A childhood classic that should be in every recipe repertoire, this Tuna Casserole is nostalgic and comforting and creamy and delicious. It’s always a family favorite for a reason!
If you are a tuna casserole lover, you’ll also love my Instant Pot Tuna Noodle Casserole!
Classic Tuna Casserole
I think one of my favorite things about winter is my love for comfort foods. Now don’t get me wrong – I’ll eat comfort food year round, but when it’s cold outside, it’s just the best.
One of the comfort food meals that has been making its way to our table a lot lately is this Tuna Casserole. This is one of those old school, nostalgic recipes. I’m sure everyone has the version that their mom or dad made growing up. (But I actually don’t remember my mom ever making tuna casserole growing up!)
And while there are a million ways to make this famous casserole, I think you’ll really love this version.
Ingredients
- Noodles: The classic noodle to use is egg noodles. You could swap in another short cut pasta, though, like rotini or penne.
- Olive Oil: The oil is used for cooking the onion and mushrooms. Feel free to swap in avocado oil, vegetable oil, or another oil of your choice. You could also use butter.
- Onion: I love the flavors this brings. You can always dice it super small if you are worried about chunks of onion.
- Mushrooms: I like to use baby bella or crimini mushrooms, but white mushrooms are a great choice, too.
- Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup: I don’t always love to use condensed soups, but this recipe is an exception. It really just adds to that classic flavor! I like cream of mushroom best, but you could always swap in cream of chicken or cream of celery soup.
- Tuna Fish: Canned tuna is perfect for this recipe.
- Cheddar Cheese: I like cheddar cheese the best, and it is definitely the most classic, but feel free to experiment with other cheeses!
- Peas: Frozen peas are best here. If you have fresh, that will work as well, but I think canned peas will end up too mushy.
- Sour Cream: The sour cream really helps to make the creamy sauce.
- Potato Chips: My favorite are the thinner potato chips versus the chips with ridges.
How to Make Tuna Casserole
Start by cooking your noodles. I always use wide egg noodles, as I think they are the best for this recipe. Cook them to al dente, according to the package instructions, then drain them.
While the noodles are cooking, you can make the filling. Start by sauteing mushrooms and onion. I like to use crimini mushrooms (I think they have great flavor) but you can also use white button mushrooms.
Then it’s as easy as combining all of your ingredients. Condensed cream of mushroom soup, tuna fish, half of the cheese, frozen peas, sour cream, plus the cooked mushrooms and onions.
Stir it all together to combine it well.
Now you can add in those noodles that you cooked.
Pour all of this into a 9×13-inch baking dish. (If you don’t need to feed a lot of people, this recipe is easy to cut in half, also!)
Then you cover it with aluminum foil and bake it for about 15 minutes. You don’t need to actually cook anything, but you want to make sure it is heated through.
Once it has baked for 15 minutes, remove the Tuna Casserole from the oven and top it with the remaining cheese.
Then sprinkle on the crushed potato chips. We usually use just regular potato chips, but I think sour cream and onion or a cheddar potato chip would be fantastic!
Return it to the oven, uncovered this time, and bake it until the cheese is melted, about 10 more minutes.
Tips and Tricks
- I always use tuna that is packed in water. I have used both albacore and regular chunk light tuna and both work just fine.
- Like I mentioned above, this recipe is super easy to cut in half and bake in an 8×8-inch square casserole dish. You will just need to watch the bake time, as it will heat through a little quicker.
- While I love, love, love the crushed potato chips on top, I have seen tuna noodle casserole topped with everything from crushed ritz crackers to panko bread crumbs. This is super easy to change up, depending on your preferences.
- You can store this in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, covered in an airtight container. If you want to freeze it, transfer it to a freezer safe container. Don’t top it with the cheese or potato chips when you freeze it. Cover it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bake according to the directions, topping it with cheese and potato chips after it has been heated through.
More Comfort Food Recipes
Easy Chicken Divan
Braised Country Style Ribs Recipe
Beef Tips and Gravy
Baked Ravioli
Classic Homemade Beef Stew
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Tuna Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 oz dry egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 2 10.75 oz each cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 2 5 oz each cans tuna fish, drained
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup crushed potato chips
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta until it is al dente, about 8-10 minutes.
- While the noodles are cooking, preheat the oven to 425ºF. Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and heat the olive oil. Add the onion and the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft and the onion is translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine the condensed soup, tuna fish, 1 cup of the cheese, the peas, the sour cream, and the cooked mushrooms and onions. Stir to combine.
- When the noodles are done, drain, then add to filling mixture. Stir gently to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
- Cover the casserole with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and the crushed potato chips. Return to the oven and cook uncovered for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Julie says
I was looking for a way to jazz up my boring tuna casserole recipe….the onions, mushrooms, and sour cream make this recipe a keeper. Thanks!
Marlene Anderson says
I just joined your blog and tried your tuna casserole it was so easy to make and it was so good. This will be a favorite at our house. Looking forward to more good recipes thank you.
Deborah says
I’m so glad to have you here, and so glad you liked the casserole!
Pat from Chicago says
Included everything but the mushrooms. I love them, but no one in the house will eat them. I just added more onions. It was fantastic! Thank you!
Deborah says
I’m so glad that it was a hit!
Katerina says
Not a fan of canned tuna, but I am a Rachael Fan. Let’s all banned together and make fun of everyone else for a change 🙂
Judy says
OK, this sounds so good! I love Rachael Ray too, and pretty much all of her recipes that I have tried are fabulous. Can’t wait to try this one too!
Patricia Scarpin says
I love pasta with tuna, Deb! This is delicious!
JennDZ - The Leftover Queen says
That looks really good!
Honestly I am a fan of Rachael as well. She is completely self-made which to me really says a lot about a person! Although I don’t watch her show all the time, I do enjoy it when I do see it, and obviously she is a success, I don’t see many other food personalities with her clout! I actually wrote a big post about her on my TravelCloseup blog.
Janet says
Tuna Casserole is secret favorite of mine (also Tuna a La King on Toast!!). This one looks a little more sophisticated (which is strange coming from Rachel Ray)… I will have to try it.
Mandy says
your pasta looks appetizing! And I love recipes that I have all the ingredients in the pantry like this one. 🙂
Val Alvarez says
Dee-licious! I added red bell pepper, green onions, broccoli instead of peas & cilantro because they were in the fridge & needed to use it up, but still delicious. My hubby loved it. Will make again!
Anh says
A great change for tuna casserole! 🙂
Katie B. says
You know what, I’ve been longing for a tuna casserole lately. Don’t ask me why, because I can’t explain it – but this recipe looks like an excellent candidate!!! 🙂