Tuna Casserole

5 from 4 votes

This easy Tuna Casserole is a one-pan wonder! Just toss uncooked pasta, tuna, veggies, and a few other ingredients into a baking dish, and let it bake to creamy perfection!

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Tuna Casserole

Servings: servings

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $9.12

Equipment

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 (5-ounce) cans tuna well drained
2-1/2 cups rotini pasta see note 1
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon dried thyme or Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
Salt and pepper
1-1/2 cups chicken stock or broth, see note 2
2 cups milk see note 3
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (12-ounce) bag frozen peas and carrots or frozen corn, see note 4
1-1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese divided
1 cup panko breadcrumbs plus 2 tablespoons butter, optional topping, see note 5 for instructions

US - Metric

Instructions

Measure out milk and set aside for now. Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Drain tuna and set aside.
Add the following ingredients in this order to the pan: uncooked pasta, flour sprinkled evenly on top, thyme, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt/pepper to taste (I add 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper), minced garlic, stock/broth, milk, and butter (cut into 2 pieces). Stir well. Cover pan with foil and bake 20 minutes.
Remove foil and stir ingredients together well. Add frozen peas and carrots. Stir through. Add 1 cup Cheddar and stir through again. Place tuna on top of ingredients in an even layer. Gently press into the mixture (no need to stir in it). Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar on top. If adding panko topping (see note 5), add on top in an even layer. Return pan to the oven, uncovered, and bake another 15–20 minutes or until pasta is tender and the top is golden brown (don’t over-bake or the sauce will dry out). Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Enjoy immediately!

Video

Notes

Note 1: This recipe works best with rotini pasta—it’s the best at soaking everything up and bakes through perfectly in the specified time. Other pasta shapes may hide the flour so the dish won’t properly thicken. If using other pasta shapes, whisk the flour with 1/4 cup of the chicken stock/broth first before adding to the casserole dish. Ensure whatever pasta is being used has a similar boil time to rotini (9–11 minutes).

Note 2: The better the chicken stock, the more flavor this dish will have. I love and use Swanson’s chicken stock. If using chicken broth, you may need a bit more seasoning.

Note 3: For prepping milk, remove from the fridge, measure, and set aside before starting to cook. Room-temperature milk will heat quicker! This is intended to be a creamy recipe, and the lower-fat milk choices won’t achieve the right texture. That said, you can use 1% or 2% (for a less creamy dish). Unfortunately, skim milk or dairy milk alternatives don’t work the same in this recipe.

Note 4: Use 12 ounces of whatever frozen veggie you like best—all peas, peas and carrots, all corn, or peas and corn.

Note 5: Optional panko topping: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once melted, add in panko and salt to taste; I add a heaping 1/4 teaspoon. Stir constantly until lightly browned, then sprinkle over the casserole. Don’t want to use stovetop/pan? Just melt butter in the microwave and mix panko through with heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Storage: Leftover Tuna Casserole keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days. It does thicken and become less creamy as it sits (pasta continues to absorb surrounding liquid). Because of the dairy in this casserole, it isn’t a great candidate for freezing and thawing. The milk solids will separate as it thaws, resulting in a grainy texture with some separation, and the pasta bloats and becomes mushy.

Nutrition