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January 19, 2021

6 Nostalgic Foods We Ate in the 80s

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If you’re in your 40s you’ll probably remember dinnertime with these 6 nostalgic foods we ate in the 80s. And I share with your their modern, Instant Pot or slow cooker, counterparts.

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6 Nostalgic Foods We Ate in the 80s

Nostalgic Foods we ate in the 80s

As a child raised in the 80s, I have a lot of fond food memories. I grew up with 6 siblings, a stay at home mom and a hard working dad. We always ate dinner at home. I hardly remember going out to a restaurant. Like ever. I do remember the trips to Pizza Hut every now and then to redeem a Book It personal pan pizza. Man, those were the best. A whole (little) pizza all to yourself.

Mom would cook dinner every night. Lots of casseroles. Meals that would stretch a pound of meat farther. She would also seem to prepare a lot of side dishes…canned green beans, broccoli with homemade cheese sauce and canned peaches battered in graham cracker crumbs and topped with a dollop of cool whip.

About 1983 (before my youngest sister was born). I’m the second youngest in the photo next to the baby. Also what was up with Nicole’s hair and glasses?

While convenience foods and microwaves became popular in the 80s we still made a lot of our foods from scratch. I do remember wishing for boxed mac and cheese and boxed hamburger helper. I’ll always remember the time Mom made hamburger helper over a camp stove when we stayed in a cabin at Yellowstone. I thought it was the best dinner I ever had.

I also greedily stared at the other kids’ lunchbox contents in elementary school. Fruit roll-ups, twinkies, ding dongs and white Wonderbread sandwiches were the wish of my heart. But instead I got a real turkey sandwich on homemade wheat bread…I was so picked on! (Insert eye roll here. What was I thinking??? I must have had a garbage palate).

I also remember drinking milk with every meal. Like a whole glass of milk. Although for many of my growing up years we had powdered milk. I thought it was great back then…that’s all I knew. Now if I tried to have it on my cereal I think I would gag lol!!

Greg has a lot of the same feelings that I do regarding growing up in the 80s. He also had 6 siblings. He also hardly went out to dinner. His mom cooked dinner every night just like my mom. There was a lot of complaining, apparently, about his mom’s salmon surprise casserole. And Greg was NOT a fan of broccoli casserole. If I ever make something with cooked broccoli in it he’ll politely pass on dinner. I love broccoli cheese and rice casserole…he, however, is not a fan. Our poor moms. They worked so hard to make a nice homemade dinner with limited funds and I’m sure at least 2 out of their 7 kids complained (if not more).

Here are 6 nostalgic foods we ate in the 80s. Can you add to my list? Make a comment below and tell me what you can remember eating in the 80s.

#1: Sloppy Joes

“A sandwich is a sandwich, but a Manwich is a meal.” Don’t you remember the tagline? My grandma always made sloppy joes for an easy meal the night before Thanksgiving. Of course, she didn’t use a can of Manwich but a homemade recipe.

These days I’m loving my creamy sloppy joe recipe which brings the loose meat sandwich to a whole new level. It adds in cream cheese. Drop the mike!

You might also want to try the Maid Rite Loose Meat Sandwiches. These are not so saucy and have a different flavor profile than sloppy joes.

Instant Pot Creamy Sloppy Joes
Slow Cooker Creamy Sloppy Joes
Instant Pot Sloppy Joe Pasta
Instant Pot Maid Rite Sandwiches
  • Creamy Sloppy Joes
  • Sloppy Joe Pasta
  • Maid Rite Sandwiches

#2: Rice A Roni

Although we didn’t have a ton of boxed foods this was one I always remember being in our pantry. The “San Francisco treat” was always happily gobbled up. Try making the homemade version in your Instant Pot or slow cooker. Pro tip: buy vermicelli so you don’t have to take time breaking spaghetti into small pieces.

