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
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I add a pinch of pepper flakes and a dash of Worcestershire….perfectly delicious
best I’ve ever made.
could this be doubled and put into 13×9 pan?
Yes, you can double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13 pan. You may need to add about 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time since it will be a bit thicker. Bake until hot and bubbly and the topping is golden. Let me know how it turns out!
This is really good, made it today. After reading reviews about the seasoning and other recipes I added a t of dijon and a t of thyme to the base. Definitely would make again. Great cheese/creamy level.
good food
Just what I needed. Rough week. Needed quick, simple comfort food, nothing spicey, just warm and gooey and good! Used cassava pasta for gf husband, and splurged on organic gf canned mushroom soup. Doubled the recipe for plenty of leftovers for the two of us.
Can I put casserole together in the morning & bake early evening?
That should be fine. I’ve tried it a few hours early and it’s fine, but overnight tends not to work as the noodles begin to soak up the sauce and become mushy. I would cook the noodles al dente and be aware the may be a little softer. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
This turned out amazingly for the first time I’ve ever tried it. The taste and texture were excellent, and my guest had seconds and took a serving home!
I used frozen diced onions, thawed and sautéd with the fresh celery. I have to say it took more time and energy than I expected to pull together, but it was totally worth it. I will definitely make this recipe again.
I made this last week and this week and each time my wife and I ate it up, only having a bit of leftovers the 2nd time. It’s delicious, savory, and flavorful… and very easy. We did not have onion or celery, so we briefly cooked some spices in butter instead, and it worked out fine (minced onion, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, a mushroom umami seasoning from Trader Joe’s, and dried parsley). I’m not very skilled in the kitchen, so I appreciate simple and hearty dishes like this.
I made this last night. Tweeked the recipe, 6 cups al dente noodles 1 stick butter, large diced onion, 6 small drained cans of.tuna,full bag of.peas, 2 cans mushroom soup 20 oz milk 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese. I did the noodles, after draining g put 1/2 stick real butter in. with California garlic salt, mixed taste tested. then I did instructions but except topping put everything in the pot I did butter 1/2 stick, and noodles, with the onion celery peas milk soup tuna parsley. put in 4 quart glass casserole dish topped with more cheese and baked. I did not do the topping, this was very tasty, tha k you for this recipe. darc
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Darcey!
Made this tonight it was really good! Honestly i haven’t made this dish in at least 15yrs. Definitely will make again, I didn’t have any bread crumbs for toppi g so I substituted crispy fried onions, it was tasty 😋
pretty easy to make you definitely have to add your own seasoning it’s very bland but nothing a little salt and pepper cured 😂
Great simple recipe. I used 2.cups of egg noodles and 1 whole cup of milk. Delicious!
A wonderful recipe, especially if you grew up with it like I did. I sometimes omit the cheese or use parmesan and I make sure to season during each step and it turns out perfect each time.
I use elbow macaroni and add broccoli, cooked al dente for a more veggie friendly meal. I add 1 cup off small cubes cheddar cheese mixed in. the tuna will not overpower this cheeze so if you love cheeze its a winner.
So very good whether I use cream of mushroom or cream of chicken! Such a great recipe and thank you for sharing. Just like my grandma’s recipe.💕
I must have missed something! This was very bland!!
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe as much as we do Linda. Thank you for trying it.
They said it was bland. Responding with “sorry you didn’t love it” is really dismissive and ignores the clear issue they brought up.
the recipe as written does not contain ANY seasoning, thus it’s bland.
Is that on purpose or an error? If it’s the former you need to note that in the recipe. A total lack of even just salt and pepper is astonishing.
I am genuinely sorry when people don’t love recipes. They have been tested time and time again in our kitchen to make sure the results are good, but ultimately everyones tastes are different. This recipe has 4.94 stars from over 2,000 people so it is typically a hit and one of our tried and true recipes.
To answer your question the recipe is correct as written. The cream of mushroom soups adds plenty of salt and this is generally enough salt, especially with the cheese. If someone used a low sodium soup or prefers more salt, the recipe as written may not have had enough for their tastes but they are welcome to add more salt.
I hope this answers your concerns Regina.
That’s exactly what I was thinking, between the soup, cheese and butter it adds a lot of seasoning. As always adjust seasoning to taste. lol
I really like the recipe except that I’m gluten free, not really a problem but sometimes I really have to change some ingredients. This was just great no changing of any ingredients, no I used can peas next time I might get the frozen.
Very tasty recipe. I subbed Cream of Chicken soup as I was out of Mushroom. I also added crushed potato chips to the topping. Creamy and crunchy. My hubby is currently on his third helping.
We always use potato chips! Classic
What are the recommended heating instructions after freezing?
For a whole casserole, thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed. You may need to add about 10 minutes to the cooking time.