7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (2024)

Food » Entrees » 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression

Posted: | Last updated: by Erin K. Browne 15 Comments
Post may contain affiliate links via Amazon Associates or other programs. (Disclosure)

PHOTO CREDITS:All credit for photos included in this round-up goes to the original bloggers who created these incredible recipes.No recipes have been reproduced here.Please click through to the awesome blogs who shared these posts andleave them some love in the commentsif you try their recipes or if you just love their ideas!

During the late 1920's and early 1930's when funds were tight and food was expensive, families had to get a little creative and a lot more frugal when it came to making meals to feed their families. Many of those recipes have continued to be passed down to current generations, and here's a list of the few of the more prolific meals that were made during that time. Have you tried any of these?

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (1)

Image and recipe link from The Baltimore Snacker

Hey, if we had fallen on hard times, I'd feel totally fine feeding this simple dish to my family. Onions and potatoes get cooked together and mixed with chopped up hot dogs. Nothin' wrong with that. You've got the fat from the cooking oil, the protein in the hot dogs, and the carbs in the potatoes - the gang's all here. For the remaining oil from your recipes, you can store them and do a bulk cooking oil recycling pick up once in a while.

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (2)

Image and recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Though my parents are too young to have lived during the Depression, my mom used to make this all the time when I was a kid. And I hated it. As an adult I can see the appeal and I'd like to give it another goal, but there was just something about the texture and the combo of the gravy and the dried beef that just didn't sit well with the kid version of myself.

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (3)

Image and recipe from Crazy Simple kitchen

Did you know you can make a loaf of bread using as little as 3 simple ingredients? I can imagine Depression-era families would spend lots of time in the kitchen preparing many loaves of this basic staple to last the week.

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (4)

Image and recipe by The Kitchen Magpie

Also known as Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake, this recipe is still popular today because of its sheer simplicity. The lack of eggs, milk, and butter is what makes this cake so unique, as such items were in short supply during the Depression. Some recipes call for lemon juice instead of vanilla extract, if it wasn't available.

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (5)

Image and recipe by My Turn For Us

I totally still make this recipe (though I use salt pork) on the regular, and it's amazing. I just made it this past weekend with a big ole cast iron skillet of cornbread, in fact! It's easy, inexpensive, and I can see why it was a popular dinner choice when funds were tight.

Potatoes are cheap and easy to store, so it's no surprise they showed up on menu home meal plans during the Depression. This recipe jazzes them up a little bit.

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (7)

Image and recipe by 12 Tomatoes

This is the classic whatever-is-in-the-fridge-and-pantry stew. While 12 Tomatoes has refined it to an actual recipe you can follow, the stew whipped up during The Depression contained literally whatever was available - vegetables, any kind of meat, onions or other spices, etc.

If you liked this, don't forget to pin this post or share with your friends, please and thank you!!

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (8)

Related posts:

  1. Vegetable Beef Stew
  2. Warm Dinner Ideas for a Cold Day
  3. 15 Simple Delicious Recipes Using Pasta, Rice, or Beans
  4. Easy Brunswick Stew

« Taste Test! Leading Brand Cheez-It Vs. Knock-Offs

Spooky Halloween Vampire Bark »

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (9)

About Erin K. Browne

Erin is a mom of two human babies and a sweet kitty named Biscuit Fingers. She loves comfy clothes, eats too much peanut butter, and watches excessive amounts of Netflix. Make her day and toss her a like on Facebook or follow her on Instagram. Post may contain affiliate links including those via the Amazon Associates program

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (10)Diana

    How do I get the bread recipe? It doesn't want to open to the recipe from the link.

    Reply

    • 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (11)Beverly

      I can’t pull it up either. Where do we go to get it?

