Tuna Noodle Casserole from Scratch

SUBMITTED BY: MVANWINKLE PHOTO BY: IMVINTAGE

"No canned soup mix in this recipe! Mushrooms, onions, celery, and peas all go into this comfort casserole."

PREP TIME	30 Min
COOK TIME	45 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 15 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 6 servings

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INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, divided
1 (8 ounce) package uncooked medium egg noodles
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained and flaked
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

READ REVIEWS (150)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter a medium baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the onion, celery, and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, until tender. Increase heat to medium-high, and mix in mushrooms. Continue to cook and stir 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan, and whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk, and continue cooking 5 minutes, until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in tuna, peas, mushroom mixture, and cooked noodles. Transfer to the baking dish. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl, mix with bread crumbs, and sprinkle over the casserole. Top with cheese.
Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

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REVIEWS

MORE MEMBER REVIEWS

Reviewed on Mar. 29, 2006 by cookinggardener

The flavor seems to come primarily from fat and salt. To make this more healthy and more flavorful, try the following: 1. spray the dish with non-stick spray rather than using butter 2. reduce the butter for sauteeing to 2 teaspoons 3. replace the milk with 1 cup of reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth and 1 cup of low-fat evaporated milk 4. add 1/2 teaspoon (or more) of crushed marjoram or thyme leaves 5. add 1/8 teaspoon of ground red pepper to the roux and reduce the butter in the roux (you can cut in half and still successfully blend in the flour). Also, add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg to the roux. This is standard for a white sauce. 6. Use light cheese for the topping, preferably highly flavored such as asiago or extra sharp cheddar.

24 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Feb. 24, 2006 by Ms. Janna V

YUM!!! Very Impressed. I am very bored with searching for recipes only to find bulk ingredient is canned soup. I enjoy cooking from scratch, and this is perfect. If you are used to canned soup tuna casserole, and you try this recipe, you will NEVER go back. I changed very few things and just finished this for dinner. I didn't add mushrooms (not a fan), and added just a sprinkle of celery seed. I also used a little more cheese, more like a 1 1/4 cup of cheese. I added half of the cheese to the "cream" and melted it like you would do with macaroni and cheese. Then added the other half to the top like the recipe called for. I read other reviews mention the use of crackers instead of bread crumbs, and I did that as well. This recipe is going into the keep pile, THANKS!

12 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Mar. 15, 2006 by Ruby's Mommy

I think that with two changes this is a five star recipe. Add a chicken boullion cube to your cream sauce, which adds a LOT of flavor, and top with french fried onions instead of the bread crumbs. I will NEVER go back to casserole out of a can--this is absolutely delicious and the leftovers are even better!

9 users found this review helpful

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