26 Iconic ’60s Dishes No One Seems to Make Anymore

These 26 iconic ’60s dishes once ruled the dinner table but rarely show up in today’s kitchens. They reflect a time when casseroles, congealed salads, and clever bakes shaped how families ate—and what got passed around at every gathering. Though some may seem outdated, these recipes carried more weight than just nostalgia. This is a look back at the dishes no one seems to make anymore, but still hold a place in food history.

Gluten-Free Pecan Pie with Maple Syrup and Maple Dulce de Leche Cream

This pecan pie brings back the rich, sticky desserts that were a fixture at ’60s family tables. Made with maple syrup and topped with a thick layer of dulce de leche cream, it channels the decadent bakes once reserved for holidays. The dense nutty filling and caramel-like finish recall a time when dessert was a centerpiece. It’s a sweet reminder that some ’60s dishes deserve another moment in the spotlight.
Get the Recipe: Gluten-Free Pecan Pie with Maple Syrup and Maple Dulce de Leche Cream

Easy Baked Oysters Mornay

Baked Oysters Mornay was the dish that made seafood feel upscale in the 1960s. With creamy cheese sauce and a golden breadcrumb topping, this classic appetizer once signaled that a proper dinner party was underway. It was rich without being fussy, exactly the kind of indulgence that made the decade's menus shine. Today, it brings back the retro charm of a truly dressed-up starter.
Get the Recipe: Easy Baked Oysters Mornay

My Baked Brie Cheese Dip

Baked Brie with its gooey center and honeyed nut topping was a fixture at cocktail parties long before anyone called it trendy. Back in the 1960s, this was how you served cheese, making guests stay longer and snack more slowly. It came warm, rich, and easy to scoop with crackers from the coffee table. It’s the kind of dish that proves simple elegance hasn’t gone out of fashion.
Get the Recipe: My Baked Brie Cheese Dip

One-Pot Buttermilk Chicken and Potatoes Casserole

This chicken and potatoes casserole is a direct callback to ’60s weeknight dinners, built around ease and thrift. Buttermilk added flavor to everything without extra work, and using one pan meant fewer dishes when everything was done. It’s the kind of hearty, no-nonsense dinner that anchors the table and makes seconds automatic. These are the casseroles that quietly built memories without needing applause.
Get the Recipe: One-Pot Buttermilk Chicken and Potatoes Casserole

Easy Beef Pot Pie

Beef pot pie was the kind of comfort food every ’60s home cook knew by heart. Encased in a flaky crust with gravy-soaked vegetables and chunks of beef, it filled the table and the room with little more than pantry staples. It wasn’t flashy, but it didn’t need to be. This dish helped define a decade of simple, stick-to-your-ribs meals.
Get the Recipe: Easy Beef Pot Pie

Cheesy Cabbage Casserole

Cheesy cabbage casserole transformed a humble vegetable into a full meal in many 1960s kitchens. Topped with cracker crumbs and baked until golden, it made frugal ingredients feel complete. This was the kind of dish that appeared on dinner tables more often than people remember. It’s time to bring back the meals that got the job done without fuss.
Get the Recipe: Cheesy Cabbage Casserole

Basil Peach Cobbler

Cobblers like this were the go-to dessert when fresh fruit overflowed the counters and recipes needed to stretch. Baked with just enough sugar and a biscuit-style topping, they fed everyone at the table and then some. This peach version with a hint of basil feels straight out of the ’60s backyard dinners and community suppers. It captures the season the same way folks used to—with no extras and nothing wasted.
Get the Recipe: Basil Peach Cobbler

Russian Cottage Cheese Pancakes (Syrniki)

Syrniki were one of those recipes that showed up quietly in immigrant homes during the ’60s and stuck around without much change. Soft, fried, and made with simple ingredients like cottage cheese and flour, they were breakfast for some and dessert for others. These pancakes weren’t flashy, but they were always welcome. They’re a reminder of how the old world slipped into ’60s kitchens and stayed put.
Get the Recipe: Russian Cottage Cheese Pancakes (Syrniki)

Old-Fashioned Lattice Top Apple Pie

The lattice-top apple pie was a centerpiece dessert at every kind of gathering in the 1960s. It didn’t need reinvention—just apples, spice, and the kind of crust someone took time to braid. This pie sat proudly on holiday tables and disappeared by the second slice. It’s the dessert that still smells like a Sunday afternoon in 1965.
Get the Recipe: Old-Fashioned Lattice Top Apple Pie

Lime Jello Salad

Lime Jello Salad defined what it meant to bring something fun and eye-catching to the ’60s table. Bright green, studded with fruit or cottage cheese, and molded into rings, it was the retro centerpiece of every potluck. It didn’t need to taste fancy—it just had to look like it belonged in a Better Homes spread. This was the salad that didn’t try to be healthy and never apologized for it.
Get the Recipe: Lime Jello Salad

Grandma’s Cornbread

Cornbread like this held its own next to stews, chilis, and casseroles throughout the 1960s. It was quick to bake, easy to stretch, and never missed a seat at the dinner table. Moist inside with a crisp top, it didn’t need much—just butter and a hot oven. It’s the kind of bread that filled more bellies than anyone kept track of.
Get the Recipe: Grandma’s Cornbread