      Reply

  2. 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (12)Noniblue6

    I grew up eating all of these foods. My Grandmother was a depression era newlywed and grew up with 7 siblings and my grandfather raised himself from 14 yrs of age due to the death of his father on a cattle drive. My mom was a very functional cook and could make something out of nothing. She made mulligan stew often but called it clean out the refrigerator soup. My mother in law introduced me to chipped beef on toast, I loved it! She was an army wife with 9 children .Travel all over USA and Europe. Giving birth where ever they were stationed. Very frugal cook, but a very good cook. She made the best fried chicken. I went in to home economics and learned all the tricks from my teachers. I married at 17.5 and can cook almost anything.

    Reply

  3. 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (13)Elbert

    I prefer using lean ground beef to make chipped beef. you could also add uncooked rice to the ground beef. Make meat balls with it. cook them. Then add white sauce. You can also use ground turkey.

    Reply

    • 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (14)Erin

      Yum! Love those ideas!

      Reply

    • 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (15)Tamara Jones

      Very interesting! Is it possible to share the recipe for the rice meatballs? Your tips are great! Thank you. ?

      Reply

  4. 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (16)Deb

    Love these easy and inexpensive recipes! Use half with my family. Will be trying the other half thank you!!

    Reply

    • 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (17)Erin

      Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Deb!

      Reply

  5. 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (18)Esilot

    My family loves fried hot dogs, potatoes, and onions. I use bacon grease instead of vegetable oil. We call it redneck hash.

    Reply

    • 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (19)Erin

      Sounds delish!

      Reply

    • 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (20)Sandy

      My family used Italian sausage and hot dogs we called it depression dinner

      Reply

  6. 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (21)Leslie

    I grew up with every one of these meals and more. I never realized until I was an adult that they were very frugal meals and depression meals. I love potato soup and SOS and still make many of these. Soup is a great frugal meal in it's many forms.

    Reply

  7. 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (22)Kim

    I love cheap and easy meals they now a days it's worth it.

    Reply

    • 7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (23)Erin

      I know! When I created this post, I had no idea it'd actually serve a real purpose due to current events. Sheesh! Hope you and yours are doing well in these weird times!

      Reply

Say Something About This Post:

7 Cheap Recipes Straight From The Great Depression (2024)

FAQs

What foods were cheap during the Great Depression? ›

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, homemakers stretched their food budgets with soups, rice and pasta–but beans were the commodity no household went without: cheap, high protein, and no refrigeration required until cooked.

What was a typical meal during the Great Depression? ›

Celery soup mixed with tuna fish and mashed potatoes. A salad of corned beef, gelatin and canned peas. Baked onion stuffed with peanut butter. Those are just some of the recipes Americans turned to during the Great Depression, when many families struggled to eat enough nutritious food.

What is the poor man's meal? ›

Potatoes were also inexpensive and used extensively. Some meals even used both. One of these meals was called the Poor Man's Meal. It combined potatoes, onions, and hot dogs into one hearty, inexpensive dish, which was perfect for the hard times people had fallen on.

What did the poor eat during the depression? ›

With the limited amount of ingredients families had, they developed their own recipes, which spread like wildfire to poor people in need of something to eat.
  • Peanut Butter Bread. ...
  • Mulligan Stew. ...
  • Poorman's Meal. ...
  • Dandelion Salad. ...
  • Hoover Stew. ...
  • Prune Pudding.
Feb 26, 2023

What did hobos eat during the Great Depression? ›

Perhaps one hobo acquired a few carrots from a charitable person, while another stole an onion off a box car, while another had a few potatoes from a farm he worked on briefly… From this concoction, a “hobo stew,” also known as “Mulligan/Mulligatawney stew” was born and became the traditional food of the hobo.

Where did people get free food during the Great Depression? ›

Soup kitchens became crucial during the Great Depression. With over 13 million Americans out of work, many relied on soup kitchens for their survival. Today, the soup kitchen remains a quintessential food assistance program where individuals are provided with a free hot meal and a place to eat.

