This Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole is based off of my Baked Tuna Noodle Casserole. This Easy version uses cupboard ingredients, and it’s a No-Bake recipe! Win win!
And, of course, it’s super delicious! (You know it has to be if it’s husband-approved!!)
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Husband Approved
This main dish casserole recipe came about because I wasn’t feeling well one day, and my husband was going to cook for us.
He wanted tuna noodle casserole (find the original baked Tuna Casserole recipe here), but we didn’t have all the ingredients for my recipe.
He looked at Pinterest for another recipe, but most of the recipes he came across had a can of cream of something soup. Not only do we not have any in the house, it just doesn’t taste that good to us anymore.
So, this casserole was created.
Island Trollers Tuna Noodle Casserole
We used the jalapeno Island Trollers Albacore Tuna, which has a light heat to it, definitely not overpowering at all. Any of the Island Trollers albacore Tuna would be great in this; I would especially recommend the garlic or the plain.
Want to read about how I got started loving Island Trollers? Take a look here, at my Tuna Chowder recipe (where I talk about starting to work with Island Trollers).
Don’t drain the juices
And a reminder for those of you who love Island Trollers (like me), if you’re making this recipe with Island Trollers Albacore Tuna, you don’t want to drain off those tasty juices from the can; they’re the juices from the fish itself, not just plain ol’ water or oil.
Those juices are loaded with Omega 3s. So, it might feel a little weird not to drain the tuna, but don’t do it.
I’ve gathered all my Island Trollers Recipes in one easy place on Pinterest for you!
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Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole (no bake) Recipe
Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles
- ½ cup frozen green peas
- 1 can Island Trollers Albacore Tuna, undrained (7.5 ounce)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick)
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon ground celery seeds
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- ½ cup pepper jack cheese
Instructions
- Cook egg noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, stirring occasionally, according to package directions. While noodles cook, place frozen green peas in the bottom of the strainer.
- Drain noodles, pouring the hot water right over the green peas, and reserving ¾ cup pasta cooking liquid. Transfer noodles and peas to large bowl. Add the tuna and all the juices from the can of tuna to the pasta, breaking up the tuna into small pieces. Set aside.
- In the same pot that you cooked the noodles in, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, slowly add the flour, a little at a time, stirring constantly to keep smooth. Reduce the heat to low.
- Slowly pour in the milk, stirring as you add. Simmer over low heat to thicken, about 5-10 minutes. Stir often.
- Stir in the spices (thyme through pepper), to the sauce mixture, and remove from heat. Stir in the cheese until the cheese is melted. Stir sauce mixture into pasta and tuna mixture. If mixture is too thick, stir in some of the reserved pasta cooking water, about 1-2 tablespoons at a time until desired consistency is reached. Taste for salt and pepper.
- Devour!
This sounds fantastic!!! Great weeknight meal!
I haven’t made a tuna casserole is such a long time. Seems like forever, but I’m all for this recipe that is can soup-free! Can wait to try your recipe!
I love tuna casserole, and yours looks amazing!
Tuna noodle casserole is the ultimate comfort food!
Looks like a perfect weeknight dinner to me! My hubby’s been doing a ton of cooking here…I’m having a hard time recovering from the flu. Thank goodness he actually likes to cook too. I need to check out this tuna…I know you rave about it!
This looks beyond delicious! I love that it doesn’t contain any cream soups, too. I need to check out that tuna! Jalapeño sounds wonderful, I always like a little bit of a kick. 🙂
The perfect comfort dish. Love it!
Such a “comfort classic” but without all the processed junk. Love it!
Tuna Noodle Casserole is one of my favorite comfort foods! Your recipe sounds terrific!
Tuna casserole if one of our favorites!! Yours looks really good!
Made it for Dinner. Subed Milk For Cream of Mushroom Soup (Homemade), added some sauteed Mushrooms. Baked it with a Cheddar and Panko Topping. It was great.
What a treat! We were looking for a new recipe to liven up an old favorite, and your recipe did just that! Delish! We made it for dinner last night. We were a little curious about using the pepper jack cheese, but it really was a great addition. We’re keeping this one!
Tuna casserole never disappoints. Delicious, creamy and hearty we loved this recipe!!
Thanks for the recipe, I am pleased not to use soup, I find it too salty. Looks great.