Forgotten Grocery Store Items You Used To See Everywhere

Our Old Grocery Lists Look a Bit…Strange Now

A trip to the supermarket today looks very different from one in 1965. The shopping carts of yesteryear were filled with items that have since faded into obscurity.

From those bizarre casseroles to truly forgotten meats, here’s a nostalgic peek at grocery goods that quietly disappeared from American shelves.

Fruitcake: The Gift Nobody Wanted

Once a staple of holiday gifting, fruitcake was everywhere in the mid-20th century. Dense, brick-like, and packed with candied fruit and nuts, it’s now mostly the punchline of jokes rather than a cart item.

Salisbury Steak TV Dinners

Salisbury steak, ground beef patties smothered in brown gravy, was once a frozen food aisle hero. Popularized by TV dinners in the 1950s–70s, it's now more of a school lunchroom memory than a dinner option.

Meatloaf: The King of 1960s Kitchens

Every 1960s mom had a meatloaf recipe, often involving ketchup, breadcrumbs, and mystery meat. Today, it’s been largely replaced by leaner proteins, meal kits, and plant-based alternatives.

Canned Aspic: Jell-O’s Weird Cousin

Gelatin-based savory dishes, like tomato aspic or shrimp suspended in lemon gelatin, were high cuisine in 1950s cookbooks. But these jiggly nightmares have all but vanished from modern grocery offerings.

Comic Books by the Checkout

In the pre-smartphone era, kids begged for Archie, Batman, or Richie Rich while mom checked out. Grocery stores used to carry full racks of comics, but these were slowly phased out in favor of magazines, snacks, and impulse gadgets.

Casserole Mixes: Just Add a Can of Soup

Campbell’s cream-of-something soups were the backbone of thousands of casserole recipes. Boxed casserole kits, complete with seasoning packets and dried noodles, were popular until home-cooked casseroles fell out of favor in the 1990s.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Kits

This Irish-American favorite wasn’t just for St. Patrick’s Day. Boiled dinners were once common in homes across the country. Now, many young shoppers wouldn’t even recognize a corned beef brisket on the shelf.

Powdered Drink Mixes (Tang, Anyone?)

Tang, the orange drink made famous by astronauts, was once a breakfast table regular. Along with Kool-Aid and other powdered beverages, it’s mostly been replaced by bottled drinks, juices, and sparkling water.

TV Guide and Soap Opera Digest

Before streaming, Americans meticulously tracked TV shows with TV Guide. Grocery store checkouts were full of soap opera magazines and tabloid gossip. These are now collector’s items, or ignored entirely.

Vienna Sausages: Lunchbox Relics

Small cans of soft, salty Vienna sausages were lunchbox mainstays from the 1950s–70s. Today, they’re considered more survival food than snack, with health-conscious shoppers avoiding such processed meats.

Free Grocery Bags (Paper or Plastic?)

Remember when grocery bags were free, and asking “paper or plastic?” was a real debate? With plastic bans and fees now widespread, reusable bags have replaced the trusty brown sack.

Tuna Noodle Casserole in a Box

This mid-century favorite combined canned tuna, egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and breadcrumbs. Boxed versions sold well for decades, but you’ll rarely find them now among today’s trendier ready-made meals.

Swanson Frozen Dinners

While the frozen aisle is still huge, the classic Swanson tray with peas, mashed potatoes, and mystery meat has been overtaken by globally inspired, organic, or low-carb frozen options.

Gelatin Molds with Veggies, Yes, Really

If you think your great aunt’s green Jell-O salad with shredded carrots sounds horrifying, you’re not alone. These once-popular concoctions were common on 1960s potluck tables, and nowhere to be found now.

Cigarettes by the Register

Not exactly food, but certainly a grocery staple for decades. Grocery stores prominently displayed cigarettes, sometimes even in vending machines. Today, tobacco is hidden or banned entirely in many stores.

Dry Milk Powder: The Backup Plan

A Cold War pantry necessity, powdered milk was once a household staple. Often used during shortages or for frugality, it’s now mostly relegated to baking aisles or emergency kits.

TV Trays: Dinner in Front of the Tube

Though not a grocery item per se, stores used to sell TV trays right alongside TV dinners. These foldable stands made eating in front of the television a formalized tradition.

Boxed Mac & Cheese, But Not the Fancy Kind

Today’s macaroni aisle is full of gourmet and vegan options. But the neon-orange, elbow-noodle variety with a foil packet of powder? Once a classic, it’s now a nostalgia item more than a dinner regular.

Beef Tongue, Liver, and Kidneys

Once cheap cuts of meat, organ meats were common purchases during tougher times. Shoppers today overwhelmingly avoid them, though a small niche still seeks them for cultural or dietary reasons.

Iceberg Lettuce and Nothing Else

Before spring mix, arugula, and kale took over, iceberg lettuce was the only leafy green in town. Today, it’s seen as nutritionally lackluster and often skipped in favor of darker greens.

Glass Bottled Soda by the Crate

Before plastic bottles and aluminum cans, soda came in glass bottles you returned for a deposit. Grocery stores had crates lined up, and kids could grab a Coke, Tab, or RC Cola for a few cents.

Grapefruit for Breakfast

Grapefruit used to be the go-to breakfast fruit. Whole or halved with a sprinkle of sugar, it was a diet food darling. These days, grapefruit sales have plummeted, especially among younger generations.

Evaporated Milk in Everything

Before refrigeration was widespread, shelf-stable milk products were key. Evaporated milk was used in baking, coffee, casseroles, and even baby formula. Today, it’s an occasional recipe ingredient, not a cart essential.

The Mystery of Pickled Everything

Pickled pigs’ feet, eggs, and sausages were once found near the deli or in jars near the checkout. Now, you’ll be hard-pressed to find these anywhere but niche specialty stores.

Grocery Store Green Stamps

S&H Green Stamps weren’t exactly groceries, but they were part of the shopping ritual. Shoppers collected stamps with each purchase and traded them for goods in mail-order catalogs. By the '90s, they were obsolete.