14 Discontinued Frozen Foods We're Not Getting Back

Frozen foods seem to have a bad rap these days. Critics quickly point out that they are often high in sodium and other preservatives to keep the products shelf-stable for as long as possible. But you cannot argue with the fact that they have also helped to increase the accessibility of food for many families, not to mention they are convenient and quick to prepare. So it is no surprise that over the years, the frozen food aisle at the local grocery store has expanded to include everything from full meals to ice cream to breakfast and everything in between.

While many frozen food products have been household staples, others lost their steam and were discontinued. Some of them were discontinued decades ago, while others are quite recent. Changing consumer trends and internal business decisions are often key drivers for products being pulled from shelves.  Regardless of the reason, many fans are left missing their favorite go-to treat. Take a trip down memory lane and revisit these frozen foods that are currently discontinued.

Perhaps the one discontinued frozen food that is the freshest in consumers' minds is the Choco Taco. It is certainly one of the most recent headline-grabbing discontinued foods, with media outlets buzzing in the summer of 2022 with the news of Choco Taco's demise. The taco-shaped ice cream treat had been a staple of ice cream trucks and frozen food aisles for many years, and fans made their displeasure loud and clear.

Those angry voices echoed all the way to parent company Klondike, with the company saying in 2022 that it would look into future possibilities of bringing the Choco Taco back. However, any signs of breathing new life into it have gone radio silent since then. The future of Choco Taco is uncertain, but for now, consider it discontinued. Until more news is announced, fans will have to reminisce while finding a suitable replacement ice cream during the summer months.

You may have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it is often skipped or minimized to a cup of coffee, thanks to everyone's busy schedules. It is now easier to grab a quick bite to eat before heading off to work or school thanks to the frozen foods aisle, and Eggo is the brand most families think about when looking for frozen breakfast meals. There have been a number of different Eggo frozen waffle products and flavors over the years, with its Waf-Fulls being among the most unique.

Eggo Waf-Fulls came about in the 90s and are stuffed frozen waffles with a strawberry jam filling. In its lifetime, strawberry was the only flavor made available, and it was ultimately pulled from shelves before it could expand to include any more varieties. Eggo waffles continue to dominate the frozen food aisle to this day, with classic flavors and popular children's characters appearing on the boxes. Sadly, you will have to construct your own jam-filled waffle sandwich to come close to what the Waf-Full once offered.

If you grew up in the 90s, summer meant snacking on an array of frozen treats that elicit strong feelings of nostalgia these many decades later. Think back to a hot afternoon in the middle of July, and your parents open up the freezer and pull out a box of Flintstones Push Up Pops. All of a sudden, your day was made instantly better.

Flintstones Push Up Pops arrived on the market around the same time that there was a resurgence in popularity for the classic cartoon show, "The Flintstones." The frozen treat came in a few flavors, including Yabba Dabba Doo Orange, Bedrock Berry, and Lime Rock Lime. Different products were launched over the years, including a Cool Cream product that infused the fruit flavors with vanilla ice cream for a creamy sherbet snack. 

Flintstones Push Up Pops lasted until the late 90s, but non-branded push-up pops are still found in frozen food aisles to this day. But if you had to be totally honest, the generic push-up pops don't taste quite the same when Fred Flintstone's face is not on the packaging.

What consumers know today as the standard frozen TV dinner can be traced back to the 50s, specifically to the company Swanson. Though vacuum-sealed meals had been manufactured for airline passengers as early as the 40s, it took another decade before these frozen foods arrived in the typical American home. Thanks to a surplus in turkeys one fateful holiday season, Swanson came up with the idea of frozen meals that could be heated in a matter of minutes, eliminating the need to prepare a full meal on a daily basis. After the launch of the first Swanson TV dinner, an array of different meal options appeared on the market.

In the 60s, Swanson released a line of internationally-inspired TV dinners, thanks to growing consumer interest in cuisine from other nations. These meals were tweaked a bit to fit American appetites, but consumers could find foods inspired by cuisine from China, Mexico, Italy, and Germany. The international varieties, along with Swanson TV dinners as a whole, were eventually discontinued, but there is no question that frozen entrees as consumers know them today were shaped and molded by them.

The concept of frozen television dinners were not a new phenomenon when parent company Libby began producing Libbyland Frozen Dinners in the early 70s. However, with themed meals inspired by safaris and pirates, Libbyland paved the way for frozen meals to be marketed specifically to children. The frozen dinners came in tin foil trays embossed with various characters, enticing children to eat their food to find out what was at the bottom. The boxes were designed with bright colors as well, making them a must-buy at the grocery store for kids.

As one might imagine, the food found in Libbyland frozen dinners was not exactly the epitome of nutrition, but it was the start of what has grown into a massive business with other brands producing their own kid-centric frozen meals over the years. Libbyland frozen dinners are long discontinued, but their impact can still be found in frozen food aisles.

Trader Joe's has a fiercely loyal fan following, with a number of social media accounts solely dedicated to tracking the company's every move. Over the years, regular shoppers have grown accustomed to certain patterns, such as expecting their favorite seasonal products to return each year. Fans also know better than most that they should not fall in love with a particular product too much, as Trader Joe's is known for discontinuing certain products, often ones that seem to receive high marks. And in case you were wondering –- yes, there are even social media accounts solely dedicated to tracking the company's decisions to discontinue products.

Like other stores, Trader Joe's sells a number of different frozen pizzas for a quick and easy meal solution. One of those products was its Arugula Pizza, which was discontinued in 2022. Shoppers can, however, purchase a highly-rated Burrata, Prosciutto & Arugula Flatbread if they miss the Arugula Pizza and want something similar.

If you have ever considered cutting back on your red meat consumption, you may have looked into substituting your go-to hamburger for a leaner turkey burger. Swapping beef patties out for turkey has a number of health benefits, including lower fat content, which is good for your heart. If you wanted to grill at home, you used to be able to stock up on Kirkland Signature frozen turkey burgers at Costco. However, that is no longer the case, as Costco has since discontinued the product -– something its members were not shocked to see happen.

Costco fans claim that the warehouse chain has a knack for discontinuing fan-favorite food items. The frozen turkey burgers succumbed to this suspicion a few years ago, leaving members in search of a leaner burger patty option elsewhere. Costco has also been known to bring discontinued items back from the dead, so perhaps not all is lost with its Kirkland turkey burgers.

If you grew up eating microwave dinners as a kid from the 90s, you likely enjoyed a few varieties of Kid Cuisine. The kid-friendly packaging was instantly recognizable in the frozen foods aisle thanks to its blue color and penguin mascot named KC, which of course stands for Kid Cuisine. The frozen meals usually came with some sort of main entrée, such as a slice of pizza or chicken nuggets, a couple of small sides that included a vegetable, and a dessert. Does anyone else remember those molten-hot brownie squares?

One version of Kid Cuisine that was previously on the market was its Deep Sea Adventure meal, which was comprised of fish sticks, macaroni and cheese, corn, and gummy sharks. Though Kid Cuisine is still sold in grocery stores to this day, the Deep Sea Adventure product was discontinued. If you miss the days of fish sticks for lunch, it is an easy meal to recreate as an adult, not to mention a much healthier option when made at home versus nuking in the microwave.

Macaroni and cheese is a popular dish thanks to its creamy texture and savory flavor. You can go ultra-fancy and mix in different kinds of cheeses, making your macaroni from scratch with breadcrumb toppings and various protein mix-ins like brisket or lobster. Or, you can keep things ultra-simple and stick to Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, which is ready in minutes. Kraft is one of the most recognizable sellers of instant mac and cheese, with many popular cartoon characters appearing on the boxes and in macaroni form.

At one point in its history, the company decided to get into the frozen foods game, selling a frozen macaroni and cheese dinner, complete with chicken nuggets and broccoli. The competition is stiff, however, with other beloved brands like Stouffer's selling its own popular frozen mac and cheese. Kraft eventually discontinued the product, sticking to its blue boxes for your pantry instead. Though the frozen mac and cheese is still listed on the company's website, when you look up where to find it, there are no retailers listed that carry the product.