Instant Pot Rice A Roni
Slow Cooker Rice A Roni

#3: Shepherd’s Pie

Oh how I loved me some shepherd’s pie! Mom would usually make this on a Monday with leftover mashed potatoes from Sunday night’s dinner. She used ground beef, canned green beans, canned tomato soup, mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese. Kind of an odd combination as I think back on it. I loved it. My sister, Gina, hated it. There’s always one kid you can’t please! Try my Instant Pot shepherd’s pie casserole for an updated take on this classic.

Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie Casserole
Slow Cooker Shepherd’s Pie Casserole

#4: Pasta Primavera

The New York Times says (speaking of pasta primavera), “The dish, rarely seen now, became an absurdity of 1980s so-called seasonal cooking. Meant to be an expression of spring, the mad jumble of vegetables over pasta was mostly an expression of the death match between French and Italian cuisine (cream versus olive oil, sauce versus pasta).”

I probably ate this dish more in the 90s than the 80s. We always made ours with penne pasta instead of spaghetti. I loved it and still do!

Instant Pot Pasta Primavera
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta Primavera
  • Pasta Primavera
  • Creamy Chicken Primavera

#5: Beef Stroganoff

I never knew that “real” beef stroganoff was made with top sirloin or another expensive cut of beef. I always had the ground beef version of stroganoff growing up. I loved the egg noodles, creamy sour cream sauce and mushrooms (which my sister Alicia would always pick out). Try making stroganoff with beef stew meat! It works so well in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.

Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Instant Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff
Slow Cooker Ground Beef Stroganoff
  • Beef Stroganoff
  • Ground Beef Stroganoff

#6: Hot Pockets

Hot pockets hit the freezer aisle of grocery stores in 1983. And I’m 100% certain that the only place I ever ate a hot pocket was at a friend’s house. I know my mom wouldn’t have purchased them. These days I’m loving making homemade hot pockets. The bread dough comes together easily when you proof it in your Instant Pot. Mix and match your favorite fillings. You can eat these fresh or freeze them for later. Make sure to yell out the sing-song slogan “Hot Pockets!” before partaking and watch Jim Gaffigan’s bit on Hot Pockets for a chuckle.

Homemade Hot Pockets

More throwback recipes…

Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs

Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie

Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper

Instant Pot Salisbury Steak

Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls

7 Layer Dip

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    50 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Collections, Instant Pot, Slow Cooker

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    Comments

    1. Richard Criswell says

      February 28, 2022 at 3:34 pm

      YOUR NOSTALGIC FOODS LIST SURE RANG A BELL AT THIS HOUSEHOLD. JUST ABOUT EVERY ITEM LISTED IN THE MESSAGES WAS IN THE REGULAR MENU FOR OUR 5 SONS DURING THOSE TIMES oNE THAT WAS OFTEN SERVED WAS OPEN FACE SPAM AND CHEESE SANDWICHES BUT ALL THOSE GOOD EATS MUST HAVE OK i JUST TURNED 90 YEARS OLD AND THREE OF MY SON ARE NOW RETIRED
      yOUR COOKBOOK IS MY BIBLE

      Reply
      • Karen says

        February 28, 2022 at 4:02 pm

        Wow 90 years old and still cooking! I’m so proud of you!

        Reply
    2. Debbie Thomas says

      April 2, 2021 at 11:04 pm

      As the oldest of six boys and girls, I seemed to peel potatoes EVERY NIGHT and didn’t start cooking (bless my husband) until I discovered the Instant Pot just a few years ago (of which your website ,Karen, is one of my favorites) To this day, I have never fried a chicken because we had chicken and mashed potatoes almost every Sunday and what potatoes we didn’t eat, we had later in the week, with MORE mashed potatoes!

      Preparing chicken in the Instant Pot is soooo much more fun!

      Reply
      • Karen says

        April 3, 2021 at 4:45 pm

        Ha! I love this. Thanks for sharing the nostalgia!

