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This simple and easy Healthy Tuna Casserole is so good it will be a winner at your dinner table. Packed with flavor, filling, and the perfect dish that can be enjoyed warm or cold. Ready in less than an hour, this tuna casserole will definitely get on your weekly dinner menu.
If you have tuna sitting in your pantry and you aren’t sure how to make a meal out of it, make this healthy tuna casserole. It will be your go-to pasta dish when you aren’t in the mood for chicken or beef but want to add some protein to your dish. This easy tuna casserole is so flavorful and filling, it can be served as a full meal without having to worry about what sides to serve with it. Make this healthy casserole recipe all year one that even the kids will love.
Why you will love this recipe
- Filling: No need to make any sides for this tuna casserole. It can be served as your main dish, plus it will be just enough to keep you full and satisfied.
- Delicious: This tuna casserole is quite tasty. You will have a taste of tuna plus a rich creamy garlic pasta combined with mustard to make a unique-tasting dish.
- Great to enjoy for days: It is one of those pasta recipes that you can keep in the fridge and enjoy for days. It is just as good served cold as it is warm.
Ingredients you will need
Printable versions of these ingredients can be found further down below in the recipe card.
- Pasta: any pasta of your choice will work. You may use any shape as well. Use gluten-free if needed, and try to use healthier pasts like lentil pasta if needed. Wide egg noodles will work great.
- Kosher salt, to taste:
- Frozen green peas: use frozen peas, as opposed to canned peas. They taste much better.
- Frozen Corn: If you do not have frozen corn, you may use canned corn.
- Olive Oil: Use any oil of your choice if you do not have live oil
- Onion: we used cooking onions, but you may use white or sweet onions.
- Garlic cloves: Use fresh garlic if possible for the best flavor.
- Cornstarch: If you do not have cornstarch or you prefer not to use cornstarch, you may use flour but the consistency will change.
- Vegetable broth: Vegetable broth works best, if you must you may use chicken but we do prefer vegetable broth.
- Milk: any milk you decide to work with is fine, 2% works well. Almond or cashew milk works too, but the thickness and flavor will vary slightly.
- Dijon Mustard: If you do not have dijon, you can use yellow mustard.
- Lemon Pepper seasoning
- Freshly grated sharp white cheddar cheese: Yellow cheddar works too and there are other types of cheese you can use like shredded mozzarella, havarti, or fiesta blend.
- 3x 4 oz cans unsalted albacore or skipjack tuna in water, drained well: if you do not care for tuna, you may use chicken.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: Other toppings can be crushed tortilla or french-fried onions.
- Optional, to garnish: fresh thyme or parsley
How to make this tuna casserole
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
Cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions, then drain
and transfer to an oven-safe dish together with the frozen peas and corn. - Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion for 4-5
minutes, then stir in the garlic. - Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 3 tbsp broth until no
visible lumps. - Pour the remaining broth over the onion and garlic. Add in the slurry, milk,
mustard, lemon-pepper seasoning, and half of the cheese. Stir continuously
for a couple of minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta and frozen vegetables and stir in the tuna.
Sprinkle the dish with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs. - Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until bubbly and tops are golden. Garnish with
fresh thyme leaves, if desired.
Recipe notes and tips
- Use canned tuna in water and not oil. If you aren’t a fan of tuna, you may use other canned seafood or chicken.
- Don’t care for peas? Skip it if you like.
- Use any noodle or pasta of your choice. Egg noodles would work great as well.
- Instead of panko, add store-bought french fried onions.
- To store, place in a sealed container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: store the leftovers in a sealed container and store them in the freezer for up to one month.
- You may use a different cheese mix blend. So consider adding a combination of cheddar, mozzarella, and about 2 tablespoons of shredded parmesan.
Frequently asked questions
One of the main reasons why your tuna casserole comes out too dry is that you didn’t add enough liquid and the pasta absorbed the liquid you initially added. If that happens, either add in a bit of broth or milk, toss, and pop it back in the oven for a few more minutes.
