From the post-war home to the modern kitchen, canned food has been a staple of American and Canadian diets for decades. Here we delve into the cupboards of yesteryear to bring you some of the most nostalgic cans from your childhood. How many do you remember?

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the canned foods we've loved throughout the decades.

While canned food has its roots in the Napoleonic wars (1803-15) and appeared in American stores as early as the 1800s, it became a true staple of America's diet in the 1940s. Brands such as Chef Boyardee (then Chef Boy-ar-dee) helped the Second World War effort by producing field rations. Chef Boyardee factories operated 24 hours a day during this time – their signature dish was beef ravioli in a sauce, which was described as being as 'truly Italian as the Tower of Pisa.'

Another brand that thrived during and immediately after the war years was Campbell Soup Company, better known as Campbell's. It also provided army rations, while housewives back home swore by the brand's condensed soup range for quick and easy family suppers. A favorite pick was the hearty Vegetable-Beef Soup (alongside Tomato and plain Vegetable). 

Another canned legend that first burst onto the scene in the 1940s is Dinty Moore's Beef Stew. This cockle-warming concoction of beef chunks, diced potatoes, carrots, and gravy helped feed American troops during the Second World War and was marketed as a way to serve up a 'whole wonderful meal quick' for families at home.

Hormel Foods (then George A. Hormel & Company) is credited as the first company to put ham in a can, way back in 1926. This canned ham was later used to feed the nation's troops. In fact, in the 1940s, millions of cans of meat per week were shipped overseas by Hormel for the US military. Back home, the ham could be bought in a range of sizes from 'a banquet deluxe' whole ham to a 3oz tin perfect for 'the lunchbox parade.'

As well as canned ham, Hormel had plenty of other tinned classics. Other 1940s favorites included Hormel Chili, dubbed a great option for lunch or Sunday supper. Hormel had such faith in the taste of its chili that the company offered a 'double your money back' guarantee. The brand was also a purveyor of canned chicken and the legendary Spam (more on that later).

It wasn't just meat that made its way into a can. Brands such as Niblets thrived in an era when having certain vegetables available year-round was still a novelty and convenience was king. Hawked with the line 'the only thing missing is the cob,' this canned veg product promised an 'old-time eating thrill' coupled with ease and speed.

Another 1940s hero was the Del Monte Fruit Cocktail, a sweet offering of pineapple, cherries, peaches, pears, and grapes in a can. Eaten as a quick snack or whipped into a fruit dessert, the cocktail became a pillar of US and Canadian pantries during this decade. Del Monte even came up with weird and wonderful recipes for it, from a Party Fruit Basket (advert pictured) to a Buffet Party Loaf with luncheon meat (yes, really).

What better way to finish off a fruit cocktail than with a glug of sweetened condensed milk – Eagle Brand to be exact. While the product dates back to 1856, feeding troops during the Civil War, it rose in popularity through the 1940s. It was given to soldiers in both the First and Second World Wars and served as a sweet and satiating snack for those back at home. 

By the 1950s, the Second World War was over but the canned food revolution was only just beginning. Many soldiers who returned from war had developed a taste for hearty canned meats and broths and, with more women out at work, family meals needed to be quick and simple. It was in this decade that Spam, an essential war food, sold its one billionth can.

While Spam was the canned meat heavyweight in the 1950s, it wasn't without some competition. Prem was another brand of canned pork and beef luncheon meat that was shipped to soldiers during the Second World War and remained popular in the decades afterward. Here, it's served pan-browned with jelly sauce and creamed potatoes. 

Joining Spam and Prem was Treet, another canned luncheon meat made with chicken and pork, this time sold by Chicago company Armour Star. Known for its smoky flavor, it was first on shelves in the 1930s and then saw its popularity soar throughout the next few decades.

Lunch meat aside, entire meals were still being canned by brands throughout America and Canada, ready to be heated up for a quick supper. Armour Star remained a frontrunner through the 1950s, with its comforting Corned Beef Hash (a satisfying mix of corned beef and potatoes) a quick-dinner winner in this decade and beyond.

Beans were another essential in the post-war pantry and Van Camp claimed they had 'the largest selling beans in all the world' in the 1950s. The brand's perennially popular Pork and Beans were made with Van Camp's Vienna sausage and served as a simple heat-and-go meal in busy households.

While Pork and Beans was (and still is) Van Camp's signature product, the brand was no one-trick pony. Its meaty Chili Con Carne (pictured) was also a favorite during the post-war decades. Canned tamales sated America's early appetite for Mexican-style food too. 

There was almost no limit on what companies would put into cans during the 1950s – leading brand Chef Boyardee even sold canned grated cheese, marketing it as the perfect accompaniment to its quick spaghetti dinner. It was also ideal for sprinkling on top of Boyardee's canned ravioli, which was still hugely popular during this decade.

