Easy Tuna Casserole Recipe

4.45 from 9 votes

This cheesy casserole is delicious!

Sometimes, you need a comforting meal that makes you feel like you’re having a cheat day. Don’t feel bad about it: We found a way for you to have your comfort without sacrificing nutrition! Ooey, gooey, cheesy baked perfection is what you’ll get with this Easy Tuna Casserole recipe. It mimics the delicious, creamy taste of tuna casseroles from days gone by, but this lightened-up version is much healthier than anything that was whipped up in your grandmother’s kitchen. Best of all, it is packed full with tuna, so you’ll enjoy the benefits of omega 3 fats and lean protein while warming up with this delectable dish.

Traditional tuna casseroles have a tendency to be greasy, fattening, and all-around unhealthy. They also gets a bad rap for being an “old-fashioned” dish, or something most people have little use for these days. Despite its less-than-stellar reputation, sometimes you get a hankering for the comfort foods from your childhood! That’s when it’s time to turn to this Easy Tuna Casserole recipe.

Cheesy and Delicious

You won’t believe that a meal this cheesy could also be healthy! Our Easy Tuna Casserole recipe is the perfect recipe to turn to when you’re looking for a tuna meal that’s out of the ordinary. Tuna is a great source of lean protein, but plain old tuna salad gets boring time after time. It’s also not always the right option when the weather is cold and blustery.

Mixing tuna with noodles and cheese gives this dish a rich, indulgent feel without all the unappealing aspects from other tuna casserole recipes. Instead of regular macaroni (which uses refined white flour), we opt for whole-wheat noodles. They contain plenty of complex carbohydrates to keep you feeling fuller for longer. We also snuck some veggies into the dish–mushrooms and peas–but don’t worry, this dish is so cheesy no one will notice!

The other big change we made was to ditch the condensed soup. Most traditional casserole recipes use canned condensed soup, like cream of mushroom or cream of chicken. While there’s nothing wrong with cooking using that ingredient, it does happen to be very high in fat and sodium. Instead, we used low-fat cream cheese and milk to get the same result with significantly more nutrition.

If you are looking for a fun dish to bring to a party or office event, or you know your kids will love a gooey tuna casserole, try our Easy Tuna Casserole recipe. It’s a great lightened-up version of the comfort classic that everyone expects.

4.45 from 9 votes

Easy Tuna Casserole Recipe

This tasty and budget-friendly meal is perfect for a busy weekday, with nutritious ingredients both kids and adults will enjoy.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Yield 6 people
Serving Size 1 cup
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author SkinnyMs.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups whole wheat noodles cooked, macaroni was used in this recipe, egg noodles also will work
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion small, diced
  • 8 ounces mushrooms sliced, white or button (wipe clean)
  • 9 ounces solid white albacore tuna cans, in water, shredded (add tuna and water)
  • 1 cup green peas frozen
  • 8 ounces cream cheese low-fat, softened
  • 1 cup milk low-fat
  • 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese reduced-fat, shredded (recommend block cheese)

Instructions

  • Preheat over to 375 degrees.
  • Note: If desired, add additional cheese to the top of the casserole before baking.
  • Cook noodles according to instructions on the package or al dente.
  • In a medium skillet add oil and sauté onions and mushrooms over medium-low heat until mushrooms begin to release moisture, about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine sautéed onions and mushrooms and all remaining ingredients, reserving 1/2 cup cheddar cheese for the top.
  • Add the tuna mixture to a 3 quart casserole dish or 9" baking pan, top with the 1/2 cup of remaining cheddar cheese. Bake 15 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered, or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 600mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g |
SmartPoints (Freestyle): 13
Keywords Budget-Friendly, High Protein, Kid-Friendly, Seafood

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43 Comments

  1. This looks delicious and the calories/carbs are not that bad!  I would assume to bake at 350 degrees?  I think I'll try my hand at this except leave out the peas…never have liked them.  Thanks for posting!!

        1. Cheryl, Freezing the casserole is fine but be sure to allow it to cook down and then defrost in the fridge before eating.

