Recipes from brand-name companies often get a bad rap. However, many people learned to cook from the back of boxes, bottles, and jars, especially in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, when packaged convenience foods and shortcut dinners gained popularity. If you grew up in America during those years, you probably ate a lot of these easy and delicious back-of-the-box recipes. We’ve compiled the best recipes from big brand names that deserve a comeback — or in some cases, never went out of style.
Chex Party Mix
It’s impossible to resist reaching into a bowl of Chex party mix over and over again. If you were a mom in the 80s, you definitely made this savory mix for parties. The stuff you can buy in a bag just isn’t the same, plus when you make it yourself, you can customize it to your family’s tastes. Don’t skimp on the Worcestershire sauce.
Recipe: Chex
Nestle Toll House Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies were created by Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House restaurant in 1939. They’ve been a classic ever since, and many people start their baking journey with the original Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe, printed on the back of every bag of Nestle chocolate chips. Sure, fancier cookies with brown butter and expensive chocolate may exist, but nothing quite hits the mark like this one.
Recipe: Nestle
Bisquick Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie
Bisquick baking mix has been a kitchen shortcut since the 1930s. Since at least the 1970s, the company has been printing the recipe for Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie on the back of the box. It’s made with ground beef, onions, cheese, and a pourable Bisquick batter. The recipe became so popular that there’s a whole collection of similar “impossible pie” recipes, including taco and coconut versions.
Recipe: Betty Crocker
Knorr Spinach Dip
Remember when mounds of creamy spinach dip were served in a bread bowl? That’s a food trend that shouldn’t have ever gone away. It’s made with Knorr vegetable soup mix, which — let’s be real — no one eats as a soup. Instead, it’s mixed with sour cream, spinach, and those unmistakably crunchy water chestnuts into the best party dip ever.
Recipe: Knorr
Kraft Fantasy Fudge
Fantasy fudge is a recipe that has appeared on jars of Kraft Marshmallow Creme since at least the 1970s. Making fudge the old fashioned way is normally a long process, but with marshmallow fluff, it’s foolproof and only needs five minutes of cooking. You can add anything you want to this fudge, including mint candies, Oreos, or even peanut butter.
Recipe: AllRecipes
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Quaker Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
There’s been several oatmeal cookie recipes on the back (or lid) of Quaker Oats containers, but the one that gets talked about most has a delightful name. Vanishing oatmeal raisin cookies are a chewy, cinnamon-filled cookie jar classic. If you’re one of those anti-raisin people, feel free to use nuts, chocolate chips, or butterscotch chips as an alternative.
Recipe: Quaker Oats
Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole
Campbell’s green bean casserole might just be one of the most beloved recipes in American history. It was created by Dorcas Reilly in 1955 when she was a Campbell’s test kitchen employee, but it didn’t appear on cans until the 1960s. It’s been gracing an estimated 20 million Thanksgiving tables each year ever since. It’s only got five ingredients, so even inexperienced cooks can whip it up in no time.
Recipe: Campbell’s
Libby’s Pumpkin Pie
Another Thanksgiving classic, Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe has been gracing its cans since 1950. All you do is pour, mix, and bake thanks to a frozen pie crust and simple recipe. Cinnamon, ginger, and cloves give it that classic, spiced fall flavor.
Recipe: Libby’s
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Karo Pecan Pie
Karo corn syrup started being used to make gooey pecan pies in the 1930s, and the recipe has been printed on the product’s labels for almost as long. It’s only got seven ingredients (and one’s the crust), so you can whip up a decadent pie in no time. There’s all kinds of variations on the original recipe as well, including Rumchata and German chocolate pecan pies.
Recipe: Karo
Lipton Meatloaf
Lipton onion soup mix is another of those seasoning packets that people don’t really seem to eat as soup. It makes a fantastic two-ingredient onion dip for potato chips, but the more innovative back-of-the-box recipe is for meatloaf. All you do is mix a packet into ground beef with eggs, breadcrumbs, and ketchup, and it’s a perfectly seasoned dinner that families have been enjoying for decades.
Recipe: Foodess
Rice Krispies Treats
A version of Rice Krispies treats was created way back in the 1930s, but it didn’t get the marshmallow treatment until 1940. Still, who would have guessed that Rice Krispies treats were that old? Moms nowadays still love it because it’s allergy-friendly for schools, and kids love it because it’s gooey, sticky, and fun to eat. Sure, you can add or change all kinds of things about this recipe to customize it, but the classic is a classic for a reason.
Recipe: Kellogg’s
Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce
Sure, you can buy canned cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. But the real cooks know that to get the best stuff, you just follow the simple recipe on the back of the Ocean Spray fresh cranberries bag. It’s only got three ingredients (two if you don’t count the water!) and it couldn’t be simpler. If you really want to impress people, use orange juice in place of water.
Recipe: Ocean Spray
More Food Nostalgia From Cheapism
- 15 Meals Middle-Class Moms Cooked in the ’80s — Comfort foods and convenience were king, along with a few trends toward more “exotic” flavors.
- 12 Famous Recipes That Haven’t Changed for Decades — Why mess with perfection?
- 14 Cheap and Delicious ’70s Recipes Due for a Comeback — While some ’70s kitchen disasters are best left in the past, some recipes are worth reviving.
