This simple tuna noodle casserole recipe combines tender egg noodles with creamy sauce, flaky tuna, inexperienced peas, and melty mozzarella cheese. Baked underneath a golden, buttery cracker topping, it’s traditional consolation meals for a cold day.
This isn’t your grandmother’s tuna noodle casserole. That’s, until hers was wealthy, creamy, tacky, and completely DELICIOUS! In the present day’s tuna casserole recipe is a kind of comfort-food dinners from my childhood that I discover myself craving within the colder months. A bit like hamburger stroganoff, this recipe makes use of a can of condensed soup tossed with tender egg noodles and canned tuna as a substitute of floor beef. Every little thing will get baked like a pasta casserole beneath a blanket of crunchy crackers and melted mozzarella cheese.
Causes You Ought to Make This Tuna Casserole Tonight
- Prepared in underneath an hour. This casserole comes collectively rapidly on a weeknight. Put together the sauce whilst you cook dinner the noodles, then add all the things collectively and bake.
- Creamy, tacky goodness. Layers of tender noodles, tuna, and creamy sauce bake collectively beneath a crunchy cracker topping. It’s wealthy, savory, and comforting.
- Scrumptious leftovers. This casserole shops and reheats properly, and leftovers style even higher the following day.
Collect Your Substances
This old-school tuna casserole is fast to tug along with frequent pantry elements. Listed here are the essential ones, and you’ll discover the printable recipe particulars within the recipe card beneath the publish.
- Egg Noodles – Any variety, together with vast, extra-wide, or medium egg noodles. Asian noodles, or Italian pasta like fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle, may also work.
- Cream of Hen Soup – Decide up a can of low-sodium cream of rooster soup from the shop. If in case you have a favourite home made recipe, go forward and use it!
- Milk – Entire milk, 2%, or any milk you’d like. For a fair richer sauce, use half-and-half.
- Bitter Cream – Plain Greek yogurt makes a great substitute in case you want one.
- Canned Tuna – I like to recommend canned tuna that is available in water or brine, and never oil. Drain the tuna properly beforehand.
- Frozen Peas – Make certain to thaw them first. Be at liberty to make use of contemporary peas when you’ve got them.
- Shredded Mozzarella – Freshly grated mozzarella melts extra easily than pre-grated mozzarella. Provolone cheese or cheddar are good substitutes.
- Crackers – You may make a crushed Ritz cracker topping just like the one I exploit in my Ritz rooster casserole recipe. Or, any crackers you’d like. You may additionally use Panko breadcrumbs, cornflakes cereal, or crushed potato chips.
- Butter – Melted and cooled, to mix with the crackers and extra shredded cheese for the casserole topping.
Suggestions for a Excellent Casserole
- For the perfect outcomes, use tuna packed in water. Tuna in oil could make the general casserole too oily.
- Don’t overcook the noodles. Because you’ll bake the casserole afterward, take care to not overcook the egg noodles. In the event that they’re overcooked, they’ll develop into mushy.
- Swap the soup. As a substitute of cream of rooster soup, use cream of vegetable or mushroom soup (or home made cream of mushroom soup).
Steadily Requested Questions
Positive factor. If canned tuna isn’t your factor, you may substitute cooked shredded rooster, floor beef, or pulled pork. Attempt cooked mushrooms or broccoli for a meat-free model.
Sure! I like to recommend assembling the casserole and refrigerating it the day earlier than you intend to bake it, however depart off the crunchy topping. Whenever you’re able to bake, combine the cracker topping, add it to the casserole, and bake as directed.
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Prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Grease a 9-inch baking dish with butter or cooking spray and put aside.
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Cook dinner your noodles. Cook dinner the noodles based on bundle instructions. Drain the noodles as soon as cooked and put aside.
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Make the bottom. In a big bowl, whisk collectively the cream of rooster soup, milk, bitter cream, salt, and pepper.
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Add the principle elements. Stir within the tuna and peas. Add the cooked egg noodles and ¾ cup of mozzarella and stir properly to mix. Switch the combination to the baking dish.
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Put together the topping. Mix the crushed crackers with the melted butter and ¼ cup of shredded mozzarella, then add the combination over the casserole.
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Bake. Bake the casserole for 20 minutes, or till bubbly.
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Cool and serve. Take away the tuna casserole from the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes earlier than serving.
- Noodle choices: For this recipe, you need to use any sort of egg noodles, together with skinny or flat Asian noodles, or fettuccine.
- Topping: As a substitute of crackers, you need to use panko breadcrumbs.
- Tuna selections: For this recipe, I like tuna packed in water. The one packed in oil could also be too oily for the recipe total.
- Canned soups: As a substitute of cream of rooster soup, you need to use cream of vegetable or mushroom soup.
Energy: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 31g | Fats: 27g | Saturated Fats: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 3g | Monounsaturated Fats: 7g | Trans Fats: 0.3g | Ldl cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 915mg | Potassium: 461mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1051IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 267mg | Iron: 4mg
Dietary information is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values could range based on the elements and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
How you can Make Tuna Noodle Casserole
See the recipe card above for the total recipe, and comply with the step-by-step pictures beneath so what to anticipate when making this creamy tuna casserole.
- Cook dinner the noodles. Boil the egg noodles based on the bundle instructions, then drain them. In case you’d like, toss the noodles with a bit of olive oil to maintain them from sticking whilst you set them apart. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400ºF whilst you put together the casserole.
- Make the sauce. Mix cream of rooster soup with milk and bitter cream. Season to style with salt and pepper, then add the drained tuna and peas.
- Add the principle elements. Stir within the cooked egg noodles and shredded mozzarella. As soon as that’s well-combined, unfold the combination right into a greased baking dish.
- Add the topping. Combine the crushed crackers with melted butter and extra mozzarella. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the casserole.
- Bake. Bake the casserole at 400ºF for 20 minutes. Let it relaxation for a couple of minutes earlier than serving.
Storing and Reheating Tuna Casserole
- Refrigerate. Cowl the baked and cooled casserole hermetic and maintain it refrigerated for as much as 3 days.
- Reheat. Heat the tuna casserole within the oven at 350ºF till it’s scorching all through. You may as well reheat particular person servings within the microwave.
- Freeze. Wrap the baked tuna casserole in a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil. Freeze it for as much as 2 months. Thaw the casserole within the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating.