Which American dish was invented during the Great Depression? ›

Yet even during the Depression, many new foods were invented or introduced including: Spam. Kraft macaroni and cheese. Toll House chocolate chip cookies.

What was a popular dinner in the 1930s? ›

Recipes like tomatoes stuffed with chicken salad, bell peppers stuffed with ground beef and mushrooms stuffed with bacon and breadcrumbs were popular. We've got the perfect stuffed tomato dish to show you how it's done. This one's delicious and pretty to look at: Pesto-Pasta Stuffed Tomatoes.

What did dogs eat in the Great Depression? ›

Kibble + canned dog foods were introduced made out of dehydrated meat and grain mill scraps. Great Depression (30's - 40's): Canned pet food became 90% of the pet food market. WWII (1939-45): “Non-essential” pet food was not a priority during wartime and rationing.

What is a silent meal? ›

A silent dinner, as the name suggests, is a dinner at which the guests and host do not speak, write, or use technology devices (e.g. phones). The dinners typically last for at least two hours, and guests are expected to stay and participate for the entire time.

What is a cowboy dinner? ›

Cowboy dinner is a hearty casserole of flavorful beef, corn and beans topped with soft, fluffy cornbread and a layer of cheese. So delicious! This easy, comfort food casserole has been a family favorite for over 20 years! After that long, you know the recipe has to be a keeper!

What plant is known as poor man's meat? ›

Pulses belong to the leguminous crop family and are regarded as "poor man's meat" because they are high in protein, high dietary fiber, and low in fat. They also contain a wide range of minerals. These are abundant in proteins but do not contain complete proteins.

What is a soup kitchen in Great Depression? ›

During the Great Depression preceding the passage of the Social Security Act, "soup kitchens" provided the only meals some unemployed Americans had. This particular soup kitchen was sponsored by the Chicago gangster Al Capone.

What is Great Depression food? ›

Poor man's meal is a quintessential Great Depression-era food. Featuring onions, hot dogs, and potatoes, it provided exactly what people wanted during this time: A cheap, hearty meal. The dish is made by frying up cubed potatoes with slices of onion, and slices of hot dog.

What was the only way some people could get food during the Great Depression? ›

Not only was access to food limited by rationing, many people had to turn to soup kitchens, which are places where people can go and get a free meal, or food stamps, which are booklets of stamps that could be used to buy food, cleaning supplies, and other necessities, to get enough food to feed their families.

Were things cheaper during the Great Depression? ›

We had serious deflation in the Great Depression. The consumer price level fell by 25%; wholesale prices fell by 33%.

What happened to food prices during the Great Depression? ›

In the early 1930s prices dropped so low that many farmers went bankrupt and lost their farms. In some cases, the price of a bushel of corn fell to just eight or ten cents. Some farm families began burning corn rather than coal in their stoves because corn was cheaper.

How much was bread in the Great Depression? ›

In 1931, the average cost for a loaf of bread was 8 cents. When a loaf of bread became stale and hard, people made “cooked bread” by pouring olive oil, salt, and boiling water over the bread to soak it, then mashing it up.

What did African Americans eat during the Great Depression? ›

But back in the 1930s, inexpensive parcels of meat such as beef necks or pork liver would have been part of the frugal fare for African-Americans, especially in Chicago with its many stockyards. And, oh yes, there was chicken - as in chicken feet, he said. Both beans and greens of various descriptions were popular.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Moshe Kshlerin

Last Updated:

Views: 6534

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (77 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Moshe Kshlerin

Birthday: 1994-01-25

Address: Suite 609 315 Lupita Unions, Ronnieburgh, MI 62697

Phone: +2424755286529

Job: District Education Designer

Hobby: Yoga, Gunsmithing, Singing, 3D printing, Nordic skating, Soapmaking, Juggling

Introduction: My name is Moshe Kshlerin, I am a gleaming, attractive, outstanding, pleasant, delightful, outstanding, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.