Tuna Noodle Casserole
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 1 hr
Active: 30 mins
Makes: 4 servings
By Regan Burns
If the words tuna noodle casserole conjure up school-cafeteria nightmares, give our version a try. The original formula graduates to gourmet status with the inclusion of Dijon mustard, quality cheddar, and the finest oil-packed tuna you can find.
What to buy: Premium tuna packed in olive oil is paramount. We like Ortiz Bonito del Norte.
INGREDIENTS
For the casserole:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 celery stalks, small dice (about 2/3 cup)
- 1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño (no seeds or membranes)
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 6 ounces flat egg noodles
- 3/4 cup coarsely grated aged cheddar cheese (about 3 ounces)
- 6 ounces high-quality imported tuna packed in oil, drained
For the topping:
INSTRUCTIONS
For the casserole:
For the topping:
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish, and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When oil is hot and butter foams, add celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in scallions and jalapeño, and cook for 3 minutes more.
- Add Old Bay Seasoning and flour to vegetable mixture, stirring until flour is well incorporated. Cook for 1 minute, then slowly pour in milk, stirring well to make sure no lumps of flour are left. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in sour cream and mustard, and set aside.
- Once the water is boiling, add egg noodles and cook until they are slightly tender and still white in the middle, about 3 minutes. Drain.
- Stir cheddar and egg noodles into vegetable-and-milk mixture. Flake tuna into mixture, and stir gently. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
For the topping:
- Combine parsley, butter, cheddar, and saltine crumbs in a mixing bowl, using your hands to mix well until all butter is incorporated. Sprinkle mixture evenly over casserole. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until crackers are golden and casserole is bubbling.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
i am not going to pay $9.00 for imported tuna pack in oil to make a casserole, these remakes need to be ideentified when they are linked to products. i like chow for its orginal view not all of these contrived dishes; are we to use sspecial saltines, or make our own, what is wrong with nebissco!
should we make our egg noodles too!
i made this with a 5buck can of good imported tuna (it's not THAT expensive) and saltines. and i used plain old egg noodles.
just a note on the saltines: 1 cup is about one package of saltines. so i kept the baggie closed and crushed them in the bag. made it less messy.
this was fantastic, by the way. the scallions and jalapenos made a big difference and I am sincerly happy this didn't involve a can of mushroom soup.
I made this last night, and it was seriously seriously delicious. I saw the Ortiz tuna when I was grocery shopping, and it was $14. I passed on that and chose the Cento tuna packed in olive oil for $3. As every cook makes subsitutions and adjustments, I'll share mine.
For the onions, I happened to find these gorgeous Georgia Vidalia "salad onions" which resembled scallions on steroids, so I used those (delicious, BTW!). I didn't have any sour cream, so I didn't use it, and I only had 2% milk in the house, so I used that.
For the topping, I used cilantro instead of parsley, I prefer the brighter flavor (and my cilantro was already washed, the parsley wasn't), and I didn't use any butter in the cracker crumb mixture.
It was still fantastic. And the more expensive tuna is honestly necessary, it has SUCH a different flavor, color and texture to regular tuna. I usually splurge on good tuna for a Nicoise salad, but this is worth it. It would be a huge hit at a dinner party with glorified/"fancified" comfort foods.
"F*cking Awesome!" is how my husband described this last night. Even though he had bead TNC in the past he was willing to give it a try and was rewarded.
I used Flott tuna and substituted arugula for the parsley and used Whole Foods 365 Sourdough crackers instead of saltines, which was a good call. He suggested adding shallots and making sure the you use enough jalapeno - mine was shy of a Tbl and it made a difference.
We're making this again soon!
This was really good. I would definitely make it again. I used Flott tuna, which I resented paying $7.50 for, but then thought it was worth it.
Next time I would undersalt to taste though, because I forgot that the saltines would be salty. I also think I should've crumbled them a lot more than I did, as the topping seemed very dry. Or maybe use regular breadcrumbs or panko. And I'd double the amount of jalapenos (I like jalapenos), as this is a pretty creamy dish.
One of the things I've learned over the years is that splurging on certain products really elevate my cooking: good wine vinegars, fish sauce, vanilla beans instead of extract, fresh herbs, and (relevant to this recipe) a good jar of Italian or Spanish tuna in olive oil. I even haul the stuff back with me when I visit those countries. Trust me, it's worth it.
Ok, I had been forced to eat tuna cassarole as a kid and I didn't like it because the peas were mushy but my brother loved it...I moved to Branson, MO for 5 years and everyone was doing cassaroles with shitty cheese and Velveeta (it's not cheese!!!) and I figured "I have to do something about this" and I did...I made sure to use real yummy Reggiano Parmesean grated throughout, a bag of baby spinach finely chopped, a bag of frozen peas and for the real kicker, half baked fishsticks placed on top before cooking to add a creative white-trash crust that was amazing.
Overall, it became a hit with everyone at my theatre, with a beer before a night of bowling!!! Hmm, I may have to make one this week while I indulge in TatorTots and Magic Shell...guilty pleasures...mmm....don't tell anyone.
I always thought Mom made tuna-noodle casserole because it was the best food in the world, not because it was cheap and fast. Then, after I began cooking seriously, I started fiddling with the recipe: adding some sour cream, adding cheese to the mixture, making my own version of cream of mushroom soup, adding peas and a beaten egg (the peas - frozen baby peas, not thawed - and egg have become standard). All very good, and my wife, who had never tasted TNC until I came along, adores it. And then one time when I was visiting my mom she made her tuna-noodle casserole the old way - just tuna, noodles and canned mushroom soup, not even any toppings - and it made all my fancier versions seem downright pallid! Go figure...
I tried this last night- delicious, but heavy. If I were to make it again, I would make more sauce- it was a little dry and block-ish, less luscious that I think it could be. I would add mushrooms and peas to it, as well.
I don't care for tuna casserole... my husband, on the other hand, would love to have it... So I made this recipe and pleased us both!
Christina, I've had some TNC come out "dry and blockish" and some not, even though I was using the same quantities. What made the difference was the noodles I was using - some absorbed too much liquid, while others became tender without soaking up all the juice. Those seemed to be the ones with the highest egg content, particularly the Kosher ones from Manischevitz or Streit's. As these are also the tastiest, this is an easy decision to make! It's tempting to use cheap noodles in what's generally reckoned a poverty dish, but the taste and texture differences are worth the small extra cost.
I made this tonight...VERY good, I must say! I did use 2 full cups of milk because I thought that while it cooks uncovered, it might need a little more liquid. I used Cento brand tuna (cashier rang it up for 69 cents!!! The price was $3.99 but when he swiped it again, it still came up at 69 cents and he insisted that I just take it!) I would make this again, very nice recipe!
I made this tonight -- I'm living in Shanghai, this is my 2nd year of 3 -- does my imported Starkist count? LOL. This is the BEST tuna casserole ever. I can't wait to move back to states & make this with the real ingredients. Still, with a few substitutions, it was excellent!