30 Good Old Recipes from Grandma's Kitchen
Explore our list of vintage recipes your grandma used to make. We're sure you'll see an old family recipe you forgot on our list.
There's nothing quite like old fashioned recipes to get you excited about sitting down to dinner. These comforting dishes might be staples in our homes and are likely to evoke memories from our childhood. From days spent with our moms in the kitchen to nights sitting down to the table with the whole family, food-centered nostalgia is a powerful thing. Prepare for a yummy and comforting dose of nostalgia when you scroll through the tasty recipes straight from my (and your) grandma's kitchen. We love old family recipes and tried to include as many as we could below.
So much quality time is spent over delicious meals in fact, that we wanted to share some old fashioned recipes we remember fondly. We've gathered 30 vintage recipes that have been the cornerstone of so many American dinner tables. With these classic old recipes (some of which are even better than you remember), we hope you'll be able to recreate some of the nostalgia you remember from your youth and recreate that for your family. Take a stroll down memory lane, indulge in some comfort food, and introduce a vintage favorite to your family.
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And to start, take a look at our test kitchen recipe for Grandma's Old Fashioned Aspic:
Table of Contents
Old Fashioned Dinner Recipes
These old fashioned dinner recipes will bring back those memories of what it was like gathering around the dinner table as a child. From classic recipes Mom used to make like tuna casserole and meatloaf to recipes you might remember from the diner, like chicken fried chicken and Salisbury steak, these old fashioned meals are bound to please.
Start with this recipe for Comforting Tuna Noodle Casserole!
The fluffy potatoes and hearty filling in this vintage shepherd's pie recipe will have your family running to the table. It's one of grandma's recipes that we think she's happy to let us steal.
Southern Chicken Fried Chicken
The fluffy potatoes and hearty filling in this vintage shepherd's pie recipe will have your family running to the table. It's one of grandma's recipes that we think she's happy to let us steal.
This comforting casserole is one of those old fashioned meals that will never go out of style. It's easy to make, full of yummy ingredients like bacon and tomatoes, and perfect in just about any season.
You're going to want to go back for seconds of this recipe. Complete with hearty beef and tender egg noodles, this goulash is exactly what we picture when we think of classic German cooking.
Vintage Hoppin John in a Slow Cooker
This recipe is hearty, delicious, and couldn't be easier to make. Just let it hang out in the slow cooker and enjoy a delicious meal in the evening.
Meatloaf can be a polarizing meal, but we're sure that you're going to love Paula Deen's take on old fashioned meatloaf.
This easy Amish casserole is perfect for enjoying on any weeknight. It's a snap to make, and everyone will want to go back for seconds.
Classic Salisbury Steak Recipe
When we talk about old fashioned cooking, salisbury steak is always a recipe that comes to my mind. It's rich and flavorful, and it's a classic that I turn to again and again.
Old Fashioned Beef and Noodles
This old time recipe is comfort food at its best. Rich roast beef and gravy flood over tender egg noodles. You'll pick up your fork for the first bite and find it difficult to put it down at the end of the meal.
Old-Fashioned Southern Macaroni and Cheese
Baked mac and cheese is a classic, and we're happy to share this Civil War era version with you! It's got everything you love in a good macaroni and cheese recipe.
We're love taking old recipes and making them new again, which is exactly what we've done here. Chicken pot pie soup has tons of flavor, but you don't have to worry about pie crust.
This is proof that food from the 1930s is worth bringing back again! Discover our24 Classic Great Depression Era Recipes
Old Fashioned Dessert Recipes
What's better than delicious old fashioned desserts? We can't think of much. Pound cake, cookies, pie, and cookie bars... the treats below are things you might remember seeing in your grandmother's cookbook. Mom may have been passed a few of these vintage recipes over the years, and now it's your turn. Pour yourself a tall glass of milk and get ready to take a trip down memory lane with these great desserts.
Start with this delicious recipe for Grandma's Magic Cake!
If you're looking for a good old-fashioned German recipe, this may be one of the best. German Butter Pound Cake is a cake recipe from scratch that makes the most moist, delicious pound cake you'll ever eat.
Little Old Lady Lemon Pound Cake
This is one of our top old fashioned dessert recipes! It just doesn't get any better than this fluffy, flavorful lemon pound cake.
Pecan pie is another recipe that reminds us of yesteryear. But these pecan pie bars make whipping up an old fashioned pie recipe easier than ever.
Vintage Chocolate Chip Cookies
Who doesn't love a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie recipe? These are our favorites, and we think they will be yours too.
Did you know that during the war, carrots were often used in baked goods because they were easier to get than sugar? This yummy recipe is inspired by the creative cooks at the time, and we're so pleased with the results.
This isn't exactly my grandma's recipe for divinity, but it's pretty close. She made this delicious candy at Christmas every year, and it always brings back fond memories whenever I eat it.
Bread pudding is one of those old time recipes that we're glad has never gone out of style. This one is gooey, spicy, and just what we want after dinner.
Do you remember this cake? Classic Tandy Cake is made with chocolate and peanut butter, proving that old fashioned cooking is among the best there is.
TEST KITCHEN RECIPE! Pink stuff, also known as pink fluff or pink salad, is an old-fashioned recipe that is actually pretty yummy. This frozen treat has that colorful, weird look of other vintage recipes, but actually tastes sweet and tasty. Check out our full test kitchen recipe to learn where the pink hue comes from (hint: you use a specific jello flavor).
COOKBOOK RECIPE! This minty green cake has all the style of 1950s chiffon and all the taste of a family-favorite pie. Our vintage pie recipe can be made in 20 minutes and chilled overnight. Right out of our cookbook series, this is one of chef Addie Gundry's favorites!
Loving this? Check out these Old-Fashioned Ginger Molasses Cookies!
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Other Classic Vintage Recipes & Old Fashioned Snacks
What do sour cream doughnuts have in common with chicken pot pie? Not a lot, thankfully! But they are both delicious old fashioned recipes and they can both be found in the list below that includes a few more of our vintage favorites. We just couldn't leave these old time recipes off the list, so we hope you enjoy!
Start your feast with this recipe for Grandma Frances' Wisconsin German Potato Salad.
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts
These Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts will take you back to a simpler time and remind you just how good breakfast can taste.
Just Like Mom's Old Fashioned Stuffing
This is one of our favorite old fashioned side dish recipes. We don't just make it on Thanksgiving, we make it all year long!
These crab puffs remind us of cocktail parties from years gone by. But they don't have to be a thing of the past, because this recipe is so quick and easy to make!
Our Famous Ambrosia Salad Recipe
Fruity, fluffy, and bursting with flavor, this ambrosia salad recipe is one that we just can't get enough of.
Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole
Have you ever made green bean casserole in the slow cooker? If you haven't, you should! It saves so much time, and the results are just as delicious and flavorful as ever.
Who doesn't love this old fashioned appetizer? Serve it with crackers for a snack that will disappear almost as soon as you set it out.
The 1950s were a great time for food, and we are excited to bring some of the recipes back! Check out these delicious old fashioned food recipes.31 Old Fashioned Recipes from the 1950s