30 Good Old Recipes from Grandma's Kitchen (2024)

Explore our list of vintage recipes your grandma used to make. We're sure you'll see an old family recipe you forgot on our list.

By: Jamie Garcia, Editor, RecipeLion.com

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30 Good Old Recipes from Grandma's Kitchen (1)

There's nothing quite like old fashioned recipes to get you excited about sitting down to dinner. These comforting dishes might be staples in our homes and are likely to evoke memories from our childhood. From days spent with our moms in the kitchen to nights sitting down to the table with the whole family, food-centered nostalgia is a powerful thing. Prepare for a yummy and comforting dose of nostalgia when you scroll through the tasty recipes straight from my (and your) grandma's kitchen. We love old family recipes and tried to include as many as we could below.

So much quality time is spent over delicious meals in fact, that we wanted to share some old fashioned recipes we remember fondly. We've gathered 30 vintagerecipes that have been the cornerstone of so many American dinner tables. With these classic old recipes (some of which are even better than you remember), we hope you'll be able to recreate some of the nostalgia you remember from your youth and recreate that for your family. Take a stroll down memory lane, indulge in some comfort food, and introduce a vintage favorite to your family.

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And to start, take a look at our test kitchen recipe for Grandma's Old Fashioned Aspic:

Table of Contents

  • Old Fashioned Dinner Recipes
  • Old Fashioned Dessert Recipes

Old Fashioned Dinner Recipes

These old fashioned dinner recipes will bring back those memories of what it was like gathering around the dinner table as a child. From classic recipes Mom used to make like tuna casserole and meatloaf to recipes you might remember from the diner, like chicken fried chicken and Salisbury steak, these old fashioned meals are bound to please.

Start with this recipe for Comforting Tuna Noodle Casserole!

Perfect Shepherd's Pie

The fluffy potatoes and hearty filling in this vintage shepherd's pie recipe will have your family running to the table. It's one of grandma's recipes that we think she's happy to let us steal.

Southern Chicken Fried Chicken

The fluffy potatoes and hearty filling in this vintage shepherd's pie recipe will have your family running to the table. It's one of grandma's recipes that we think she's happy to let us steal.

Cheesy Bacon Pasta

This comforting casserole is one of those old fashioned meals that will never go out of style. It's easy to make, full of yummy ingredients like bacon and tomatoes, and perfect in just about any season.

Old Fashioned German Goulash

You're going to want to go back for seconds of this recipe. Complete with hearty beef and tender egg noodles, this goulash is exactly what we picture when we think of classic German cooking.

Vintage Hoppin John in a Slow Cooker

This recipe is hearty, delicious, and couldn't be easier to make. Just let it hang out in the slow cooker and enjoy a delicious meal in the evening.

Old Fashioned Meatloaf

Meatloaf can be a polarizing meal, but we're sure that you're going to love Paula Deen's take on old fashioned meatloaf.

Dump and Go Amish Casserole

This easy Amish casserole is perfect for enjoying on any weeknight. It's a snap to make, and everyone will want to go back for seconds.

Classic Salisbury Steak Recipe

When we talk about old fashioned cooking, salisbury steak is always a recipe that comes to my mind. It's rich and flavorful, and it's a classic that I turn to again and again.

Old Fashioned Beef and Noodles

This old time recipe is comfort food at its best. Rich roast beef and gravy flood over tender egg noodles. You'll pick up your fork for the first bite and find it difficult to put it down at the end of the meal.

Old-Fashioned Southern Macaroni and Cheese

Baked mac and cheese is a classic, and we're happy to share this Civil War era version with you! It's got everything you love in a good macaroni and cheese recipe.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

We're love taking old recipes and making them new again, which is exactly what we've done here. Chicken pot pie soup has tons of flavor, but you don't have to worry about pie crust.

Blue Ribbon Meatloaf

This is one of our favorite mealoaf recipes ever. You just have to try it.

