Tuna Noodle Casserole

This Tuna Noodle Casserole is classic comfort food, but with an upscale flavor. It’s fresh and delicious with no processed canned or boxed ingredients.

When writing tuna recipes at some point you figure that you really need to do something traditional. Something that people think of when they think of tuna. Comfort food. Yep, you guessed it… Tuna Noodle Casserole.

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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

a fresh take on casserole

I didn’t want gloppy cream of mushroom soup with tuna. No. And, no chips on top; no crumbled Ritz; no crispy stuff.

I want fresh. tasty. I want real. Did I mention tasty?!?!

I did a little research and found a recipe that was originally from Bon Appetit Magazine. I found the recipe through The Bitten Word, where they said, “ the Eliza Doolittle-fication of this dish is a huge success.”

This casserole is so good that I’ve even made a No Bake Tuna Casserole version. Be sure to check it out!

Island Trollers

Sustainably caught one at a time in the beautiful waters of the North Pacific. Each can is raw packed and cooked only once.

This is sushi grade albacore in a can, the finest you will find anywhere in the world.

They’re right.

This is a sophisticated casserole. One that tastes like you took some time and put some love into it. I (of course) changed the recipe a bit.

I wanted to use the Island Trollers Smoked Alder Pacific Albacore. And, I wanted to bump up that smokiness so I used smoked Fontina cheese.

Really, I can explain this in one word, yum!

It’s exactly what I wanted: comfort food that’s fresh and real with whole ingredients.

One that is good enough for Island Trollers Wild Pacific Albacore.

leftovers

Want to check out all of my Island Trollers recipes on Pinterest

My father-in-law says that the true test of a good dish is the leftovers.

If the leftovers are good cold, then the dish is great!

And, I can say with full certainty that this was great straight out of the fridge. I was going to heat it up, but by the time I got through taste testing, the leftover were all gone.

Here’s the casserole all mixed together and ready to go into the pan and then into the oven to get all hot and bubbly

Related recipes

Tuna Chowder (where I talk about starting to work with Island Trollers)

Island Trollers Summer Salad with Fresh Corn Cakes

Tuna Melt

Island Trollers Habanero Tuna Tacos with chimichurri and grilled pineapple slaw

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Tuna Noodle Casserole Recipe

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Debi

Island Trollers Tuna Noodle Casserole with Leeks and Fresh Thyme ~ a fresh spin on the old classic recipe

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 381 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 2 large leeks white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
• ¼ teaspoon ground celery seeds
• Coarse kosher salt
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• ½ cup half & half
• 8 ounces Wide Egg Noodles
• ½ cup coarsely grated Smoked Fontina cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 7 ounce can Island Trollers Smoked Alder albacore tuna undrained
• ½ cup frozen peas thawed

Instructions

 

• Grease an 8×8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.
• Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and ground celery seeds to saucepan; sprinkle lightly with coarse kosher salt. Cover saucepan and cook until leeks are tender but not brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
  ¼ cup unsalted butter, 2 large leeks, ¼ teaspoon ground celery seeds, Coarse kosher salt
• Add flour; stir 1 minute. Gradually add milk and half and half; simmer until mixture thickens slightly, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season leek sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
  ¼ cup all purpose flour, 2 cups whole milk, ½ cup half & half
• Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, stirring occasionally. Drain noodles, reserving ¾ cup noodle cooking liquid. Transfer noodles to large bowl.
  8 ounces Wide Egg Noodles
• Pour leek sauce over noodles. Add grated Fontina cheese and thyme and stir to blend; Fold in tuna, breaking apart any large chunks. Fold in peas.
  ½ cup coarsely grated Smoked Fontina cheese, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, 7 ounce can Island Trollers Smoked Alder albacore tuna, ½ cup frozen peas
• If necessary, add reserved noodle cooking liquid one tablespoon at a time, until mixture is moist and creamy. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
• DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover with foil and keep refrigerated.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake noodle casserole, covered with foil, until heated through, about 20 minutes if freshly made or 30 minutes if chilled. Remove foil. Continue to bake, uncovered, until top is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 10 minutes longer. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Notes

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Nutrition

Calories: 381kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 13gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 147mgPotassium: 354mgFiber: 3gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1261IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 230mgIron: 2mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword casserole, noodle, tuna

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