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Homemade Tuna Noodle Casserole without Canned Soup

June 26, 2013 by Nicole 22 Comments

Homemade Tuna Noodle Casserole without Canned Soup

It might be summer, but I’m in the mood for comfort food.  The theme of this week’s Summer Fest is peas, but when I started brainstorming ideas for a fresh and summery recipe involving peas, I kept coming back to comfort food.

It might have been the cloudy weather we had earlier in the week or it might have been the terrible, no good day I had yesterday, but when I thought of peas there were only two ways I wanted to eat them—in a tuna casserole or with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy.  I opted for the casserole, which is serious comfort food for me.

The thing about tuna noodle casserole is that I have this idea in my head about what it should taste like, but when I actually make the casserole using my mom’s recipe, I’m always at least a little bit disappointed.

Yes, it tastes familiar and I’m instantly transported back to my childhood, but my grown-up taste buds realize that it’s really not that great. So I decided to remake this childhood classic to try to make it taste as good to me now as my mom’s casserole tasted to me when I was a kid.

I didn’t change much because I really do want it to be the same casserole.  I just needed to get rid of that can of cream of mushroom soup and add a bit more flavor. I did this by sauteing some finely chopped onions, mushrooms, and celery in butter until the vegetables started to caramelize a bit and used that as a base for the sauce.  I also threw in some thyme to add just a little extra boost.

The results were just what I wanted.  It looks like my mom’s tuna noodle casserole, it smells like my mom’s tuna noodle casserole, and this one tastes just as good to me today as my mom’s casserole tasted then. This is a homemade tuna noodle casserole that should satisfy both kids and adults!

Homemade Tuna Noodle Casserole without Canned Soup - Pinch My Salt

Yields eight servings

Homemade Tuna Noodle Casserole
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Ingredients

12 ounces wide egg noodles

1 medium onion, finely chopped

8 ounces cremini mushrooms (can substitute white button), finely chopped

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

7 tablespoons butter, divided

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk

2 small (5 oz) cans of chunk tuna (water or olive-oil packed), drained and flaked into small pieces

1 1/2 cups peas (either frozen or fresh peas that have been shelled and blanched)

6 ounces medium cheddar cheese, shredded

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 13x9-inch baking dish.

Cook egg noodles in a large pot of salted boiling water until almost tender; drain, rinse briefly under cold water, and return to pot off the heat.

Meanwhile, heat milk in microwave or on the stove just until warm then set aside off the heat.

Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook onions, mushrooms, and celery with a generous pinch of salt until all the water from the mushrooms has evaporated and the mixture is starting to brown and smell really great, about 12-15 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook for a few seconds until fragrant and then stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute (mixture will be quite dry - that's okay). Turn up heat to medium-high and pour milk into the flour mixture, whisking to break up any clumps. Stir constantly until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Turn off heat and season well with salt and black pepper to taste.

Add sauce to the noodles in the pot along with the peas and tuna. Stir everything together well and at the very end stir in the shredded cheddar cheese. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish.

Melt remaining three tablespoons of butter and toss with the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle buttered crumbs over the top of the casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the bread crumbs are evenly browned and filling is bubbly. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

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http://pinchmysalt.com/homemade-tuna-noodle-casserole-without-canned-soup/
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Related Recipes:

  • My Mom’s Classic Tuna Casserole
  • Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon, Leeks, and Thyme
  • Beef Stroganoff with Whole Wheat Egg Noodles

More Pea Recipes from Around the Web:

  • Grilled English Peas from Simply Recipes
  • Linguine with Pea Pesto from Smitten Kitchen
  • Green Pea Soup from 101 Cookbooks

Pea Recipes from my Summer Fest Friends:

  • Dishin & Dishes: Smashed Pea Bruschetta with Mint
  • Feed Me Phoebe: Sweet Pea and Green Onion Soup
  • Taste With the Eyes: Peas and Pasta with a Garlicky Yogurt Sauce and Smoky Walnuts
  • Weelicious: Peas and Pasta
  • Devour: Quick Salad with Peas
  • Napa Farmhouse 1885: Pasta with Spring Peas, Mushrooms and Greens
  • Red or Green?: Szechuan Spring Peas, Asparagus, Pine Nuts and Brown Rice Salad
  • Blue Apron Blog: Sweet Corn & Pea Fritters with Pea Tendril Salad
  • Domesticate Me: Clean Out Fridge Frittata
  • Virtually Homemade: Summer Lasagna with Skinny Alfredo Sauce
  • The Sensitive Epicure: Pea Puree with Roasted Salmon and Chives
  • Daily*Dishin: Marinated Spring Pea Salad
  • The Heritage Cook: Pea, Potato and Bacon Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
  • FN Dish: Favorite Shelled Pea Sides

Filed Under: Casseroles, Main Courses, Summerfest 2013

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fara says

    June 26, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    I love tuna noodle casserole. This sounds fabulous!
    Reply
  2. Stephanie @ Macaroni and Cheesecake says

