America's First TV Dinner Was A Classic Combo Of Foods

When it comes to frozen meals in this day and age, you can find pretty much anything you're in the mood for, from vegetarian enchiladas, hearty portions of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, tikka masala, classic Italian lasagna, and so much more. This certainly wasn't the case in 1953 when C.A. Swanson & Sons released its first TV dinner to the American public. The frozen food company didn't offer any choices save the original and one and only, which happened to be inspired by Thanksgiving. Oven-ready aluminum trays featured sliced turkey, cornbread dressing, peas, and sweet potatoes.

This old-school, frozen TV dinner came out at a time when many families were investing in their first television sets, hence the name. All people had to do was put the frozen trays in the oven for 25 minutes and, voila — dinner was served. At the time, the meals sold for 98 cents a pop, which was actually pretty pricey for the 1950s. When adjusted for inflation, that same dinner tray would sell for $12.30 today. Still, the convenience of not having to lift a finger in the kitchen to prepare dinner was enticing. Swanson had estimated it would sell around 5,000 meals in the first year of production when it went on to sell over 10 million. Different dish choices would shortly follow, but the classic turkey dinner remained the choice that hooked a lot of hungry families.

History doesn't hold a proven, solid account as to why turkey dinners were chosen as the guinea pig dish for frozen TV dinners, but one popular theory revolves around a Swanson salesman named Gerry Thomas. After Thanksgiving in 1953, Thomas discovered the company had over 260 tons of unsold frozen turkeys that were being stored away, although there was no plan for how to sell them after the holiday. He suggested using those turkeys to create a Thanksgiving-inspired frozen meal, an idea that proved extraordinarily successful.

However, Betty Cronin, who was a bacteriologist for Swanson at the time, claimed that Gilbert and Clarke Swanson were responsible for the whole TV dinner concept, including using turkey. Either way, the poultry paved the way for popular fried chicken TV dinners and Salisbury steak options later. By 1960, Swanson began adding dessert compartments to its TV dinner trays, but it wasn't until 1986 when frozen meals could be cooked in the microwave rather than the oven. The classic turkey meals were available in the United States up until 2009, but — even though you can't get your hands on the Swanson version anymore — brands like Hungry Man and Banquet offer the timeless dish. Even Marie Callender's, the TV dinner brand that our readers deemed the best, sells a version.