September 19, 2016
posted by Haley
9 Comments
This is one retro recipe that sometimes gets a bad rap – but is totally worth revisiting!
My Retro Recipes series continues! I’m revisiting some recipes that were big in the 70s and 80s. Check out:
- BBQ potato chips
- Chocolate oatsies
- Popcorn salad
- Ribbon sandwiches
- Homemade sloppy joes
- “1905” salad
- FDR’s birthday cake recipe (big in the 30s!)
Today’s recipe is a classic that I’m sure is familiar to many of you: Chipped beef on toast.
Growing up, we ate this dish often – and it’s no wonder why. My mom, admittedly, doesn’t like cooking.This particular meal would take her just minutes to make and satisfied the whole family. It was cheap too, and didn’t require many ingredients.
About The Recipe: Chipped Beef On Toast
Chipped beef on toast consists of a creamy white sauce with chopped dried beef, served on top of toast. Nothing fancy. But satisfying just the same.
This dish is commonly served to servicemen in the military, where they call it something other than chipped beef on toast – with an acronym of S.O.S. I’ll leave it at that.
This dish takes no more than 10 minutes, start to finish. Give it a try yourself – it might become a family favorite!
Modern-day update: If you’re a low-carb eater, serve the sauce over steamed or grilled vegetables. Add some fresh parsley on top.
Want more retro recipes? Follow along on Facebook and Instagram, where I will be posting new recipe notifications.
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
For an even easier version of chipped beef on toast, use canned cream of mushroom soup as the base. Add the chopped beef, heat it up, and serve.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 jar dried beef
- Garlic powder and pepper, to taste
- Toast
- Chopped parsley, for serving (0ptional)
Instructions
- Cut dried beef into thin strips.
- Melt butter in a large sauce pan. Add flour and mix well.
- Slowly add in milk, stirring to remove any lumps. Continue heating for a few minutes, until mixture heats and thickens. Add beef. Stirin garlic powder and pepper, if desired.
- Serve warm sauce over toasted bread. Top with chopped parsley, if desired.
Main course Recipes
posted by Haley on September 19, 2016 (updated October 21, 2022)
9 Comments Leave a Comment »
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9 comments on “Retro Recipes: Chipped Beef On Toast”
Leave a comment »
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Krystel @ Planning The Magic — Reply
This looks amazing. Will be trying
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I love the fact it only takes 10 minutes! That’s my kind of cooking! I have never had dried beef before. I’ll have to give this a try!
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Haley — Reply
Please do, Vicki!
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Kristin — Reply
One of my favorites from childhood! My mom always used the Carl Buddig beef lunch meat, which is probably totally not healthy at all, but was easy to find and tasted great! Thanks for the reminder of this great dish.
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Tara — Reply
My husband loves chipped beef on toast. He orders it every time we go out for breakfast. I can’t wait to use this recipe to make it for him at home!
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Allen — Reply
Right on, Kristin, I had the same experience growing up in the 60’s – and my mother also used Carl Buddig “Chipped Beef” from a plastic pouch; I’m not sure Buddig labels it that way any more, or it might have been discontinued. NB: Stouffers still carries an excellent creamed chipped beef in their frozen food offerings and I introduced my two sons to it about eight years ago and they both LOVE it. It lives on in my mind for another reason. After coming home from school around four or five, I would grab a pouch of the Buddig chipped beef from the refrigerator with a drink and ascend to my parents’ bedroom where the family television sat on a table about four feet from the foot of their bed. Lying on the carpet with my head propped against the footboard, I ate slices of the beef while I watched the TV news that invariably featured reports from Vietnam, including footage of firefights, maps and it seemed more often than not a body count for the day. Chipped beef for me will forever be wedded to my childhood after school and the Vietnam war. Yet I still love it.
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Lacemaker427 — Reply
I have been making this old-timey dinner for over 40 years, and my family still loves it. I have added 1/2# of frozen peas to the standard recipe. If you add them at the last minute, they retain their fresh flavor and texture. Return the saucepan to the heat just long enough to heat the peas and all through. I like your idea of adding garlic powder for more flavor. In my own recipe, I add 1/2 tsp of onion powder and about 2 Tbsp of dried parsley, but maybe I’ll plant some parsley by the back door so I can use fresh parsley like you have. I use only 2 Tbsp of flour, because we like our Béchamel Sauce a little looser so some of it soaks into the toast.
I grew up in the 1960s & 70s, and I suspect you might claim about the same time period. Why? Because most of today’s moms only have experience with chipped beef as a party dip served in a bowl-shaped vessel made from a boule of rye bread. That is a great recipe which you can find it here:
https://www.mrfood.com/Appetizers/Bread-Bowl-Dip-1352.I would like to share a healthier swap for the mayonnaise and sour cream. fa*ge Low-Fat or Whole Milk Plain Greek Yogurt has the perfect texture and flavor to fool the fussiest eater. I very rarely use sour cream or mayonnaise anymore, because fa*ge’s Greek yogurt is such a perfect substitute in both uncooked as well as baked goods. Even my “super taster” husband hasn’t noticed this trade-off, so my rule of thumb is, if a dish is chemist-approved, it’s a fabulous success!
Happy healthy cooking, y’all!
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beejay — Reply
Evaporated milk will give a more authentic “military” taste to this. Since it’s basically salty meat in a white sauce, you can sub in ham and, as someone above suggested, add baby peas. 😉
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Haley — Reply
Great suggestion!
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