21 Vintage Recipes That I Can't Believe Anyone In Their Right Mind Ever Ate

    Well, if it isn't the backbone of every '50s home: Jell-O and mayonnaise.

    Sometimes old recipes are cool; other times it feels like there was a huge surplus of Jell-O and canned tuna in the '50s. Well, I dug around r/Old_Recipes and r/vintagerecipes to find the best of the best of these vintage eats. And by best, I mean worst. Here are some of the strangest concoctions I managed to dig up:

    1. Please don't invite me to dinner if you're serving Super Supper Salad Loaf.

    a recipe card for super supper salad loaf that is a square loaf of bologna with jell-o in the center

    2. Or this barbecue lemon Jell-O salad that isn't really living up to its name.

    gelatinized barbecue sauce on top of a few leaves of lettuce

    3. Nothing beats the classic combo of lime Jell-O and cheese. Also, could someone tell me what the definition of a salad was in the '60s?

    a vintage recipe card for lime cheese salad along with a photo of green gelatin with "seafood salad" in the center

    4. Or better yet, why everything was gelatinized, including this mac 'n' cheese.

    gelatinized mac 'n' cheese in the shape of a ring mold

    5. Or this lovely mosaic of hot dogs, eggs, and peas.

    an aspic with hotdogs, sliced boiled eggs, and peas arranged in a mosaic pattern

    6. Or this, um, thing?

    a recipe card for a tower of different layered gelatinized vegetables

    7. Do y'all ever wake up for Sunday morning brunch and crave a hearty plate of HAM AND BANANAS HOLLANDAISE??

    a vintage recipe card with an image of whole bananas wrapped in ham and covered in hollandaise

    8. Followed by banana meatloaf for dinner, of course.

    a recipe card for banana meatloaf

    9. And a banana dolphin to take the edge off.

    a recipe card for the smiling dolphin drink with a photo of a glass of tomato and orange juice and a banana shaped as a dolphin

    10. But do you know what was loved more than bananas? Canned tuna. So much gelatinized canned tuna.

    a recipe card showing gelatinized canned tuna in the shape of a fish

    11. And tuna in loaf form.

    a recipe card for tuna macaroni cheese loaf with an image of a loaf of mac 'n' cheese with canned tuna in the middle

    12. And slop form. Campbell's, love, I've contacted the authorities.

    a recipe card for tuna 'n' waffles with an image of two square waffles covered in some sort of liquid, tuna, and olives

    13. The quotes here are terrifying me.

    a recipe card for fish tacos with the word tacos in quotes along with an image of toast topped with cabbage and other toppings

    14. Oof, no wonder pirates all had scurvy.

    a recipe card for pirate's pie with an image of a child with a pirate hat and a slice of "pie" with canned tuna in the center

    15. Ha, you thought we were done with the "salads." Well let me introduce you to cottage cheese and tuna salad.

    a green gelatinized mixture in the shape of a ring with cottage cheese in the middle

    16. Or perhaps some spam 'n' cheese ribbon loaf for the lady?

    a recipe card for spam 'n' cheese ribbon loaf along with an image of layers of cream cheese in between slices of spam

    17. "Easy fixing!" maybe, "Good eating!" maybe not for this cream cheese, ground beef, and mushroom soup concoction.

    a recipe card for ground beef grand style with an image of a tin lined with biscuits and filled with a ground beef mixture in the center

    18. All was well with these Strawberry Salad Pops until I read "1/2 cup Miracle Whip Salad Dressing."

    a recipe card for strawberry salad pops with an image of a child licking a cone-shaped pink popsicle

    19. You're telling me the fussiest member of your family would happily eat cabbage grapefruit salad??

    a recipe card for cabbage grapefruit salad alongside an image of a green molded jell-o

    20. These dogs have definitely seen better days.

    a recipe card for crown roast of frankfurters with an image of sliced hotdogs surrounding a cylinder of filling

    21. And finally, a chicken mousse with the classic addition of "lemon or orange-pineapple gelatin."

    a recipe for chicken mousse with an image of a ring of mousse filled with potato salad

    Let us know which of these vintage recipes you would try in the comments! I call dibs on the tuna fish mold.