15 Grandma-Approved Recipes That Deserve a Comeback (2024)

Grama's Corn Flake Peanut Butter Cookies

These no-bake five-ingredient cookies will satisfy any sweet tooth with their peanut butter fudgy taste. Some reviewers like to add butterscotch chips or chocolate drizzle to these cookies for extra sweetness. "Simple and quick — the perfect go to recipe when you need a little treat," says home cook RedApple.

Grandma's Blueberry Pie

The secret to this blueberry pie is using quick-cooking tapioca in the blueberry filling instead of flour or cornstarch. You can use frozen blueberries, as long as you thaw them and drain the excess liquid, and a store-bought pie crust if you prefer. If you want to make your own crust, reviewers like this pie crust recipe.

Grandma Maul's Italian Beef

This slow cooker Italian beef recipe is perfect for an easy weeknight dinner as it only takes 10 minutes to prepare. You can serve alone, on a bun, or over egg noodles — and this beef can be frozen and reheated for a quick meal later. "I think this is a keeper, a nice flavor and meat just pulls apart and is juicy. So easy to prepare and cook," says Allrecipes Allstar Joey Joan.

Grandma's Ground Beef Casserole

This ground beef casserole is so easy to make with ingredients you have on hand. It's the perfect comfort meal with ground beef, sour cream, egg noodles, and lots of cheese. "This was a great find. The layers of sour cream, cream cheese, and onion really set off the flavor of this simple dish. The family really enjoyed it and leftovers weren't left over for very long," says reviewer late4supper.

Great Grandma's Sour Cream Drop Cookies

Dating back to the 1930s, these lemon-flavored sour cream drop cookies bake into a tender, cake-like cookie. Recipe creator Jill Lightner says they also make a great base for whoopie pies. These cookies freeze nicely, and you really should since they start losing their tenderness rather quickly.

My Grandma's Shoo-Fly Pie

Shoofly pie is a classic Pennsylvania Dutch pie where molasses is the star of the show. This pie is topped with a crumb topping, similar to that of a crumb cake. "I haven't had shoofly pie since I was a kid. And every year at Christmas time I crave it but haven't ever been able to get a recipe for it until now. As it was baking, the wonderful aroma swept me back to Grandma's kitchen. This is definitely one of those comfort dishes and I will treasure this one always," says reviewer TEZERACT.

Grandma's Baking Powder Biscuits

"This is my grandmother's biscuit recipe. It is my all-time favorite and has a really good flavor to it," says recipe contributor IMACOOKY1. You can make these into drop biscuits as written, but you can also add a bit more flour until the dough isn't sticky and then roll the dough and cut it into rounds with a biscuit cutter.

Grandma's Sweet Hubbard Squash Custard Pie

If you're tired of the same old pumpkin pie, you'll want to try this Hubbard squash custard pie. It may look like a pumpkin pie, but it is seasoned with apple pie spice and dark brown sugar instead — though reviewers say the taste is similar to a pumpkin pie, and you could spice it like a pumpkin pie if you prefer. "My grandma made this pie every year and it was always a hit! very easy to make — and versatile," says home cook Colleen Mitchell.

Grandma Maggio's Spaghetti Sauce

Put that jar of pasta sauce down! Try this homemade spaghetti sauce instead. This sauce is vegetarian, but recipe creator Sarah Garland says it's great on a meatball sub. "This sauce is simply amazing. The flavors are fantastic. It's thick and rich. DON'T leave out the wine. It's a very important part of the finished product and will affect the flavor outcome. I will never buy jar sauce again," says reviewer Catrina Brown.

Grandmother's Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

These aren't your average oatmeal cookies. These oatmeal cookies are flavored with coconut and contain Rice Krispies to create the perfect crispy, yet chewy cookie. Some reviewers like to add butterscotch or chocolate chips, but these cookies are also good enough without them. "This was awesome. I followed the recipe exactly and these little guys turned out perfectly. This is my default cookie recipe now," says home cook Mike Flaim.

Bubbie's Hearty Matzo Ball Soup

This old-fashioned matzo ball soup is packed with vegetables, chicken, and fresh dill to create a hearty, comforting meal. To save time, you can use a rotisserie chicken. Recipe contributor becky says this soup has the best flavors the second day (if you can wait that long to eat it).

Grandma's Date-Nut Bread

"This is the recipe for date-nut bread that my grandmother always made around Christmas time. Definitely a family favorite! For best results don't use a glass pan," says recipe contributor Suzanne. Many reviewers skip the prunes and add extra dates instead. Top this bread with butter or cream cheese for the perfect tasty treat.

Memaw's Pet® Milk Pudding

Warm and comforting, this vanilla pudding is delicious served with a sprinkle of cinnamon. You can also use this pudding recipe to make your banana pudding. "This is delicious! Warm and smooth-yum! And, yes, the memories associated with the taste and smell make it even better," says reviewer suej.

Grandma McAndrews' Irish Soda Bread

"This is not the dark bread you see in every restaurant in Dublin or Galway these days but I promise, it's authentic Irish Soda Bread, exactly how my late Irish grandma made it. Serve warm or cold with butter. This freezes great. I've made several loaves before St. Patrick's Day, or family parties. I freeze them, take them out the morning they're needed and warm up in a hot oven for 5 -7 minutes before serving," says recipe creator Sheila T.

Grandma Moyer's Rhubarb and Strawberry Coffee Cake

This coffee cake has the perfect mix of sweet and tart flavors from the strawberry and rhubarb. Some reviewers like to add a streusel topping or frost with cream cheese frosting, but you can simply top this coffee cake with brown sugar and pecans as the recipe does.

More Inspiration

• Our 20 Best Grandma-Approved Recipes of All Time
• 8 of Grandma's Best Recipes That We Still Love Today
• Retro Recipes