Old Fashioned Tuna Casserole: A delicious dish of a tuna mixture with cream of mushroom soup, cheese, and a few other simple ingredients baked in a baking dish. Casserole recipes are perfect for an easy dinner, for a potluck or to take in a meal care package for someone.
Tuna is so versatile and can be used in so many dishes, warm or cold. We’ve used it in a tuna pasta salad, and in this tuna salad recipe, and they’ve both been extremely popular recipes, so I knew you’d love this old-fashioned tuna noodle casserole too.
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Ingredients for Tuna Casserole
You’ll need the following for this old-fashioned tuna casserole:
- 12 Ounces Wide Egg Noodles, Cooked Al Dente
- 2 – 5oz Cans Tuna (For a lighter tuna flavor use canned Albacore Tuna.)
- 4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
- 2 Tablespoons Pimento Peppers (optional)
- 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Pepper
- 2 – 15.5oz Cans Cream of Mushroom
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- 1 Cup Frozen Peas and Carrots
- 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese
- ½ Cup Milk
- 1 Cup French Fried Onions
Substitutions & Variations
- French Fried Onions – you could use potato chips, buttered crackers (such as Ritz crackers), bread crumbs, or a combination of the three!
- Vegetables – you can leave these out, or use one of the two, and could even use canned instead of frozen or fresh peas as I use in this easy homemade chicken pot pie.
- Noodles – You don’t have to use egg noodles. You can use elbow noodles (like we used in this old-fashioned macaroni and tomatoes recipe) penne pasta, or your favorite type. Just make sure to cook them to al dente, or if cooked until soft, they’ll become mushy after baking in the oven.
- Soup – if you only have cream of celery soup or cream of chicken soup, you could try using one of those instead.
- Additional Ingredients – you could also try adding garlic powder, parmesan cheese, or your favorite spices and toppings.
How to Make Tuna Casserole
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together tuna, melted butter, pimento peppers, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Then add the cans of soup, sour cream, peas and carrots, cheese, and milk to the bowl. Mix well.
- Finally add the cooked noodles to the bowl and fold into the mixture.
Tip: Make sure the cooked noodles are cooked until al dente. If cooked too much, they’ll be mushy after baking in the oven.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the casserole dish.
- Sprinkle fried onions over the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until warm all the way through and golden brown.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Freezer Meal Plan. Make two batches or make in advance, and freeze for later for an easy dinner. This would fit perfectly in some of the dinner themes in my dinner theme system!
- Bake in the middle of the oven. It’s best to bake on an oven rack in the middle of the oven so the top does not burn before heated through. If you noticed the french fried onions cooking too quick, without the casserole heated through, cover the dish with aluminum foil.
Recipe FAQs
It could be because the noodles sat too long and soaked up milk before baking, or perhaps the dish was too big and it allowed the liquid to cook out, instead of cook in to the casserole.
It’s best to enjoy tuna casserole within 3-4 days from making.
It does! Once fully cooled, store covered, in the refrigerator.
Storage
Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftover tuna casserole when it has come to room temperature, in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap for 3-4 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze the casserole before or after cooking. When freezing, wrap the pan in two layers of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 6 months.
To Thaw: Fully thaw the casserole in the refrigerator overnight, then bake as directed.
What to Serve with Tuna Casserole
If you’re looking for a side dish to serve with this classic tuna casserole and family favorite, these are highly recommended:
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
Old Fashioned Tuna Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles cooked, al dente
- 2 – 5 ounce cans of tuna
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons pimento peppers optional
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 – 15.5 ounce cans cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 cup french fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together tuna, butter, pimento peppers, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Then add the cans of soup, sour cream, peas and carrots, cheese, and milk to the bowl. Mix well.
- Finally add the cooked noodles to the bowl and fold into the mixture.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the casserole dish.
- Sprinkle fried onions over the top.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until warm all the way through.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Diane says
I added cream cheese and garlic powder. Cooked 45 min covered on 375 deg. and then added ritz cracker crumbs and poured a melted stick of butter over and baked 15 on 400 deg uncovered. Came out creamy and delicious.
Lillie says
This was excellent tuna casserole and the French onions, I believe made the Dish 👍I used a large can of white albacore and that worked great. I will be making this again for sure 😋😋three of us for dinner and 3 pieces left, I like the no yolk egg noodles they seem to hold their form better and I only had one can of cream of mushroom and used cream of celery in place. A wonderful Recipe and Thankyou 😊
Jessica says
Oh good! I’m thrilled that you liked this recipe!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share that with us!
Arlene Orosco says
I made this recipe for the first time last night. It was very good but didn’t really get much of the tuna. Maybe use 3 cans of tuna next time for a bit of a meatier casserole. Other than that good flavor. I served with Italian loaf buttered and broiled.
Jessica says
Hi Arlene, thank you so much for sharing with us that you made this! I appreciate you letting me know about the tuna – and if someone wants more in the recipe, this is a great suggestion! 🙂 Thank you.
Sharina says
Added some garlic powder to my tuna casserole with some extra cheese and it turned out sooo well! It was savory and remarkable!
Jessica says
Hi Sharina!! This makes me so happy and I’m glad to hear it. Thank you!
Allyson Zea says
This was so tasty, even my picky kids loved it!