The great thing about tuna casserole is that it can be served either hot or cold. It will just be a personal preference. Either way, it is served, it will be a crowd-pleaser for those who love tuna.
That would be a personal preference if you would like to chop some hard-boiled eggs and add them to the tuna casserole. We didn’t add eggs and we love it without. Up to you.
Place your leftover tuna casserole in a sealed container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. To freeze, place in a freezer-friendly container and freeze for up to 1 month.
More casserole dishes that you may like
- Spaghetti Casserole Recipe
- Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Taco Casserole
- Easy Zucchini Casserole
- Healthy Green Bean Casserole
- Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
- Butternut Squash Casserole
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Healthy Tuna Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta, GF if needed
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups milk of choice
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
- 1 cup freshly grated sharp white cheddar cheese, divided, use lite or fat-free
- 12 oz unsalted albacore or skipjack tuna in water, 3 (x 4 oz) cans, drained well
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Optional, to garnish: fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions, then drain and transfer to an oven-safe dish together with the frozen peas and corn.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion for 4-5 minutes, then stir in the garlic.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 3 tbsp broth until no visible lumps.
- Pour the remaining broth over the onion and garlic. Add in the slurry, milk, mustard, lemon-pepper seasoning, and half of the cheese. Stir continuously for a couple of minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta and frozen vegetables and stir in the tuna.
- Sprinkle the dish with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until bubbly and tops are golden. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves, if desired.
Video
Notes
- Use canned tuna in water and not oil. If you aren’t a fan of tuna, you may use other canned seafood or chicken.
- Don’t care for peas? Skip it if you like.
- Use any noodle or pasta of your choice. Egg noodles would work great as well.
- Instead of panko, add store bought french fried onions.
- To store, place in a sealed container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: store the leftovers in a sealed container and store in the freezer for up to one month.
- You may use a different cheese mix blend. So consider adding a combination of cheddar, mozzarella, and about 2 tablespoon of shredded parmesan.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We didn’t find it too liquid – it was perfect. We did add an extra tsp of slurry after the sauce got warmed through, because it didn’t really thicken. I think the slurry needs to be added in the end, when the sauce is already warm, and not together with the rest of the ingredients.
We didn’t have so many peas, so we only put in half a cub, but added a whole head of broccoli and half a jar of jalapenos, because why not 🙂 Very yummy!
Thanks for the feedback Josefine.
I made this today and it was so good! I did make a few tweaks based on the reviews of there being too much liquid. I followed the recipe as given and did the following: I added 2 tbsp of butter to pan when I was sauteing onion and garlic (because butter makes everything delicious!), I used 16oz of noodles vs 12oz, I added 3 tbsp of cornstarch to the slurry, and 4 cans of tuna since I was using extra noodles. The extra cornstarch did thicken up the sauce, so I added a bit more milk until it was a creamy consistency, and it turned out marvelous! This was a delicious casserole and so easy to make. Definitely getting added to my rotation.
So glad you loved it.
I have to concur with the others. way too much liquid, about a 1/2 inch in a 9×13 dish. Tuna casserole that I’ve had usually has a more creamy texture, not watery. The flavor is good. I will try again with half the broth and milk and maybe a little more corn starch. I should have read the comments before making.
Hi Mark. I made this a few times and I didn’t experience that. I have a video attached to the recipe as well. You can see the rend result wasn’t watery so it’s really odd. I will make it again just to be 100%
The flavour was great but I think too much liquid? 2 cups of broth and 2 cups of milk? I ended up using 1 cup of milk but it still seems runny. Also added more pasta than 12 oz
Tasted good but very runny. Should have added more cornstarch?
2oz noodles? We used about 6 oz.
Omg, I am sorry. It’s 12 oz, not 2 oz. That explains it. I will fix it now.
So runny! What happened? I even used 16 oz of pasta. Maybe next time I’ll only do 1 cup of milk? Any suggestions?
505 calories per what? A cup,?