The Most Iconic American Foods That Defined Each Decade

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1920s: Green Giant

“Ho, ho, ho!” The Jolly Green Giant first appeared in advertising for the Minnesota Valley Canning Company in 1928. He was such a hit, the company was renamed for him! Eating veggies seemed a lot more fun when they came from a package featuring this colorful character.

The Jolly Green Giant became one of the top food mascots of all time—here are the others.

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1920s: Wonder Bread

Wonder Bread grew in popularity in 1925, when it became America’s first sliced bread. During World War II, metal was conserved for the war effort and slicing blades weren’t available. So the loaf with the red, blue and yellow balloons on the package again became—briefly—unsliced! Learn how to make basic homemade bread with our simple recipe.

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1920s: Gerber Baby Food

When Daniel and Dorothy Gerber began straining solid foods at home to feed their infant daughter, Sally in 1927, Gerber Baby Food was born. In 1928, the company sold carrots, peas, prunes, spinach and beef vegetable soup…and debuted the famous sketch of the Gerber Baby. Have a youngster hanging around? Here are 50 kid-friendly meals that aren’t chicken nuggets.

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1930s: Birdseye Frozen Foods

Clarence Birdseye made frozen foods possible on a commercial scale when he developed a flash-freezing process, ensuring optimum food safety, texture and taste. In 1930, stores began carrying refrigerated cases filled with his frozen vegetables, fruits, meat, fish and oysters.

We asked experts why cooking makes us so nostalgic for the good old days. Here’s the answer.

1930s: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

“A meal for 4…in 9 minutes.” That slogan appeared on yellow boxes of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, which first hit supermarkets in 1937. The 19¢ meal proved popular during the economic hardships of the Great Depression. The blue-colored box? It didn’t appear until 1954.

Find recipes for the grown-up versions of your favorite childhood foods.

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1930s: SPAM

That intriguing blend of ham and pork, SPAM made the scene in 1937. During World War II, over 100 million pounds of the “miracle meat in a can” were shipped overseas to feed allied troops…and plenty of folks enjoyed it on the home front, too.

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1940s: Cheerios

Love those O’s! General Mills introduced Cheerioats, the first ready-to-eat oat cereal, in 1941. In a bright yellow box with a big blue circle, Cheerioats also had a mascot—Cheeri O’ Leary. The cereal’s name was shortened to Cheerios in 1945. When it comes to modern-day Cheerios, don’t stop at milk. Here are 12 delicious recipes to make with your O’s.

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1940s: Betty Crocker Cake Mixes

A dessert shortcut gained widespread popularity when General Mills offered Betty Crocker cake mixes in 1948. Home cooks who were tired of baking from scratch now had an alternative that still tasted good. In other words, they could have their cake and eat it, too!

Was Betty Crocker a real person?

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1950s: TV Dinners

With I Love Lucy and other hit TV shows, it’s no wonder Americans were glued to the tube in the 1950s. Swanson made it easy to stay there when the company debuted TV dinners in 1953. For 98¢, TV watchers could enjoy a main course and several side dishes—all on a disposable, oven-ready tray.

Find the best of the ’50s and beyond with these retro potluck recipes.

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1950s: Diet Soda

By the time the 1950s rolled around, sugary soft drinks had existed for decades. But weight-conscious folks cheered when Diet Rite Cola, the first zero-calorie diet soda offered nationally, appeared in 1958. By the early 1960s, it was the fourth most popular soda in the United States.

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1960s: Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Who can resist the lovable giggle and belly poke of Poppin’ Fresh? The Pillsbury Doughboy first won hearts in a TV commercial for Crescent Rolls in 1965. Since that time, the cute character has been in hundreds of commercials featuring more than 50 Pillsbury products.

See our most-shared vintage recipes of all-time.

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1960s; Cool Whip

In 1966, sweet tooths could top off their desserts in a jiffy thanks to Cool Whip. The ready-made, frozen whipped topping quickly replaced real whipped cream for many home cooks and became a holiday staple.

Get a taste of the ’60s with these inspired vintage recipes!

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1970s: Hamburger Helper

Amidst rising beef prices and an economic recession, General Mills debuted Hamburger Helper in 1971 to help families stretch their food budgets. With the added appeal of an entire meal prepared in one pan, the first Hamburger Helper flavors included Beef Noodle, Potato Stroganoff and Rice Oriental.

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1970s: Fondue

A national dish of Switzerland, fondue was all the rage of ’70s gatherings and après ski parties. This trend spawned scores of home fondue sets—table-top pots for melting cheese and long skewer-like forks for dipping bread, veggies and meats. (Fondue is making a comeback so dust off your old set.)

Throw a1970s party with fondue, ambrosia, gelatin salads and more. Here’s the menu!

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1970s; Happy Meals

This decade saw the birth of the Happy Meal, and since then kids everywhere have been bugging their parents for this McDonald’s treat—mostly for the toy inside! Along with a cookie and a soda, those first Happy Meals included prizes like a stencil, spinning top or McDonaldland character eraser.

1980s: Pesto

“Pesto is the quiche of the eighties.” This line from When Harry Met Sally captures the fascination Americans had with traditional Italian cuisine. More people were dining out and discovering dishes like Eggplant Parmigiana and Chicken Piccata, and the tastes of sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil and fresh basil pesto.

1980s: Pizza Rolls

Kids of the ’80s loved their pizza rolls, a bite-sized way to get that pizza flavor we craved—driven in part from repeated viewings of those pizza-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! But pizza rolls (first introduced under Jeno’s, later as Totino’s) were loved by adults too, as an easy-to-make pizza appetizer.

Next: Try these low-carb mini pizza appetizers.

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1990s: Crystal Pepsi

Trying to capitalize on the fad of “clear = pure” (remember Ivory Clear Soap and Clearly Canadian Water?) Pepsi gave us this clear, caffeine-free cola in 1993. Despite a campaign that included a Van Halen song and a Super Bowl ad, Crystal Pepsi did not catch on and disappeared from store shelves rather quickly.

Here are the best regional sodas from every state. Do you recogize a few?

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1990s: Molten Chocolate Cake

A French chef working in New York City accidentally touched off a popular dessert trend of the ’90s. The little chocolate cakes Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten made for a large party were underbaked, with liquid centers—and people loved them! Soon molten chocolate cakes (sometimes called lava cakes) were on restaurant dessert menus everywhere.

This collection of vintage desserts will give you inspiration for your next sweet treat!

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1990s: Lunchables

Time-crunched parents were happy to send kids to school with these easy, pre-packed lunches. And kids thought it was cool to assemble their own mini pizzas or cracker-deli meat stacks, with a drink and candy to boot. Lunchables are still around, and the appeal of this compartmentalized meal is also seen today in DIY bento box-style lunches.

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2000s: Cupcakes

Cupcakes experienced a surge in popularity in the early 2000s. After a cupcake-eating scene outside Magnolia Bakery in an episode of Sex and the City, customers flocked to the pastry shop for weeks after to get a cupcake of their own. Cupcake bakeries popped up across the country offering decadent varieties like Salted Caramel.

Cupcakes will always be in style, especially with flavors like Tres Leches and Key Lime Pie.

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2000s: Bacon Everything

The love for bacon reached a fever pitch in this decade, some say due to the popularity of meat-heavy diets like Atkins. People everywhere embraced their love affair with bacon—wrapping it around whole turkeys, crumbling it over doughnuts and adding it to cocktails. There were bacon-themed products too, like toothpaste and gum!

How many ways are there to enjoy bacon?