Homemade classic tuna noodle casserole, the quintessential American dish made from scratch and under $10 to make, the kids love it!
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
- Cook noodles in a large pot if boiling salted water until al dente, or slightly under cooked by 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a deep, large skillet. Add onions to the melted butter and cook on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir well, cooking an additional 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat
- Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray 9 x 12 casserole with cooking spray.
- Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until well combined, increasing heat to medium and whisking well for 30 seconds, then add the milk and bring to a boil.
- When boiling, add sherry, mushrooms and petite peas, adjust salt and pepper to taste and simmer on medium, mixing occasionally until it thickens (about 7 to 9 minutes).
- Add drained tuna, stirring another minute.
- Remove from heat and add the reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese and mix well until it melts. Add the noodles to the sauce and mix well until evenly coated.
- Pour the mixture into casserole and top with Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray and top and bake for about 25 minutes.
- Place under the broiler a few minutes to get the crumbs crisp (careful not to burn).
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
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 ounces no-yolk noodles, or egg noodles of choice
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion, minced fine
- 3 tbsp flour, or gluten free flour
- 1 3/4 cups fat free chicken broth
- 1 cup 1% milk
- 1 ounce sherry, optional
- 10 ounces sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 1 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
- 2 5 oz cans tuna in water, drained (I used albacore)
- 4 ounces 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar, such as Cabot
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs
- fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Cook noodles in salted water until al dente, or slightly undercooked by 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large deep skillet. Add onions and cook on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir well, cooking an additional 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat
- Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly spray 9 x 12 casserole with butter flavored cooking spray.
- Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until well combined, increasing heat to medium and whisking well for 30 seconds, then add the milk and bring to a boil.
- When boiling, add sherry, mushrooms and petite peas, adjust salt and pepper to taste and simmer on medium, mixing occasionally until it thickens (about 7 to 9 minutes).
- Add drained tuna, stirring another minute.
- Remove from heat and add the reduced fat sharp cheddar and mix well until it melts. Add the noodles to the sauce and mix well until evenly coated.
- Pour into casserole and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray and top and bake for about 25 minutes.
- Place under the broiler a few minutes to get the crumbs crisp (careful not to burn).
