Tuna Noodle Casserole
Tuna casserole is classic comfort food! The ingredients are simple – canned tuna, mushrooms, peas, noodles in a homemade creamy sauce (without canned soup) finished with toasted breadcrumbs. Keeping canned tuna on hand is a great way to whip up quick lunches and dinners like the classic Tuna Melt or Tuna Macaroni Salad.
I love a bowl of this healthier tuna noodle recipe. Lots of recipes call for canned cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup or cream of celery soup. This recipe is made from scratch, with real ingredients, no canned soups and it’s so good.
Ingredients:
Noodles – for the noodles you can use no-yolk noodles, elbow pasta, penne pasta or brown rice pasta for gluten free White Sauce – butter, onion, all purpose flour or gluten free flour mix, chicken broth and milk, plus optional sherry, for more flavor Mushrooms – sliced baby bella mushrooms or white button mushrooms Vegetables – Frozen petite peas or use peas and carrots Canned Tuna – canned albacore or chunk light tuna in water, drained Cheese – reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese Topping – whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese Fresh Parsley – for garnish
How to make homemade tuna casserole from scratch
Variations
Veggies: You can easily adapt this with different vegetables, try it with frozen peas and carrots, broccoli, etc Swap out canned tuna: If you don’t like tuna fish, you can use leftover chicken breast or salmon. Noodles: Use whole wheat noodles or gluten-free in place of white noodles Pasta: Elbow macaroni can be used in place of egg noodles Add some minced garlic or garlic powder with the onions. Feel free to adjust salt and black pepper to your taste. Optional Topping Ideas: Top with baked, crushed potato chips, french-fried onions or crushed ritz crackers in place of parmesan and panko.
Can you freeze a tuna casserole?
Yes, there’s two ways to freeze it. A make-ahead method which is great for a busy weeknight meal, or you can freeze the leftovers. For the make-ahead method, prepare everything up to the point of baking in the baking dish. Once you’ve combined everything with the exception of the breadcrumbs and Parmesan, cover tight with plastic wrap, then foil and label it with the name and date. To cook, defrost in the refrigerator overnight, top with Parmesan and bread crumbs and bake. Leftover, oven-baked tuna casserole can also be frozen. To do so transfer the leftovers to an airtight container then freeze. To cook, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat.
Is Tuna Casserole good the next day?
Yes, you can reheat tuna casserole the next day. For storage, refrigerate in an airtight containter up to 4 days.
More Canned Tuna Recipes:
Chickpea Tuna Salad Tuna Lettuce Wraps with Avocado Yogurt Dressing Canned Tuna Ceviche Tuna Macaroni Salad Italian Tuna and Brown Rice Salad
