesota museum to check them out — the once-popular Spam spread is no longer offered.

Even though it can be hard to track down since Spam Spread doesn't have a spot in the Spam lineup anymore, you can make your own at home using the Spam still sold in stores. Just emulsify the regular Spam meat and add mayo like you would to make a tuna salad or chicken salad. You can also dress things up a little bit more with pickle relish or chopped hard boiled eggs. Experimenting with different flavors of Spam is another fun way to make a truly unique Spam Spread if you're craving the old-school canned meat version.

Potted meat doesn't have quite the same appeal as freshly grilled steak or even a basic but foolproof whole roast chicken, but it's hard to beat the convenience and long-time storage. Armour has been around since 1867, where it began with a strong presence in the Chicago meat packing industry. It's not surprising that the brand's potted meat made its way to many tables as a snack on crackers or a quick lunchtime spread.

Made with chicken and pork, Armour's potted meat is a handy, shelf stable protein that will last for a long time. However, it may not be the most nutritious option out there, since it has quite a bit of sodium. Just a single can has 35% of the daily value of recommended sodium, which is considerably higher than the 20% that the Food and Drug Administration says is an upper limit for a single serving of food. Even so, if you want to take a trip down memory lane or just need something easy to put in your camping bag, you can still pick up a pack of Armour potted meat on Amazon.

A lot of the canned products that are no longer as popular fall in the savory category, but Libby's fruit float was definitely a dessert. It hit the scene in the mid-1970s amid colorful advertisements and convenience foods.

All you had to do to enjoy a Libby's fruit float was add milk and stir. The can had actual pieces of fruit, which added both flavor and texture. The result was a frothy milkshake-like dessert that was reminiscent of a pudding. There were four servings in each can, making this a great option to serve to guests when you wanted to impress with your futuristic cooking techniques. Nowadays, we turn to DoorDash or UberEats when we want a quick sweet treat, but in its heyday, fruit float was pretty "far out."

There were different recipes ranging from a 30-second stir and serve version to a 10-minute cake. Some required extra time to chill for the best results, but minimal actual cooking or preparation.

Another once-popular meat option from Armour is canned ribs. Traditional ribs take a lot of work to prepare, so the precooked canned option was there to cut the time way down.

Ads from the 1960s show the appeal to consumers of the day: There were 2½ pounds of ribs in each can, plus enough barbecue sauce to add tons of flavor and keep them from drying out. They were specially cut to work with the can, then smoked with hickory chips for great flavor. Each can fed three or four people, although that varied depending on the diners' appetites.

Even though these seemed like a great idea and other Armour canned meats are still around, the canned ribs just couldn't compete with the real deal. The convenience version was just not as appealing and these didn't stand the test of time.

Boxed macaroni and cheese is a pantry staple in many households, but mac and cheese in a can is harder to come by. Franco-American provided the answer once upon a time with long, slender noodles and rich, creamy cheese sauce.

In decades past, it was super popular and there's even a social media group dedicated to replicating the iconic recipe. Enthusiasts say that some of the key features that made this canned macaroni and cheese so iconic were the soft noodles, which were shaped more like spaghetti than the elbow noodles we see in mac and cheese now. The cheese sauce was also very rich with a distinct taste and texture that helped it cling to the noodles.

Some ads from the time period recommend using Franco-American macaroni and cheese as the perfect base for a casserole. You could add chopped peppers, chicken, and mustard to turn it into an entire meal. Today, you're more likely to see popular boxed macaroni and cheese options or convenient frozen mac casseroles on kitchen tables, with only a few canned varieties available.

Betty Crocker figured out a way to make cookie dough shelf stable so that you could make cookies easily. Unlike most cookie dough that contains ingredients that require refrigeration, this Spoon & Bake canned version could be kept in the pantry. That was a game changer in the baking world as you no longer even needed access to a fridge, not to mention it eliminated the need for baking cookies from scratch.

Each little can had enough dough to make 3-dozen cookies. All you had to do was scoop out a little bit and put it right on a baking sheet. It came in chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and sugar cookie options. Because it was shelf stable, you could also sneak a little cookie dough snack whenever you wanted.

Even though the Spoon & Bake cans aren't around anymore, Betty Crocker still offers plenty of other mixes for whipping up a quick batch of cookies on demand. If you want something even easier, try one of the best store-bought cookie doughs that can go right from the fridge to the oven.