13 Discontinued Canned Foods That Are Probably Never Coming Back

It's a leisurely afternoon at the grocery store. You're wandering the aisles and checking things off your list as you put them in your cart. Of course, you have a few staples that don't need to go on the list because you know them by heart and buy them regularly. But today, your favorite item is gone from the shelves. There was no warning, no chance to say goodbye or stock up — it was, sadly, discontinued without any warning.

Nothing is worse than discovering your favorite food has been discontinued, whether it's a beloved snack food that was discontinued or an item from your Costco's food court. The same goes for canned food and drinks. We often rely on these handy cans of food to stock our pantries, fill in on busy weeknights, or even serve as a snack or a quick refresher when we're a little hungry. But like everything else, even our favorite canned foods must eventually end. Here's a collection of canned foods that have been discontinued and that we don't think are coming back.

Campbell's Pepper Pot Soup was a mainstay of the Campbell's brand for over 100 years. But in 2010, Campbell's pulled the popular Pepper Pot Soup from its product line, citing changing tastes as a reason for discontinuing the once-popular soup. Pepper Pot soup has quite a history. In its original form, it originated in Africa and followed the slave trade from the shores of Africa to the Caribbean and, eventually, the eastern coast of North America. The soup was a popular way to use up leftover ingredients and was commonly made with leftover cuts of meat, like pigtails.

When Campbell's started mass-producing Pepper Pot Soup in 1899, it used beef tripe as a source of protein. Tripe is a tough meat that comes from an animal's stomach lining. People have been eating tripe for hundreds of years, but it's not a popular meat in the United States. American fans of Campbell's Pepper Pot soup might disagree, but if it's Pepper Pot soup they're craving, they'll have to look elsewhere or make their own.

Campbell's SpaghettiOs with Franks was a consumer favorite for years, but the brand has sadly pulled the plug on the popular canned pasta with mini hotdogs. While it's unclear exactly why the brand removed this beloved can of noodle Os and franks from the lineup, it was likely to make room for their newest product – Spicy Original, made with Frank's RedHot. The new SpaghettiO offering brings the heat — but leaves the franks behind.

Recent studies have shown increased consumer demand for spicy food, which is likely behind Campbell's decision to replace the old standby with a refreshed (and spicier) SpaghettiO product. And, fans are angry that this old favorite has gone, hence a petition to bring it back to store shelves. One Redditor even went so far as to call SpaghettiOs with Franks, "The only Spaghettios worth buying."

While pumpkin spice is synonymous with fall, we don't usually consider pumpkin-spiced meat a go-to fall favorite. Spam, however, took it there. In 2019, Spam released a pumpkin spice Spam, taking pumpkin-spice-everything to a new level. Despite the weird factor, Spam fans were there for it, and the one and only launch of Pumpkin Spice Spam sold out in under seven hours. While the limited edition product was never sold again, it surprised everyone by receiving positive consumer reviews.

There are many myths surrounding Spam, but it remains at the forefront of America's consciousness (and if the Pumpkin Spice Spam sales are any indication, it's piqued our curiosity, too). While you can no longer buy Pumpkin Spice Spam, those who are sad they missed it can always recreate it at home by picking up a tin of their favorite canned meat from the grocery store and adding a little pumpkin spice on their own (you can even make your own pumpkin spice at home).

Introduced in 1968, canned pudding was a popular treat for kids — and a dangerous one, too. This is probably why nobody missed it (and parents everywhere were likely thrilled) when Hunt's Snack Pack pudding in a can was replaced with pudding in plastic packaging in the 1980s. The open cans were so sharp kids would slice their tongues when trying to lick them clean. In fact, the marketing campaign for the canned pudding focused heavily on teaching kids how to safely open the cans and avoid getting cut while eating the product.

