Tuna Casserole
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Tuna casserole recipe is what comfort food eats when it’s sad. Creamy pasta with flaky tuna, noodles, and bright peas is the perfect pick-me-up dish!
Tuna Casserole
Tuna Casserole
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Ingredient Notes for Tuna Casserole
- Egg noodles – Wide egg noodles.
- Peas – We use frozen, but canned works too. Frozen peas will be firmer and have a brighter green color.
- Tuna – Canned/drained.
- Condensed soup – We like cream of mushroom or cream of celery for this recipe.
- Milk – Preferably whole milk, but low fat or fat free will also work.
- Cheddar cheese – Shredded. Mexican or fiesta blend is good too.
- Bread crumbs – Panko. Traditional or Italian seasoned are also yummy.
- Butter – Salted/melted.
- Salt & pepper – To taste.
How to prepare the best tuna casserole
Can you make tuna casserole ahead of time?
Yes! I love to prep this a day or two in advance and then pop it in the oven when we’re ready to eat it. This is a perfect meal planning dish.
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Do I have to cook the noodles before baking?
In this recipe the noodles should be boiled first. You can do them al dente (slightly firm) because they will continue to cook in the casserole, but you do not want to add them dry.
What kind of condensed soup for tuna noodle casserole recipe?
We typically use cream of mushroom or cream of celery, but any of the “cream of” soups will work.
Storing your leftovers
How long does tuna casserole with noodles last?
Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days or in the freezer for several weeks.
Can you freeze tuna noodle casserole?
Yes, you can freeze it before or after baking. When freezing before baking it’s best to use a disposable pan (so your baking dish isn’t stuck in the freezer for months!).
Cover tightly with at least two layers of foil. If freezing for an especially long time it helps to also wrap the entire dish in saran wrap. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Can you cook tuna casserole from frozen?
Yes, to cook the casserole from frozen add 45 – 60 minutes to the baked time. Bake covered with foil for the extra initial cook time, uncover during the last 20 minutes.
Tuna casserole tips
🧅 Try topping the casserole with crunchy onions like we do in our green bean casserole recipe.
🔥 Add some heat by stirring in a tablespoon or two of sriracha or Frank’s Red Hot sauce.
🥶 Make your future self happy by whipping up a double batch and freezing one pan for later.
🥕 Try it with mixed vegetables instead of peas, or canned chicken instead of tuna!
More noodle casserole recipes to enjoy
- Baked spaghetti casserole recipe
- Meatball noodle casserole recipe
- Taco noodle casserole recipe
- Pizza casserole recipe
- See all our easy casserole recipes
Other tuna recipes you’ll love
- Tuna pasta salad recipe
- Tuna patties recipe
- Tuna stuffed tomatoes recipe
- See all our recipes with seafood
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How to Make Tuna Casserole
Tuna Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces wide egg noodles
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 10 ounces canned tuna drained (2 small cans)
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup* 10.5 ounces, each
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil egg noodles according to package directions, drain and return to pot.
- To the noodles, add the peas, tuna, soup, milk, and shredded cheddar. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Press noodles into a 9×13 inch buttered casserole dish.
- Mix together the panko crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle over the noodle mixture.
- Bake at 375F for 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbling and browned on top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Tuna Casserole
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Tools we love
- Glass casserole dish with lid – I love this dish, it can go from freezer to oven!
- Metal spatula – We like a metal spatula for getting heavy piles of noodles out easily.
Originally published: 1/11/2021, Updated: 5/15/2025
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It’s a keeper!
I added sautéed onion, mushrooms and red pepper…
I ended up cooking it for 40 minutes.
Definitely will be having it again👍🏻
Didn’t have egg noodles, so I used frozen lasagna rolls. Didn’t have tuna, so I used ground beef. Didn’t have cream of anything soup, so I used marinara. Didn’t taste anything like the recipe implied. Just kidding, everything was perfect, great recipe, would totally make it again. Kudos to the author.
oh my gosh, you had me going for a minute!
lol the one review is priceless I lol 😂 over this , I was like whatttttt 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 always nice to add humor and that was by far the best I’ve seen on many site’s
Good one! 🤣
We loved it!!
Can I use regular breadcrumbs, instead of Panko crumbs?
Regular breadcrumbs should work 🙂
I mixed my Panko with Italian bread crumbs because I didn’t have enough of either, and it was fantastic! Great recipe April!
Seems like a lot of condensed soup and milk…?
I’m not sure what you’re getting at?
I followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect!!!
DELICIOUS. I COOK THIS FOR MY STEP MOM EVERY TIME I VISIT.
Made this for dinner tonight. Added peas, sauteed onion & mushrooms. I didn’t have cream of mushroom, so used cream of chicken. It turned out really great.
I made this yesterday and I needed to adjust my choices due to the fact that it was a very dry texture not creamy enough so I added a cup of half and half in addition to a cup in a half milk I also added a different cheese on top of sautéed onions, mushrooms and mixed garlic 5 cloves of minced to the mixture in addition I chose Parmesan cheese to add as well to the mixture and panko bread crumbs for a salty texture as well as pepper.and garlic and paprika and parsley.
The recipe in itself wasn’t creamy enough so if you want a dried out recipe as per creamy and moist follow the exact recipe. Apologize but my technique for cooking is “trust your gut not the recipe “ your your own artist and creator I added frozen peas and carrots it added a fresh sweetness.
I lost my original recipe that is made of a variety of cheeses with a smoked paprika so I added that as well.
I mixed all ingredients in a Dutch oven pot heated.and proceeded the Al denta noodles and mixed them all together.
The casserole was a huge hit.
I did bake this covered and then added more cheese as well as panko crumbs to the top along with butter sliced thinly in pats
I proceeded uncovered but oven on broil to melt and brown the toppings.
This is gone as of this morning my husband came home from work and polished it off.
I will definitely make this again and as well try it with chicken and mixed veggies for a pot pie casserole.
Thank you for sharing this.
Rude,you took her recipe and destroyed it!
I don’t think she was being entirely rude. It was a dry recipe, not bad but definitely dry. I’d try half/half next time as well. I also added cheese on top g the panko. Meal as a lot of potential but needs some tweaking.
My husband loves me more every time I make this❤️❤️
Can you make a couple of hours ahead of time? Or will end up to dry
I do believe the author mentioned you could make it a couple days ahead and just pop it in the oven when ready. I would add additional milk and/or soup to keep it from drying out. I’m making it today, before we go out, and plan to throw it in the oven when we get home. I’ll let ya know how it turned out! I haven’t made it ahead like this before. But overall, my husband loves this recipe! And I like it too!
I used cream of jalapeño soup and pepper jack cheese. It was very good!
I want to try like this but Where do you get jalapeño soup?? 🤯🤯🤯
Here’s a link to jalapeno soup on Amazon: https://amzn.to/48rtXiw 🙂
Ron – great idea! I like this as is, but there’s nothing wrong with a little kick. Thank you
I have been trying to figure out how to use up my tuna. I am on a quest to use up what’s in the pantry. I had cream of chicken and cream of celery. Used canned peas. Added some sautéed onions. Great recipe!
We cut the recipe in half because it’s just me and my wife. We didn’t have any panko bread crumbs so I thought crushing up some tortilla chips might work and give it some crunchiness. Oh, and added some canned sliced mushrooms to the mixture. It was soooooo good.
I used gluten free pasta gluten free cream of mushroom and topped with crushed plain lays potato chips.
Made it just like the recipe (except for the peas, cause we didn’t have any), and it turned out great. Just like I remembered as a kid. Thanks!
very hood recipe I cut all things in half abd it turned out wonderful
I added sautéed onions & celery. It was so good!
Amazing version of a timeless classic