Tuna Noodle Casserole
675kcal41.5g protein27.5g fat64.9g carbs~$2.47/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
Contains gluten, dairy, fish · only in an optional ingredient: soy
Restrictions
Containsgluten · dairy · fishIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.
Only if you add itsoy (soy sauce)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.
Diets
PescatarianNo porkNo alcohol
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 6 oz |  pasta (egg noodles) |
| 10 oz |  tuna (canned, drained and flaked) |
| 8 oz |  mushrooms (sliced) |
| 4 tbsp |  butter |
| 3 tbsp |  flour |
| 2 cup |  milk (warmed) |
| 1 unit |  onion (finely diced) |
| 1 unit |  celery (finely diced) |
| ¾ cup |  peas (green, frozen) |
| 1 cup |  cheese (cheddar, grated) |
| ¾ cup |  breadcrumbs (tossed with 1 tbsp melted butter) |
| ¾ tsp | salt |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 1 tsp |  soy sauce (for depth, in place of condensed soup's glutamate) |
| 2 tsp |  lemon (juice) |
| 1 cup |  potato chips (crushed, in place of breadcrumbs) |
| 2 tbsp |  parsley (chopped) |
| ¼ tsp |  black pepper (ground) |
Steps
- Boil6 minsalted, 3 minutes short of the packet, drainedpasta, deliberately underdone. It will absorb liquid from the sauce for thirty minutes in the oven — noodles cooked to package time here come out swollen and pasty, and this single change is the difference between the dish's reputation and the dish
- Saute8 min3 tbsp butter, high, mushrooms in one layer and left to brownmushrooms, undisturbed until browned, then + onion + celery until soft. Mushrooms are about ninety percent water and must be given room and heat to drive it off — crowded, they release that water and simmer grey, which puts the moisture into the casserole instead of leaving it in the pan
- Whisk6 minflour into the vegetables, then warm milk a splash at a time+ flour, cooked one minute, then + warm milk gradually, whisking smooth between additions until the sauce coats a spoon. Warm milk keeps the roux from seizing into lumps; the flour has to cook a minute first or the sauce tastes pasty however long it bakes
- Fold5 minoff the heat, cheese in first, then everything else+ cheddar + salt (+ soy sauce, + pepper, + lemon juice), stirred until melted, then + noodles + tuna + peas (+ parsley). Cheese off the heat so it emulsifies rather than splitting. Flake the tuna in large pieces and fold gently — stirred hard, it disintegrates into the sauce and the dish loses the only texture it has besides the crust
- Bake25 min190°C, buttered dish, buttered crumbs on top, uncovereduntil bubbling at the edges and the top is deep golden. Uncovered throughout: a lid traps steam and the topping goes soft, and the browning is Maillard chemistry on the buttered crumbs that needs a dry surface above about 150°C
- Rest5 minon a rack, out of the ovenbefore serving, so the starch-thickened sauce sets enough to hold a spoonful together. Straight from the oven it runs across the plate; ten minutes and it will have gone stodgy, so five is the window