        Reply
    3. Kim B. says

      April 2, 2021 at 12:29 pm

      OMGoodness! Your comment about the Pizza Hut Book It pizzas sure brought back memories. I was teaching 1st grade during the 80’s & 90’s and my kids would work their little “hiney-bumpers” off to get those free little pan pizzas! I made them keep a Reading Journal & they were soooo proud when I’d check it & hand them that little coupon. You’d have thought I gave them a gold brick!! Super good memories. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        April 3, 2021 at 4:52 pm

        🤣 They were super motivating!!

        Reply
    4. Cindy says

      April 2, 2021 at 11:50 am

      I enjoyed your post and family photo snd the details about all that your mom did. Her mom must have trained her well! Today’s girls don’t seem to be schooled so much with the old fashioned honored role of mother and wife. Our childhood fave was Friday nights: “Kraft dinner (what we called the boxed Mac n cheese) and fish sticks” followed by the Brady bunch, the partridge family and the Carol Burnett show!
      My husband mother raised 3 kids on her own mostly and served her children all manner of meat stretching casseroles and fried baloney sandwiches and shepherds pie (which my husband hated with a white hot burning passion – stuffed it into his Johnny walker high tops one night after his mom left the table !

      Reply
      • Karen says

        April 3, 2021 at 4:53 pm

        Oh man! He stuffed the casserole in his shoes??? That is so funny 🤣

        Reply
    5. Lara says

      April 2, 2021 at 11:08 am

      We did a lot of spaghetti, meatloaf, tacos, and soups. Sunday special dinner was lamb chops with steamed cauliflower and a white cream sauce and peas. She also did sausages over mashed potatoes with a cream of mushroom soup can using only half a can of milk so it was a gravy.

      Reply
      • Lara says

        April 2, 2021 at 11:13 am

        Oh, and we also did a lot of Libby’s canned corned beef hash which I dearly love to this day.
        We didn’t eat out much on average. I grew up more in the 70s. By 85, I had left for college and tried all kinds of different casseroles and things my mom hadn’t made. But what did I want when I came home? Meatloaf and her hamburger soup. I can follow her recipe but it never tastes the same…it’s missing that love that got cooked into it.

        Reply
        • Karen says

          April 3, 2021 at 4:54 pm

          Food is never as good when you have to make it yourself! That’s what I think!

          Reply
      • Karen says

        April 3, 2021 at 4:55 pm

        We never had lamb chops and now I’m feeling picked on 🤣

        Reply
    6. Yvonne says

      April 2, 2021 at 10:45 am

      Loved your family photo! Seven sisters, wow.
      You also told our story, hardly ever ate out. Did not have fast foods back then, Not even KFC.
      Thanks for sharing yourself with us.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        April 3, 2021 at 4:56 pm

        You’re welcome! Thanks for indulging me!

        Reply
    7. Peggy Bawden says

      January 23, 2021 at 1:54 pm

      Karen, my family lived in Great Falls in the 80’s and 90’s and knew your family. We are a lot of the same meals on a budget that your family did. I’m loving your recipes.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 26, 2021 at 2:33 pm

        Oh how fun! Your name sounds SO familiar. I will ask my mom.

        Reply
    8. pat wilson says

      January 21, 2021 at 7:38 am

      Oh now my mouth is watering Nancy. I have not had a beef tongue in years. my mom used to pickle it too and was that a treat. if I ever find one in store again I think tongue would be perfect in IP. Thanks for the memories.

      Reply
      • Lara says

        April 2, 2021 at 11:10 am

        My mom loved beef tongue as well. When we first moved to San Jose, she found a German deli where she was able to get it. It’s long gone and the other German delis won’t make it. Do you have a good butcher you could talk to? I wanted an old hen to fricasse in my IP and my butcher was able to find me one…frozen solid like a cannon ball but the coq au vin was flavorful.

        Reply
    9. Carrie says

      January 20, 2021 at 11:57 am

      What about. SOS…OR HAM HOCKS AND BEANS OVER WHITE BUTTERED BREAD. Or tv dinners before microwaves..we waited till they cooked in oven.. we were a patient crew back in the day.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:40 pm

        Oh man…I remember when we first got a microwave. Such a huge deal!!! That and the VCR. So funny.

