The 70s and 80s are known for outrageous outfits, big hairstyles, and pioneering music genres, but let’s not forget the iconic comfort food enjoyed back then. Here are 18 classic dinners popular in America from the 1970s and 1980s and exactly why they deserve a comeback!
Beef Stroganoff
Named after the wealthy Russian ‘Stroganov’ family, this dish is creamy and comforting, with a touch of midweek decadence! Strips of beef in a rich cream and mushroom sauce (flavored with paprika) are served over egg noodles or rice. The dish became popular in the U.S. after appearing in a 1950s cookbook by James Beard, a celebrated American chef.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Taste says this divisive “love it or hate it” dinner dish emerged in the Pacific Northwest in the 1930s, and its popularity spread to Middle America by the 1950s. Many of us have happy childhood memories involving this casserole of tinned tuna, egg noodles, peas, and a creamy sauce (often made from canned soup) with a crunchy, cheesy breadcrumb topping.
Chicken Kiev
Despite its Ukrainian-sounding name, this dish probably originated in France as ‘côtelette de volaille’ (stuffed chicken breast). It is made by pounding a chicken breast until thin, wrapping it around garlic butter, then breading and frying it. Chicken Kiev became a symbol of 1970s fine dining, yet it was also made and enjoyed in normal households. It remains succulent, garlicky, and delicious!
Salisbury Steak
If you didn’t have the budget for a proper beef Wellington, Salisbury steak was a popular alternative. It was made of ground beef formed into patties, pan-fried, and covered in rich brown gravy, with onions and mushrooms, often served with mashed potato. The dish is named after Dr. J.H. Salisbury, a 19th-century physician who advocated for a meat-heavy diet for health reasons.
Fondue
What could be better than a party focused on dipping various bread chunks and vegetables in a huge, melted pot of cheese fondue? Fondue parties were a social phenomenon in the 70s and 80s and came from Switzerland, where it’s a national dish. Sweet versions (with melted chocolate and fruit) were also common.
Chicken Divan
This creamy casserole was made with chicken breasts and broccoli florets, cooked in a rich sauce, and topped with a thin layer of crispy rice noodles. According to Quaint Cooking, it became hugely popular in the 1950s after appearing in the French’ Divan Parisien’ restaurant in New York. It’s not common to find it today, a shame, considering it’s easy to prepare and delicious.
Shrimp Scampi
This light and flavorful dish features shrimp sautéed in a garlic and lemon-butter sauce, often served with pasta. It was fairly simple, but a popular and tasty choice for weeknight meals in the 70s and 80s. The trend was fueled by advances in transportation and refrigeration in the mid-20th century, making shrimp more affordable and available in the U.S.
Beef Wellington
No classy 70s-80s dinner party was complete without an extravagant beef Wellington as the centerpiece! Expensive ‘filet mignon’ was coated with pâté and duxelles (a mushroom and shallot mixture), wrapped in puff pastry, and baked until golden. It wasn’t cheap or simple to prepare, but the combination of buttery pastry, succulent steak, and pâté was delicious!
Baked Spaghetti
Classic spaghetti and meatballs are still popular, yet the cheesy casserole version of this iconic Italian-American dish isn’t often seen on dinner tables. It was made by layering spaghetti, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and/or ricotta cheese in a casserole dish and then baking until bubbling. It’s a cheap and easy-to-make crowd-pleaser that deserves a revival.
Pot Pie
A hearty and comforting dish, pot pie was a great way to use up leftover vegetables and meat like chicken and beef, incorporating them into a flaky shortcrust pie crust with gravy. STL Today reports that chicken pot pie was the most popular dish in the 70s and 80s, found in several famous St Louis restaurants that have since closed down due to low sales.
Chicken à la King
Similar to Chicken Divan, this creamy chicken casserole combines tender chicken cuts with mushrooms, peas, and pimientos in rich velouté (a French sauce made from roux and broth). This is then topped with puff pastry or breadcrumbs and baked to make a tasty, satisfying dish. For some reason, its popularity declined in the 90s.
Liver and Onions
If you love it, you love it, and if you don’t, you hate it! Although it wasn’t liked by everyone, many childhood dinners involved this iron-rich meal of organs and sautéed onions in a rich gravy, often served with mashed potatoes. Despite being nutritious, flavorful, and relatively simple to prepare, the use of liver has become less popular.
Quiche Lorraine
This savory French tart is made by filling shortcrust pastry with eggs, cheese, and bacon and baking it open in the oven. Sometimes, other ingredients like ham or vegetables were also added for color and variety. It was very popular as a brunch or light dinner option served with salad but has since become less popular, perhaps because it’s very time-consuming to prepare.
Lasagna
We’re not sure why this delicious Italian casserole dish isn’t as popular as it used to be! It involves pasta layered between tomato and meat sauce, ricotta cheese, and bechamel sauce, often topped with mozzarella cheese or even cheddar or parmesan. It’s satisfying and great for feeding a crowd, plus it tastes even better the next day.
Beef Bourguignon
Another classic French dish, beef bourguignon, is a slow-cooked stew featuring beef, red wine, vegetables, and herbs. National Geographic claims it originated from the Burgundy wine region in France, and there are now several competing recipe versions in the U.S. Despite being tender and packed with flavor, it requires little skill to prepare – only time and patience!
Chicken Fried Steak
This Southern classic features a tenderized chicken cube steak coated in seasoned flour and batter, deep-fried until golden brown. It was typically served with gravy and mashed potatoes. It originated in the South as a cheap alternative to beef steak and a good way to use less tender chicken parts but has since been replaced by recipes using higher-quality cuts.
Shepherd’s Pie
This hearty dish originated in Great Britain as a tasty way to use ground lamb. The minced meat is seasoned and cooked in gravy (sometimes with carrots and peas) before being topped with mashed potatoes and cheese and baked. It emerged in the 18th century as a working-class family dish; its intense flavor and low cost made it increasingly popular until the 1990s.
Chicken Parmigiana
This Italian-American favorite is often served over spaghetti or other pasta and features a breaded, pan-fried chicken cutlet topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. It’s a reasonably unique recipe, as chicken isn’t commonly paired with tomato; pork or beef are typically used instead. It’s not an authentic Italian dish but an affordable U.S. variant of veal parmigiana.
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