Chicken Pot Pie with Tarragon Gravy

Chicken pot pie was the kind of dinner that made leftovers feel special again. The 1960s version came loaded with gravy, tucked under a buttery crust, and spiced just enough to keep it interesting. Tarragon was the “fancy” herb that made it seem grown-up. This dish brought quiet satisfaction to kitchen tables without needing a single shortcut.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie with Tarragon Gravy

Amish Macaroni Salad

Amish macaroni salad lived in refrigerator bowls, ready for church picnics or backyard get-togethers throughout the ’60s. Creamy, slightly sweet, and loaded with crunch, it was passed around in a Tupperware and remembered for its simplicity. It wasn’t reinvented—it didn’t need to be. This salad still retains the same energy it had when it was served on folding tables in 1963.
Get the Recipe: Amish Macaroni Salad

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes were weeknight gold in the 1960s—quick to make, easy to eat, and impossible to forget. Ground beef in tangy sauce slapped onto squishy buns became the answer to “what’s for dinner” more often than not. No sides were needed; paper napkins did most of the cleanup. They were messy, reliable, and somehow perfect just the way they were.
Get the Recipe: Sloppy Joes

School Cafeteria Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese from the cafeteria tray wasn’t just food—it was part of growing up in the ’60s. Baked until the top browned and served in big, steamy scoops, it fed kids five days a week without fail. It may not have come from a box, but it was fast, filling, and expected. This was the kind of comfort food that didn’t make a fuss—it just showed up hot.
Get the Recipe: School Cafeteria Mac and Cheese

Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili

Cincinnati chili was the regional specialty that sometimes surprised people on ’60s tables with its cinnamon kick and spaghetti base. It wasn’t like the chili most people knew, but that’s what made it stick. Served with cheese and onions piled high, it felt like a full meal made for passing. This is the dish that told a story long before anyone asked where it came from.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuna noodle casserole was the dependable dinner of the ’60s—creamy, baked, and made with whatever was in the pantry. Cans of tuna, bags of noodles, and a splash of milk made it a go-to when grocery trips were still days away. It wasn’t flashy, but it fed a full table without breaking the bank. This dish stuck around because it worked, plain and simple.
Get the Recipe: Tuna Noodle Casserole

Crock Pot Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole was a holiday default that turned into a year-round favorite by the end of the ’60s. Creamy soup, canned beans, and fried onions made it both easy to prep and impossible to resist. The slow cooker version showed up hot and stayed that way long after guests arrived. It’s a dish that earned its place by just being expected.
Get the Recipe: Crock Pot Green Bean Casserole

Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan made broccoli look fancy in a time when vegetables were rarely the star. Layered with creamy sauce and topped with cheese, it was often baked in Pyrex and served straight from the oven. It gave hostesses something “impressive” to bring without any actual stress. This casserole defined the stretch between convenient and confident cooking.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Divan

Crock-Pot Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top became the unofficial dessert side dish of the 1960s. Piled into a crock-pot, it stayed warm and fed guests long after the main course disappeared. The line between sweet and savory blurred, and no one complained. This was the kind of dish that made people pause before asking for seconds, only to grab the spoon anyway.
Get the Recipe: Crock-Pot Sweet Potato Casserole

Beef Wellington Bites

Beef Wellington bites felt like the classy cousin of meatloaf in the ’60s party scene. Puff pastry wrapped around beef made them the kind of hors d'oeuvre that whispered “someone’s trying to impress you.” They showed up at dinner parties more than weeknight tables, but still made a statement. This is the kind of throwback that deserves to be more than just remembered.
Get the Recipe: Beef Wellington Bites

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff gave weeknights a Russian accent during the 1960s, with creamy mushroom gravy poured over egg noodles. The slow cooker version came later, but the heart of it—tender beef in a rich sauce—remained true. It was cozy without trying and filled every plate to the brim. Even today, it makes the kind of dinner that says someone put in the effort, even if they didn’t.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Pineapple upside down cupcakes were the bite-sized version of a ’60s dessert that was more about flair than frosting. Rings of pineapple, dotted with cherries, baked into golden tops that needed no decoration. They looked like an effort but were really just clever baking. These cupcakes bring back the decade’s love of sweet shortcuts in the best way.
Get the Recipe: Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Raspberry Chiffon Cake

Raspberry chiffon cake was the kind of dessert that made it to showers, brunches, and anything with a paper invitation in the ’60s. Light, airy, and stacked high, it balanced elegance with ease of slicing. It held up well on the table and even better in family photo albums. This was the cake that reminded everyone that dessert didn’t need frosting to impress.
Get the Recipe: Raspberry Chiffon Cake

Grasshopper Pie

Grasshopper pie walked the line between dessert and party trick in the ’60s. Green, minty, and layered into a chocolate crust, it was the kind of sweet that made guests raise eyebrows and reach for a slice anyway. No one called it “retro” back then—it was just the pie that made you feel like you were at a real grown-up event. It was flashy without trying too hard, just like the decade itself.
Get the Recipe: Grasshopper Pie

Cherry Cobbler

Cherry cobbler meant summer was in full swing, and dessert didn’t require a recipe card. With bubbling fruit and a golden topping, it came out of ovens across the country in deep pans meant for sharing. This dessert was less about presentation and more about getting a second helping before it disappeared. It tasted like porch weather and ice cream before air conditioning was standard.
Get the Recipe: Cherry Cobbler