The craze for canned veg continued with Veg-All's Mixed Vegetables – a medley of carrots, potatoes, green beans, peas, and more – leading the way. By now canned food companies were regularly publishing recipe tips, suggestions, and even entire cookbooks as a marketing tool for their products. Here, Veg-All suggests a Pie Plate Salad and a curious-looking tuna casserole.

Oscar Mayer was another brand that cooked up creative ways for consumers to enjoy its canned products. In the CookOut Fun cookbook, published in 1959, the brand claimed that 'fun-cooking never stops when you have Oscar Mayer meats.' It suggested grilling its popular sausages over a fireplace in the event that bad weather ruins a planned cookout.

V-8 Vegetable Juices was another nutrient-packed canned food that gained traction in the post-war era. Mothers concerned with their kids' vegetable intake would swear by this Good Housekeeping–recommended drink, which could be served for 'lunch, dinner, and in-between meals.' The veggie cocktail, still on shelves today, includes celery, parsley, spinach, beetroot, lettuce, carrots, tomato, and watercress.

Come the 1960s, America's love affair with canned food showed no sign of abating. Throughout the decade, Andy Warhol memorialized the Campbell's soup can in an iconic series of screenprints. In 1969 the pop artist turned his attention to one of the brand's more exotic flavors, Oyster Stew.

This was also the decade that SpaghettiOs were invented. They were marketed (by the Campbell's-owned Franco-American brand) as 'the neat new spaghetti you can eat with a spoon,' and they were a quick hit with convenience-loving 1960s Americans. You could buy them with tomato and cheese sauce, meatballs, or little sliced franks.

The novel pasta shapes didn't stop at hoops. While Campbell's had sold a vegetable broth with pasta letters since 1915, it officially branded the soup The Alphabet Soup in the 1960s – a name it had already been given by families across the US and Canada. Its popularity continued to soar in this decade and beyond with other brands following suit and selling their own versions.

A food guaranteed to feed your nostalgia is Chef Boyardee's Beefaroni. While this comforting dish of beef and macaroni in rich tomato sauce had been on the canned circuit for a while, a hit TV ad in this decade cemented it in America's food psyche. The charming black-and-white ad saw hordes of children running through the streets of Venice singing 'Hooray for Beefaroni,' before tucking into bowls of the stuff at a long table.

This one is rather niche, but if you're from New England then you're probably well aware of canned bread. It may seem an odd concept, but B&M's offering has been a favorite with New Englanders for decades. You can buy the bread plain or with raisins, and it's often paired with beans and ham or franks for a hearty breakfast or satisfying supper. It has a two-year shelf life, making it a handy cupboard staple.

The 1960s saw many brands build on their established offerings, bringing out new canned foods and flavors with twists on already well-loved classics. One example was Franco-American's new gravies. While their beef gravy was already a perennial favorite, the sixties saw Americans topping their fried chicken with Golden Chicken Gravy and swamping meatloaf in a savory Brown Mushroom Gravy.

Many fun, foodie mascots launched in the 1960s, and Starkist's Charlie the Tuna was one of them. Ads throughout the decade showed Charlie the Tuna's quest to become a StarKist Tuna, only to be knocked back time and time again. 'Sorry Charlie' became the brand's enduring catchphrase and, as a result, StarKist cans flew off the shelves.

By the 1960s, Americans had developed a taste for canned Chinese-style food and the now-defunct Chun King, founded in the 1940s, was the market leader. Sales surged through the next couple of decades, and Chow Mein with chicken or mushroom was the brand's top dish.

Pineapple upside-down cakes were a go-to sweet treat throughout the 1960s, which meant canned pineapple slices were a popular item on shopping lists. Leading brand Dole also sold its sweet pineapple in all manner of other ways: chunked, crushed, juiced, and even in neat little spears, perfect for dessert at the 1960s dinner table.

The 1970s were dominated by creative ads and weird and wonderful recipe suggestions. These all helped cement Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs' status as a favorite. In this ad, the canned dish is piled high like an ice cream sundae – a ruse to encourage kids to eat up all of their dinner.

The taste for meaty mains straight from a can continued throughout the decade. Hunt’s Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce was launched right at the end of the 1960s and proved popular through the 1970s. For a quick evening meal, cooks would add the tomatoey sauce to ground beef and pile the mix into a hamburger bun – et voilà, a classic sloppy joe. You can still buy the mix in stores today. 

Another canned classic to make its debut in the 1970s was Campbell's Chunky Soup. While the brand's condensed soup range had been popular for decades, this hearty offering was touted as a meal in a can – or 'soup so chunky you'll be tempted to eat it with a fork.' Shoppers could choose between chunky chicken, beef, turkey, or vegetable.

