Gen X Is The Last Generation Cooking 8 Meals Millennials & Gen Z Gave Up On
VH-studio | Shutterstock Considering Gen Zers' and millennials' cooking habits and skills shift, there are meals they've given up despite Gen X still cooking them.
Younger people are all about convenience and are largely motivated by micro-experiences that keep them spending on restaurants or food delivery. But Gen X actually enjoys prepping and cooking at home.
8 meals Gen Xers still cook that millennials and Gen Zers wouldn't even attempt:
1. Meatloaf
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Meatloaf is a classic budget food from the Great Depression that helped households stretch meals and avoid food waste. Today, it's ironically less popular in generations that seemingly need it most.
Despite struggling with financial stability, food spending is one of Gen Z's biggest expenses and priorities. They spend more than they would on other things, ordering delivery and buying food at higher-end grocery stores.
2. A 3-course dinner
Many Gen Zers are pushing off major life milestones like starting a family because of financial pressures. They're making the choice not to follow traditional life paths, so it's not surprising that when they do cook, it's not for a large number of people.
Three-course meals may have been normal for family dinners a decade or two ago, though Gen Xers still host and plan large dinners when they can. They've been socialized into putting more time into cooking at home, even if their own kids are leaving the tradition behind.
3. Pot roasts
Focused on convenience, young people rely on easy meals. They're not planning crockpot meals ahead of time or making meals that take longer than an hour to prepare.
Even though many do want to cook more at home, Gen Z spends nearly $20K annually on takeout and delivery. They crave the pot roasts and home-cooked meals of their parents' and grandparents' generations, but aren't willing to spend time prepping them.
4. Jell-O salads
Once a classic funeral food and holiday staple, Jell-O salads are way out of style for younger generations. They may still feel the nostalgia when they get a taste of what their Gen X parents are cooking, but they're not buying all the ingredients and making it themselves.
They have a new wave of TikTok meals and things to try, like feta-tomato pastas and "marry me" chicken recipes. And these old-school meals are slowly becoming less important fixtures.
5. Casseroles
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Classic dinner staples like tuna noodle casserole and stroganoff are much less popular today. The cream of chicken and mushroom cans are no longer things anyone keeps in stock in their pantry, and instead are only found in Gen X and boomer homes.
While there are inklings of casseroles making waves on TikTok, mixing nostalgia and budget-friendly options, they're largely something young people aren't interested in prepping at all.
6. Liver and onions
Despite being collectively labeled as a low-income food group, many organ meats are unsustainable expenses for most families. As prices continue to rise, it's these somewhat unconventional, old-school cuts of meat that become more expensive.
Cooking these kinds of foods requires a certain level of expertise to get right, so Gen Zers and millennials aren't choosing to make it a staple at home.
7. Chicken and dumplings
While cooking at home is better for health and nutrition than relying on takeout and delivery, younger people eating at home aren't relying on the same staples as their parents. They're far more intentional about nutrition, so they spend more money on organic foods and luxury grocery stores.
They avoid certain recipes and nostalgic staples, choosing not to make Shepherd's pie at home or invest a lot of time into chicken and dumplings. They're investing in quality foods and leaning on convenient recipes to protect their time and energy.
8. Homemade pie
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Gen Zers and millennials are craving more nostalgia and leaning on analog hobbies as an escape from their phones. That's part of the reason why cooking habits like baking sourdough bread are coming back into focus.
But the homemade pies that Gen Xers and boomers made on a regular basis aren't necessarily part of young people's lives. Not only does it take a lot of time and preparation, but it can be costly. Unless they're prepping for a big holiday, they're not making a homemade pie to host a few friends.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
