Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole with Parmesan Topping

Classic comfort food at it’s best. This easy to make tuna noodle casserole with a Parmesan topping will become a family favorite for a great weeknight meal.

Tuna noodle casserole has been on my to-do list for several years. Anytime I ask for suggested recipes, it comes up. But I had a problem. I wanted an easy everyday recipe with great taste. I wanted less than 16 ingredients (yes, there was one). I didn’t want to feed an army. And no hour mixing things.

But my biggest issue was the can of soup. I made several attempts. Nothing I really want to discuss but let’s just say I couldn’t get where I wanted to go without the can of soup. Now the can of soup is not evil, but I tend to over react to cooking with cans of soup. I enjoy reading recipes, and the classic crock pot recipe has at least two cans of soup, an envelope of onion soup mix and several cans of something else. I find it very irritating they are calling this cooking. So to give in to the can of soup is a bit painful but in this case necessary. Any from scratch effort would be at least twice this size.

The “inspiration” recipe is the classic tuna casserole recipe at the Campbell site. Think of it as the basic recipe America loves. Add in my wife’s memory for the buff-up version of the basic recipe, and we have an excellent tuna casserole.

My Rating

A nice solid every day 4. That is as high as tuna casserole goes.

Recipe Notes for Tuna Noodle Casserole

Now, what is my classic tuna noodle casserole? We like to add celery and onion along with peas, but mostly we love a Parmesan bread crumb topping. I have accused my wife of using a bigger pan so there could be more topping. Some people like mushrooms, but not really in our house. There are food allergies and just not a taste we normally add.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook 2 cups pasta to Al Denta per package instructions. Two cups is half of a 1 pound box.

Chop one stalk of celery and 1/2 medium onion. Saute in 1 teaspoon butter over medium-high heat until they are becoming a bit transparent. About 5 minutes.

Mix drained pasta, the sauteed onion, and celery, 1 can cream of celery soup,  1/2 cup milk, 1 cup frozen peas, salt and pepper to taste (I suggest 1/2 teaspoon each), and 2 – 5 oz cans tuna drained.

Place 9 by 5 baking dish. Mix 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons melted butter.

Spread the topping over the casserole.

Bake until nicely browned. About 30 minutes. Remove and allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole with Parmesan Topping

Votes: 9 Rating: 4.67 You: Rate this recipe!

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Classic comfort food at it's best. This easy to make tuna noodle casserole with a Parmesan topping will become a family favorite for a great weeknight meal.

• CourseAmerican, Main Course
• CuisineAmerican

Servings	Prep Time
4 servings	20 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings Prep Time 4 servings 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole with Parmesan Topping Votes: 9 Rating: 4.67 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Classic comfort food at it's best. This easy to make tuna noodle casserole with a Parmesan topping will become a family favorite for a great weeknight meal. CourseAmerican, Main Course CuisineAmerican Servings Prep Time 4 servings 20 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings Prep Time 4 servings 20 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry pasta about 8 oz, about 4 cups cooked
• 1/2 onion medium chopped
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 cans tuna drained
• 1 can cream of celery soup 10 oz can
• 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup frozen peas

Topping

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter melted
• salt and pepper to taste about 1/2 teaspoon each for me

Servings: servings

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook 2 cups pasta to Al Denta per package instructions.
3. Chop one stalk of celery and 1/2 medium onion. Saute in 1 teaspoon butter over medium-high heat until they becoming a bit transparent. About 5 minutes.
4. Mix drained pasta, the sauteed onion and celery, 1 can cream of celery soup, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup frozen peas, salt and pepper to taste (I suggest 1/2 teaspoon each), and 2 - 5 oz cans of tuna drained.
5. Place 9 by 5 baking dish.
6. Mix 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix well and spread over the casserole.
7. Bake until nicely browned. About 30 minutes. Remove and allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

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All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated. Rating is done by clicking on the stars above.

Last Updated

January 16, 2017