Kids raised in the '60s and '70s might remember the commercials, which consisted of a talking horse named Snack Pack who encouraged kids to carefully and slowly open their pudding cups. "Don't play with it or lick it, or keep it in your hand," the pretty palomino sang in a catchy jingle. In 1984, the pudding was served in a much safer white plastic cup. Today, the pudding is packaged in a clear plastic container. Despite the danger, the canned pudding of decades past still makes people nostalgic today.

Franco-American Macaroni with Cheese Sauce has been gone for decades, but people are still talking about it. The Franco-American brand was purchased by Campbell's in 1915 and retired in 2004, which is probably why it removed the canned mac and cheese from the shelves. Testing showed that consumers more easily recognized the Campbell's brand, and Campbell's wanted to focus on increasing sales of its other canned pasta products, like SpaghettiOs (which, coincidentally, was the brainchild of Franco-American marketing manager Donald E. Goerke).

It doesn't take much effort to give new life to boxed macaroni and cheese, but the convenience of a can can't be beaten. In 1959, celebrity housewife June Lockhart promoted the ease with which a busy homemaker could whip up a gourmet dinner with the help of a can of Franco-American Macaroni with cheese sauce. Today, the food still has a passionate fanbase and an active Facebook group, where fans post home recipes trying to recreate the magic of the long-gone canned mac and cheese.

Altoid, the maker of intensely flavored candies, introduced its little sour hard candies, Altoid Sours, in 2004. By 2010, however, Altoid Sours had been discontinued. The candies came in five flavors (citrus, tangerine, raspberry, apple, and mango) and were popular among consumers but not popular enough. Like many products with passionate fanbases, the little metal tins of super sour Altoids had loyal followers – but not enough of them to keep the candy afloat in a competitive sea of candy offerings.

Even though they haven't been available since 2010, you can still purchase a can of Altoid Sours (sealed, of course) on eBay — just be prepared to spend upwards of $100. Altoid Sours lovers have something to look forward to because a new version of the candy returned to store shelves in 2024. The candy returns with the name Retro Sours and comes in a tin similar to the original packaging. The new candies are available in three flavors: mango, citrus, and tangerine.

Since its creation in the 1950s, Pringles has offered consumers more than 160 flavor options. One particular fan-favorite flavor, though, was retired in 2018 — and that is the Top Ramen Chicken-Flavored Pringles. The chips were initially a limited-release item that was sold exclusively in Dollar General stores. The ramen-flavored Pringles were a hit with the college crowd, and after discontinuing them for a brief period, Kellogg's brought them back to stores in 2018 for a temporary second run.

Pringles has always been an innovative brand, providing customers with a perfectly formed potato-based crisp in many flavors. Served in a convenient can, Pringles are a go-to snack for Americans and people worldwide. And while the brand isn't likely to bring back its Top Ramen Chicken-Flavored chips anytime soon, there's one flavor they won't be getting rid of, and that's Sour Cream & Onion. A pringles staple since 1984; this flavor is a best-seller around the world.

Jolt Cola, the original energy drink, saw its first demise in 2011 and made its final goodbye in 2019. Created in 1985, Jolt Cola was a response to the industry's big push for sugar- and caffeine-free drinks. It unashamedly touted itself as "All the sugar and twice the caffeine" on its recognizable cans (bright red with a lightning bolt), and it wasn't kidding. Each can contained 50 grams of sugar

"America's first carbonated energy drink," as it claimed to be, was widely available in convenience stores. Jolt Cola was such a hit that it was even featured in one of the '90s biggest movies — Jurassic Park. The sweet and fizzy drink brand filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and pulled the product from the shelf shortly after. That wasn't the end of Jolt, though. The drink had a short but sweet resurgence from 2017 until 2019 in Dollar Generals around the country.

Cream of tomato soup is a favorite for many, and Heinz had a loyal following with its Cream of Tomato Soup with a Kick of Chilli. This slightly spicy can of comfort was a favorite in the U.K., but it was removed from Campbell's label in 2023. One angry U.K. fan on X (formerly Twitter) even reached out to Heinz and said, "Let me know if whatever monster who made this decision comes to its senses and my soup makes a comeback." It wasn't enough, though. The soup remains unavailable today.

