8 Great Depression Foods That Defined 1930s America

In October 1929, Wall Street crashed and plunged the American economy and society into an era of hardship and poverty known as the Great Depression. With the economic downturn, food supplies dwindled and rising unemployment plagued the nation. As such, many Americans tightened their purse strings to tide over an extraordinary period of scarcity. In this difficult period, they also learned to become more resourceful and innovative, coming up with many interesting food creations that were cost-effective and easy to make.

One of the most popular cakes during the Great Depression boasted an eggless, butterless, and milkless formula. The origins of the Depression Cake go all the way back to World War I when it was also called the War Cake. Defying almost every traditional cake recipe, the Depression Cake became popular in the 1930s due to its fuss-free ingredients list. This was extremely helpful for families struggling to buy active and fresh ingredients in a time of economic downturn. The Depression Cake was made using flour, sugar, and cocoa powder for the chocolatey taste. At times, recipes also recommended the use of cinnamon or nutmeg for extra flavor. Without using eggs, homemakers relied on vinegar or baking soda for the leavening process to create the ideal fluffy texture. Sometimes animal fats such as leftover bacon grease would be used to avoid having to buy butter.

2. Water Pie

Water Pie, as its name suggested, referred to a peculiar pie made up almost entirely of water. It constituted the base filling and after adding sugar, flour, butter, and some vanilla, the result was an amazing pie with a custard-like texture. While traditional meringue or custard pies typically depended on eggs to set, the Water Pie did not. As the pie heated up, the melted sugar, emulsified butter, and leached starch formed the most unexpected binding agent. With a bit of ingenuity and thinking out of the box, Depression-era bakers managed to transform the most ordinary water into an extraordinarily tasty treat.

Named after the United States President Herbert Hoover, the Hoover Stew was one of the most popular soups during the Great Depression. It typically consisted of cooked macaroni, hot dogs, stewed tomatoes, and canned sweetcorn or peas. Simmered in a large pot and packed with flavor, the Hoover Stew was a hearty meal that could feed a family for days.

Since Hoover’s presidency was largely defined by the Great Depression, the Hoover Stew became the go-to meal for working-class families. As economic hardship was largely blamed on his presidency, Hoover’s name was used for many everyday items or places in the 1930s. For example, shanty towns used by the homeless that sprouted across America were called Hoovervilles and cardboard used to cover shoe holes was called Hoover Leather.

4. Meatloaf

Widely believed to have arrived on American shores alongside Italian immigrants in the late 19th century, the humble meatloaf is a perennial American favorite. It combines ground meat, usually beef, with salt, pepper, and eggs, and is molded into the shape of a loaf. The meatloaf’s easy-to-make recipe made it a popular choice during the Great Depression, allowing families to stretch it across multiple meals. Cereal grains and breadcrumbs would also be added to further bulk up the meatloaf for bigger portions. Meat grinders had become increasingly common by the 1930s which contributed to the popularisation of the meatloaf. An endearing family favorite since the Great Depression, the meatloaf has left its imprint on the hearts of Americans across generations. A poll by Good Housekeeping magazine in 2007 ranked the dish as the seventh most well-loved American staple.

Made up of canned corned beef, gelatin, canned peas, and vinegar, the Corned Beef Luncheon Salad sounds gross just from its ingredients list. In the words of Andrew Coe, co-author of A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression, it was “wrong in every way possible.” However, for the impoverished and desperate, the Corned Beef Luncheon Salad contained just about everything palatable.

Furthermore, gelatin was considered a novelty ingredient and very cutting-edge for the 1930s, which explained the popularity of this dish. In particular, Jell-O, the well-known gelatin brand in America, introduced the lime Jell-O in 1930 which quickly became a staple in savory salads and desserts.

6. Tomato Soup Cake

The Tomato Soup Cake was quite possibly the most incredible invention of the Depression era as few would associate a savory soup with a sweet treat. The familiar Campbell’s canned tomato soup contained gelatinized starch from thickeners and pectin from tomatoes, which were the prerequisites to a perfectly moist cake. A Campbell’s recipe from 1922 instructed home bakers to mix the canned soup with butter, flour, sugar, and lard to create the most delectable cake. After its heyday in the 1930s and 1940s, the recipe has continued to enjoy lasting popularity ever since. It was said that American writer Sylvia Plath baked the Tomato Soup Cake on the same day she penned her poignant poem Death & Co. in 1962.

7. All Things Potatoes

Cheap, hardy, easy to grow—potatoes are one of the most accessible and versatile foods available. This was particularly so during the Great Depression when food supplies were scarce. In the mid-2000s, an elderly woman in her 90s named Clara Cannucciari became a YouTube sensation after sharing many of her Great Depression recipes. According to Clara, potatoes were a very important staple during those days of economic hardship: “We ate potatoes every day; potatoes with pasta, potatoes fried, potatoes with eggs.” Potato soups and potato pancakes were also highly favored for their heartiness, making them popular meal staples adored across generations.

Imagine a delectable pie that looked, tasted, and even smelled every bit like the classic American apple pie. Except it did not even contain a single apple to begin with. In its place were soda crackers or Ritz crackers, which had just made their debut in 1934. Shaped like a disc and lightly salted, the Ritz crackers became an instant hit when they were first introduced to the American public. Almost five billion units of crackers were sold by 1935, just a year after their debut. The thrifty nature of Depression-era Americans led them to discover that Ritz crackers, when combined with lemon, cinnamon, and sugar, created the most perfect fake apple pie. The timing could not be better as this Mock Apple Pie recipe gained popularity when apples were costly and in short supply.

The Great Depression-Era Dishes: Delightful or Disastrous?

In a time when economic hardship was a reality, these recipes provided variety and even comfort for the everyday man in the street. During the Great Depression, people did not have the luxury of choice nor the purchasing power to consume whatever they wanted. As such, they often had to make do with the existing ingredients they could get. Taste was of course secondary to quantity. In fact, many of these common dishes were known to be bland as people could not afford a variety of spices to spice up their cooking. Even if they did, they used them very sparingly. To our modern ears, many of the Depression-era recipes might sound incredulous as our taste buds are accustomed to the increasingly sophisticated food preparation methods. However, some of these recipes did manage to mimic fanciful dishes, to varying degrees of success.

The Depression Cake, for example, allowed those with a sweet tooth to indulge in the delectable chocolatey goodness, whereas colorful Jell-O desserts brightened up the gloomy moments of economic hardship. While our predecessors might have been glad to leave the grim days of the 1930s behind, Depression-era recipes enjoyed a brief resurgence in the 2020s. In part due to the uncertainty and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, self-styled home bakers resurrected many Depression-era recipes such as the Water Pie and the Depression Cake. Many recipes went viral on social media as people gained a newfound appreciation for the resourcefulness and ingenuity of their predecessors in similarly dire circumstances.