Table of Contents
1. Quiche Lorraine
In the 1970s, quiches became staples of dinner parties, showcasing the decade’s focus on casual entertaining and communal dining. Not everyone could pronounce it correctly back then, but that didn’t stop families from embracing this French import. Most popular was quiche lorraine, a French recipe filled with bacon, onions, and cheese. “In 2025, these recipes are trending on social media, featuring updated ingredients and modern presentations while bringing back the comfort foods of the 1980s.
2. Beef Stroganoff
This creamy, savory dish was the ultimate weeknight dinner solution for moms who needed something impressive yet achievable. Crockpot beef stroganoff is a comforting meal of slow-cooked beef, onions and mushrooms, simmered until tender in a seasoned sauce made rich and creamy with a secret ingredient: condensed mushroom soup. It’s the kind of meal that felt fancy without requiring culinary school training. Rising food costs make these resourceful meals particularly appealing, designed to maximize flavor while minimizing expense, dishes like casseroles and pasta bakes cater to families seeking cost-effective ways to eat well.
3. Fondue
If you attended a dinner party in the 1970s, chances are you would have been served cheese fondue, a dish hailing from the Alps somewhere near the Franco-Swiss border, when fondue was on the menu, a pot filled with bubbling combo typically made of grated cheese and white wine was placed in the center of the table, guests, wielding long forks, could dip chunks of bread or other tasty vittles into the cheesy pool. Fondue never really fell out of fashion in France or in Switzerland, and it’s high time this cheesy delight has returned to our kitchen tables in a non-ironic way. It brought families together in a way few meals could match.
4. Hamburger Helper
The brand Hamburger Helper was introduced on grocery store shelves in 1971 and quickly rose in popularity, thanks to its promise to easily get a “complete meal” onto the dinner table, each box contained dried pasta with packets of powdered sauce and seasonings. Let’s be real, this wasn’t gourmet cooking. It was survival cooking for busy households where both parents often worked. Many people are looking for simpler, more affordable foods to add to their diets, retro foods fit the bill perfectly for delicious taste while on a budget as most are made from affordable, basic ingredients that are easy to find.
5. Chicken a la King
This fabulous recipe has been made for over 30 years, it’s a wonderful way to create a quick lunch or dinner with leftover chicken. Think of it as the upscale version of chicken leftovers, smothered in a thick white sauce filled with mushrooms and sometimes peppers. Made with chunks of chicken, mushrooms, and sometimes red pepper, it was all smothered in a thick white sauce and spooned generously over rice or mash, elegant and rich, it was easy enough for a weeknight dinner, yet impressive enough for a dinner party. The dish was practical but felt special, like mom had put in extra effort when really she was just cleaning out the fridge.
6. Seven Layer Salad
You couldn’t go to a potluck in the 1970s without seeing a big glass bowl of seven layer salad, it’s simple to make, relatively healthy, and it looks beautiful on a table, the seven layers are traditionally iceberg lettuce, peas, onion, celery, hard boiled eggs, cheese, and bacon. The dressing is always simple, slightly sweet, and mayonnaise-based. This salad was more about visual presentation than nutritional excellence, honestly, the mayonnaise content was truly excessive by today’s standards.
7. Tuna Casserole
Casseroles originally rose to prominence in the United States following the Great Depression, by the ’70s, when many moms were also working full-time, casseroles were an essential part of the dinner rotation across America. Tuna noodle casserole was the champion of them all. A classic tuna noodle casserole symbolizes resilience and familial connection. Even in regions where casseroles fell a bit by the wayside over time, they’re now returning to prominence, at least partially thanks to the rise in better-for-you convenience foods.
8. Pineapple Upside Down Cake
A resurgence in comfort food shows pineapple upside-down cake and other recipes in that culinary family making a comeback. The caramelized fruit and sticky sweet topping made this cake a showstopper without requiring advanced baking skills. As vacation travel to the Hawaiian Islands became more popular in the 1960s and 1970s, the state’s food and culture was embraced on the mainland, the ’70s saw an excess of pineapple added to just about everything, including chicken, around the same time, Hawaiian pizza also became popular.
9. Watergate Salad
No one really knows where the name of this sweet dish came from, but we do know it was ubiquitous after its namesake Watergate scandal captured the nation’s attention, the recipe only has five ingredients, including pistachio flavored Jell-O pudding mix, which gives the dish its bright green color, plus there’s another totally 70s ingredient: canned crushed pineapple. Its comeback has already started, according to the New York Times. The luminous green color alone was enough to make kids think they were eating something exotic.
10. Cheese Balls
Forming cheeses into balls or longs and rolling them in toppings was hugely popular during that time, most recipes allowed for a variety of soft cheeses, which were blended together and rolled into a desired shape, then, the ball or log would be rolled in black pepper, herbs or even nuts, and served with crackers for spreading. It was a crucial staple to any party in the 1970s. Nostalgia marketing is gaining momentum, with past trends in fashion, music, and food making a marked resurgence, demand for nostalgic food has become a key driver of product and flavour development. What surprised you most? Did you grow up with any of these dishes on your dinner table?