The mark of a great snack, according to some, is whether or not it can be made better by throwing it in the freezer. Think of items like Pop-Tarts, chocolate candy bars, or even cookies. Something magical happens when you let it rest in the freezer for a few hours. When companies caught on to this reality, new products began appearing in your grocery store; that is precisely what happened when Jell-O released Pudding Pops in the frozen foods aisle.

Frozen Pudding Pops were a great icy treat to enjoy on a hot afternoon. Jell-O is no stranger to discontinuing products, though most of that experience has been with the company's bizarre flavors. The pudding pops were eventually pulled from shelves due to a lack of demand. Thankfully, it is very easy to make this frozen treat at home; all you need is a popsicle mold and some instant pudding mix.

Pillsbury has created some memorable household staples over the years, from its crescent rolls to its pre-sliced cookies. But when it comes to quick and easy breakfast snacks, many turn to its Toaster Strudels in the frozen foods aisle. These handheld pastries are heated up in your toaster and include a spreadable icing you drizzle on top before eating. It comes in a variety of flavors, with its more popular ones being strawberry, blueberry, and cinnamon roll. For those who are less into the fruit flavors and want something more akin to having dessert for breakfast, Pillsbury once sold a Boston Cream Pie Toaster Strudel.

As beloved as the flavor was by some, Pillsbury ultimately pulled the Boston Cream Pie Toaster Strudel from store shelves. Grocery store websites like Kroger have the product listed as unavailable, despite showing near-perfect reviews from consumers. This inspired fans to start a petition to bring the flavor back.

Food manufacturers often cross-promote with popular shows and movies to help market their products to a wider audience, especially when it comes to food targeted at kids. Think back to your favorite childhood meals and snacks; there were likely at least a few that had your favorite cartoon characters on the box. This is one of the tactics used by Kid Cuisine to market its products, releasing a Friends Forever Mac and Cheese in collaboration with the popular cartoon "Spongebob Squarepants."

This meal included macaroni and cheese in the shape of characters from the show, a side of corn, and for dessert, chocolate pudding with a crumb topping made to look like sand. Despite "Spongebob Squarepants" continuing to be a popular kids' television program, the Friends Forever Mac and Cheese ended up only having a limited run, and it was eventually discontinued. The current lineup of Kid Cuisine meals does not feature any recognizable characters from pop culture, but you can still find Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Spongebob Shapes if you miss eating your favorite Bikini Bottom denizens for lunch.

Over the years, Trader Joe's has launched many products that developed a strong fan following. While today's consumers may tell you that the most popular items come in the form of Everything But the Bagel, it was not too long ago when the word on the street was how incredible the Speculoos Cookie Butter products were. The cookie-flavored spread was so popular that it inspired a range of similar-tasting products, including Speculoos Cookie Butter Cheesecake Bites. This sweet treat was found in the frozen foods aisle and contained 12 bite-size cheesecake snacks with the cookie butter swirled in -– because cookie butter makes everything better.

Sadly, though, these tasty bites have been discontinued. If you were feeling ambitious, you could recreate them by swirling some of the cookie butter over a cheesecake, cutting it up into squares, and freezing them yourself. It would probably be the closest you will get to trying these cheesecake bites once again.

Few dinners are as easy and quick to prepare as pasta. It comes through in a pinch when you realize none of the meat in your fridge is thawed, or you simply want to save on your dining-out budget. It is worth stocking up on pasta products and Costco sells a number of different kinds in both the pantry and frozen aisles.

Members used to be able to purchase Kirkland Signature Frozen Four-Cheese Ravioli, but in true Costco fashion, the product has since been discontinued. Also, as its members have come to suspect, there seems to be no clear reason why it was discontinued in the first place. Other frozen pasta dishes are available at Costco, including its fan-favorite Kirkland Italian Sausage and Beef Lasagna, so not all is lost if you need an easy pasta dinner idea. Unfortunately, though, you won't be able to dig into the four-cheese ravioli for the time being.