'They don't make things like they used to' is a bit of a cliché at this point, but when it comes to breakfast, it's certainly true. Whether we’re talking sugar-drenched cereal or weird meat-and-fruit combos, breakfasts back in the day just hit different. So, join us on a trip down memory lane and discover the amazing vintage breakfast foods that fueled past generations, counting down to the tastiest of all.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the retro breakfasts we used to love. How many do you remember?
We've based our ranking on how tasty and iconic each food is, and on the opinions of our well-traveled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.
One of the taglines for Wheatena in these vintage ads is 'the hot brown wheat cereal.' That's hardly the most appealing concept, but it seemingly hit the mark for many Americans in the early 20th century. From the 1920s to the 1950s, it was a breakfast staple for much of the country. The sweetened cereals of the late 20th century proved the eventual undoing of the hearty dish, although it is still on the market today.
In the 1980s, Cheerios invited fans to try a new way of enjoying their favorite cereal. Instead of pouring cold milk on Cheerios, this recipe asked you to slowly melt a quarter cup of butter in a 10-inch skillet and then stir in 4 cups of cereal. Cook this together for two or three minutes, sprinkle with salt, and then devour hot or cold. Hot buttered O's were a big deal for a while, so they're probably due a comeback soon.
Creamed chipped beef has the double disadvantage of sounding and looking unappetizing, but it was once a dish that literally saved lives. In 1910, it became a recipe in the Manual for Army Cooks and it served US soldiers well into World War II – where it earned the nickname SOS, the meaning of which can't be printed here. It was a sturdy meal (stewed chipped beef in a cream sauce on toast) that provided enough energy for the tough days ahead.
Cornmeal mush's lack of wider popularity throughout America can perhaps be attributed to its unappealing-sounding name. However, it's a Southern-style dish that's a simple combination of water, salt, and – you guessed it – cornmeal. As a breakfast food, it's best enjoyed with milk or syrup, but you can eat it all day long with some butter and seasoning, too.
The United States government introduced the American public to the nutritional value of heart, kidneys, and liver due to rationing during World War II. The pro-liver propaganda campaign worked, and a whole generation grew up enjoying – or perhaps that should be enduring – the taste of liver and onions in the morning. It's still served for breakfast today, of course, but it's more of a specialty than a star attraction.
Some might say there's no limit to what you can put on toast, but perhaps they’ve never encountered creamed eggs. We’re kidding, of course. This humble yet comforting dish has been a beloved tradition in many households, especially the day after Easter (though it's welcome any time of year). Fanny Farmer even included a version of the recipe ('Eggs à la Goldenrod') in 1896's Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. The dish essentially features chopped hard-boiled eggs in a béchamel sauce on toast.
Protein shakes and meal replacements are still big business in 2025, but not many people are reaching for Carnation Instant Breakfast to start the day. These eye-catching ads, published in the 1960s, boasted that the powdered drink provided you with as much goodness as two strips of bacon and two slices of white toast. Strangely, the updated Carnation Breakfast Essentials line available today makes no mention of these particular health claims...
Dippy eggs are a British classic that somehow never found a comfortable home in America, outside of a handful of states including Pennsylvania and Maryland. Perhaps sunny-side-up eggs are too dominant to allow another form of soft-boiled egg to make headway on the American breakfast scene. Whatever the case, the full dish features runny boiled eggs served still in their shells (with the tops cut off), accompanied by long, thin slices (or soldiers) of toast for dunking.
This ad for Armour Star's bacon includes a recipe for a surprising breakfast that you just don't see on menus much anymore. The copy suggests you fry some of the brand's fresh bacon alongside "pineapple slices lightly browned in bacon dripping and a little brown sugar." It's a combination of sweet and savory flavors that we'd be willing to try!
Americans love pancakes – they’re a staple on virtually every breakfast menu across the country, even inspiring entire restaurant chains. While these menus reliably feature fluffy American-style pancakes, golden French toast, and crisp Belgian waffles, one standout is often overlooked: the Dutch baby. This oven-baked pancake (invented in Seattle in the early 1900s) is loved for its dramatic rise and gooey center, and truly deserves a place in the spotlight.
