With all due respect to people who think Spaghetti-O’s they have “changed” substantially over the years, the much greater likelihood is that your physical palate and taste preferences are what have changed. Foods I kind of liked as kid like Spaghetti-O’s are incredibly sweet, and virtually unpalatable as an adult.
I liked a lot of this stuff when I was a kid. Then, I grew up and found out what real spaghetti sauce tastes like, how not to overcook noodles, etc. There’s no going back.
According to Wikipedia:
Ettore (Hector) Boiardi was born in Piacenza, Italy to Giuseppe and Maria Maffi Boiardi. On May 9, 1914, at the age of 16, he arrived at Ellis Island aboard the French ship La Lorraine. His culinary reputation grew and he became the head chef at the Plaza Hotel in New York. In 1915, he supervised the catering for the reception of President Woodrow Wilson’s second marriage[1] at the Greenbrier, in West Virginia. His entrepreneurial skill became fine-tuned when he opened his first restaurant, Il Giardino d’Italia, in Cleveland, Ohio in 1926. Patrons asked for samples and recipes of his spaghetti sauce, which he would often give to the customers in old milk bottles.
So how did Chef “Boyardee” go from being a big-time chef to putting his stamp on this shit?
I never liked Spaghetti-Os as a kid, and I didn’t get why other kids liked them. I liked Chef Boy-Ar-Dee, though.
Weirdly I had some notion as a young kid that “Boyardee” was a name concocted by advertisers to appeal to kids “ie boys”. When I read years later in some article that there actually was a real Chef “Boyardee” (sic) I was surprised.
The pork patty MRE was my favorite. Hydrate the pork patty, add the pork and beans pouch, stir in the fake cheese and the crackers with a little tabasco. A masterpiece of culinary heaven.
Ok, I’m one of the few in the platoon who actually liked them but that worked for me since I could trade for my beloved pork patty with almost anyone.
If you think spaghettios were disappointing do not try Vienna sausages as an adult*. My dog liked them though, but then she eats cat poop.
*Come to think of it, these shouldn’t even be given to kids.
Do they stilll sell that … that … that white noodle-like stuff with beigeish “sauce”? I remember liking that food-like-stuff when I was a wee lad, but haven’t see it for years. I’d be interested in finding out just how weird my palet was back in the day, but I haven’t seen a can of it in years. Perhaps I shouldn’t be looking in grocery stores.
I like Spaghetti-O’s! The meatballs are the best part! I save the meatballs for last and eat them all at once! 
I only eat them a couple times a year though, when I get a craving for them.
I still like Spaghetti-O’s, but never with the meatballs. That weird, rubbery meat is gross. My kids won’t even eat that, and they eat dirt and carpet lint.
It’s one of my comfort foods, when I’m feeling glum on a dark, rainy day. Of course, I can also go for a grilled cheese sandwich made with Velveeta, when I’m feeling down. Makes me feel about 4 years old, again.
I just had a can of generic Spaghetti-O’s. It was kinda gross. Too sweet & sour tasting and yeah, those little “meat” balls made of God knows what are a bit nauseating too.
I like Beef-a-Roni though, and very recently started a thread asking how to recreate that sort of sauce, so it’s not the whole canned pasta family; it’s just Spag-Os.
When I was younger, I used to consider deviled ham a great treat. Now that I am an adult, and can buy and eat just about anything my heart desires*, I desire the goodness of canned deviled ham. Alas, it just doesn’t taste the same. I used to love the canned Chinese foods, too.
I still love chocolate milk, though.
*As long as I’m willing to pay for it, and I don’t mean just in the monetary sense, either.
Then my chef instincts are good. There isn’t a whole lot of meat left when your done. It’s pretty cheap meat though.
Not the original poster but I accidentally had a can that was 4 years beyond the date on the can. His experience matched mine. It smelled ugly as I nuked it. I thought, like so many other posters, it probably was just a difference in taste/smell between being a young Saucepan to the current adult Pott. When I took it out of the oven, I noted to myself that they changed the color from day-glo orange goop to a more normal marinara red. One spoonful of shrunken O’s later, I realized that was not the color of win. I can totally see doing a lengthy gargle sequence post-spit.
I’ve found that with a whole metric ton of garlic powder, spaghetti-Os aren’t too bad.
And don’t forget the Wonder Bread to sop up the sauce!
I don’t think that Spaghetti-O’s are all that bad, but I also enjoy canned ravioli, Beef-a-roni and canned spaghetti on occasion. Sure, I could make some of these foods, and they do taste good, but different. Sometimes I just get a craving for that strange canned-spaghetti flavor.
Another weird data point - I almost always eat them cold, and straight out of the can, because it tastes funny if you heat it up.
And triple quantities of shredded Asiago cheese.
Ok man. You lost me there. Left over Pizza is no problem but eating Spaghetios out of a can and not even heated? You are twisted but in a good way I guess.
Who am I to talk anyway.
I would rather have a bacon, cheese, peanut butter and lettuce on rye bread sandwich.
I really love Chef Boyardee (and have to carefully stay away from that aisle lest I buy eight cans and eat them in four days), but Spaghettios are horrible. For some reason they ALWAYS taste like the can. That metallic taste just completely saturates them.
Are you gonna finish that sandwich? Because it would be a shame if any of it went to waste. Oh, did I mention I missed breakfast this morning?
I still eat them occasionally, with a Velveeta grilled cheese sandwich to dip in them.
My mother’s like, “You still eat that?? You’re almost thirty!”
Yes. When I want to feel about six years old. Processed-buttery-white-bread-chemical goodness!
I like the ones with meatballs and the ones without. As a kid I would only eat the ones without meatballs, though.
I had the OP’s experience when I tried Twinkies again though. I used to adore them when I was a kid, and bought some on a whim a few years back.
Gross greasy disgusting ickiness. Don’t know what I ever saw in them.