        Reply
      • Joanna says

        January 21, 2021 at 12:04 am

        We had SOS all the time! I was a military thing , lol. I loved that stuff. I made it for my kids a while back and they were NOT impressed. 😆

        Reply
        • J Jo says

          January 23, 2021 at 12:06 am

          ‘Creamed Dried Beef’ (if you please), was a treat when mom made it for us. (over mashed potatoes…) YUMMM!

          Reply
        • Mama says

          January 26, 2021 at 11:22 am

          I LOVED SOS! Military brat here. I just bought a jar of chipped beef to serve it to my military brat kids so we will see how that goes! They did LOVE biscuits and sausage country gravy. Found a super easy and great “scratch” biscuit recipe and they ate it all and wanted more!

          Reply
    10. Denise says

      January 20, 2021 at 6:32 am

      That’s ugly! No need to make those type of comments. If you don’t like it just move on….

      Reply
    11. Barbara says

      January 20, 2021 at 1:36 am

      Don’t forget the tuna casserole or the ham hock bean soup.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:40 pm

        Yes the tuna casserole! For sure! And the ham and bean soup with the ham bone in it…mmmmm

        Reply
      • J Jo says

        January 23, 2021 at 12:09 am

        Mac ‘n Cheese Tuna casserole… I’ve tried making that, but its not the same at all! Mom didn’t use recipes for casseroles… a kitchen veteran all the way!

        Reply
    12. John says

      January 19, 2021 at 9:03 pm

      Shepherd’s pie can not contain beef, it’s a cottage pie if it has beef. Why? Shepherd’s preferred sheep.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:39 pm

        Lol! I don’t know why we called it that. It’s more like beef casserole. But that doesn’t sound as fun.

        Reply
        • Mom says

          January 26, 2021 at 12:03 pm

          Growing up, our shepherd’s pie was ground beef mixed with cream of mushroom soup that was put in a greased casserole dish on top of drained, canned green beans, covered with a later of mashed potato (sprinkled with paprika because you can’t serve plain white food) and baked. My family still enjoys this dish!

          Reply
          • Karen says

            January 26, 2021 at 1:48 pm

            Sounds good!

            Reply
    13. Lori Sari says

      January 19, 2021 at 7:57 pm

      There was only 3 kids in my family, but my childhood was similar. My mom was a school nurse in a high school, so she was home by 3 and cooked every night. Spaghetti with homemade sauce and meatballs, homemade chili and rice, beef stew with dumplings. She made great homemade soups too. A lot of meals were things she could make ahead of time on the weekend and then freeze. Occasionally we had hot dogs and baked beans with sauerkraut. Rarely went out to eat (usually Sunday brunch after church). Once in a great while we had take out pizza or Chinese. I didn’t have Spaghettios, Hamburger Helper, or Rice a Roni till I was in college! 😂

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:39 pm

        Your mom sounds wonderful! I’d love to eat those dumplings and beef stew yummmm

        Reply
      • Betty says

        February 28, 2022 at 1:43 pm

        Karen. Yours is my go for the instant pot. I wish they would include your web site with every pressure cooker sold. Had I not found you my instant pot would be delegated to a far away shelf and used twice a year if that. Thanks so much!
        As a retired hospice nurse I have to share with you one of my experiences. My patient was a wonderful man with supportive family..a wife and 7 daughters ! Using there bathroom I noted a plaque on the wall stating “there is a special place in heaven for a man with 7 daughters”. With a smile I commented on it and his reply was “ya. And only one bathroom!” Bless you and yours.

        Reply
        • Karen says

          February 28, 2022 at 4:13 pm

          Haha I love hearing this story Betty! I will have to tell my Dad that.

