13 Popular Foods That Were Created By Accident

Sometimes the best things in life happen by mistake, and food is no exception. A lot of the foods we love today were the result of someone messing up, miscalculating, or just getting lucky. Whether it was an ingredient swap or a cooking error, these slip-ups turned into some of the most popular foods around.

Cheese puffs.Photo byShutterstock.

Potato Chips

Chef George Crum accidentally created these in 1853 after a customer complained about thick fries. Out of spite, Crum sliced them super thin, over-fried them, and added too much salt. To his surprise, they were a hit.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ruth Wakefield, the owner of Toll House Inn, ran out of baker’s chocolate and used chunks from a chocolate bar, hoping they’d melt. They didn’t, but the result was the first-ever chocolate chip cookie.

Popsicles

In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson accidentally left a soda mixture with a stick outside overnight. It froze, and the first popsicle was born! He later patented it and renamed it “Popsicle.”

Corn Flakes

The Kellogg brothers were trying to make a healthy snack for their patients when they accidentally left boiled wheat sitting too long. Instead of tossing it, they baked it into what became corn flakes.

Bowl of cereal.Photo byDepositphotos.

Coca-Cola

Originally intended as a medicinal tonic, Coca-Cola was created when Dr. John Pemberton’s syrup was accidentally mixed with carbonated water, leading to the fizzy drink we know today.

Ice Cream Cones

At the 1904 World’s Fair, a waffle vendor saved the day by rolling his waffles into cones when an ice cream stand ran out of bowls. Now, we can’t imagine ice cream without them.

Slurpees

When a Dairy Queen soda machine broke in the 1950s, owner Omar Knedlik stored bottles in the freezer. The result? Slushy, frozen sodas customers loved—and thus, the Slurpee was born.

Worcestershire Sauce

Two chemists tried to recreate an Indian sauce but hated the result and stored it in a barrel. When they rediscovered it years later, it had aged into the delicious Worcestershire sauce we use today.

Nachos

A chef threw together leftover tortillas, cheese, and jalapeños for hungry customers, accidentally inventing nachos in the process. Sometimes, leftovers are a blessing!

Dippin Dots ice cream.Photo byShutterstock.

Cheese Puffs

Invented by accident in a factory trying to make animal feed, corn kernels puffed up during the process. Someone decided to snack on them, and cheese puffs became a crunchy hit.

Champagne

Champagne’s bubbles were originally seen as a flaw when a secondary fermentation process trapped carbon dioxide. But instead of scrapping it, winemakers embraced the fizz, creating this iconic celebratory drink.

Toasted Ravioli

A chef in St. Louis accidentally dropped ravioli into a deep fryer. Instead of tossing them, he served them up, and toasted ravioli became a local favorite.

Dippin’ Dots

Created in 1987 by microbiologist Curt Jones while working on flash-freezing animal feed. He applied the same process to ice cream, and Dippin’ Dots were born. Evidence that science is truly cool somtimes!