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This tuna noodle casserole is the best… it’s my mom and grandma’s recipe! A creamy, cheesy sauce coats egg noodles, dotted with green peas and flake tuna, topped with melty cheesy and buttery breadcrumbs. This classic recipe is rich and creamy, made from scratch but so quick and easy to throw together. No canned soups here! A true budget meal but indulgent at the same time.
🐟 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Growing up, we ate my mom’s tuna noodle casserole recipe all the time, and it’s still one of my favorites. Mom’s been making it for over 40 years, and her mom made it for her when she was a kid. As Catholics, they had it every Friday (It was that or fish sticks, ha!).
- Even now, whenever I need a quick and cheap comfort food meal from the pantry and freezer, this one comes to mind. I admit, it’s not totally the casserole from my childhood. I upgraded it to be super creamy and saucy, with some veggies.
- This recipe doesn’t use any canned soups like most tuna noodle casserole recipes. No cream of mushroom – just real roux, milk, and cheese!
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Instead of using prepackaged shredded cheese, I recommend buying a block of fresh cheddar and shredding it yourself. Prepackaged shredded and grated cheeses typically contain starches and other fillers to prevent clumping, but they can make the cheese grainy and keep it from melting like it should.
- To be sure the dairy products don’t seize, separate, or curdle, bring them to room temperature before starting your tuna noodle casserole. Also, remove the saucepan from direct heat before incorporating any dairy ingredients, to prevent heating them too quickly.
- Since the noodles get cooked twice (once on the stove, again in the oven) you want to make sure they’re just barely cooked when you take them off the stovetop. This will keep them from overcooking in the oven.
🍴 Recipe Variations
- For a gluten-free tuna noodle casserole, substitute the egg noodles with an equal weight of gluten-free noodles. Replace the all-purpose flour with the same amount of gluten-free flour, too.
- You can use gluten-free breadcrumbs if you can find them, but if not, it’s super easy to make some out of gluten-free bread. Or just leave them out! They are totally optional.
- If you don’t have peas or just don’t like them, you can leave them out. You can also sub basically any other veggie you like in their place. Chopped broccoli? Asparagus? Spinach? Corn? All great options.
🥘 More Delicious Dinner Recipes
- Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Baked Feta Pasta
- Easy, Crispy Chicken Patties
- John Wayne Casserole
- Olive Garden Capellini Primavera
- Garlic Bread Casserole
- Instant Pot Chicken Carnitas
- Hibachi Steak with Fried Rice and Vegetables
- Crockpot Chicken and Rice
- Poppy Seed Chicken
- Jerk Salmon with Mango Salsa
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
- Whole30 Casserole with Chicken, Broccoli, Rice, and Mushrooms (Paleo, GF)
- Healthy Authentic Seafood Gumbo (Gluten Free, Whole30, Paleo, Low Carb)
- Cranberry Rosemary One Pan Chicken (Paleo, Whole30 Option)
- Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole
Best Ever Tuna Noodle Casserole (Just Like Mom Made!)
No canned soup here! This from-scratch tuna noodle casserole is just like my mom (and grandma!) used to make, with a creamy sauce, egg noodles, green peas, and tuna, topped with buttery breadcrumbs.
servings
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large wooden spoon
- colander
- 8×12 casserole dish 2 ½ quarts
- Oven
- medium heavy-bottomed saucepan
- whisk
- Small microwave-safe bowl
- Spoon or small silicone spatula
Ingredients
For the Noodles
- 8 cups water
- ½-1 tablespoon salt
- 8 ounces uncooked egg noodles see Notes
For the Cream Sauce
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour see Notes
- 2 ½ cups whole milk at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley optional
- 1 cup shredded fresh cheddar cheese at room temperature
For the Casserole
- 1 5-ounce can chunk light tuna in water drained, flaked; see Notes
- ¾ cup frozen green peas
- ½ cup shredded fresh cheddar cheese at room temperature
For the Breadcrumb Topping
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs plain or Italian seasoned; see Notes
- 1 large pinch salt more or less to taste
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
For the Noodles
- Add 8 cups water to large pot and place pot on stovetop over medium-high heat. Bring water to boil, then add ½-1 tablespoon salt. Stir to incorporate.
- When salted water begins to boil, add 8 ounces uncooked egg noodles and stir to incorporate. Boil noodles for shortest amount of time indicated on noodle packaging.
- Once noodles have boiled for desired length of time, immediately pour noodles and water into colander. Drain noodles very well, then transfer noodles to casserole dish. Set dish aside.
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit while preparing cream sauce.
For the Cream Sauce
- Add 5 tablespoons unsalted butter to medium saucepan and place pan on stovetop over low heat. Heat saucepan until butter is almost completely melted, stirring butter occasionally.
- Once butter is just melted, add 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour to saucepan. Vigorously whisk butter and flour together until fully incorporated into smooth mixture.
- Cook flour mixture over low heat approximately 1 minute, stirring constantly, until mixture turns golden and begins to bubble.
- Remove saucepan from heat. Slowly add 2 ½ cups whole milk in small increments, whisking constantly to incorporate each addition.
- When all milk has been added, return saucepan to heat and increase heat to medium. Simmer mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture has thickened and begins to bubble.
- Add ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional) to thickened sauce mixture, whisking gently to incorporate spices.
- Remove saucepan from heat. Add 1 cup shredded fresh cheddar cheese in small increments, whisking constantly, until all cheese has been incorporated and melted.
