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. 
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Google doesnāt seem to understand this question, so Iām not alone.
Carlās Jr/Hardeeās American thick burger 
(extinct)
seems to occupy the #1 slot.
Iām slightly unsure what foods are truly American and whether weāre talking the companies or the item itself.
Following alongā¦
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. .
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Thatās how my kids learned of it! Itās nothing like the mac and cheese I grew up with.
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After my parents got divorced, we would go to dinner at my fatherās 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.
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Yeah. I forgot. It was 10 cent per pack at saleā¦ let me see if I can still find those image.
I can see he is a man of principle.
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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, āOkay, Iāll come for dinner but we have to have something other than Kraft mac and cheese and canned peas.ā Tastes vary.
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No Alphagetti, Zoodles, Roller Coasters, or Beefaroni?
I think Chili (red, with both beans and meat) is awfully American. Iām not a fan of red Chili, and the options for a āgourmetā 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.
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Chili is a perfect example.
Iād thow in cousin Johnny Marzetti while weāre at it.
Too bad about Yellowstone.
Iāve had great green chile stew in Wyoming.
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I like green Chile a lot, I order it whenever I visit my uncle in Colorado.
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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, Iām sure chili purists would be horrified by it, but I love it and my husband thinks itās almost as good as red mole chili. 
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Ahhh, yes! Mom always made that!
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Insider: American foods I loved and hated while living in the US for 4 months.
Interesting 
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I had never even heard of Johnny Marzetti growing up, but a year ago I made a version of Teresa Marzettiās comfort food dish (just wanted to get the original Chefās 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 āAmericanā though. Plus, there are so many different types of chili and I ihave to admit that I really enjoy most of them.
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It was standard issue school fare for this Midwest/plains boy.
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Decided to Google it. Iāll make it sometime soon. https://theculinarycellar.com/johnny-marzetti/
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Iām hesitant to embrace these versions with tomato 
soup.
Our school versions used diced tomatoes rather than spaghetti sauce which gives it a nice texture.
A world of Johnny 
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I have never heard of Johnny Marzetti, but my California mother used to make a baked pasta dish she called taglierini, which was essentially JM using fettucini and often adding whole corn kernals. I loved it!
Some couple of months after we were married, and I had put simple steak, chops, hamburger,roast and veg on the table, husband (from Montana) asked if I knew how to make any casseroles. āWell, er, no, actually!ā
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