Trying to come up with an idea for a quick and easy dinner that wouldn't require a trip to the market, tuna casserole suddenly popped into my head.
With a quick check of the fridge and pantry, I realized, that I did indeed have the ingredients for tuna casserole - tuna, small pasta shells, an onion, broccoli, peas, cream of mushroom soup, milk, cheese, and potato chips.
This is a great easy tuna recipe for those times you want to keep diner quick and simple.
I love recipes for casseroles because of their make now, bake later versatility.
You can mix it together when you have a few minutes to spare, place it in the fridge, and just pop it into a preheated oven at dinner time.
While the casserole bakes you can prepare a quick salad, enjoy a glass of wine, or sneak in a few minutes of exercise.
After checking with several cookbooks and comparing several recipes for tuna casserole, this is the simple recipe for tuna casserole we'll be having for dinner tonight.
It's really just a jazzed up version of The Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole that appears on the back of the Campbells cream of celery soup can.
Simple Recipe for Tuna Casserole #1
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1-½ to 2 cups uncooked macaroni shells or egg noodles (about 6 ounces)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, finely minced
2 6-ounce cans or pouches of tuna, drained and broken into chunks
1 10-¾ ounce can cream of mushroom soup
¾ cup milk
1 cup frozen peas, thawed or 1 cup chopped broccoli or both, whichever you prefer
1 to 1-½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed potato chips
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F if you plan to bake the casserole right away. Otherwise preheat your oven 10 to 15 minutes before you want to pop it in the oven.
Grease a 1-½ to 2-Quart baking dish. I used a 9-inch pyrex pie plate (affiliate link), but any shallow ovenproof dish will work.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt and cook the pasta until al dente. If you are using broccoli, add it during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and mushrooms, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and cook until they are soft, about 5 minutes or so. Give them a stir every now and then to make sure they don't scorch.
Stir in the soup, milk, cheese, tuna, pasta, peas and broccoli (if using) until just combined.
Top with potato chip crumbs right before baking. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until browned on top and heated through. If your casserole has been sitting in the fridge it may take a little longer to bake; 45 minutes or so.
This easy simple tuna casserole makes 4 to 6 servings and is adapted from the Joy of Cooking (affiliate link)
2/5/09 Tuna Casseroles Update
In my quest for recipe simplification, I recently happened upon this simple recipe for Tuna Casserole in Aviva Goldfarb's deliciously practical cookbook, The Six O'Clock Scramble - Quick, Healthy and Delicious Recipes for Delicious Dinner Recipes for Busy Families, and decided to give it a try.
I liked that it didn't require the vegetable saute step and included an extra serving of vegetables in the form of shredded carrots. In this simple recipe for tuna casserole you just stir everything together and bake. She calls it classic tuna casserole, but there doesn't seem to be much 'classic' about it since it includes shredded carrots, beaten eggs, and Italian-style breadcrumbs in the ingredient list.
We really enjoyed this simple recipe for tuna casserole very much and are happy to have two options from which to choose.
Tuna Casserole Recipe #2
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1-½ to 2 cups uncooked macaroni shells or egg noodles (about 6 ounces)
2 (7 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup peas
1 6-ounce can or pouch of chunk light tuna, drained and broken into chunks
1 (10-¾ ounce) can cream of celery soup
1 cup shredded carrots (about 2 carrots)
¾ cup milk
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs lightly beaten
¾ cup Italian-style bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions for Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F if you plan to bake the casserole right away. Otherwise preheat your oven 10 to 15 minutes before you want to pop it in the oven.
Grease a 1-½ to 2 quart baking dish. I used a 9-inch pyrex pie plate (affiliate link), but any oven-proof casserole dish (affiliate link) will work.
Prepare egg noodles or pasta according to package directions; Drain.
Meanwhile, In a large bowl, combine all the other ingredients, except ¼ cup of the bread crumbs, and stir to combine. Add the cooked and drained noodles to the mixture stirring well so that everything is thoroughly combined.
Spoon the mixture into your prepared casserole dish (affiliate link) and sprinkle with the reserved bread crumbs.
Bake your tuna noodle casserole, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until heated through and lightly browned on top. If your casserole has been sitting in the fridge it may take a little longer to bake; 45 minutes or so.
For those looking for quick and easy way for how to make tuna noodle casserole, here's the original simple recipe for tuna casserole from the back of the Campbell's soup can:
Campbell's Classic Tuna Casserole Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 (10-¾ ounce) can Campbell's cream of celery soup
½ cup milk
1 cup cooked peas
2 tablespoon chopped pimentos
2 cans (about 6 oz. each) tuna, drained and flaked
2 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles
2 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter OR margarine, melted
Directions for Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 1 ½ quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl mix the soup, milk, peas, pimiento (if using), tuna, and noodles until well combined. Scrape mixture into your prepared casserole dish (affiliate link). Mix bread crumbs with butter and sprinkle on top of the tuna mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned on top.
More Tuna Casserole Variations:
- Substitute cream of mushroom soup for cream of celery soup
- Substitute 1 cup sour cream for the milk.
- Top with crushed potato chips instead of breadcrumbs
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Quick Easy Dinner Recipes
>Simple Meatloaf Recipe - a super easy meatloaf recipe with just 5 ingredients
Simple Salmon Cakes Recipe - an easy recipe that uses canned salmon
Easy Pasta Recipe - wholewheat fettucini with fresh tomatoes, basil and Brie Cheese
Do you have any tuna casserole recipes, simple casserole recipes or simple tuna recipes you'd like to share with me?
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Marge
OKAY, found the listings; found the three recipes most interest in right now, and after printing out two, on the third even figured out how to print just the recipe pages, and not the rest!!! Am I getting good or what, or what? Tomorrow night (Sat) am having Barb & Jim for supper; they leave early Sun a.m.; and will make meatloaf!