When food rationing took hold during World War II, people found themselves forced to adapt their diets in ways that would seem unthinkable today. With essential ingredients like fresh meat, sugar, butter, and coffee reserved for soldiers, civilians had to get creative – sometimes too creative. What emerged were survival foods that, while they kept people fed, weren’t exactly enjoyable.
Some dishes tried to imitate the real thing (with varying degrees of success), while others were completely original creations born of necessity. From meat substitutes that barely resembled meat to desserts made from beans, the WWII diet was all about making do with whatever was available.
1. Powdered Eggs – Scrambled in Name Only
Eggs were one of the many foods heavily rationed during WWII. The solution? Dehydrated, powdered eggs that could be stored for years without refrigeration. These powdered eggs were mixed with water to create something that vaguely resembled scrambled eggs, though in reality, they had the texture of wet sawdust and a flavor that was more chalky than eggy.
Still, they were an important source of protein, especially for soldiers who couldn’t access fresh eggs. Housewives also used them for baking, where the off-putting taste was masked by sugar and spices. But for those who had to eat them plain? Breakfast was more of a chore than a pleasure.
2. Mock Apple Pie – When Crackers Pretend to Be Fruit
Nothing screams “wartime ingenuity” like baking a pie without apples. During WWII, fresh fruit was often unavailable, so resourceful bakers turned to a surprising alternative – Ritz crackers.
By soaking crackers in sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and spices, then baking them in a pie crust, people created a dish that resembled apple pie in both texture and taste. But while some claimed it was indistinguishable from the real thing, others couldn’t get past the fact that they were eating sweetened, mushy crackers instead of fruit.
Today, with apples widely available, there’s no reason to recreate this deception – unless you’re just really curious.
3. Roosevelt Coffee – The Saddest Cup of Joe
If you’re the type of person who can’t function without your morning coffee, WWII would have been a nightmare. Coffee was one of the first things to be rationed, and supplies became so scarce that people were forced to stretch their coffee grounds as far as possible.
“Roosevelt Coffee” was a desperate attempt to make the most of what little coffee was available. People would reuse old coffee grounds multiple times, resulting in a weak, flavorless brew that barely resembled coffee. Others tried mixing their coffee with chicory, barley, or wheat-based Postum – all of which made the drink even more bitter.
Even President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself gave up coffee in solidarity with the rationing effort, switching to milk instead. But for those who had to drink watered-down, twice-brewed coffee every morning, the war effort came with a very bitter price.
4. Spit Soup – A Name That Says It All
Imagine eating a soup where you had to spit out half of it. That was the reality for those who relied on spit soup, a dish created in occupied Poland when food supplies were dangerously low.
The soup was made with barley, a grain that remained relatively available even during wartime. The problem? It was unprocessed barley, meaning it was full of husks that couldn’t be swallowed. So as people ate the soup, they had to continuously spit out the inedible bits, leading to its unappetizing name.
While it was nutritious and filling, the experience of eating it wasn’t exactly enjoyable. In a time when people were grateful for any food they could get, spit soup was a necessary evil.
5. Spam – The Mystery Meat That Wouldn’t Quit
If there was one food that defined the WWII era, it was Spam. This canned, processed pork product became a staple for both soldiers and civilians, largely because it didn’t require refrigeration and had a long shelf life.
Spam was made from pork shoulder and ham, mixed with salt, sugar, and preservatives to create a gelatinous, salty, and slightly rubbery meat substitute. While some people learned to love it (or at least tolerate it), others found it greasy, slimy, and overwhelmingly salty.
Soldiers had no choice but to eat it – over 150 million pounds of Spam were consumed during the war. Civilians got creative, frying it, baking it, or mixing it into casseroles. But no matter how you cooked it, Spam was always just Spam.
6. Sawdust Bread – When Flour Wasn’t Flour
Desperation breeds creativity, but sometimes that creativity goes too far. In war-torn Germany and parts of England, flour shortages led to one of the most unappetizing bread substitutes imaginable – sawdust.
Known as “tree flour,” sawdust was mixed with rye grain, beets, and even straw to make a dense, barely edible bread. While it technically provided calories, it was dry, gritty, and barely digestible. It’s safe to say that no one who ate sawdust bread during WWII misses it today.
7. Chipped Beef on Toast (S.O.S.) – Salty and Slimy
Nicknamed “Sh*t on a Shingle” by soldiers, this dish was a military staple that became infamous for its unappealing look and taste. It consisted of thin slices of dried beef in a creamy white sauce, all served over toast.
While it was cheap, filling, and easy to prepare, it was also extremely salty and had a texture that many found unpleasantly slimy. It remained popular in some parts of the U.S. long after the war, but for most people, once was more than enough.
8. Victory Garden Vegetables – A Homegrown Necessity
With fresh produce scarce, civilians were encouraged to grow their own food in backyard “victory gardens.” While this was a great way to supplement their diets, it also meant that people had to eat whatever they could successfully grow.
For some, this led to an abundance of the same vegetables, meal after meal, which became monotonous fast. Tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes were among the most common crops, but if you weren’t a skilled gardener, you might have been stuck with a lot of bitter greens and tough root vegetables.
9. Braised Beef Tongue – The Meal That Tastes You Back
Meat was rationed, but organ meats weren’t, leading to an increase in the consumption of beef tongue. This cut of meat required hours of boiling and baking just to make it tender enough to chew. Even then, it retained a rubbery texture that was hard to ignore.
While beef tongue is still eaten in some cultures today, it’s not something most modern eaters would willingly put on their plate.
