30-Minute Tuna Noodle Casserole

Credit: Monica Miller

Homemade tuna noodle casserole is a quick and healthy dinner

Growing up, my mom used to make tuna noodle casserole with Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup and macaroni noodles

She recently switched to Amy’s Organics mushroom soup in order to reduce her sodium intake. I have also been experimenting with the recipe to make the casserole sauce from scratch with fresh mushrooms. Both are delicious options.

As for the noodles, I have been told to lower my wheat intake (I’m a big pasta fan) so I used vegetable-kamut noodles. While kamut is still a type of wheat, it’s better than the refined flour in regular pasta. My mom likes to use rice pasta, which would also work. In a dish like this there is no taste difference if you change up the type of noodles.

Ingredients

• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 cup of elbow macaroni (or 4 ounces of medium noodles)
• 3 cans of (flaked or chunk) tuna, drained
• 1 cup of cooked peas (I used canned corn in the photo)

For mushroom soup version:

• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• flour to thicken

For sauce from scratch:

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine (I used olive oil margarine)
• 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 2 cups fresh mushrooms
• To make sauce from scratch: melt margarine/butter in saucepan and sprinkle with flour. Stir in milk until all the lumps are gone.

Instructions

1. Cook noodles al dente, drain and set aside.
2. Sauté onions and celery (and fresh mushrooms, if desired) in olive oil until tender.
3. Add sauce (either mushroom soup version or from scratch) and stir until thickened.
4. Combine sauce, tuna and noodles.
5. Transfer to a casserole dish and bake (covered) in a 375-degree Celcius oven for 15-20 minutes (or until bubbly).

Monica Miller is a writer, reader, editor, designer and crafter. She blogs at Monniblog.com about books, knitting, jewellery and life in general. She lives in Vancouver.