We've based our ranking on how popular each dish was, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.  

Not a dish many of us remember fondly from childhood, liver and onions appeared on the school dinner menu roster from the 1960s onwards. Cheap and easy to cook, beef liver was sautéed alongside onions, then served with a helping of potatoes and boiled vegetables. As you can imagine, it didn’t go down well with kids and was (thankfully) knocked off menus in the 1980s.

With food rationing still in place after World War II, 1950s school dinners were made with basic, cost-effective ingredients. A regular on the menu soon became minced beef with potatoes (either boiled or mashed), a medley of boiled vegetables (think carrots, broccoli and peas) and a ladleful of gravy. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting dish, but it was a hearty meal that filled children up.

Landing on school canteen menus in the 1950s, semolina pudding was a dish that you either loved or hated. It was made by simmering dried semolina with milk to create a porridge-style pudding, and it came topped off with sugar, cinnamon, jam, fruit or raisins to add a touch of sweetness. Despite its divisive nature, it continued to be served at schools throughout much of the 20th century. 

Dinner ladies first started dishing out curry around the 1970s, and it was quite unlike any you may have seen before or since (sultanas, anyone?). For many, it would be their first taste of something emulating the food of some of their classmates, whose families had settled in the UK from South Asia – and they, in turn, often got their first taste of traditional British food at school. It might not have been authentic, but it was an attempt at inclusivity that expanded the palates of children across the country.

Those who grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s will remember the arrival of Pasta King. This technology filled the school dinner hall with excitement, allowing diners to choose between a selection of pasta and sauce styles, from carbonara to arrabbiata, before watching it boil speedily in front of them. Pasta King is still served in canteens today.

Due to rationing throughout World War II and in the years that followed, school dinners were made with cheap, hearty, readily available ingredients. A product of this time was SPAM fitters, a dish that saw the canned meat sliced, coated in batter and fried to produce a crispy, golden coating. It wasn't exactly the most nutritious of meals, but it was dished out frequently in the 1940s, typically served alongside peas and potatoes.

Pies of all types were a common sight on meat-and-two-veg dinner menus in the latter half of the 20th century, and shepherd’s pie was undoubtedly one of the most ubiquitous from the early days – probably because it didn’t require any pastry. The dish, made by topping saucy lamb mince, onions, carrots and perhaps some peas with mashed potatoes (and cheese if you’re lucky) still features on school menus today, and it's a family meal staple in many homes.

Dished up at school canteens from the 1950s onwards, blancmange was served (or rather, disguised) in a couple of different ways. The first was a wobbly, moulded style that almost resembled milk jelly and tended to divide the crowd. You might also remember pink custard, made by simmering packet blancmange with milk to create a sauce with a creamy, custard-like texture. The pink-hued result was trickled over all manner of desserts, from sponge squares to chocolate concrete.

Cast your eye over this list and you can’t fail to notice just how beige British school dinners were back in the day. The mammoth plates of creamy macaroni cheese that were dished out to the masses from the 1960s onwards were no exception. A particularly popular option, a scoop of this often came served with boiled vegetables or salad and a portion of potatoes (usually chips).  

British school dinners were all about simple ingredients that could be transformed into hearty dishes guaranteed to keep kids full, and cheese flan – also known as cheese pie – is a tribute to that. Comfort food at its finest, this dish called for just a handful of ingredients – cheese, eggs, milk and pastry – and was served up alongside potatoes (usually boiled or fried) and a scoop of boiled veggies or baked beans. It was in regular rotation from the 1960s onwards.

There wasn't always much to be excited about on a cold, wintry school day, but fluffy suet dumplings with rich, savoury beef stew were always welcome. While some might not have been keen on the carrots, the soft dumplings were perfect for soaking up the gravy. It’s an adult favourite too, although these days you might like to use some finer ingredients for an altogether fancier homemade stew.

A classic dessert that many will feel nostalgic about, tinned fruit with jelly was a frequent school dinner dish served up across the country from the 1970s onwards. The fruit would sometimes be suspended within the wobbly jelly, and it was often served with a scoop of ice cream to help encourage kids to eat the whole bowl.  

While you may love cauliflower cheese with your Sunday roast nowadays, it also wouldn’t be surprising if the giant vats of this creamy-yet-congealed dish served at school put you off for life. Offered from the 1950s onwards, spoonfuls were slopped onto school trays as a main course, often complete with a scoop of baked beans. If you got in early enough, the cauli cheese might still be runny, but if you were one of the last few served, you’d be lucky if it hadn’t solidified completely.

Pure comfort food on a plate, it’s hard to forget this warming classic. All cheese and no pastry, this pie saw mountains of mashed potato mixed with cheese and baked in the oven until golden and crispy on top. It was popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and you’d usually find it finished with a few slices of tomato and served with a giant scoop of baked beans. 

Making regular appearances at dinnertime in the 1970s and 1980s, this classic dessert always got the canteen buzzing. Classic Manchester tarts consist of shortcrust pastry spread with raspberry jam, filled with custard and topped with desiccated coconut and a Maraschino cherry. Sometimes there would even be a layer of banana under the custard for extra fruitiness. It was the perfect pudding for putting you in a good mood for the rest of the afternoon.

Dry meat, soft roast potatoes, overcooked boiled vegetables and watery gravy is how many people remember their school roast dinners. This take on the classic Sunday lunch has always been on menus in some form, offered as a weekly special and usually served on Wednesdays. One thing's for certain: it was never as good as Mum’s.

