In 2025, vintage recipes from the 1950s through the 1990s are staging a comeback, fueled by nostalgia and a desire for comfort amid today’s uncertainties. Rising food costs make these resourceful meals particularly appealing, as dishes like casseroles are designed to maximize flavor while minimizing expense. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have played a pivotal role in amplifying the appeal of retro recipes, with viral hashtags like #RetroCooking and #GrandmasRecipes introducing these dishes to younger generations. Heidi Bruaw, founder of the vintage recipe site Real Life of Lulu, notes that grandma’s recipes are all about comfort and nostalgia, making seventies casseroles the perfect bridge between past and present.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Born in the lean postwar years, tuna noodle casserole had worked its way so deeply into the middle-class kitchen that by the 1970s it barely needed an introduction, relying on ingredients that could survive in a suburban cabinet for months including egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and canned tuna. Tuna noodle casserole symbolizes resilience and familial connection, playing another role besides being a convenient weeknight dinner. Born in the 1930s and booming in popularity by the fifties, tuna noodle casserole has always been about comfort, with updated versions bringing the retro classic into the 21st century by upgrading the original with a velvety cheesy sauce, tender egg noodles, flaky tuna, and a golden herb-flecked topping. Modern versions skip the canned soup in favor of homemade sauces, proving this simple dish deserves its place back on dinner tables.
Green Bean Casserole
Green Bean Casserole was invented in a Campbell’s test kitchen in 1955, and by the seventies, it had broken free from its Thanksgiving-only reputation as the combination of green beans, cream-of-mushroom soup, and crispy fried onions became a year-round fixture at potlucks and buffet lines. This straightforward recipe maintained its popularity because it required minimal ingredients and delivered maximum comfort. It still remains a casserole you could count on to disappear fast. The dish continues to appear at gatherings across America, beloved for its creamy texture and crunchy topping that transforms humble green beans into something memorable. Today’s cooks appreciate its nostalgic appeal while occasionally swapping in homemade cream of mushroom soup for a fresher twist.
Funeral Potatoes
The funeral potato recipe gets its name from being served as a side dish at after-funeral luncheons, often offered as a comforting funeral food for the family of someone who recently passed away. Cheesy potatoes with cornflakes are popular in the Midwest and Mormon-populated areas, including Utah and Idaho, where the casserole is served at potlucks, family dinners and holiday gatherings. Funeral potatoes is a potato-based hotdish or casserole similar to au gratin potatoes, usually consisting of hash browns or cubed potatoes, cheese, onions, cream soup or a cream sauce, sour cream, and a topping of butter with corn flakes or crushed crackers. During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, one of the souvenir collector pins featured a depiction of funeral potatoes, cementing this regional favorite as an iconic American comfort food.
Chicken Divan
Chicken divan became a staple of seventies entertaining, offering an elegant yet practical way to use leftover chicken and frozen broccoli. The casserole layers tender chicken pieces with broccoli florets, then blankets everything in a rich, creamy sauce made from condensed soup, mayonnaise, and plenty of sharp cheddar cheese. Chicken divan is a classic chicken casserole that’s creamy, cheesy, full of chicken pieces and broccoli florets, and is perfect served with some steamed rice for a cozy family dinner. The golden, bubbly top and substantial nature of this dish made it ideal for church suppers and bridge club luncheons throughout the decade. Modern cooks are rediscovering its appeal, sometimes upgrading the sauce with fresh ingredients while keeping the comforting essence that made it a hit.
Hamburger Helper Casserole
When General Mills launched Hamburger Helper in 1971, it was pitched as a stovetop solution for stretching a single pound of ground beef, but it didn’t take long for home cooks to realize the mix worked just as well in the oven as by the mid-seventies, families were turning stroganoff, cheeseburger, and beef noodle versions into full-blown casseroles baked in a nine by thirteen dish, topped with extra cheese, and made to feed a crowd. This innovation reflected the decade’s economic realities and the creative spirit of home cooks who transformed convenience foods into satisfying family meals. The casserole format allowed the flavors to meld together while developing a golden, cheesy crust that made it even more appealing than the stovetop version. Today’s budget-conscious families are embracing these same techniques, finding that some retro shortcuts still make perfect sense.
Watergate Salad
Kraft Corporate Affairs stated they developed the recipe for Pistachio Pineapple Delight in 1975, the same year that pistachio pudding mix came out, though Kraft did not refer to it as Watergate Salad until consumers started requesting the recipe under that name. Watergate salad, sometimes called pistachio fluff, pistachio delight, or green stuff, is loaded with pistachio pudding, crushed pineapple, miniature marshmallows, and pecans. It’s thought to have originated in the Midwest and quickly gained popularity for its easy prep and unique flavor, dating back to the seventies. This vibrant green dessert salad became a fixture at potlucks and holiday tables throughout the decade, appreciated for requiring no baking and coming together in minutes. The combination of sweet, creamy, and crunchy textures made it irresistible, ensuring its appearance at virtually every family gathering during an era when convenience and creativity collided in the kitchen.
Why These Retro Dishes Are Suddenly Showing Up Everywhere Again
There’s something genuinely fascinating happening in kitchens across America right now – people are dusting off their grandmothers’ recipe cards and cooking like it’s 1976 all over again. Food historians and trend analysts point to a powerful wave of nostalgia comfort eating that really accelerated after the pandemic, when people craved the emotional warmth of familiar, uncomplicated food. Think about it – when the world feels chaotic and overwhelming, a bubbling casserole dish pulled straight from the oven hits differently than any trendy grain bowl ever could. Social media has actually been a surprising driver of this revival, with TikTok and Instagram users posting videos of themselves making these dishes and racking up millions of views from younger audiences who’ve never even tasted them before. There’s also a very real economic angle here – these recipes were designed to feed a crowd on a tight budget, which honestly feels incredibly relevant right now given today’s grocery prices. Food bloggers are calling this movement ‘retro comfort cooking’ and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. The beautiful irony is that dishes once considered embarrassingly outdated are now being celebrated as genuinely clever, resourceful cooking that modern home cooks are rediscovering with fresh eyes.
