As far as I know, I have never had tuna casserole in my life, until last week. Liz Edmunds, also known as The Food Nanny, was on a local television show called Good Things Utah. On the show she made a recipe from her cookbook, The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner. The recipe she shared was for tuna noodle casserole.
Growing up, my only experience with tuna was mixed with some mayo and pickle then put on bread with lettuce. While dating my husband, he introduced me to tuna mixed with miracle whip then placed inside a grilled cheese sandwich.
After seeing her recipe, I decided it was time for me to give tuna casserole a try. Now, I didn’t add any vegetable to the casserole. The corn didn’t sound tasty to me with the tuna, and my family won’t go for the peas. I also used the crushed potato chips for my topping.
I thought the casserole tasted just like a grilled tuna and cheese, except with noodles instead of bread. Next time I think I’ll up the amount of noodles to at least 4 cups. The noodle to sauce ratio was too saucy for me. I also think I’ll always stick with the potato chip topping. It was excellent.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked egg noodles or other pasta (I reccomend at least 4 cups)
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup milk (see Note, I used 1/3)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 (6-ounce) cans chunk light tuna, drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained, or 1 cup frozen peas (I left this out)
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- TOPPING (choose one of the following):
- 3/4 cup soft white or wheat bread crumbs mixed with
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- or 3/4 cup crushed potato chips
- or 3/4 cup french fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Cook the noodles according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, heat the soup, sour cream, milk, and mayonnaise in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir to combine. Mix in the tuna, corn or peas, 1 cup of the cheese, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Stir until heated through.
- When the noodles are cooked, drain them and put them back in the pot. Add the tuna mixture. Mix, and pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheese on the casserole and top with the topping of your choice. Bake 10 to 15 more minutes. Serve with a green salad and corn bread. Serves 6.
Notes
Add more or less milk to make the sauce the desired consistency.
This is the original photo for this post. The above was updated in May 2016.
16 comments
oh, and I used a pound of shell pasta as well. great!
oh, and I used a pound of shell pasta as well. great!
I made this about a week ago but forgot to comment. I loved it!! My husband liked it too–had seconds even, but said something was weird about it and he couldn’t figure out if it was the mushrooms and the onions (I used french fried onions on top) or the tuna and the onions or…? He liked the separate flavors, but I’ll have to try a different topping to see if he likes a different one with the other flavors. I wouldn’t change it though ha ha! We didn’t put any veggies in either. This did taste like a tuna melt! Awesome. Thanks for sharing!
I made this about a week ago but forgot to comment. I loved it!! My husband liked it too–had seconds even, but said something was weird about it and he couldn’t figure out if it was the mushrooms and the onions (I used french fried onions on top) or the tuna and the onions or…? He liked the separate flavors, but I’ll have to try a different topping to see if he likes a different one with the other flavors. I wouldn’t change it though ha ha! We didn’t put any veggies in either. This did taste like a tuna melt! Awesome. Thanks for sharing!
I saw this on GTU too but then forgot about it and could not find later. It reminded me of the TNC I made for my foods class in college that I loved so much. Since you don't want the corn or peas you might could add broccoli if your family like that.
I saw this on GTU too but then forgot about it and could not find later. It reminded me of the TNC I made for my foods class in college that I loved so much. Since you don't want the corn or peas you might could add broccoli if your family like that.
I made this tonight too. I left out the corn and used the fried onions as a topping. It was delicious!
I made this tonight too. I left out the corn and used the fried onions as a topping. It was delicious!
Thank you for posting this recipe, I saw it on GTU and wanted to try it! It was delicious! I used ritz crackers on top since I didn’t have any thing else and the 4 cups of pasta was perfect. Everyone ate it up and we fought over the left overs. 🙂
Thank you for posting this recipe, I saw it on GTU and wanted to try it! It was delicious! I used ritz crackers on top since I didn’t have any thing else and the 4 cups of pasta was perfect. Everyone ate it up and we fought over the left overs. 🙂
I made this the other night and blogged about it too. It was way good! I used an entire pound of shell pasta, added the corn (which was really good) and used white bread for the topping. It was soooo yummy.
I made this the other night and blogged about it too. It was way good! I used an entire pound of shell pasta, added the corn (which was really good) and used white bread for the topping. It was soooo yummy.
Never had tuna casserole either, but you made this one sound worthy of a try. (It was just the potato chips – I’m a sucker for potato chips. No, it was the referrence to the grilled cheese – I’m a sucker for grilled cheese.)
Never had tuna casserole either, but you made this one sound worthy of a try. (It was just the potato chips – I’m a sucker for potato chips. No, it was the referrence to the grilled cheese – I’m a sucker for grilled cheese.)
I grew up on tuna noodle casserole, much less fancy than this one! Ours was just noodles, cream of mushroom, tuna, and milk. Occasionally we added cheese too. I think that this one sounds really yummy! I like the crunchy topping.
I grew up on tuna noodle casserole, much less fancy than this one! Ours was just noodles, cream of mushroom, tuna, and milk. Occasionally we added cheese too. I think that this one sounds really yummy! I like the crunchy topping.