Canned Foods from 50 Years Ago That No One Eats Anymore (For Good Reason)

Once upon a time — before Uber Eats, air fryers, and knowing what kale was — our pantries were a treasure trove of canned culinary chaos. Some of it was iconic. Some of it was suspect. And some of it still haunts us in our dreams.

Chowhound.com just released a list of canned foods that were all the rage 50 years ago, but now mostly collect dust in fallout shelters… or the back of your grandma’s basement pantry.

Here’s a taste (and we use that word loosely) of what was once considered fine dining:

🧀 1. Canned Mac and Cheese
Yes, Chef Boyardee made it. No, it did not age like wine. Picture Velveeta sadness floating in tin-can nostalgia.

🍝 2. SpaghettiOs (Franco-American original)
Still technically on shelves… mostly still consumed by toddlers and nostalgic adults in hangover recovery.

🍮 3. Hunt’s Pudding Snack Packs
Less “canned food horror” and more “childhood lunchbox MVP,” but still — they hit different when they weren’t cold.

🐔 4. Canned Whole Chicken
This existed. A whole, soggy chicken in a can. Brought to you by Sweet Sue and nightmares.

🌽 5. Canned Tamales
They walked so frozen burritos could run. Respect. But still… mushy masa, anyone?

🥜 6. Boiled Peanuts (canned!)
A Southern delicacy — if your definition of “delicacy” includes saltwater mush with the texture of wet cork.

🍞 7. Canned Brown Bread
If you’ve never popped open a can and slid out a loaf like dog food, you haven’t lived. (Northeasterners: we see you.)

🍲 8. Campbell’s Pepper Pot Soup
Spicy tripe soup. Mostly beloved in Philly. Mostly forgotten by everyone else.

🧠 9. Canned Pork Brains in Milk Gravy
We’ll let that one speak for itself. Yes, it’s still available. Yes, on Amazon. No, we don’t know why.

🥪 10. Deviled Ham
Ground-up ham, spiced up and spreadable. Basically spam’s spicy cousin.

🥫 11. Spam Spread
Gone but not forgotten. RIP to the world's most mysterious meat paste.

🌮 12. Old El Paso Canned Tortillas
Shelf-stable tortillas. Just corn, water, and salt… and the haunting question: Why?

🍖 13. Canned Ribs
Yes, Armour once crammed ribs into a can. Pre-cut. Hickory smoked. Slightly disturbing.

RELATED: 5 Processed Foods That Aren’t as Bad as You Think

🍓 14. Libby’s Fruit Float
Just add milk and stir. Voilà — a dessert that resembled a milkshake, tasted like regret.

🍪 15. Betty Crocker Spoon & Bake Cookie Dough (in a can)
One can. Three dozen cookies. Four questionable flavours. All the convenience of 1970s baking dreams.

Bonus tip: If you didn’t eat your way through all your old canned goods during the pandemic… just hang onto them. You know, zombie apocalypse prep. Nothing says “final meal” like canned pork brains in milk gravy. Delicious AND dramatic.