The 1960s was truly a decade unlike any other. It’s the decade of JFK, of the Beatles, of Vietnam. It’s the decade that gave us “free love” and the hippies, the decade that sent a man to the moon. It’s a decade that’s easily to be nostalgic for, and for those who were too young to experience it, it’s a decade that’s easy to wish you could have. Well, we’ve got some good news for you, because even though plenty of the decade’s signature foods may not be as popular as they once were, they’re still out there if you know where to look.
The Postwar era saw a boom in foods that were meant to make our lives more convenient, and the ‘60s was its zenith. Why spend hours over the stove when you could just stick a TV dinner in the oven and have a hot meal in minutes? Why follow a complicated recipe of expensive fresh foods for a dish that’s big enough to feed a crowd, when you can make a delicious casserole with nothing but inexpensive canned and packaged ingredients?
In the 1960s, food science grew by leaps and bounds. Artificial sugar substitutes gave us diet soda and foods that were sweet while also magically being sugar-free. Hydrogenated oils allowed foods that used to quickly spoil to magically be shelf-stable. And thanks to savvy marketing, brands found new ways to get their products in front of as many people as possible – and recipes featuring those products, usually published right on the product itself, took off like wildfire.
In choosing this list, we made sure to only include foods that were more popular in the 1960s than they are today, and are considered “retro.” For example, fondue and Swedish meatballs are certainly still popular, but if you bust those out at a party you’ll definitely hear at least a couple of people mention the ‘60s.
In the same vein, we excluded foods that – while still very popular in the 1960s – are just as popular today. Pringles and Pop-Tarts were introduced and exploded in popularity in the 1960s, but they never fell out of fashion, and shrimp cocktail is nearly as omnipresent today as it was back then, so ordering them as an appetizer isn’t exactly going to send you back in time.
Nowadays, with the “farm to table” movement going strong, farmers’ markets popping up in every town center, and more and more people avoiding processed foods in favor of ones with only easily pronounceable ingredients, it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t so long ago that processed foods were considered modern marvels. Of course, now we know that much of the nutritional value of the decade’s most popular foods was sacrificed for the sake of convenience, but if you’re looking to take a little trip down memory lane, these foods will definitely take you back to the 1960s. And if the 1970s are closer to your heart, these foods will take you right back to that decade, too.
Astronaut Ice Cream
With the Space Age going strong, the 60s saw the invention of “space food,” none more famous than Astronaut Ice Cream. Marketed as a food developed to be eaten in space, it’s a slice of freeze-fried Neapolitan ice cream that, sadly, has never actually been eaten in space.
Tang
Another Space Age innovation, Tang was introduced in 1959 and became super-popular in 1962 when it was used on John Glenn’s Mercury flight. The powdered orange drink became the era’s defining drink.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
With ingredients that are inexpensive and easy to find at the supermarket, and a recipe that involves just putting everything in a baking dish and baking it in the oven, casseroles make for an easy dinner or potluck dish. This was never more true than in the ‘60s, when the easier and more convenient a meal was to prepare, the more in vogue it was. Perhaps no casserole is more associated with the decade than tuna noodle casserole, a combination of tuna, egg noodles, cheddar, peas, onions, and condensed cream of mushroom or celery soup, with crunchy potato chips on top.
Jell-O Molds
Easy to make, easy to serve, easy to transport, visually appealing (at least most of the time) and endlessly variable, Jell-O molds were popular appetizer and dessert options in the 1960s. Made by putting Jell-O (while still in its liquid form) into a mold and adding fruit, nuts, or other ingredients into molds and letting it chill, the end result was a mold that could easily be sliced and served. Things began to go off the rails a bit once savory ingredients got involved, however: the decade saw everything from sliced hot dogs to olives to shrimp to hard-boiled eggs work their way into Jell-O molds.
SpaghettiO’s
Invented by the Campbell’s Soup Company under the Franco-American brand in 1965, SpaghettiO’s were marketed to parents as a less messy way to feed kids spaghetti (Its tagline was “the neat round spaghetti you can eat with a spoon”). It was also a super-convenient and easy meal; just open up the can, heat it on the stovetop, and serve.
Green Bean Casserole
Another era-defining casserole, green bean casserole was created in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly at the Campbell’s Soup Campany as a way to sell their new Cream of Mushroom Soup and was fully integrated into the American diet by the ‘60s. Made by combining a handful of easy-to-find ingredients – Cream of Mushroom Soup, canned green beans, milk, soy sauce, and black pepper – and topped with canned French fried onions, it remains a popular Thanksgiving side dish to this day.
Swanson Salisbury Steak TV Dinner
The quintessential easy meal, TV dinners were developed in the 1950s and had made their way into just about every freezer by the 1960s. The variety of TV dinner options increased as the decade went on, but there’s something so insanely retro about the Swanson Salisbury Steak TV Dinner that it takes us back to the 60s more than any other.
Lipton Onion Soup Dip
Made by combining Lipton’s onion soup mix with sour cream, onion soup dip was such an essential party snack of the 1960s that just about every gathering had a bowl of the stuff, partnered with some potato chips. The dip’s recipe was added to Lipton Onion Soup packets in 1958, and within a couple of years, it had caught on like wildfire.
