Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole

Homemade classic comfort food at it's best. This easy to make tuna noodle casserole features a Parmesan topping. Scaled-down for the smaller household, it comes together quickly and will become a favorite easy weeknight meal.

Jump to:

• 📋Ingredients
• ❄️Storage
• 📖Comfort Foods
• 🖼️Photo Instructions
• 📖 Recipe

Introduction and My Rating

Tuna noodle casserole has been on my to-do list for several years. Anytime I ask for suggested recipes from readers, it comes up.

But I had a few problems. 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. I can replace the soup, but it is too much work for many of the readers and requires a trip to the market. So it became do the recipe with the can of soup or not do the recipe.

Now that can of soup is not evil, but I tend to overreact to cooking with cans of soup. I enjoy reading recipes, and the classic crockpot 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 and four times more work.

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.

📋Ingredients

The Tuna

Use the tuna you love. My wife and I both grew up with water-packed Chicken of the Sea, and that is what I used. Feel free to change that out.

Also, this recipe uses twice as much tuna as many recipes. If I'm making tuna casserole, you will be able to find the tuna.

You could also use shredded cooked chicken if you wanted.

The Soup

Other "cream of" soups will be fine. We always use celery, but mushroom or even chicken will work. We are using the thickening power to make it creamy.

Vegetables

We like to add celery and onion along with peas. Those are very typical. The celery and the onion need some precooking since the casserole doesn't cook that long.

Some people like mushrooms, but not really in our house. There are food allergies and just not a taste we normally add.

The Topping

We love a Parmesan bread crumb topping. I have accused my wife of using a bigger pan so there could be more topping.  I would call the topping a feature of this recipe. It is just so good.

❄️Storage

Once cooked, this casserole is good refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3-4 months.

You can make this ahead in an oven-safe pan. Prepare up to the point of cooking but seal well and freeze for up to 3-4 months. Be sure to defrost the frozen casserole overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.

📖Comfort Foods

Old Fashion Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Simple Chicken Pot Pie

🖼️Photo Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.

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

Chop one rib 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 two 5 oz cans tuna drained.

Place 9 by 6 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 sit for 5 minutes before serving.

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📖 Recipe

Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Homemade classic comfort food at it's best. This easy to make tuna noodle casserole features a Parmesan topping. Scaled-down for the smaller household, it comes together quickly and will become a favorite easy weeknight meal.

4.41 from 20 votes

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 servings

Ingredients

US CustomaryConvert to Metric

• 2 cups dry pasta - about 8 oz, about 4 cups cooked2 cups dry pasta - about 8 oz, about 4 cups cooked
• 1/2 onion - medium chopped1/2 onion - medium chopped
• 1 rib celery - chopped1 rib celery - chopped
• 1 teaspoon butter1 teaspoon butter
• 2 cans tuna - drained2 cans tuna - drained
• 1 can cream of celery soup - 10 oz can1 can cream of celery soup - 10 oz can
• 1/2 cups milk1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup frozen peas1 cup frozen peas

Topping

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter - melted2 tablespoons butter - melted
• salt and pepper to taste - about 1/2 teaspoon each for mesalt and pepper to taste - about 1/2 teaspoon each for me

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Cook 2 cups pasta to Al Denta per package instructions.
  
• Chop one rib 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.
  
• 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 two 5 oz cans of tuna drained. Place 9 by 6 baking dish that is sprayed with PAM.
  
• 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.
  
• Bake until nicely browned. About 30 minutes. Remove and allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.
  

Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

1. This is a smaller recipe and uses a 9X6 inch baking dish. A double recipe uses a full-size 13X9 casserole dish.
2. I use more tuna than some recipes and you may cut it in half if you want.
3. We don’t eat mushrooms in our house due to food allergies. If you want mushrooms, cook them along with the celery.
4. Other “cream of” soups will work like mushroom or chicken.
5. You can refrigerate for 3-4 days after cooking.
6. Good frozen for 3-4 months.
7. You may make ahead and freeze for 3-4 months or refrigerate for 2-3 days. If frozen, thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight before baking.

Have More Questions?Make it Perfect First Time and Every Time. Don't miss out, check the full post above. Almost every recipe includes easy step by step photo instructions so you can visualize yourself cooking this recipe along with helpful tips and options.

TO ADJUST THE RECIPE SIZE:You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition

Calories : 402kcalCarbohydrates : 42gProtein : 28gFat : 14gSaturated Fat : 7gCholesterol : 63mgSodium : 838mgPotassium : 491mgFiber : 4gSugar : 7gVitamin A : 908IUVitamin C : 16mgCalcium : 182mgIron : 3mg

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course :American|Main Course

Cuisine :American

Publisher's Note: Originally Published January 16, 2017. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.