During elementary school, my Mom and Dad would sometimes forget to put lunch money into my account. So on the days I couldn’t get a hot lunch, the lunch ladies would offer me a simple tuna sandwich. Back then, I truly despised tuna so I’d skip the sandwich and go hungry until I could get home and stuff my face with one of Dad’s delicious turkey sandwiches. Sad, but true.
I look back on this memory and think about how I wish I had the taste buds of an adult as a child because these days I find myself LOVING tuna. From honey mustard apple tuna salad to jalapeño cheddar tuna melts, I can’t get enough of the inexpensive, protein-packed amazing flavor that tuna brings to meals.
A couple of years back my bestie and I were talking about traditional recipes that we had growing up that could be made a little bit better for you. She suggested that I make a healthy tuna noodle casserole, as that was one of her favorites growing up. So I gathered up my reusable bags, headed to Trader Joe’s, threw around my tiny red cart like a woman on a mission and filled it to the brim with plantain chips (hi, I’m obsessed) and delicious ingredients for this healthy tuna noodle casserole.
What’s in tuna noodle casserole?
If you haven’t had tuna noodle casserole before, then you might be wondering what the heck it is. Traditional tuna noodle casserole is made with cream of mushroom soup, egg noodles, peas and of course tuna. Most people top it with breadcrumbs or even potato chips for a crunchy topping. It’s creamy, savory, and absolutely delicious!
Everything you’ll need to make a healthier tuna noodle casserole
I say, why not make tuna noodle casserole from scratch with better for you ingredients? My recipe is healthier, customizable and doesn’t involve any canned soup. Plus it’s EASY! To make this healthy tuna noodle casserole recipe, here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Pasta: feel free to use any kind of noodles you’d like. I prefer shells, large elbow noodles, or bowties for this recipe. If you are gluten free, please feel free to use your favorite gluten free noodles.
- Butter: a little goes a long way in helping flavor and break down the onions and mushrooms, but also to make a slurry parmesan gravy sauce to coat all the pasta
- Veggies: we’re adding white or yellow onions (I find that white onions are best in this recipe), sliced baby bella mushrooms, and peas in this recipe.
- Herbs & spices: you’ll also need garlic powder and thyme, which creates an amazing depth of flavor and savoriness in this recipe.
- Flour: you can use all purpose flour, whole wheat flour or an all purpose gluten free flour in the sauce. Coconut flour and almond flour will not work.
- Milk: you have the option of using whatever milk you’d like. I have only tested this recipe with unsweetened almond milk, but I think skim milk or unsweetened cashew milk would work well.
- Cheese: parmesan cheese creates the perfect amount of sharp flavor melted into the sauce.
- Tuna: you’ll need two cans of tuna for this recipe. Make sure you drain the cans before adding the tuna to the casserole!
- Breadcrumbs: I still kept the delicious crunchy topping because who doesn’t love a good crunch? If you are gluten free, feel free to use gluten free breadcrumbs, gluten free potato chips that have been crushed up, or gluten free crushed crackers (Simple Mills crackers would be delish!).
Doesn’t it look down right FABULOUS? I was so elated about this tuna noodle casserole that I pretty much kept the entire pan to myself for the entire week, I reheated leftovers for lunch and dinner and gobbled up every last bite.
SO FREAKING GOOD. AND CREAMY. AND SAVORY. AND HOMEMADE! AND HEALTHY too. What more could you want?!
Customize your tuna noodle casserole
This easy tuna noodle casserole is great for customizing to your taste preferences as well! Here’s what I can recommend:
- Choose your veggies: if you’re not a mushroom fan, feel free to skip and add something like green beans or spinach instead. I think peas are a MUST in this dish, but you can also skip them if you’d like.
- Make it gluten free: make sure to do is use gluten free pasta noodles, gluten free all purpose flour and gluten free breadcrumbs (or substitute crushed up gluten free tortilla chips, potato chips or crackers).
- Go dairy free: simply use vegan butter, a dairy free milk of choice and dairy free parmesan cheese.
Freezer-friendly tuna noodle casserole
That’s right, this lightened up tuna noodle casserole is easy to make ahead of time and freeze for later! If you want to make this tuna noodle casserole ahead of time, simply:
- Make the recipe as directed, except do not bake the casserole.
- Put the casserole into a freezer container pan such as these, cover the container, then place it in the freezer until ready to bake.
- Once ready to bake, thaw out the casserole in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, bake as directed!
More amazing comfort foods
- Buffalo Tuna Melt Stuffed Peppers
- Pesto Mushroom Chicken Lasagna Roll Ups
- Blow Ya Mind Cheddar Broccoli Chicken Pot Pie
- Stovetop Southwest Tuna Mac and Cheese
- Incredible Caramelized Onion Spinach Chicken Pasta Bake
Get all of my delicious comfort food recipes here!
If you make this healthy tuna noodle casserole, be sure to rate the recipe below and leave a comment! You can also follow me on Instagram and tag #ambitiouskitchen. Enjoy – xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 10 ounces dry pasta shells (or use rotini, fusilli, or whatever pasta you’d like)
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 white onion, diced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour (or whole wheat flour or all purpose gluten free flour)
- 1 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or cashew milk or regular milk)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 (5 ounce) cans tuna, drained
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- For the topping:
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, gluten free if desired
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Spray a 2-quart baking dish or 9x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, or grease with olive oil or butter.
- First boil the noodles until al dente, according to the directions on the package. Once done cooking, drain and set aside.
