Tuna Casserole is the ultimate comfort food!
Craving comfort food? When it’s dreary outside, the fridge is bare and I need a satisfying dinner in a hurry, what comes to mind? Mom’s Tuna Casserole!
Mom’s Tuna Casserole checks all my boxes: simple pantry ingredients, to the table in 45 minutes, and delicious every time. Although I know this simple recipe off by heart, I looked it up on EatInEatOut and, OMG, it was not there! I can’t believe I missed sharing this staple for casserole lovers. My apologies for all the lost yumminess… enjoy.
This time around I had a can of Cream of Cremini and Wild Mushroom soup on the shelf – I loved it. You can use any cream soup you like; chicken, broccoli, celery, go wild. They each contribute a unique flavour and I’ve tried them all and each one is delicious.
Now my thoughts on elbow macaroni, I know, not a trendy pasta shape. You can swap out for penné or fussili, but good old macaroni is the bomb. I have used all the store brands, but have settled on the one most pros like – Barilla. Not a sponsor (shout out), but I love it and recommend it.
I use a 1.5 qt round baking dish for this recipe and it serves up to 6 smallish servings. You can easily double the recipe to serve 8 in a larger 2.5 qt oval dish. Sometimes I add a cup of blanched broccoli or fresh baby spinach right into the casserole mix. It’s a great way to sneak in the veg so you don’t have to make sides!
Mom’s Tuna Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 1 284 mL can condensed cream soup – mushroom, chicken, celery, broccoli
- 1 170 g can flaked light tuna
- ½ cup milk
- 1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup shredded old cheddar cheese, divided
- ¼ tsp EACH salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, just to al dente.
- In a bowl mix cooked pasta, soup, tuna, milk, onion, ½ cup cheese and spices. Pour mixture into a greased 1.5 qt. casserole dish and sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese on top.
- Bake for 30 minutes until bubbling.
OPTIONAL: add up to 1 cup blanched broccoli or baby spinach
Notes
I made this with cream of mushroom and added some fresh mushrooms to it. It was simple, quick and delicious!
I made this and it turned out delicious. I do have an aversion to canned soup so I sauteed fresh chopped mushrooms in butter and added 1cup of chicken stock, 1 tbsp corn starch and about 1/4 c of milk.
Love that idea Catherine! Thanks for coming back to tell us about it!!
Can I used ground lean chicken with this
I don’t think so.
Then it wouldn’t be tuna caserole, would it?
This was amazing thank you so much for the receipe! (I did add more cheese because I have a cheese addiction LOL)
Thanks Melissa, I have it memorized… I love it too much!
Was very good, thank you, I have tried making this recipe exactly the same, with mushroom soup, but I made it with hamburger, was excellent, tastes like a cheeseburger
I love that you made your own mushroom sauce Catherine
Is that 1 3/4 cups macaroni or 3/4 cup
That is 1-3/4 cups. Most of the time I even go up to 2 cups cooked.
This is the 3rd time I’m making it! The family loves. My daughter wishes that she could bring it as a school lunch . I didn’t have red onion, so I’m trying it with a bell pepper. See how it goes!
This recipe sounds delicious, I’m going to try it tonight.
Does it last well enough for next day leftovers?
For 2 people I have left overs. It serves 4 -5.
We have 3 people and if we pace ourselves we can get 2 meals out of it. It’s great cold too, like tuna macaroni salad!
Try sliced olives in the mix. Delicious
Great recipe! Thank you!
Not a can of soup to be found in my pantry, so I sautéed some onion,
Leeks, garlic, frozen peas and green beans in some olive oil and added a bit of Alfredo sauce to thicken. Topped the casserole with ground crumbs from a baguette gone hard. And a bit of feta. Went for some colour with some thinly sliced red pepper on the top.
I hope they like!!
One of the first things we learned how to make in home ec class circa 1972. Still a Family favorite. In the oven as we speak. The leftovers are great cold too!
What is 284 ml. And 170 g.?
These are metric measurements. 284 mL is about 9.5 oz. and 170 g is 6 oz.
My husband never liked Tuna casserole, made it for my kids & bragged about it! Until 1 day I made it for him… ended up liking it as well. Definitely make this one more often!
So glad you loved it as much as I did, as a kid, and still do today!!
Can you make this with canned salmon
I think so. Tell me how it turns out!
I made this exactly to the recipe. Except I didn’t measure the cheese, used white onion, and 2 cans of solid tuna.
It was awesome!
Does “old” cheddar mean aged?
Extra Sharp
I just have to ask, what is old cheddar cheese? Is that just aged, so a sharp or extra sharp?
Mine is about to go in the oven!!
Extra Sharp