One of Campbell's Chunky Soups' main competitors in the 1970s – and indeed still today – was Progresso, who had long sold chunky, ready-to-heat-and-serve broths. Popular flavors included Chicken Noodle, New England Clam Chowder, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, and Minestrone. 

Tex-Mex was another food trend to take off in the 1970s. Old El Paso, founded in the 1930s, is credited with popularizing the cuisine during this decade. The brand had plenty of canned foods available so people could whip up quick Tex-Mex-style meals at home, including tomatoes, pinto beans, and even tortillas. 

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was increased awareness around healthy eating and vegetarianism, with brands like Loma Linda (now La Loma Foods) helping to lead the charge. Their canned meat alternatives including Nuteena, a veggie loaf made from peanuts, graced many kitchen cupboards.

Loma Linda's meat-free alternatives also came in the form of veggie sausages called Sizzle Franks. They were even dubbed 'a real improvement on an American tradition, the hot dog,' and held up for their lack of added preservatives or MSG. Today, La Loma still sells an array of canned goods, from nut meats and Vege-burgers to a plant-based seafood alternative called Tuno.

The health-conscious cans continued with Campbell's and their Healthy Request range, then called Campbell's Special Request. The line launched in 1985 and was focused on heart health with reduced saturated fat and cholesterol levels. Flavors included favorites like Split Pea & Ham, Tomato, and Chicken Noodle, and the range is still sold today.

Canned spinach was another pantry staple, with canned food brand Allens using the cartoon character Popeye as a mascot and product name. Allens was based in Alma, Arkansas, and in the 1980s the town dubbed itself the 'Spinach Capital of the World,' thanks to the amount of the stuff it canned. 

Despite all the new 'healthier' alternatives, there was still plenty of room for some good old-fashioned meat and beans in a can. Van Camp's Beanee Weenees – baked beans with little frankfurter chunks – remained popular throughout this decade, especially for a quick TV dinner. 

When it came to cans, soup still reigned supreme through the 1990s and Campbell's was still king. By now, the company had introduced Home Cookin' Soup (later Homestyle) – hearty meat and veg broths designed to match a home-cooked meal. The range remained popular through the 1990s, with actor James Stewart doing the voice-over for the range's TV ads during the decade.

A.J. Bush started his cannery in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains in 1908, and the brand first began making baked beans in 1969. But it was in the 1990s that the beans shot to fame, thanks to a series of adverts featuring A.J.'s great-grandson, Jay Bush, and a talking golden retriever. The company now makes around 80% of the baked beans sold in the US.

Campbell’s didn’t rest on its laurels – in the 1990s, the company introduced a new flavor and saw its most successful new introduction in more than 50 years. If you entered an American kitchen in the 1990s, there was a good chance you'd see a can of Campbell's Condensed Cream of Broccoli Soup in the cupboard. A creamy bowl of the stuff was – and still is – perfect on a cold evening with a hunk of crusty bread.

While you're unlikely to have drunk a SlimFast shake as a child, you may well have seen one lurking in the kitchen cupboard. Diet company SlimFast, still in operation today, surged in popularity through the 1990s, with celebrities waxing lyrical about the effects of its products. The meal replacement shakes in a can were among the most popular products.

Come the 1990s, brands had to start thinking outside the box to keep customers coming back. Chef Boyardee knew just the thing. In 1991, to tie in with the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and feature film, the brand introduced canned pasta shaped like the crime-fighting cartoon characters. Needless to say, it was a hit with the kids. 

Age-old canned favorites prevailed throughout the Noughties, when bigger was often better. Chef Boyardee's Overstuffed Ravioli, for example, ruled cupboards and was held up as a nutritious option for those with bigger appetites, especially kids. Italian Sausage Ravioli was the canned pasta of choice.

People suddenly seemed a lot hungrier in the 2000s. Or at least that might explain why another Chef Boyardee's classic, Spaghetti and Meatballs, got a mammoth makeover. Its Jumbo Spaghetti and Meatballs saw the pork, chicken, and beef meatballs double in size, 'for bigger kids with bigger appetites.'

Some things are classics for a reason. Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, with flavorful broth, egg noodles, and tender pieces of chicken, is another veteran canned food to truly stand the test of time. It remains one of the brand's top sellers and, in the 2000s, Campbell's delighted fans by adding even more chicken to the time-honored recipe.

Springing up in the late 1980s, Amy's Kitchen thrived in the Noughties, offering an organic alternative to the biggest-selling soups on the market. Increasingly health-conscious consumers filled their cupboards with Amy's Kitchen's organic Lentil Vegetable, Split Pea, and Cream of Mushroom soups, and continue to do so today.

Now check out these retro dishes we think deserve a comeback

Last updated by Clare Thorp.