12 Long-Lasting “Mock Foods” From The Great Depression

When the economic collapse hit in 1929, millions of Americans discovered what you already know: you can’t eat money. Banks shut down overnight, jobs vanished, and families faced a brutal choice: get creative or go hungry.

Out of that desperation came “mock foods”—clever substitutes that stretched every penny and filled empty stomachs. These were basically survival strategies that kept families alive when there was no other way…

As a prepper, you should study these Depression-era innovations because they solve real problems. Each recipe is built from shelf-stable ingredients, each one proves that you can maintain dignity and nutrition even when SHTF. If tomorrow looks like 1930 again, these 12 time-tested meals could keep your family fed, healthy, and hopeful.

Related: The 6 Expired Foods That You Can Safely Eat When SHTF

Mock Apple Pie

Imagine craving dessert when fruit has completely vanished from the store. During the Depression, families faked apple pie by layering saltine crackers with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vinegar. The taste fooled everyone at the table.

You can do the same with what’s already in your pantry. Crackers, sugar, and vinegar last for months or years, and when morale drops, a slice of “apple” pie could be exactly what your family needs.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups crushed saltine crackers
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vinegar (or lemon juice if available)
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pastry crust (top and bottom)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
• In a saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil.
• Place crushed crackers in the bottom crust.
• Pour hot syrup over crackers and cover with top crust.
• Bake 30–35 minutes, until golden brown.

Another great recipe for mock apple pie you can try is available here.

Hoover Stew

One pot of pasta, canned tomatoes, beans, and a few hot dogs fed entire households. This Depression staple was cheap, filling, and even better the next day.

If you’ve got pasta, beans, and cans of tomatoes in your stockpile, you already have the makings of Hoover Stew. You’ll stretch your protein further, save on cooking fuel, and serve a meal that feels hearty with almost no effort.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pasta (elbows or macaroni)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
• 1 can beans (kidney, pinto, or navy)
• 2–4 hot dogs, sliced

Steps:

• Cook pasta until slightly firm. Drain.
• In a pot, combine pasta, tomatoes, beans, and hot dogs.
• Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve hot, with leftovers tasting even better the next day.

Joel Lambert talks a lot about the importance of protein in A Navy SEAL’s Bug-In Guide. The book is full of protein-rich recipes and valuable tips that will help you survive in crisis situations.

What I liked most when I read it was that it provides daily meal planning along with precise explanations of calories and macronutrients for each dish.

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Mock Duck

When families couldn’t find poultry, they rolled cheap cuts of meat—or even beans and bread—into stuffed roasts, seasoned them heavily, and called it duck.

You can use the same trick today. With the right spices, you’ll turn wild game, beans, or cheap meat into something that feels like a feast. Your family won’t focus on what’s missing—they’ll just enjoy what’s on the plate.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef or cheap cut of meat (substitute beans/bread for vegetarian version)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg (or 2 tbsp flour + water as binder)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sage or thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

• Mix ground meat (or substitute), onion, breadcrumbs, egg, and spices.
• Form mixture into a roll or stuff with extra bread/beans if available.
• Place in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45–60 minutes.
• Slice and serve as a mock roast duck.

Coffee Substitutes

Picture your morning without coffee. That was reality during the Depression. People roasted barley, chicory, or even acorns to brew a bitter but satisfying replacement.

If you ever lose access to real coffee, you’ll be glad you know this. Chicory root, dandelion root, or roasted grain can give you the ritual you crave and prevent caffeine withdrawal from wrecking your morale.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup roasted barley, chicory root, or acorns
• 4 cups water

Steps:

• Roast barley, chicory root, or acorns in the oven at 350°F (175°C) until dark brown.
• Grind into coarse pieces.
• Boil water, add roasted grounds, and simmer 10–15 minutes.
• Strain and serve as a hot coffee substitute.

Vinegar Pie

No lemons? No problem. Resourceful cooks mixed vinegar with sugar and flour to create a tangy custard pie. Families who hadn’t tasted sweets in months suddenly had a reason to smile again.

Related: Depression-Era Foods Making a Comeback

You can recreate that same boost. With nothing more than vinegar, sugar, and flour—three ingredients every prepper already has—you’ll bake a dessert that keeps spirits high when life gets bleak.

I learned more about the importance of these three ingredients from The Amish Ways Book, which shows how the Amish community uses them in various recipes. Why? They are cheap, long-lasting, and easy to store for the long term.

Discover dozens of recipes and secrets here to prepare nutritious meals with minimal effort (including financial).

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 eggs (optional, for richness)
• 1 pie crust

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
• In a bowl, mix sugar and flour. Add vinegar, water, and eggs (if available).
• Pour mixture into prepared pie crust.
• Bake 30–35 minutes until set.
• Let cool before serving.

Mock Chicken Legs

Two pounds of ground meat could be stretched into a dozen “drumsticks” by shaping it around skewers and frying it crisp. Some families skipped the meat altogether and used bread stuffing instead.

When you need to make limited protein last, this trick is a lifesaver. You’ll feed more mouths, disguise tougher or gamier cuts, and put something familiar on the table when nothing feels normal anymore.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground meat (or bread stuffing)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg (or flour + water as binder)
• Skewers
• Oil for frying
• Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

Steps:

• Mix ground meat with breadcrumbs, egg, and seasoning.
• Shape around skewers to look like drumsticks.
• Heat oil in a skillet and fry until golden brown.
• Drain on paper and serve warm.

Mock Banana Spread

Bananas spoiled before most families could afford them. Instead, people mashed pumpkin or squash with sugar and banana extract to make a convincing substitute.

