Tuna Casserole is right up there with meatloaf and scalloped potatoes when it comes to comfort food. It’s been a family favorite for generations!
Flaky tuna is tossed with egg noodles, peas, celery, and mushroom soup. We top this with a buttery breadcrumb topping and bake it until it’s bubbly. Serve this easy recipe with some quick Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits and a side salad for the perfect meal!
We love belly warming casserole recipes. From Cheesy Chicken Casserole to Beef Taco Casserole, there is something so comforting about a bubbly warm meal from the oven.
It’s no surprise that this tuna noodle casserole has held its place at the top of so many family favorite recipes. It is easy to make, but it’s affordable, tasty, and versatile. Nearly any leftovers or any kind of veggies can be tossed right in! Be creative with this tuna fish casserole recipe!
It can go from prep to presentation in no time at all! Need a quick potluck entrée for work or a neighborhood event? This is hands down the best tuna noodle casserole recipe out there!
How to Make Tuna Noodle Casserole
The best part of this tuna casserole recipe is that it takes minimal effort to put together and once it’s in the oven, toss a simple caesar salad to round out the entire meal. Simply combine the ingredients while the noodles are cooking and mix everything together. Sprinkle on the crumb topping and pop into the oven!
Be sure to cook the noodles ‘al dente’ since they will continue to cook in the oven and you want to avoid mushy noodles! I make this tuna casserole with egg noodles, but you can use any kind of pasta you’d like. We use simple vegetables including onion, celery, and peas. This recipe is great with any veggies including leftover Green Beans, roasted carrots or steamed broccoli.
This tuna casserole recipe can be made ahead of time as well so it’s great to prep now and bake later. The creamy, cheesy, mushroom sauce that will satisfy even the pickiest of palates!
How to Freeze Tuna Casserole
It is super easy to freeze a casserole, before or after it’s cooked! It is important to fully thaw a frozen casserole before putting it in the oven to avoid overcooking some areas and undercooking others, especially if the casserole was uncooked to begin with. Just leave it overnight in the fridge to allow it to thaw safely and then bake until it reaches 165°F.
If the casserole is fully baked, let it cool completely before wrapping it and freezing it. Another great tip is to line assemble the casserole in a foil lined pan and freeze after it’s been fully wrapped and sealed. Save that casserole pan for another use! Properly wrapped and sealed casseroles can be frozen for up to 6 months without damaging flavor or texture.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups egg noodles measured dry *approx 6 ounces
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- ⅔ cup frozen peas thawed
- 1 (5 ounce each) can tuna drained
- 1 (10.5 ounce each) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine topping ingredients and set aside.
- Boil noodles al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
- Cook onion and celery in butter until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- In a large bowl combine noodles, onion mixture, peas, soup, milk, cheese, tuna and parsley. Mix well.
- Spread into a 2qt casserole dish and top with crumb topping.
- Bake 18-20 minutes or until bubbly.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Dinner
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Came out great and both my daughters loved it (I used elbows). If you do not like mushrooms you can use cream of chicken instead. Easy, fast and great for lunch or dinner!
20 deg. in NC,my belly’s full of warm goodness !!!!
I’m giving it 4 stars only because it was very blan, but this was an excellent base recipe. The next time I make it I’m going to add some of my preferred seasonings and I think I’m going to take someone else’s advice and double the soup. The sautéed onions and celery made it stand out from the other recipes I’ve seen. Thank you again.
(I haven’t had Tuna Casserole since I was a kid, and tonight was my first time making it myself.)
Yummy and easy to make!
I really enjoyed making this dished and I am making it again tomm. Thanks
Are the parsley measurements for fresh or dried?
We use fresh parsley in this recipe, Nora!
Great tuna casserole recipe. However, we recommend two cans of tuna and a full cup of peas. We also added a bit of garlic powder to the mixture.
Would this work with cream of mushroom soup instead of condensed?
I have only tried this recipe as written so I can’t say for sure Kelly. Using cream of mushroom soup instead of condensed will make it a little less flavorful, If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Made this today during a snowstorm. I have traditionally made the Betty Crocker cookbook recipe for about 20 years now. Followed directions for this recipe exactly, but doubled everything. If you use the entire bag of egg noodles and the largest tuna can, then just do 2X everything else with onion/celery chopped very fine, it’s perfection. Think this is my new recipe! This was wonderful comfort food for a cold day. Hubby and teen daughter both went back for seconds, and I have leftovers for tomorrow. Doesn’t get any better. YUM!
My whole family said pass on this one, including myself. It was kind of dry. I’m not even sure why it wasn’t liked; it wasn’t awful but it wasn’t good. I grew up eating Tuna casserole so I wanted my kids to try it for the first time. My 15 and 13 year old ate it all but said no thanks when I asked if they would eat it again.
This casserole was delicious! I wasn’t sure about the noodles measurement so I just cooked a box of bowties. My concern was that I didn’t have enough sauce. It turned out very good but I like things like this “goopy!“ I will definitely be making it again but I will double the soup, tuna and the milk. I love the sautéed onions and celery in this recipe! Definitely a keeper for me!
Good morning, I hope you are of the mindset that no questions are stupid…LOL. The recipe calls for three cups of noodles, is the measurement taken before or after cooking the noodles?
That’s a great question :). This is 3 cups of dry (uncooked) egg noodles which is about 6 ounces. Enjoy Debra!
Cream of mushroom soup or condensed mushroom soup?
This recipe uses condensed mushroom soup.
Can you tell me the difference between “condensed mushroom soup” and “cream of mushroom”? I don’t think I’ve ever seen condensed mushroom soup.
Most soups at the store will be condensed soups which are any soup that you would add water or milk to make the soup as is. A cream of mushroom that is not condensed will be a “ready to eat” soup. Often you will find the word condensed tucked somewhere on the can (for example Campbell’s soup has the word condensed in light writing on the top of the can). I hope this helps!
freaking amazing will be making this again thank you
would any pasta work? I’m out of egg noodles but I have macaroni.
Any pasta should work just fine in this recipe Leah!
Very good , easy to fix
I love Holly’s recipes…her go to comfort foods, like lasagna, casseroles, etc., just hit the spot…easy to do, usually ingredients that are found in our everyday fridge and pantry.
Thank you ever so much for sharing your practical, easy peasy, but delicious dishes….
Can you prep this the day before you bake it?
I often make it a few hours ahead of time. My concern with overnight is that the noodles would soak up the sauce and become mushy overnight. I would suggest either using a different noodle (like rotini) or cooking the noodles and keeping them separate and mixing them in just before baking.
Great recipe. I did change to suit our needs. Added a extra soup can and extra milk. Added an extra can of tuna. Had no celery so sautéed small broccoli flowerettes with the onion and a bit of garlic power and celery salt and pepper. Thanks for the quick and delicious recipe.
This was awesome, my husband said it was the best casserole I’ve ever made and he loves my cooking. Thanks for a great recipe. I love your recipes, they are always good.
Thanks for a great recipe