Old Fashioned Dessert Recipes

What's better than delicious old fashioned desserts? We can't think of much. Pound cake, cookies, pie, and cookie bars... the treats below are things you might remember seeing in your grandmother's cookbook. Mom may have been passed a few of these vintage recipes over the years, and now it's your turn. Pour yourself a tall glass of milk and get ready to take a trip down memory lane with these great desserts.

Start with this delicious recipe for Grandma's Magic Cake!

German Butter Pound Cake

If you're looking for a good old-fashioned German recipe, this may be one of the best. German Butter Pound Cake is a cake recipe from scratch that makes the most moist, delicious pound cake you'll ever eat.

Little Old Lady Lemon Pound Cake

This is one of our top old fashioned dessert recipes! It just doesn't get any better than this fluffy, flavorful lemon pound cake.

Old Fashioned Pecan Pie Bars

Pecan pie is another recipe that reminds us of yesteryear. But these pecan pie bars make whipping up an old fashioned pie recipe easier than ever.

Vintage Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie recipe? These are our favorites, and we think they will be yours too.

WW2 Carrot Cookies Recipe

Did you know that during the war, carrots were often used in baked goods because they were easier to get than sugar? This yummy recipe is inspired by the creative cooks at the time, and we're so pleased with the results.

Old Fashioned Divinity Recipe

This isn't exactly my grandma's recipe for divinity, but it's pretty close. She made this delicious candy at Christmas every year, and it always brings back fond memories whenever I eat it.

Vintage Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is one of those old time recipes that we're glad has never gone out of style. This one is gooey, spicy, and just what we want after dinner.

Classic Tandy Cake

Do you remember this cake? Classic Tandy Cake is made with chocolate and peanut butter, proving that old fashioned cooking is among the best there is.

Pink Stuff Recipe

TEST KITCHEN RECIPE!Pink stuff, also known as pink fluff or pink salad, is an old-fashioned recipe that is actually pretty yummy. This frozen treat has that colorful, weird look of other vintage recipes, but actually tastes sweet and tasty. Check out our full test kitchen recipe to learn where the pink hue comes from (hint: you use a specific jello flavor).

Grasshopper Pie

COOKBOOK RECIPE! This minty green cake has all the style of 1950s chiffon and all the taste of a family-favorite pie. Our vintage pie recipe can be made in 20 minutes and chilled overnight. Right out of our cookbook series, this is one of chef Addie Gundry's favorites!

Other Classic Vintage Recipes & Old Fashioned Snacks

What do sour cream doughnuts have in common with chicken pot pie? Not a lot, thankfully! But they are both delicious old fashioned recipesand they can both be found in the list below that includes a few more of our vintage favorites. We just couldn't leave these old time recipes off the list, so we hope you enjoy!

Start your feast with this recipe for Grandma Frances' Wisconsin German Potato Salad.

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts

These Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts will take you back to a simpler time and remind you just how good breakfast can taste.

Just Like Mom's Old Fashioned Stuffing

This is one of our favorite old fashioned side dish recipes. We don't just make it on Thanksgiving, we make it all year long!

Super-Easy Crab Puffs

These crab puffs remind us of co*cktail parties from years gone by. But they don't have to be a thing of the past, because this recipe is so quick and easy to make!

Our Famous Ambrosia Salad Recipe

Fruity, fluffy, and bursting with flavor, this ambrosia salad recipe is one that we just can't get enough of.

Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole

Have you ever made green bean casserole in the slow cooker? If you haven't, you should! It saves so much time, and the results are just as delicious and flavorful as ever.

Party Cheese Ball

Who doesn't love this old fashioned appetizer? Serve it with crackers for a snack that will disappear almost as soon as you set it out.

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30 Good Old Recipes from Grandma's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What were popular foods from the 30s? ›

They included: Kool-Aid powder drink, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Bisquick, Spam (precooked canned pork), Twinkies, Ritz Crackers, Lay's Potato Chips, cereals of Cheerios and Chex and Three Musketeers Bar. Maybe the most favorite item coming from the 1930s was the new Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies developed in 1938.