10. Depression Cake – Dessert, But Barely
With sugar, eggs, and butter in short supply, people turned to Depression Cake, a dessert made without any of these key ingredients. Instead, it used flour, spices, raisins, and sometimes nuts to create a cake that was edible but not exactly indulgent.
Compared to today’s rich, buttery cakes, Depression Cake was a reminder of just how much people had to sacrifice.
11. Margarine – The Butter Impostor
Butter was heavily rationed during WWII, so people had to rely on margarine, a spread that was originally white and unappetizing before manufacturers started coloring it yellow to make it look more like butter.
Early margarine was far from the creamy, buttery substitute we have today. It was often made from beef fat or vegetable oils, and its texture was greasy and artificial. Some states even banned pre-colored margarine, forcing people to mix in the yellow dye themselves at home. While it served its purpose, no one would have chosen it over real butter if they had the option.
12. Meatless Meatloaf – A Loaf of Leftovers
Meatloaf was a popular dish before WWII, but with fresh meat rationed for the troops, people had to find ways to stretch their ingredients. Enter meatless meatloaf, a loaf that contained absolutely no meat at all.
Instead of ground beef, cooks used mashed potatoes, peas, condensed tomato soup, and breadcrumbs to create something that looked like a meatloaf but tasted more like a vegetable mush. While it was a good way to make the most of limited ingredients, it was a far cry from the hearty, juicy meatloaf that people were used to.
13. Mock Fish Fillets – Fried Rice in Disguise
In England, fresh fish became scarce, so people invented mock fish fillets – but there was no fish involved. Instead, they mixed rice, eggs, and seasonings, then fried the mixture in a pan before cutting it into fillet-shaped pieces.
Once coated in breadcrumbs and fried again, the result somewhat resembled fish fillets, at least in texture. But as anyone who has ever eaten fish knows, rice does not taste like fish. It may have looked the part, but the deception ended the moment you took a bite.
14. Bubble and Squeak – A Fried Leftover Mash
A staple in British households during rationing, Bubble and Squeak was a way to use up leftovers – mainly mashed potatoes and boiled cabbage. These ingredients were fried together in a pan, creating a dish that was crispy on the outside but mushy on the inside.
The name came from the sounds it made while cooking – the cabbage would “squeak” as it hit the pan. While it was filling and waste-free, it was also a greasy, cabbage-heavy dish that smelled far worse than it tasted.
15. Grape-Nut Stuffed Onions – A Strange War-Era Side Dish
With ground beef in short supply, people looked for ways to create filling meals without meat. One solution? Stuffed onions filled with Grape-Nuts cereal.
Grape-Nuts – despite the name – contain neither grapes nor nuts and are notoriously hard and crunchy. But when mixed with seasonings and stuffed into a baked onion, they took on a slightly meat-like consistency.
Still, no matter how much seasoning you added, it was hard to ignore that you were essentially eating a hollowed-out onion filled with soggy cereal.
16. Bean Cake – Dessert Made From Legumes
With flour and sugar in short supply, people in occupied Poland had to find alternatives for baking. One solution? Cake made from boiled beans.
Beans were mashed, sweetened with sugar (if available), and baked into a cake-like form. The result was dense, earthy, and more of a protein-packed survival food than a true dessert.
While some modern recipes use beans as a gluten-free alternative, WWII bean cake wasn’t about health – it was about survival. And it tasted like it.
17. Walnut Cheese Patties – A Poor Excuse for a Burger
With meat rationed, people had to get creative with their protein sources. This led to recipes like walnut cheese patties, which were meant to replace hamburger patties but ended up being closer to a dense, oily cracker.
Made from ground walnuts, cheese, breadcrumbs, and seasonings, these patties were dry, crumbly, and far from satisfying. They provided some protein, but if you were expecting a juicy burger, you were in for a disappointment.
18. Chopped Liver Without the Liver – A War-Era Vegetarian Alternative
Chopped liver was a popular dish, but liver wasn’t always available during the war. The solution? A vegetarian version made with green beans, peas, onions, crackers, and hard-boiled eggs.
The result had a similar texture to real chopped liver, but it lacked the rich, savory taste. While some families embraced this wartime substitute, it was ultimately a reminder of the real thing people were missing.
19. Coffee Substitutes – The Ultimate Disappointment
With coffee rationed, people had to find other ways to get their caffeine fix. Chicory, roasted barley, and even burnt bread were used as coffee substitutes.
These “coffees” had none of the deep, rich flavors of the real thing, and many were bitter, weak, or just plain unpleasant. If there was ever a reason to truly appreciate modern coffee, this was it.
20. Hershey’s Emergency Chocolate Bars – A Soldier’s Least Favorite Treat
Chocolate was an important morale booster during the war, but it needed to be durable enough to survive extreme conditions. Enter Hershey’s Tropical Bar, a chocolate ration designed for heat resistance and long shelf life – but not for taste.
The bars were dense, dry, and barely sweet, made to provide calories rather than enjoyment. Soldiers begrudgingly ate them, but they weren’t anyone’s idea of a satisfying chocolate treat.
A Diet of Necessity, Not Choice
The foods of WWII weren’t about pleasure – they were about survival. While some of these dishes had clever workarounds for missing ingredients, others were bland, bizarre, or downright unpleasant.
Many people who lived through this era never wanted to eat these meals again, and with good reason. Today, with easy access to fresh ingredients and flavorful food, we can truly appreciate how much things have changed.
Would you ever try any of these WWII survival foods? Or would you rather leave them in the past where they belong?
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.