While there are lots of things you can add to chili to spice up a recipe, Heinz went the opposite route when they created a soup that had the original Cream of Tomato soup recipe with a touch of chilli added. And while fans may be disgruntled (and sad about the lack of chilli kick in their lives), Heinz didn't leave them empty-handed. They still sell an instant version of the soup, which Heinz calls "dry soup."

Despite colorful cans that mimicked Life Savers candy packaging and riding on the popularity of Life Savers hard candy, Life Savers non-carbonated fruit drink just couldn't make it work. It's unclear when the Life Savers drink hit the market, but it came out swinging in five popular flavors: grape, lime, pineapple, orange, and fruit punch. Fruit punch was the only flavor that wasn't an original Life Savors flavor (the fifth remaining original flavor was cherry). The drink was developed to compete with other fruit drink brands that were popular at the time, like Snapple.

Life Savers fruit drinks performed well in taste tests but couldn't hold its own in stores. It's thought that the drink failed because people didn't want to drink their candy, and sipping on a beverage in a colorful candy wrapper just wasn't in the cards. And it turns out they weren't wrong. One can of the doomed Life Savers drink contained 46 grams of sugar, and high fructose corn syrup was the second ingredient listed. It did, however, contain 100% of the daily recommended dose of Vitamin C. So there's that.

Campbell's Scotch Broth soup was sadly discontinued in 2023 to focus more attention on selling its other products. Scotch Broth soup is a traditional Scottish meal commonly made with mutton, broth, carrots, and barley. Like many soups, it gives cheaper cuts of meat a chance to be center stage and allows the cook to use up leftover vegetables. In this case, Campbell's Scotch Broth soup provided a quick and easy dinner option for anyone craving some Scottish comfort food.

Because it relies on cheaper meats, Scotch Broth soup is often made with mutton instead of lamb. While mutton and lamb come from a sheep, mutton is from the meat of an older animal — usually between one and three years old. Mutton is tougher, fattier, and has a more intense flavor than lamb. While you can no longer buy a can of Campbell's Scotch Broth Soup for an easy meal, you can always make your own at home. You won't have the Campbell's recipe to guide you, though. Despite repeated requests from sad consumers, Campbell's is keeping it close to its chest.

Campbell's Condensed Green Pea soup was beloved by its fans for its creamy, velvety texture and strong pea flavor. Campbell's confirmed the soup was discontinued in 2019, to the chagrin of angry customers. One customer on X (formerly Twitter) even went so far as to suggest they would stop buying Campbell's entirely, saying, "Great, another great flavor gone. You're going to 'discontinue' yourself right off my shopping list at this rate." While not everyone was quite that upset, fans were clearly saddened by the news and not excited about the alternative options Campbell's presented.

There are plenty of canned pea soup options available, such as Campbell's Split Pea with Ham and Bacon, which Campbell's calls "a full-flavored blend of hearty split peas with premium ham and smoky bacon and farm-grown carrots and celery." If you can't find a new can to love, you can always make it yourself.

In 2002, PepsiCo introduced a new product to its brand lineup — Pepsi Blue. However, it didn't last long. Within two years, Pepsi Blue had been pulled from the shelves due to low sales and critics slamming its flavor. With its bright blue color and indeterminate berry flavor, Pepsi Blue was designed with one consumer group in mind – the American teenager. PepsiCo pumped massive amounts of cash into the brand and brought in celebrities like Britney Spears to hawk their goods. Not even Britney could convince America's teens to drink the blue beverage, though.

Today, memories of Pepsi Blue are mixed, with some people saying they loved it and others claiming it was a terrible drink. One Redditor called it "the greatest drink to ever grace God's Green Earth," while another said, "It's bloody disgusting."

Pepsi Blue returned to market in 2021, but its stay was short. Hoping to capitalize on Millennials' nostalgia, the drink was available from May through August but didn't have the staying power to stick around.