Best Ever Tuna Noodle Casserole – creamy, cheesy, and downright delicious, this casserole is even adored by those who say they hate Tuna Noodle Casserole.
This Best Ever Tuna Noodle Casserole is my mom’s recipe, and it can not be beaten. Every other tuna noodle casserole to me is dry and blah. Most people when I say that I am making my mom’s Best Ever Tuna Noodle Casserole, state how much they hated this dish growing up, and I tell them to give it a chance. Beg them more like it.
I think most of us that grew up in the 70s-80s have the idea that all casseroles are dry and crumbly noodle dishes. But my mom was the exception. Even her Tater Tot Casserole is extremely creamy.
When I met my husband and told him I love tuna noodle casserole he thought I was crazy and then he had this recipe and forever changed his mind.
Fall for me, is all about comfort food. Warm cheesy dishes that are full of carbs. LOL!
This makes my mouth water; nothing like a good cheese pull.
Growing up there are a few essential dishes that my mom was famous for. I can name all of them.
- Tuna Noodle Casserole (this recipe)
- Tater Tot Casserole (arch-nemesis)
- Cheese Dip
- Cranberry Chicken Enchiladas
- Oreo Dessert
The tuna noodle casserole and the oreo dessert are tied in my book as my favorite recipes from my mom. And it is about time that I share this casserole with you.
I did put my own spin on it only because my kids love cheddar cheese and I wanted to add some in it – once I did that I decided to top it with a few bread crumbs. The crunchy crust with the cheesy casserole underneath made this unbelievably the most amazing casserole I have ever had.
I love a good topping, panko bread crumbs are usually my to go to for casserole dishes.[/caption]
What goes well with Tuna Noodle Casserole?
I love serving this with peas, only because my mom did that but really any sort of legume would go well. I am also a salad eater, so I love to have that as an option with most of our meals but especially heavier casseroles.
How do you make Tuna Noodle Casserole?
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Boil noodles according to package direction, drain and rinse in cold water and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add all of the remaining casserole ingredients and stir to combine.
- Fold in noodles and pour into a large casserole dish.
- Cover and place in preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes.
- Uncover for the last 30 minutes.
- Once cooked – add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and then sprinkle on 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
- Turn oven to low broil.
- Broil until the topping is a light golden brown.
Can Tuna Noodle Casserole be frozen?
Yes! Leftovers are great frozen, to either save for later or take to a friend in need. Here are a few tips.
- Only freeze the untouched portion.
- Cover with aluminum foil and freeze in the baking dish that you used.
- Once the casserole is completely frozen (this will take a few hours) remove the casserole from the pan and place in a sealed container or Ziplock bag and return to the freezer.
- To eat the frozen casserole leftovers, do not thaw on the counter or defrost in the microwave. Place the frozen casserole in your fridge overnight, in the container you want to re-bake it in. This will keep you casserole from falling apart, turning sour and allow for even baking. Once thawed, heat at 350 until completely warm throughout, 15-20 minutes.
We all have childhood dishes that bring the warmest and most comforting feelings and this Best Ever Tuna Noodle Casserole is that dish for me. And while I am not a huge Velveeta fan, I don’t mind making this casserole with it because well, my mom did, and some things you just should not change.
Enjoy friends, my mom’s recipe! Comment below one of your favorite childhood recipes and where it came from – as I would love to hear. XOXO San
Don’t forget to pin this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Best Ever Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
Casserole
- 12 ounces elbow noodles cooked al dente
- 10 ounces canned tuna in water drained
- 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken
- 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom
- 1 cup milk
- 16 ounces Velveeta cheese shredded or cut into cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, salt, and pepper each
Topping
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degress F.
- Boil noodles according to package direction, drain and rinse in cold water and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add all of the remaining casserole ingredients and stir to combine.
- Fold in cooked noodles and pour into a large casserole dish.
- Cover and place in preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover for the last 30 minutes.
- