Boomers have kept certain culinary relics alive, clinging to flavors and textures that millennials and Gen Z find baffling. From jiggly molds to canned meat, these dishes tell stories of postwar convenience, resourcefulness, and a dash of nostalgia.
Here are 10 foods Baby Boomers refuse to abandon—no matter how hard younger generations side-eye them.
Jello Salad
This wobbly mid-century marvel combined lime gelatin, shredded carrots, cottage cheese, and sometimes even tuna or shrimp.
Evolving from earlier gelatin-based recipes like aspic and Perfection Salad, this 1950s fridge staple (owning a refrigerator was a status symbol) symbolized suburban homemaking ingenuity, as housewives embraced convenience foods to create colorful, whimsical dishes for entertaining. In the 60s, Jell-O also released seasoned tomato, celery, and Italian salad flavors to cater to varying savory preferences.
Folks still serve it at potlucks for its retro charm, but younger crowds recoil at savory ingredients trapped in dessert-like gelatin.
Campbell’s Tuna Noodle Casserole
Canned tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and egg noodles baked into a casserole defined weeknight dinners for Boomers. Its affordability and ease of preparation made it a go-to meal, especially for working mothers. The dish remains a comfort food for many folks, rekindling childhood memories for its simplicity and familiarity.
While familiar and appealing to older generations, Gen Z often critiques the dish’s reliance on preserved ingredients like canned tuna and condensed soup, viewing them as outdated compared to fresh, vibrant ingredients. The younger generation also isn’t too happy about the fact that it is that the dish is “soggy” and “mushy” in texture.
Liver and Onions
Once hailed as an iron-rich budget meal, this dish divides households. Boomers savor the caramelized onions, masking the liver’s metallic punch. Younger generations, raised on boneless chicken breasts, often recoil at the dense texture and lingering mineral aftertaste of the organ meat—no matter how many vitamins it packs.
Fruitcake
Dense, candied, and rum-soaked, this holiday brick originated as a Victorian status symbol (supported by its ancient Roman roots and Victorian-era popularity).
While boomers often uphold it as a nostalgic tradition tied to mid-20th-century commercialization (e.g., Collin Street Bakery’s Texas-style pecan cakes), millennials frequently mock its reputation as “doorstop material” and gravitate toward modern alternatives like yule logs.
Spam
A WWII pantry hero, this canned spiced ham became a staple in Asia/Pacific nations due to postwar scarcity and U.S. military influence. American consumers embraced its salty versatility during the mid-20th century, often frying slices for breakfast or dicing them into casseroles. Yet its processed reputation and sodium overload (790 mg per serving) clash with today’s clean-eating trends.
SpaghettiOs
The ring-shaped pasta in the tomato-based sauce was the space-age kid’s meal of the 1960s. It became a staple, selling over 100 million cans annually by the mid-1990s, and remains popular with nostalgic consumers today (150 million cans/year as of 2024).
Older consumers defend its taste (some note that the pasta has a distinct metallic aftertaste), ease of preparation, and the fact that it is way more affordable than most foods.
Younger generations often associate SpaghettiOs with overly processed foods, though some adults still enjoy indulging in them as comfort meals. Campbell’s has attempted to rebrand the familiar pasta by introducing spicy variants to attract millennial buyers, but these efforts have been met with mixed reviews and limited success.
Miracle Whip
Marketed as a budget-friendly, zesty alternative to salad dressing during the great depression, this sweeter, tangier cousin became popular in mid-20th-century sandwiches, including school lunches.
The Miracle Whip was particularly sought after in the Midwest and South. Its flavor, which many now describe as “cloying,”—and artificial ingredients (soybean oil, high-fructose corn syrup) have fallen out of favor with younger generations seeking cleaner labels. Despite this, many boomers remain fiercely loyal to its taste, using it in potato salads, deviled eggs, and tuna casseroles.
Ambrosia Salad
This ultra-sweet mix of marshmallows, canned pineapple, and Cool Whip defies all culinary logic. Boomers serve it at holidays like it’s a sacred tradition— probably because it remains a whimsical specialty less aligned with modern tastes.
Canned Cream Soup Casseroles
Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup is the glue holding together Boomer casseroles. It became central to American casserole culture post-WWII, driven by marketing campaigns and recipe development by companies like Campbell. From Green Bean Casserole to Tater Tot Hotdish, these sodium bombs are a testament to 1950s “dump and stir” cooking.