Egg in the hole is exactly what it sounds like: a hole is cut into a slice of bread, and then an egg is fried in the center. It's simple, delicious, and the kids get a kick out of seeing their eggs in the heart of the toast. However, there are a couple of things holding this back from taking pride of place on every kitchen table. Firstly, no one wants to waste that much bread for the sake of an egg. Secondly, isn't it easier just to have egg on toast?
Martha Stewart once called popovers the American answer to British Yorkshire puddings. But while the Brits typically reserve their version for Sunday roasts, popovers in the US have found a home beyond the dinner table, often making appearances at breakfast and brunch. With their crisp exteriors and airy, chewy centers, they’re perfect for holding everything from fresh fruit to sizzling bacon.
The golden age of SPAM was World War II, when millions of soldiers from the US and the UK were fed cans of the stuff. Homes across the two countries welcomed the spiced ham mix into their lives, too, and cheap and cheerful dishes such as SPAM and eggs were born. You can still get SPAM today, of course, but its heyday as a breakfast staple has mostly passed.
Johnnycakes have been part of the American diet for centuries, particularly in New England, even if they don't have a big presence in today's breakfast diners. After all, Native Americans were grinding corn to make these tasty treats way back in the 1700s. While these forgotten breakfast staples look like pancakes, they're actually more like cornmeal flatbreads – although they're still delicious with traditional pancake toppings.
You’ve probably heard someone described as a ‘milquetoast’ – a term for a timid or unassertive person – but chances are you’ve never encountered the old-fashioned dish it’s loosely named after: milk toast. Despite the similar names, this humble breakfast isn't likely to stage a 21st-century comeback. Still, it’s a thrifty comfort food worth remembering. To make it, a whole slice of toast (or sometime cubes of toast) is covered with a béchamel-like sauce, often flavored with vanilla and cinnamon.
The key to enjoying scrapple is perhaps not worrying too much about what goes into it. All you need to know is that it's a pork offal product that's best imagined as fried pâté or a funky sausage. Either way, it's a Pennsylvania classic steeped in history that doesn't get the love it deserves today. But done right – fried in clarified butter and smothered in hot sauce, say – it could be enough to convince even the most doubtful taster.
Hoppel poppel is a German dish through and through, but it was also popular in Midwestern cuisine, which has many Germanic influences. This particular dish is an unruly mix of cooked potatoes, onions, bell peppers, and leftover meat, all fried together in a skillet with butter, eggs, milk, and herbs. It makes for a hearty way to use up anything left in the fridge, not unlike the British bubble and squeak served in the days after Christmas.
Brown Bobby donuts gained popularity in the 1920s and into the Great Depression era, when affordable indulgences were hard to come by. Marketed as a ‘business opportunity,’ the Brown Bobby machine allowed people to make and sell donuts from home – a tempting prospect during tough economic times. These triangular treats were baked in a waffle iron–like appliance, making them both distinctive and practical. Unlike traditional fried donuts, Brown Bobbies didn’t require costly oil or high cooking temperatures, making them a budget-friendly option for home bakers and entrepreneurs alike.
The only kind of cinnamon toast you're likely to find on a menu today is French toast. But traditional cinnamon toast is a much simpler dish that literally only involves spreading sweetened cinnamon butter onto toasted bread. Kids loved it, naturally, and the tasty breakfast snack is perhaps best known today for its cereal counterpart, Cinnamon Toast Crunch from General Mills.
Post Consumer Brands delighted fans of retro breakfasts when they announced in early 2025 that Alpha-Bits were coming back to supermarkets for a limited time. The cereal first arrived at the breakfast table in 1957, and the letter shapes supposedly added a touch of education and fun to a regular cereal bowl. It didn't hurt that the food was also frosted and totally delicious.