    June 26, 2013 at 4:14 pm

    This looks so comforting!
    Reply
  3. Cookin Canuck says

    June 26, 2013 at 4:45 pm

    That is comfort in a dish, and I love that you made it with fresh mushrooms.
    Reply
  4. marcie@flavorthemoments says

    June 26, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    I'll never tire of good ole tuna noodle casserole. I made a homemade version last year and it was the best ever. Yours looks delicious. I wish I had some!
    Reply
  5. Phoebe says

    June 27, 2013 at 7:46 am

    Great to see you as part of the fest! Updated tuna casserole is one of my absolute faves. My dad always talks about how terrible his mother's cooking was growing up...except the tuna casserole. I made a homemade version last year for Father's Day and he loved it! xo
    Reply
  6. celyn says

    June 27, 2013 at 11:15 pm

    wow this looks and sounds great!
    Reply
  7. Ana says

    June 28, 2013 at 12:09 am

    I love your blog but above all your recipes! I was on a rush and I've cooked noodles with the Lékué's PastaCooker and they tastes so good! Have a look: http://lekue.es/en/pastacooker-0200702
    Reply
  8. Shahin Parvez says

    June 29, 2013 at 10:39 pm

    I like very much homemade tuna noodle casserole without canned soup.and this article is very helpful for this recipe.
    Reply
  9. Gemmi says

    June 30, 2013 at 4:25 am

    I'm going to try this tomorrow night after work - 8 people to please, and if they all give it a thumbs-up I'll whack it onto my favorites list right away!!
    Reply
  10. napa farmhouse 1885/diane says

    July 1, 2013 at 11:59 am

    nicole...i love the way you updated this classic! looks and sounds delicious
    Reply
  11. Kiezia says

    July 3, 2013 at 1:35 am

    that sounds great..i'll introduce this to my cousin maybe she loves this..hehehe..
    Reply
  12. Pete says

    July 21, 2013 at 4:01 pm

    I grew up on Tuna Casserole so I have to admit this is one of those guilty pleasures I still totally enjoy!!
    Reply
  13. Dave @ Eat Stop Eat Secrets says

    July 24, 2013 at 5:20 pm

    Looks real scrummy Nicole. I'll definately try this one out with the family on the weekend :)
    Reply
  14. Dana Phillips says

    August 24, 2013 at 5:40 pm

    This was great. I didn't have any cheddar but i did have some parm so I grated that up and used it instead. It turned out great. The fresh mushrooms were super great. Very good recipe highly recommend it! The Panko crumbs really work well on the top (My mom used to used crushed up Laura Scudders potato chips LOL)
    Reply
  15. Stina says

    November 12, 2013 at 7:57 pm

    Turned out perfect! Used Parm instead of chedder, and added dill for seasoning.
    Reply
  16. Caroline says

    December 23, 2013 at 8:12 pm

    Great recipe. I used 1 lb of fresh crab meat instead of tuna (because I had a ton of it), and it was delicious. The sauce is perfect!
    Reply
  17. Dharmaja says

    April 26, 2014 at 5:38 pm

    Thanks for this.. I was in a pinch tonight not having made it to the store for groceries as planned.. looked in the cupboard and found 1 can of tuna, about 10 oz of elbow pasta, and little bit of all purpose baking mix. I did a search for tuna casserole without condensed soup and your recipe came up. Thankfully I had a supply of cheese, butter, and milk, as well as some celery, 1/2 an onion, and 1 carrot, but alas no mushrooms! No problem! I minced all the veggies super fine and added 4 cloves of garlic to the saute. No peas but a handy supply of frozen green beans that did the trick. The thyme is a great addition, which I used at full strength of 1/4 tsp as called for. I will definitely make it with the mushrooms next time in a planned meal. Thank you for a great dinner tonight that even the kids loved. The buttered breadcrumbs are brilliant on top.
    Reply
  18. Jennifer says

    July 17, 2014 at 10:03 am

    Yum! However, I thought four cups of milk was overkill so I halved it...and still had PLENTY of liquid while keeping all the other ingredient proportions the same. I also made it gluten free with jovial noodles and gf all purpose flour. A keeper!
    Reply
  19. Christine says

    October 7, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    Turned out great! Made this with chicken as I had it to use ( used 28 oz shredded) and had no Tuna. ;) Subbed Tarragon for Thyme-our taste-buds.. Also added 1 can chopped water chestnuts for crunch. Absolutely great! Will do the tuna version as written in the future. We tasted the sauce before adding cheese. My DH who Loves cheese on everything, said it didn't need it. I am sure it would be great with it, but we didn't want to cover the great flavor of the sauce!! Thank you!
    Reply
  20. Lorena says

    March 15, 2015 at 2:11 pm

    hey! It looks WONDERFULl can I use cream and water instead of milk? www.packthefork.wordpress.com
    Reply
  21. Colleen says

    September 6, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    I love that this is made with milk instead of cream soups. I'm lactose intolerant and can make this with my special milk.
    Reply
  22. Donna G. says

    April 17, 2017 at 6:59 pm

    I used low fat milk and it was delicious. I like that this casserole is made without canned soup, which allows me to control the sodium content. From now own it will be our Lenten Tuna Noodle Casserole! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
    Reply

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