Have to add big brand name/whichever was the best value vanilla ice cream and Hershey’s chocolate syrup. This was the big home treat and it still remains prominent in my family.
Peter Pan/Jiff/etc on sale creamy peanut butter and Welch’s grape jelly on Wonder white bread.
Chicken of the Sea tuna, Hellman’s mayo and store brand cooked small pasta shells mixed in a bowl. The pasta was usually the leftover saved from going in soup or stew.
Never did boxed Kraft Mac & Cheese (except 1x at a friend’s house). Always had homemade. The neon yellow just turned me off.
Never did Chef Boyardee (my first boyfriend used to make a quick CB pizza after he got home from work before I got home to make dinner. I tried it once. 
) But he liked them, and he made them and cleaned up after himself, so no complaints from me.
The Maruchan noodles were too salty for me growing up.
Hot Pockets - otherwise known as “those little f*ckers that scalded the roof of your mouth when you bit in to them too early” meals. Yeah, ask me how I know.
TV Dinners - had them growing up - mostly in front of watching Wizard of Oz. (they were a special treat)
Now as an adult? A couple of things:
Gorton’s Fish Filets (but only the Extra Crunchy)
Individual chicken pot pie from Harrow’s (local to me)
Stouffer’s French Bread pepperoni pizza
I was thinking Captain Crunch, Banquet Pot Pies, boxed Kraft Mac and Cheese, and Shake N Bake chicken. No microwave product could be iconic yet. 
Google doesn’t seem to understand this question, so I’m not alone.
Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s American thick burger 
(extinct)
seems to occupy the #1 slot.
I’m slightly unsure what foods are truly American and whether we’re talking the companies or the item itself.
Following along…
Nissin used to be six for a dollar on sale.
When I was little it was Hamburger Helper. When my kids were little it was something like this, from the frozen food section. .
That’s how my kids learned of it! It’s nothing like the mac and cheese I grew up with.
After my parents got divorced, we would go to dinner at my father’s a couple of times a week. He had two unvarying meals, one of which was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and hot dogs. He was very strict, and always insisted on using only the Deluxe version with the Velveeta-style cheese. (His other meal was perfectly grilled flank steak and Rice-a-Roni, and I still cook flank steak the way he taught me.) He actually went on to become a good cook, but this was early days.
Yeah. I forgot. It was 10 cent per pack at sale… let me see if I can still find those image.
I can see he is a man of principle.
A family story tells how my older sister, who was a very finicky eater but had found her comfort zone, used to invite a neighbor over for dinner for just the two of them. The neighbor finally told her, “Okay, I’ll come for dinner but we have to have something other than Kraft mac and cheese and canned peas.” Tastes vary.
No Alphagetti, Zoodles, Roller Coasters, or Beefaroni?
I think Chili (red, with both beans and meat) is awfully American. I’m not a fan of red Chili, and the options for a ‘gourmet’ lunch at Yellowstone were beef chili, bison chili and vegetarian chili, with assorted toppings (corn chips, shredded cheese, tomatoes, onions). Nothing else to eat. I ate the toppings with corn chips. So disappointed lol.
Chili is a perfect example.
I’d thow in cousin Johnny Marzetti while we’re at it.
Too bad about Yellowstone.
I’ve had great green chile stew in Wyoming.
I like green Chile a lot, I order it whenever I visit my uncle in Colorado.
I also prefer green chili. The version I make I think started out as chicken chili (or maybe I substituted chicken for pork), but then I made it vegetarian by substituting soy crumbles for the meat. Also, I suspect the white kidney beans I use are not traditional. By now, I’m sure chili purists would be horrified by it, but I love it and my husband thinks it’s almost as good as red mole chili. 
Ahhh, yes! Mom always made that!
Insider: American foods I loved and hated while living in the US for 4 months.
Interesting 
I had never even heard of Johnny Marzetti growing up, but a year ago I made a version of Teresa Marzetti’s comfort food dish (just wanted to get the original Chef’s name in here!) and it was pretty good. I mean how can you miss with hamburger, mushrooms, tomato sauce, yellow onions, cheddar cheese, brown sugar and pasta? I grew up in Montana so casseroles/hot dishes like this were a BIG THING while I was a kid.
Chili may be even more “American” though. Plus, there are so many different types of chili and I ihave to admit that I really enjoy most of them.
It was standard issue school fare for this Midwest/plains boy.
Decided to Google it. I’ll make it sometime soon. https://theculinarycellar.com/johnny-marzetti/