- Cook your mushrooms: Place a large pot over medium-high heat and add in 1 tablespoon butter. Once butter melts, add in the mushrooms, onions, thyme and salt and pepper. Stir occasionally until mushrooms and onions are cooked down about 4-6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
- In the same skillet you cooked mushrooms, add in 2 tablespoons of butter and place over medium heat. Once butter is melted, whisk in a little bit of the flour and then slowly add in milk, a little bit at a time, alternating with the flour and vigorously whisking away any lumps. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes stirring every so often, until the sauce thickens up. If it gets too thick, add in ¼ cup more milk.
- Once thick, turn off the heat and stir in garlic powder, parmesan cheese. salt and LOTS of freshly ground black pepper.
- Stir in cooked noodles, mushroom and onion mixture, drained tuna and peas. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour mixture into your prepared baking pan.
- In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs with melted butter. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top of casserole and bake for 20-30 minutes. Serves 6.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on September 10th, 2019, and republished on April 18th, 2022.
This was delicious! And exactly what I wanted. Full of veggies and creamy and savory and relatively easy. Only change is I added some garlic powder to the bread crumbs on top. Highly recommend.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
This was a good recipe but needed a bit more flavor as it was a little bland. I sprinkled some paprika and more cracked black pepper on the top before baking. The next time I make it, I may add some Dijon mustard to the sauce before mixing in the noodles and tuna etc. Thank you…a good recipe to use with some minor alterations.
Be sure to add salt to taste here, too, as that will bring out the flavor 🙂 Let me know how it goes with those add-ins!
Slimy and dry, this did not work for me, and I resent the fact that I can’t easily print your recipies. Why make it difficult for people?
Hi! I’m not sure what could’ve made this both slimy and dry at the same time. Did you drain the tuna before adding? Did you cook the mushrooms down enough? And was your cheese sauce cooked on too high of a heat? I provide entirely free recipes that are also free to print, just with a quick extra step for printing. You’re always welcome to unsubscribe at any time!
I started out following the directions; 1/4 cup of flour was way too much flour and the sauce came out much too thick, I ended up needing to add quite a bit more liquid. Also, I found the flavor to be a bit bland and pasty; so I had to season it up quite a bit. I used a fair life, nonfat milk, I used a high protein pasta, I didn’t have any mushrooms, so didn’t use them, but substituted for some chopped up bell pepper. Regardless, by the end, I did all kinds of things to it to at least salvage it to the point of satisfactory.
Sorry to hear that! 1/4 cup flour is pretty standard for a simple sauce like this one, but it can thicken too much if the heat is too high. I always recommend salt to taste in dishes like this so that it’s seasoned to your liking! The mushrooms cooked in butter also adds flavor, which might’ve been missing here.
Have made so many tuna casseroles over the years and THIS is THE ONE! I switch between frozen peas and frozen green beans – both are great!
Your recipes truly never fail! This was so comforting and scrumptious without feeling super heavy/rich. I used feta instead of Parmesan and crispy onions instead of breadcrumbs since I had both. Turned out wonderfully!
Yay!
Oh boy just trying this and it delicious 😋
So glad you enjoyed!
Love this recipe and make it often. So easy and nutritious but also flexible! I add spinach or carrots, usually double the recipe and it’s such a crowd pleaser – especially in the colder months. Definitely a win. Thank you!
Perfect! This one’s great for customizing 🙂 glad it’s a favorite!
Going to try this week and was curious if I didn’t want to use Parmesan if you had any thoughts? I need it to be dairy free and I’m not a fan of imitation cheese. I’ve had success with mayonnaise based dairy free tuna noodle casserole recipes but would like to try yours where the mushrooms create much of the sauce.
Hmm I haven’t tested this without making a parmesan sauce, so I’m not 100% sure what I’d swap in here to have it turn out similarly. Sorry!
Hi! This was delicious!
I didn’t have cheese or mushrooms, and it was still delicious without them!
I’m glad you still loved it!
My family loves this tuna casserole! I have tried several but keep coming back here, so I thought I should leave a note. This works very well with brown rice pasta and flour. I also substitute celery for the mushrooms since one of my children does not like mushrooms, but I am sure they are delicious and a more traditional ingredient here. Than you, Monique!
Amazing! So glad this one’s a hit with the family!
excellent tuna casserole. The best I have ever had, I’d say
So happy to hear that!
I’ve been making this for years and it never disappoints! Hearty, healthy and delicious.
So happy to hear that!
Made this for my husband tonight as he’d mentioned liking tuna casserole as a kid. It was very easy and quick (even with it being the first time). He loved it. And it was very nice looking. Looked just like the picture.
So happy to hear that!
Looking forward to making this for my parents on high protein,
low salt diets. What is the sodium content please?
Hi! I don’t include sodium content in my recipes because it can really vary depending on the brands used and any “salt to taste.” Feel free to use low sodium products throughout this recipe and reduce or omit any extra salt to keep it lower in sodium!
I loved this! but the prep time sure was not 10 min! It probably took me an hour to cut the mushrooms and onions, make the pasta, etc. I also had bought frozen yellow fin tuna filets, which I baked with some butter, salt, pepper and some dill. I flaked that and use an equivalent amount compared to the canned tuna. I also used LOTS of cracker black peppercorns, love using that in everything (huge difference between the ground pepper in the cans!) get a pepper grinder and the whole peppercorns! Great recipe, made for a friend who was getting some breast cancer removed. Just a gesture and hope she enjoys it as much as I did! I doubled the recipe so we both can enjoy!
So delicious and a great, comforting meal for a healing friend! I count any cooking steps (like making the pasta) as “cook time” instead of prep 🙂