  2. my husband hates mushrooms and peas i love them so this sounds good..but what are some alternatives to put in

    1. Sandra, So sorry! Try using a little chicken or vegetable broth…always a good choice to prevent drying out. Keep us posted!

  3. Think I'm going to try to adapt this to the slow cooker.  No idea if it will work, but a lot of baked type foods do.  Has anyone else done this, and if so, what worked for you?

  4. Made this tonight.  Forgot to buy the mushrooms.  Woops.  It was pretty dry at the end.  It barely filled my 9×13 pan and was VERY shallow where it did.  I sprayed the glass pan with Pam before throwing it in the oven.  It has great potential, but needs some tweaking.  I threw in some pepper with my onion cooking and then it needed a little salting to taste before eating.  I'll have to try it with mushrooms and maybe throw in some fat free milk to help make it a little more creamy.

    1. Incidently, I used whole wheat egg noodles instead of macaroni.  I'm wondering if you should up the noodles, but with the lack of wet/sauce, I don't think it would have worked.

    2. The recipe calls for a 9" square pan, not a 9"x13". I baked mine in a 9" square and it was a perfect amount. I used egg noodles as well. It was a bit dry…am wondering if a little more milk would help?? The broth could be good too. Any ideas out there?
      Thanks.

  5. Can this be frozen? I'm expecting our first baby soon and trying to prepare meals ahead of time 🙂

  6. just took it out of the oven, it's pretty good but not sure i would make this on a regular basis. I used fat free cream cheese and it seemed to melt just fine which was a nice surprise. i just used a whole package of egg white noodles and they have a super fun texture. guess the real verdict will come when the husband tries it! 🙂

  7. I like Tune casserole, but now I LOVE IT! This is one of my favorite receipes, packed with protein!

  8. Easily can be made gluten free, going to try it Dairy free too as am allergic. Sounds yummy.

  9. Thank you for posting this recipe — Tuna Noodle Casserole is my husband favorite childhood dish and I never make it b/c it is soooo unhealthy. Will be trying this recipe this weekend!

  10. When I added this recipe into my weight watchers etools, I get 11 pts per serving at 6 servings? why are my pts so much different from yours.

    This is how I entered it. Making it tonight.

    •4 oz (dry) Barilla whole wheat elbow macaroni
    1 jalapeno
    1 1/2 cups diced zucchini
    •2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    •1 small yellow onion, diced
    •8 ounces sliced mushrooms, white or button (wipe clean)
    •2 (4.5 ounce) cans solid white Albacore Tuna in water, shredded (add tuna and water)
    •1 (8 ounce) neufchatel package cream cheese, softened, low fat
    •1 cup low-fat milk
    •2 cups sargento reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

    Read more at https://skinnyms.com/tuna-casserole/#1bY37xDqWdtAY

  11. I make this with macaroni (1/2 box Barilla ww) cooked with two cups frozen peas & carrots & whole lot poured into collander to drain. Saute 8 oz pkg mushrooms, sliced, with 1/2 cup minced onion in dutch oven, make roux when mushrooms cooked by adding 2 TBL flour to tiny bit of oil left in pan and 1 cup milk, then lower heat to low and add one six oz cup plain Greek yogurt, one 8 oz pkg neufchatel cream cheese, which is lower in fat than reg cream cheese, and 1 cup shredded mozzarella, which is naturally lower in fat and finally two cans tuna and the cooked macaroni & peas & carrots.. I prefer white cheese to yellow

  12. I opt'd to replace the peas for fresh leaf spinach, to add a little color I added red, yellow and green peppers.

    1. SMH, 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni yields about 4 cups cooked. 1-3/4 cups egg noodles equals 4 cups cooked.

  13. OMG! I love this recipe! Made it with the same exact ingredients except added a lot of garlic. Read comments about it being dry so I combined the milk and cheeses in a pot on the stove to melt before adding and baked it covered the entire time….came out perfect!!!

  14. For freezing, do I cook first and then freeze, or thaw uncooked casserole and then bake? Thank you.

    1. Joanne, I recommend freezing uncooked, thaw in the fridge then bake. You can bake first but it might tend to dry out.

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