Pu Pu Platters
The ‘60s were the golden age of the Tiki craze, with Polynesian-inspired foods seeing a massive surge in popularity. Pu Pu Platters were the ultimate Tiki appetizer sampler. It’s an assortment of egg rolls, spare ribs, satay, coconut shrimp, chicken wings, and other crowd-favorite finger foods that pair well with Tiki drinks, all surrounding a small flaming grill. By the end of the decade, Pu Pu Platters even began to make their way onto Chinese restaurant menus.
Tab
History’s first diet soda, Diet Rite, was actually introduced in 1958, but diet soda didn’t become trendy until Coca-Cola introduced Tab in 1963. The cola became one of the decade’s defining beverages, but its star has faded significantly in the ensuing decades.
Swedish Meatballs
Perhaps no snack is more associated with 60s parties than Swedish meatballs. A novel change from traditional Italian meatballs served with tomato sauce, Swedish meatballs are the perfect party food because they’re bite-size and served in a chafing dish, swimming in a pool of gravy with tart lingonberry jam on the side. Stick a toothpick in it, and you’ve got the perfect ‘60s hors d’oeuvre.
Fondue
Of course, no mention of ‘60s party foods is complete without some fondue. A rich, bubbly pot of Swiss cheeses melted with a little white wine and garlic, it’s another perfect communal party food, and it’s also insanely fun to eat – just spear a cube of bread and get dipping. Hot oil and chocolate make for great fondues, too.
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Invented in 1966 by a woman named Ella Helfrich, the Tunnel of Fudge Cake won that year’s Pillsbury Bake-Off and rocketed to superstardom. It’s a chocolate walnut cake that’s baked in a bundt pan, and it gets its name due to its fudgy, slightly underbaked center. The cake was so popular that it led to nationwide sales of nearly 60 million bundt pans, but you don’t encounter it too frequently anymore, at least in part because a key ingredient, Jiffy’s Double Dutch Frosting Mix, was discontinued in the 1980s. However, if you’d like to make one at home, you can find the recipe online.
Jell-O Whip ‘n Chill
Introduced as a Jell-O spinoff in the ‘60s, Whip ‘n Chill was a powder that, through the magic of food science, turned into a mousse-like dessert that could also easily double as a pie filling. Flavors included chocolate, vanilla, lemon, and strawberry. The novelty began to wear off once people realized that the combination of Space Age ingredients – which included propylene glycol monostearate, sodium casienate, acetylated monoglycerides, cellulose gum, hydroxylated lecithin, sodium silico aluminate, and sodium stearoyl-2- lactylate – was maybe not incredibly desirable. While you can no longer experience the authentic Whip ‘n Chill for yourself, you can make a copycat at home with some vanilla pudding mix, a pack of strawberry Jell-O, and Cool Whip.
Cool Whip
Introduced in 1966 by the Birds Eye division of General Foods (now part of Kraft Heinz), Cool Whip was invented by food scientist William A. Mitchell as a whipped topping that could be sold frozen. Even though it doesn’t have the same flavor or texture as whipped cream (its primary ingredients are hydrogenated vegetable oil and high fructose corn syrup), it’s one of those convenience foods that was perfect for the 1960s.
Chiffon Margarine
Introduced by Nabisco in the 1960s, Chiffon Margarine is one of those foods that was extremely popular in the 1960s but is relatively unknown today. But the odds are high that if you had margarine in your fridge during the decade, it was most likely Chiffon brand.
Funny Face Drink Mix
A line of powdered drink mixes introduced by Pillsbury in the 1960s, Funny Face Drink Mix was silly and groovy, clearly intended to tap into youth culture. Introduced to compete with the more popular Kool-Aid, the drink mixes featured cartoon characters on the label, each associated with a different flavor: Goofy Grape, Rootin’-Tootin’ Raspberry, Freckle Face Strawberry, Loud-Mouth Lime, Injun Orange, and Chinese Cherry. Obviously, those last two were deemed pretty offensive and renamed. Even though it was popular at the time, it was phased out starting in the 1990s. While you can no longer mix up some Funny Face, Kool-Aid is still going strong.
Ambrosia Salad
With origins in the South, Ambrosia Salad was another popular side dish, holiday dish, and potluck food of the 1960s. Like its cousin, the casserole, it’s also made with a melange of shelf-stable ingredients, usually including canned pineapple and mandarin oranges, mini marshmallows, and coconut, with mayo, whipped cream, sour cream, yogurt, or pudding as a binder. Plenty of additional ingredients can make their way in, including nuts, bananas, berries, and maraschino cherries. While still popular in the South, its ‘60s heyday is in the past.
Deviled Ham Sandwiches
A mixture of ground ham and seasoning, deviled ham was first canned in 1868 by the William Underwood Company and can still be found on convenience store shelves today. It was far more popular in the 1960s than it is today, especially as a sandwich meat; the company recommends combining their deviled ham with cream cheese, onion, pimento, sweet relish, and mustard into a sandwich spread.
Jello Salads
A form of Jell-O mold, jello salads could be made with unflavored gelatin suspending the traditional components of a salad (tomato, carrots, etc.) and even mayo or salad dressing. More commonly, however, it was usually flavored Jell-O, suspending little bits of everything from fruit cocktail to pretzels to mini marshmallows to nuts, and it also sometimes included cottage cheese or cream cheese. It was a popular potluck dish that (when made correctly) can still be a hit at a 60s party, especially when paired with the decade’s biggest hits as a soundtrack. (These are the biggest hits from the ’60s, according to Billboard.)