August 26, 2006

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Recipe: Tuna Noodle Casserole

Sometimes I make food that has lots of great flavors and is time consuming and impresses people. Most of the time, however, I make stuff that's quick and basic and easy. This one is a classic in a lot of families, but everyone seems to have their own spin on it. I will say, however, that mine has impressed many people who were formally unsure about the tuna noodle casseroles of their past. And I've even converted a few from their recipe to mine... Again, nothing fancy, but I like it.

One reason I make this so often is that all of the ingredients can be stored for a fairly long period of time, so I try to keep everything around for that "all of my meat and vegetables have gone bad and there is nothing to eat" day.

This one has been in my family for who knows how long. I think each generation has done something a little different. My sister, Kate, and I make it just a bit differently (she tops with cheese, I top with breadcrumbs). I switched from cream of celery soup to cream of mushroom (on accident one time, but ended up preferring it, so it stuck). But this is my version, only slightly adjusted from that of my mom.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Serves 6 of people. Cooking time: 40 minutes.

The ingredients:

  • 6 to 8 oz. wide or medium egg noodles (about half a typical bag)
  • 5 to 6 oz. frozen peas (again, about half a typical bag)
  • 1 can tuna (I use white albacore)
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • breadcrumbs to cover top

The algorithm:
Cook noodles according to package (ie, in bowling water) and add peas for the last few minutes. While the noodles cook, mix can of tuna (drained) and mayonnaise in 2 quart size casserole dish. Blend cream of mushroom soup and milk and heat through. Add the soup to the tuna and mayo mixture. When noodles and peas have finished cooking, add them to the creamy mixture so that the mixture covers the noodles and peas evenly. Top with breadcrumbs. Bake uncovered at 425 for 20 minutes.

Posted by Cara Bohon at August 26, 2006 11:15 PM | Comments (5) | EatFoo 1.0 Posts


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Gross. I'm generally anti-casserole. They're so gloopy and unpresentable, and while sometimes the flavors end up tying together well, why not just let the one eating the food do the combination?

Posted by: Barzelay at August 27, 2006 1:17 AM


Thanks for the nice comment, David. I know it doesn't look pretty, but it tastes good, and that's really the most important part. As far as the eater doing the combination - I'm not sure you'd ever get mayonnaise, cream of mushroom soup, and milk on the plate with the other stuff in order to mix it all together... I like casseroles for their "one dish meal" ease. You know, you focus your time and energy on preparing that one thing, and that's it.

Posted by: Cara Bohon at August 27, 2006 4:13 AM


I agree that a lot of casseroles are unneccessary and not even that good. A bad casserole is one in which the flavor can easily be reproduced in another form (i.e. broccoli and cheese casserole, enchilada casserole, turkey and stuffing casserole, etc.)

That being said, I don't think tuna noodle casserole fits into that catagory. Im a big fan of it as it was a standard during my childhood and has become a comfort food for me. Yours looks quite good.

Posted by: Adam Rugg at August 27, 2006 8:10 PM


I've never eaten a casserole. Strangely enough, I thought by now I would have tasted what seems like a dining staple (right?) in the everyday American home, but no. It sounds cheesy and comforting and very good.

I'm all for let-it-jive-in-one-pot cooking. Sometimes, simplicity is the key. I'm sure one could dress up tuna casserole by cooking them in little ramekins and then sussing the petit casseroles with some greens, if presentation is an issue. I go for flavour over fanciness every single time.

Posted by: Natasha D'Souza at August 28, 2006 10:01 AM


Thank you, Cara, for helping me make tuna noodle casserole. I looked at a few recipes for it, then decided how to make mine. I have put broccoli and onion in mine, it's cooking now.

I am a BIG FAN of casseroles. You can't beat the flavors, when done right, and the comfort factor.

Posted by: colleenkilduff at August 12, 2007 6:51 PM

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