          Reply
    14. Jason C. says

      January 19, 2021 at 5:06 pm

      I can’t believe you wrote my childhood down so exactly. 🤯
      Turkey a’la king. Which, honestly I don’t know what it was. Left over chicken mixed with mayo and served on toast? I remember it was served on toast from one of those awful toasters that could only burn things…on one side of the bread.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:38 pm

        My mom would make gravy with peas in it and we’d eat it over toast. I loved it lol!! And that’s so funny about the toaster!! Gotta make do

        Reply
    15. Mary Westerlund says

      January 19, 2021 at 12:10 pm

      My Mom always made chili with beans. This was served on a pile of mashed potatoes and then covered with canned corn. I still make this occasionally although my husband gags 🤣.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:37 pm

        I like that idea! Chili on mashed potatoes. Maybe not the corn though lol

        Reply
        • richv says

          April 2, 2021 at 11:29 am

          Chili is a good filler for potato skins, also.

          Three kids in Indiana; but we dined similarly in the fifties. Creamed chipped beef was a frequent entre as were buttered noodles and tuna casserole (can’t even look at it now).

          Reply
          • Karen says

            April 3, 2021 at 4:54 pm

            I think a lot of us feel that same way about tuna dishes 🤣🤣

            Reply
    16. Nancy Sorrels says

      January 19, 2021 at 11:52 am

      I got a chuckle out of your lunchbox description. I always said my beef heart or tongue sandwich was “roast beef” as I knew if truth was told there would be gagging and squealing. That was my childhood in the 50s, no bit went unused. My children, in the 70s and 80s, were much pickier than I, fatherly influence. We did partake of tuna casserole, hot dogs and beans, turkey tetrazzini and tamale pies. I remember my kids gagging when I repurposed leftover grits as fried mush with syrup. I think that is served in fancy places now as polenta and serve it with tomato sauce. Sorry for rambling but you triggered some memories.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:37 pm

        Oh yes! I forgot about tetrazzini. My mom would always make chicken tetrazzini. We loved it. And I actually think the grits sound good! lol!!

        Reply
    17. Lisa Anderson says

      January 19, 2021 at 11:48 am

      We had the same shepard’s pie! Because it doesn’t look like today’s shepard’s pie, I call it hamburger casserole. I still make it today, I love it.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:35 pm

        Ha! Yes hamburger casserole is probably a more accurate name. Shepherd’s pie was what my mom called it. Not sure why!

        Reply
      • Cheryl says

        June 11, 2021 at 4:23 pm

        Similar experience in the 70s & 80s, remembering all the weekly meals like meatloaf and spaghetti! We had potatoes with every meal, and some kind of salad, lots of times they were jello “salads” with fruit in them or apple salad with mini marshmallows and nuts, coated with miracle whip and dream whip… If we didn’t like the meal, we sat there til we finished cleaning our plates – ugh! I don’t remember hiding food to avoid having to eat it, but my oldest friend loves to tease me about the pork chop I pulled out my sock…

        Reply
        • Karen says

          June 12, 2021 at 8:07 pm

          LOL!!! Did you really do that with your pork chop??

          Reply
    18. Brett Piercy says

      January 19, 2021 at 11:30 am

      lol We had the ground beef stroganoff too! I remember when I was an adult and I went to make it and searched the Campbell’s website for the recipe and saw that it called for a cut of meat. I laughed my head off because I could just imagine my (Depression-era) grandmother saying, “Sirloin? What are we, Rockerfellers?!” and using ground beef. Other funny story: My little brother wouldn’t eat it, so my mom served it over rice instead of noodles and called it Mr. McGillagoo, and he LOVED it.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        January 20, 2021 at 2:34 pm

        I love your comment! The Rockerfellers?? Haha! My friends mom would always say to us when we left the lights on, “what do you think we are? Millionares???” And I love the name Mr McGillagoo. That is great. I’ll try that on my son 😂

        Reply
        • sirpo says

          August 28, 2021 at 4:54 pm

          your son wasen’t raised in the 50’s or 60 ‘s so would probably be clueless

          Reply

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    Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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