Who can remember being served a slice of this sweet pudding? Another dessert regular, treacle tart frequently formed part of the school menu rotation throughout the 20th century. A crisp pastry bottom was topped with a sickly-sweet golden syrup filling and cut into triangular slices. It’s not a pudding you see often these days, but when you do, memories from school are bound to come flooding back.  

Another weekly staple throughout the 1950s and 1960s was Lancashire hotpot – or any kind of hotpot, for that matter. Meat and vegetables were cooked down into a stew before being topped with slices of potato and baked until golden brown. An easy dish to execute and cook in large portions, it usually went down a treat.   

There were myriad ways to present a sponge cake or pudding to finish off a school dinner, but the raspberry jam and coconut sponge was definitely one of the best. Featuring two flavours that loom large in school canteens, the sticky topping turned a simple vanilla sponge into one of the best desserts around – especially when topped with lashings of custard.

With its cheesy top and signature shape, the appearance of square pizza caused huge excitement across the school canteen. Similar to a version bakery chain Greggs dishes out these days, square pizza was served throughout the 1990s and early 2000s and was defined by its thick crust, rich tomato sauce and cheese-smothered edges. While it was usually served pillowy soft and straight from its warm sheet pan, you could sometimes get unlucky and be handed a hard, dry slice. 

While this pudding had some questionable nicknames, it’s one of the most nostalgic dishes on this list, and it's been dished up by dinner ladies from the 1950s right through to the present day. Made up of a suet-style pastry that's spread with jam before being rolled into a cylinder shape, this swirly pudding is usually served with a drizzle of custard or scoop of ice cream.

Invented in the 1950s by Ernest Velden, it wasn't long before this classic British dessert made its way onto school dinner menus, becoming a staple by the 1970s. The chilled pudding featured vanilla ice cream wrapped in a thin, light sponge spread with jam (usually strawberry or raspberry). When a slice of Artic Roll landed on your tray, you knew you were in for a treat – even if double maths was coming up in the afternoon.

Thanks to being poured over most puddings to help mask the contents beneath, thick-skinned custard has long been a prominent school dinner dish. So much so that, when a dodgy looking dessert came on the menu, many kids would ask the dinner ladies for a ladle of custard on its own instead.

French bread pizza – also known as baguette pizza – was a school dinner staple served throughout the 1990s. Giant baguettes were topped with a simple tomato purée and plenty of grated cheese, before being cut into individual portions and grilled. If you were lucky, a sprinkle of dried Italian herbs or scattering of pepperoni slices may have also made it into the mix.

Steaming hot and drenched in custard (chocolate, pink or standard Bird’s yellow), this classic school dinner dessert is remembered fondly. Like many other school puddings, it was baked in trays and cut into generously sized squares to be eagerly dug into with a spoon while still warm. This one really hit the spot on a wet and windy day.

Fish was always served at schools on a Friday, and by the 1960s this may well have meant a couple of slightly soggy fish fingers instead of the usual cod fillet. Dinner ladies would pair them with a scoop of chunky oven chips and baked beans for a beige taste sensation – and they're still a children's favourite decades later.

Simple and affordable, rice pudding was a school dessert that was dished up by the ladleful – and it was loved and loathed in equal measure. Back in the day, sugar, milk, butter and rice were baked in the oven until the rice was cooked through (and if you were lucky, a teaspoon of jam was added on top to finish). It was served at schools throughout the 20th century and still regularly features on canteen menus today. 

Defined by its crunchy texture and sugar-topped finish, this sweet treat was a welcome sight at dinnertime. Chocolate concrete – also known as chocolate crunch – is essentially a thick, cocoa-loaded biscuit that's served up by the slice. You were either team dry (and enjoyed it on its own) or you preferred this pud served dripping with pink or yellow custard. It was a popular school canteen dessert from the 1970s onwards. 

School dinners took a turn for the better when rationing came to an end in the mid-1950s. With higher quality ingredients becoming more readily available, fish and chip Fridays quickly became a popular weekly occurrence. Still a staple today, battered cod (usually frozen rather than fresh) was served alongside chips and peas or beans. Unsurprisingly, Friday soon became the day everyone looked forward to most.

By the 1990s, school meals had become heavily processed, with weekly highlights including Turkey Twizzlers and chicken dinosaurs with chips. Despite being a hit with kids, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched a campaign in the early 2000s to improve these processed school dinners. Kids waved goodbye to Twizzlers and were instead introduced to healthy pastas, curries and veggie wraps.  

Who can remember waiting patiently in line for a slice of this simple traybake? Presented in giant canteen-style trays, this classic dessert features a light, fluffy sponge topped with white icing and finished with rainbow-coloured Hundreds & Thousands. Fondly known as school cake, the much-loved treat was served up in schools from the 1980s to the early 2000s.  

A combination of crisp pastry base, layer of sweet jam and golden syrup–coated cornflakes made this pudding a recipe for success. The classic cornflake tart was a school dinner stalwart from the 1960s right through to the early 2000s, with many adults continuing to hold real affection for this simple treat. Depending on preference, you could either eat your cornflake tart by hand or devour it drenched in custard.

Who could forget this retro favourite? A regular in the weekly school dinner rotation, this childhood classic was dished up at school canteens across the country for decades. You’d find ice cream scoops of the stuff served with almost every savoury meal, from mince and veggies to sausages and gravy. Though it was often lumpy and served lukewarm to cold, just looking at this dish is surely enough to make you feel nostalgic for meals gone by.

Now rediscover the foods you LOVED as a kid

Last updated by Laura Ellis.