Tuna Noodle Casserole
Tuna noodle casserole is one of my favorite comfort foods from my childhood. It’s a meal that’s nuances differ from household to household, but for the most part, the main ingredients are usually the same. The dish encompasses canned tuna, canned soups like cream of mushroom, chicken, broccoli, or celery, frozen or canned vegetables such as peas, green beans, or sliced mushrooms, as well as cheddar cheese, egg noodles, and potato chips or breadcrumbs sprinkled on top for a crust.
Tuna noodle casserole is a homey dish with humble origins. Apparently, it was invented in the 1940s by Campbell’s Soup Company. Moreover, it gained quite a bit of popularity in the 1950s, most likely because the ingredients were readily available and affordable, but also because it’s a quick and easy dinner to prepare on the fly.
It’s way better than the Stouffers version, I can assure you!
Make sure to prepare the egg noodles al dente because they’ll continue to cook in the oven
Frequenters of my blog know that I’m a big fan of canned tuna. It’s a convenient item to have in your cabinet, and there are tons of tasty recipes that use this versatile ingredient. However, if you’re not into tinned fish, you can always substitute this item with chicken, and it will taste just as delicious. Anyone can omit or adapt the ingredients in this meal to their liking, as it’s one of those dishes that pair well with any number of components. For example, you can switch out the egg noodles for shell or rotini pasta, swap the canned condensed soup for a mornay or béchamel sauce, or simply add jalapenos, corn, or a touch of sherry. As I said, it’s a highly flexible dinner, albeit a bit old-fashioned.
The cheddar Panko crust…
…and the tuna sauce mixed with some tender af noodles
Sprinkle the crust on top and then you’re oven ready
After you have prepared all your ingredients, all there is to do is mix everything and spread the casserole into a baking dish, layer the top with your crust mixture, and pop the meal into your oven for a quick 20 minute bake. You can also freeze a tuna noodle casserole, but I recommend cooking the noodles the day you decide to defrost the casserole and adding them when you’re ready to cook the meal. You can add the noodles to the mixture before you choose to freeze everything, too. However, this will affect the texture negatively, so I would make sure to undercook the noodles a bit when using this method.
The finished product
Filling Ingredients
3 cups of egg noodles
12 oz of tuna in water
15 oz condensed mushroom soup
1 1/2-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2-3/4 cup of milk
1/2-2/3 cup of frozen peas
1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of parsley, minced
I chicken bouillon cube
Pinch of black pepper
(optional): 2 stalks of celery, minced
(optional): Mornay or béchamel sauce as a substitute for the soup
Crust Ingredients
1/2 cup of Panko, crushed potato chips, or Ritz crackers crumbs
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Parmigiana-Reggiano
1 tablespoon of parsley, minced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop a chicken bouillon cube inside of it
Mince the onion and parsley and set aside
Measure the tuna, peas, milk, cheddar cheese, Parmigiana-Reggiano, panko, and condensed cream of mushroom soup and set aside
Cook the egg noodles in the boiling water for around 8 minutes or until al dente
In a skillet, sauté the onion in butter on medium heat for around 5 minutes or until tender and translucent. If you’re cooking with celery, toss the ingredient in during this step
In a large bowl, mix the condensed cream of mushroom soup, milk, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, frozen peas, tuna, a tablespoon of parsley, and a pinch of black pepper with the egg noodles and onions
In a separate bowl, mix the the panko, Parmigiana-Reggiano, remaining cheddar, parsley, and melted butter until fully blended in
Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and top with the crust mixture
Cook for 20 minutes, rotating the pan 10 minutes into the total cook time
Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving
