Life
There are a some ~choice~ food dishes that grace the dining table during the holidays. Some of these items are timeless additions to party spreads while others are, well, frozen in time. Like a Swedish fish in a bowl of jello. Needless to say, there were some bizarre foods that we ate at '90s holiday parties. If you're ready to go back in time, hop on this magic school bus of nostalgia with me to revisit the gone but not forgotten foods of classic '90s holiday parties.
Every decade has food trend obsessions. I mean, will we one day find smashed avocado smeared on toast an odd pairing? To be fair, I can't wrap my head around the retro jello salads of the '60s so it wouldn't be shocking if the next generation refuses a bite of something we currently cherish on menus and in the kitchen. Perhaps you look back at the food of 90s holiday parties and shudder. Or, on the contrary, you wonder why such plates went out of style or were ever discontinued from production. Like Oreo O's cereal. I'm all for bringing morning bowls of that dessert for breakfast back! Either way, there are certain foods that you could always count on being served at parties in the 90s — whether we loved to eat them or not.
Pizza Rolls
I will take pizza in all shapes and sizes. These guys made constant appearances at parties throughout the 90s whether it was to celebrate a holiday or a birthday. But, why wouldn't we just order a pizza?
E-Zee Squirt Green Ketchup
If you wanted the heap of french fries to get into the spirit of the holidays in the '90s Heinz invented green ketchup so we could deck our fries in Christmas colors.
Jell-O Cakes
Not that they don't exist today, but, Jell-O was a big deal in the 90s and more than likely featured on your holiday spread. Which was ... cool.
Potato Stix
It wasn't a party if there wasn't a bowl overflowing with Potato Stix. These days, we'd probably go for pretzel sticks or your run of the mill, standard potato chips. But in the 90s, chips had to be little shards of greasy potatoes.
Pop Rock Laced Desserts
Pop Rocks were everywhere. In a thread on Serious Eats, 90s reminiscers speak fondly of Pop Rocks-encrusted graham cracker cheesecake crust. It's bizarre enough to work.
Crystal Pepsi
This transparent Pepsi was all the rage in the '90s. It made a brief and final comeback in the summer of 2017. But the most bizarre thing about it is that it's going for $17,999 on eBay.
Wonderballs
Wonderballs were like edible presents. Once you made it through the chocolate shell, which was basically wrapping paper, an inside treat would be revealed. A must for guests.
Bagel Bites
Pizza on bagels, something only a kid from the 90s can deeply vibe with. In retrospect, it's a bizarre concept. But hey, they were really good.
Freeze Pops
Was it even a '90s party without freeze pops? The flavored tubes of ice were literally just that but no matter the time of year, they were all the rage and all the freezers were packed with them.
Pineapple Pizza
Pizza has always been a big deal. But it was a huge deal in the 90s. So much so that iterations of it have already been featured twice on this list. Pizza toppings really got carried away with themselves in the 90s and there was always at least one person who wanted pineapple instead of pepperoni. And so pineapple and tomatoes always showed up at the party.
Funfetti
The '90s were all about dunking. Specifically dunkaroos into anything that involved funfetti. It's no surprise that just about anything you spotted on the table spread had some freckling of rainbow sprinkles involved.
Doritos Casserole
If you were a kid in the '90s your pantry was probably packed with MSG. Or at least you begged your mom to buy snacks that were packed with MSG. Casseroles are a classic holiday dish to bring to the table. Mix that with a wildly popular 90s chip and you've got yourself a dinner dish so weird Buddy the Elf would probably approve of it. If you need a taste of the 90s, you can check out What's Cooking Love's recipe.
