Vintage Hot Dog Casserole Recipe (1940s Recipe)

Enjoy this simple hot dog casserole recipe from the 1940s. It’s budget-friendly and family-friendly. You will find the original vintage recipe as well as an updated modern version. 

If you just want the recipe card scroll down and it’s all ready for you. You can even get a printer-friendly version. If you want to hear more about this vintage recipe and how to make it keep reading. 

When I was a kid my cousins and I enjoyed spending time at my great-grandma’s house. We were so lucky to have her for our childhood. 

Like so many southern grandmas going to her house also meant fun treats. Since she was my great-grandma and older she didn’t do as much cooking when I was a child as she did for my mom’s generation which talks about her fried chicken and pies, but we all still have our food related memories of her.

For my generation we remember oatmeal cream pies, sweet tea milk, and hot dogs cut up into boxed mac and cheese. Not the healthiest foods but all of it brings back such fun memories of her. 

These memories are why I just had to make the frankfurter casserole recipe when I saw it in a vintage cookbook. And now I’m sharing it with you, along with my suggestions for a more modern take on the dish.

To add to the nostalgia of this post, the plate I’m using in the photos was my great-grandma’s and is from the 1940s. My grandma gave me this set of dishes a few years ago, it’s the ones she grew up eating on. A quick note about using vintage dishes.

How to Make Hot Dog Casserole

This hot dog casserole recipe comes from the Victory Cook Book put out by Lysol in 1943. Yes, that Lysol, the disinfectant company.

Recipe pamphlets and cookbooks were common in the mid-century and were used to advertise all kinds of products to housewives. This cookbook was free with purchase to encourage women to buy Lysol so they could also get a free cookbook. 

The cookbook starts with one-dish dinners and says these are helpful because “you see, one-dish dinners save time, save fuel, and save dishwashing.” That’s still true today and can make meal time a lot easier.

This is a simple recipe that would have been helpful during rationing. It still can be a good, frugal, and easy meal.

If you want to make it even easier, you can get the ingredients delivered via Instacart, that’s what I did. And if you haven’t tried Instacart yet you can get free shipping on your first 3 orders. 

Ingredients You Will Need:

• Elbow Macaroni: The recipe says a package but most pasta is now 16oz and the recipe calls for 9oz. It’s often interesting to see how much sizes of packaged food have changed. 
• Grated American Cheese: It can be hard to find a block of American cheese, it’s usually at the deli counter if a store does have it. I personally used cheddar which will work fine.
• Evaporated Milk: This was often more accessible than regular milk. 
• Green Beans: canned or cooked, I used canned French cut green beans because that’s what I had on hand.
• Hot Dogs: I used the organic hot dogs from Aldi, they are some of my favorites. I also like the Applegate Farms hot dogs.
• Salt and Pepper: Yes this was the 1940s, this is the only seasoning. 

Directions for Hot Dog Casserole:

1. Cook macaroni in boiling, salted water until tender; drain. They say to rinse with hot water but don’t rinse your pasta, it just rinses off the starch which helps thicken sauces.
2. Combine macaroni, cheese, evaporated milk, salt and pepper. Add green beans and sliced hot dogs; mix well. 
3. Pour into a large casserole dish. Cover and refrigerator until ready to serve. 
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. 

You can also bake it right after you finish it, just reduce the time. I will say it thickens more if you do wait to cook it so this is a good dish to make ahead of time.

Note: This recipe can also be halved. The photos show half the recipe. I used a vintage glass pyrex loaf pan for the half recipe.

How to Make Hot Dog Casserole Modern

This is a pretty bland and simple dish but you can easily make it more modern. It will add to the cost but it’s still a simple recipe and if you look for good deals you can keep it cheap.

Instead of hot dogs choose a higher quality sausage. You could also use leftover ham, bacon, chicken, or turkey. Or make it meatless and add more veggies.

You can also change up the veggies. Peas or broccoli would also be good in this recipe. 

Adding more seasoning like garlic or some dry mustard can also help. It would also be good if you sautéd some onions and garlic first to include in the dish. 

I also recommend adding more cheese. The amount used in this recipe is with rations in mind. If you can afford to add more it will help make it less bland. Also choosing a sharper cheese can add more flavor without having to increase the cheese as much.

Because of how simple this dish is you can easily make it your own so that your family will enjoy it more.

Tips For Making Hot Dogs Healthier

Hot dogs contain nitrates, as do other processed meats, and those are linked to cancer risks. Some may say that’s not the best info to share when sharing a hot dog recipe but I like to be honest and transparent. 

And you can help reduce these risks by limiting your intake of processed meats and also when you do eat them studies have shown that having a source of vitamin C and calcium can both greatly reduce this risk. 

This recipe has some calcium built in with the milk and the cheese. Serving some yogurt or something else high in calcium on the side and maybe a nice glass of OJ is a great option.

And another option to boost the nutrition in this meal is switching out the green beans with broccoli. Did you know broccoli has more vitamin C than oranges? 

The original recipe suggests serving this dish with a tomato and romaine salad, which would be another source of vitamin C. 

More Vintage Recipes To Try

After you finish this vintage recipe I’ve got more for you to try. These are some I think you would like.

• Mashed Potato Stuffed Hot Dogs
• Easy Broccoli with Parmesan Cheese Sauce
• Vintage Hot Milk Cake

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