Here’s a simple recipe for Mock Banana Spread:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked pumpkin or winter squash, mashed
• 1/2 cup sugar (adjust to taste)
• 1–2 teaspoons banana extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• Pinch of salt

Steps:

1. Cook and mash the pumpkin or squash until smooth.
2. In a saucepan, combine the mashed squash, sugar, banana extract, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Cook over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly.
4. Let it cool, then transfer to a clean jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or can for longer storage.

You can stock pumpkin or winter squash for months and keep banana extract in your pantry for years. When fresh fruit is gone, you’ll still have a spread that feels like comfort food and adds vital nutrients to your survival diet.

Dandelion Salad

Instead of lettuce, families turned to their yards. Young dandelion leaves tossed with vinegar or bacon grease became a free salad packed with vitamins.

You can do the same. Step outside, and you’ll find food that costs nothing, grows back quickly, and keeps your body strong when stored rations run low on nutrients. Knowing how to forage is a prepper’s edge.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups young dandelion greens
• 2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 tbsp bacon grease or oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

• Wash dandelion greens thoroughly.
• Toss with vinegar, bacon grease (or oil), and seasoning.
• Serve fresh as a side salad.

If you want more advice on how to make the perfect dandelion salad, together with some variations, read this article.

Mock Sausage

When sausage was out of reach, people made patties from beans, potatoes, and grains mixed with sage and garlic. Fried up, they tasted close enough to the real thing.

You’ll appreciate this skill when meat disappears. With beans and grains from your stockpile, you can create protein-packed meals that satisfy cravings and stretch your resources far longer than meat alone.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked beans or lentils, mashed
• 1 cup cooked potatoes, mashed
• 1/2 cup oats or breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying

Steps:

• Mix beans, potatoes, oats, and seasoning until firm.
• Shape into patties.
• Fry in oil until browned on both sides.
• Serve hot as sausage replacements.

When I researched this recipe, I remembered The Only Superfood Ninjas Would Live Off For Months on End, as the recipe is presented in The Lost SuperFoods. There, I found not only the ingredients and steps but also the secrets for canning it.

Prune Pudding

Prunes were cheap and lasted for months. Boiled with sugar and thickened with cornstarch, they turned into a dessert good enough to serve at the White House.

You can lean on dried fruits the same way. They’ll store for years, give you fiber and vitamins your body needs, and provide a natural sweetness when sugar is scarce.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups prunes, chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 cups water

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine prunes, sugar, and water. Boil until prunes are soft.
• Mix cornstarch with a little cold water and stir into prune mixture.
• Simmer until thickened.
• Serve warm or chilled.

Mock Cream

When dairy spoiled too quickly, families whipped evaporated milk with sugar and cornstarch to create a topping for desserts and coffee.

If you store evaporated milk, you’ll never be without a touch of luxury. A spoonful of “cream” in your coffee substitute or on a slice of pie might be the very thing that lifts your family’s spirits.

Ingredients:

• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch

Steps:

• Whip evaporated milk until slightly thick.
• Add sugar and cornstarch, mixing until smooth.
• Chill before serving as a topping.

Potato Pancakes

Potatoes were the ultimate survival food. Grated with flour and fried, they became crisp pancakes that filled stomachs and replaced bread at the table.

If you grow or store potatoes, you’ve already secured one of the most versatile survival foods on earth. You can turn them into pancakes, mash, stews, or simply boil them, and they’ll keep your family fed for months.

Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes, grated
• 1 small onion, grated (optional)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 egg (or 2 tbsp flour + water as binder)
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying

Steps:

• Grate potatoes and onion, then squeeze out excess moisture.
• Mix with flour, egg, salt, and pepper.
• Heat oil in skillet and fry spoonfuls of mixture until golden.
• Drain and serve hot.

Potatoes are also a very important part of the infamous forgotten Incan SuperFood, recently made public by NASA experts. It has exceptional nutritional properties and is long-lasting, making it a perfect option for preppers.

I discovered the recipe in The Lost Ways 2 and have actually cooked it a few times. My family was impressed by the taste. If you want all the details, plus many other long-lasting recipes and prepping tricks, you can find the book here at a special price.

One Last Thing…

David Bates is an economist with decades of experience in America. If there’s a man who can smell a crisis from miles away, it’s him.

I first heard about him some time ago, and since then I’ve been closely following his statements. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he wrote a book.

What I didn’t like, though, was its title… because it sent chills down my spine. The book is called Dollar Apocalypse – Survival Guide for the NEXT Great Depression.

It’s a true, all-in-one manual on how to survive the financial crisis which, according to Bates, is just around the corner.

And honestly, who can say we aren’t already feeling it? The cost of living is through the roof, political and even military tensions are at their peak, so a dramatic collapse seems inevitable.

Beyond his uncompromising analysis of America’s economic situation, Bates also brings practical advice, including solutions for the food crisis.

Remarkably, one of the main chapters of the book—which, by the way, is in physical format and absolutely stunning, packed with charts, tables, and fascinating illustrations, plus a spectacular multi-page table of contents—is titled Great Depression Recipes We’ll Need Again Soon.

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Final Thoughts

The Great Depression proved what you need to remember: survival is about ingenuity. These “mock foods” gave families dignity, hope, and the strength to push through. If you learn these recipes now, you’ll be ready when shelves go empty.

You’ll know how to stretch your stockpile, use every scrap, and still put something comforting on the table. Because when SHTF, the families who know how to turn crackers into pie and weeds into salad will thrive.

You can quickly cover your food using these recipes from a turbulent period in our country’s history. But if one day you turn on the tap and nothing comes out, I decided not to rely on luck and got the declassified U.S. Army water generator plans: The Water Freedom System for bugging in and this backpack-sized generator for bugging out, both simple, practical, and reliable.

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