How do you preserve grandma's recipes? ›

A sizeable collection can be stored in standard archival file folders and boxes. Weak or damaged paper also can be placed in polyester sleeves and then in folders and boxes. Recipes also can be scanned and accessed electronically while the originals are kept in safe storage.

Where is the most delicious food in the world? ›

  • Italy. #1 in Has great food. #15 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Spain. #2 in Has great food. #17 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Mexico. #3 in Has great food. #33 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • France. #4 in Has great food. ...
  • Greece. #5 in Has great food. ...
  • Thailand. #6 in Has great food. ...
  • Turkey. #7 in Has great food. ...
  • Portugal. #8 in Has great food.

What generation eats out the most? ›

Gen Zers spend most of their disposable income on dining out, according to a report by Morning Consult.

What is Gen Z Favourite food? ›

Young people, like people of all ages, enjoy burgers, pizza, chicken, sandwiches, salad and fruit. And the younger they are, the more simple they like it, according to restaurant-hospitality.com. From middle school and beyond, their tastes broaden to include more flavours, combinations, and global variety.

What food do Gen Z eat? ›

Their preferences and eating habits are slightly different than that of Millennials. Gen Z is focused on sustainability, health, and wellness. Their food choices are more likely than any previous generation to embrace flexitarian eating habits — on-and-off vegan or vegetarian lifestyles.

What is the poor mans meal? ›

Potatoes were also inexpensive and used extensively. Some meals even used both. One of these meals was called the Poor Man's Meal. It combined potatoes, onions, and hot dogs into one hearty, inexpensive dish, which was perfect for the hard times people had fallen on.

What did the poor eat during the Depression? ›

Many cheap foods still common among the poor today made their debut during the Depression: Wonder Bread (1930), Bisquick (1931), Miracle Whip (1933), and Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (1934). Ragu spaghetti sauce, Kraft mac-n-cheese, and Hormel Spam all appeared during the Roosevelt Recession in 1937.

What is the most 80s food? ›

Top Ten Uniquely '80s Foods
  • Tab Cola.
  • Artificially Flavored Fruit Snacks. ...
  • Equal. ...
  • Orange Julius. ...
  • Tri-Color Pasta Salad. ...
  • Cool Ranch Doritos. ...
  • The California Raisins. ...
  • Jawbreakers. Like spicy food, these dangerously choke-inducing balls inspired serious candy egos. ...

What can I do with my grandma's old recipes? ›

If you have larger or full-sized 8 1/2 x 11″ recipes, you can easily store them in print pages or 3-ring page protectors, which will display Grandma's beloved apple pie recipe while keeping it safe from your everyday kitchen mishaps.

What can I do with old family recipe cards? ›

How to Display and Preserve Handwritten Recipes
  1. Showcase your handwritten recipe with a shadow box.
  2. Turn a cutting board into kitchen art.
  3. Use a small easel to hold recipes upright on the counter.
  4. Make backsplash art with customized recipe tiles.
  5. Create wall art with handwritten recipes on a canvas.
Nov 11, 2022

Where do people get recipes from? ›

Where Do Food Bloggers Get Their Recipes?
  • Follow Other Food Blogs. ...
  • Browse Social Media. ...
  • Use Recipe-Sharing Platforms. ...
  • Read Cookbooks and Food Magazines. ...
  • Eat at New Restaurants. ...
  • Discover Family Recipes. ...
  • Join Cooking Enthusiast Communities. ...
  • Take Cooking Classes.
Jan 10, 2024

How do I find the best cook? ›

The best way to ensure that you're comfortable with a potential cook is to ask questions. Start by asking about their experience, including how long they have been cooking and what types of meals they specialize in. You can also ask to see pictures of their past work or even sample some of their food if possible.

Where to find good recipes online reddit? ›

what is your most trusted source for recipes?
  1. Smitten Kitchen.
  2. Sally's Baking Addiction.
  3. NY Times.
  4. Serious Eats.
  5. Epicurious.
Dec 15, 2023

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