For the Casserole
- Immediately pour prepared cheese sauce over egg noodles in baking dish, then add 1 5-ounce can chunk light tuna in water (drained) and ¾ cup frozen green peas.
- Gently stir ingredients together until well blended and fully covered in cheese sauce. Once incorporated, spread mixture out evenly to cover entire bottom of casserole dish, making sure to reach all sides of dish.
- Place casserole dish in preheated oven. Bake casserole 15 minutes while preparing breadcrumb topping.
For the Breadcrumb Topping
- Place 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave butter in 15-second increments, stirring well between each burst, until butter is melted but not bubbling or boiling. Carefully remove bowl from microwave.
- Add 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs and 1 large pinch salt to bowl with melted butter. Stir ingredients together until well blended, with all breadcrumbs completely buttered.
To Serve
- After casserole has baked 15 minutes, remove casserole dish from oven. Sprinkle ½ cup shredded fresh cheddar cheese across top of dish, covering entire casserole evenly, then sprinkle prepared breadcrumbs evenly over layer of shredded cheese.
- Return baking dish to oven. Bake casserole 5 minutes more or until cheese layer is melted and bubbly, then carefully remove dish from oven and set aside. Let casserole rest 3 to 5 minutes.
- Garnish casserole with chopped fresh parsley if desired and serve warm with preferred sides.
Video
- Tuna: A 5-ounce can of tuna only contains about 3 to 3 ½ ounces of actual tuna once the liquid is drained. You’re welcome to use 2 cans instead of just 1 to make sure there’s plenty of protein.
- Cheddar Cheese: Instead of using prepackaged shredded cheese, I recommend buying a block of fresh cheddar and shredding it yourself. Prepackaged shredded and grated cheeses typically contain starches and other fillers to prevent clumping, but they can make the cheese grainy and keep it from melting like it should.
- Dairy Products: To ensure your dairy products don’t seize, separate, or curdle, bring them to room temperature before starting this recipe. Remove the saucepan from direct heat before incorporating any dairy ingredients, to prevent heating them too quickly.
- Make it Gluten Free: Substitute egg noodles with the same amount of gluten-free noodles. Use gluten-free all-purpose flour instead of regular flour. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs, make some out of gluten free bread, or omit the breadcrumb topping entirely.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 371calProtein: 17gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 831mgPotassium: 280mgTotal Carbs: 32gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gNet Carbs: 30gVitamin A: 730IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 276mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Thank you for this recipe! My moms tuna casserole never used canned soup and I searched forever to find one like this. I remember she used velveeta instead of shredded cheddar and topped it with potato chips. Made it to this recipe with only those substitutions and it took me back to one of my absolute favorite comfort meals as a kid.
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I might add some more tuna. I topped with Cheez-its on 1/2 and potato chips on the other. This makes a lot for 2 people
Yum!
I used almond flour and it never quite blended together. I will try oat flour, has anyone else had any luck with gluten free flours? Very tasty despite this.
We’re glad you still found it delicious!
My husband went back for seconds. Let’s just say he doesn’t normally go back for seconds when I cook!
That’s awesome! I know that made you feel good. 🙂
Okay folks, this one’s a keeper! The only thing I changed was doubling the breadcrumb topping.
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Looking for lower fat, lower cholesterol adjustment for this recipe. Can you substitute smart balance for the butter? Lower fat cheese or vegan cheese? Thanks!
Hi, Kate! You could definitely use a low-fat cheese. We haven’t tried this one with Smart Balance or vegan cheese so can’t say for sure how those subs would turn out. Let us know if you try them!
I have to say this was delicious. I’m not a pea lover but added them anyway. By no means did it ruin this dish for me. My husband loved it as well even though he’s not a tuna lover. He even went back for seconds. Only change was I used 2 cans of tuna. Thank you for a great recipe. Will certainly make it again and again.
We’re thrilled that you enjoyed it so much! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This was wonderful! So much better than with condensed soup! Extra creamy and delicious and nice and cheesy. I grew up on tuna casserole with condensed mushroom soup without cheese. Adding cheese the way my husband’s mom always made it, at his request brought it up a notch but making your cheese sauce from scratch like this took it to the top of the list in comfort foods!
My only other comment is to say that the prep time is more like 20-25 minutes and worth every moment of it!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I made this for my 76 year old father in law while his wife was in the hospital. He doesn’t eat much, and doesn’t really comment on food, but he loved this and talked about how good it was for days!! His wife is away this week so I’m making it for him again.
Used double the amount of albacore tuna because it’s yummy, and only had heavy cream so I thinned that out with some water.
The breadcrumbs on the top are the icing on the cake, and if you like a crunchy topping, I highly suggest doubling the amnt called for (or tripling!) and using Panko if you have it. Not necessary, but I like to take things to the next level 😉
Really SUPER delicious and puts the old school tuna casserole from my childhood to shame!
We are thrilled you and your father-in-law loved this recipe! Hope it brings some comfort and joy while his wife is recovering in the hospital. Thanks for sharing this feedback!
I made this for my 76 year old father in law while his wife was in the hospital. He doesn’t eat much, and doesn’t really comment on food, but he loved this and talked about how good it was for days!! His wife is away this week so I’m making it for him again.
Used double the amount of albacore tuna because it’s yummy, and only had heavy cream so I thinned that out with some water.
Really SUPER delicious and puts the old school tuna casserole from my childhood to shame!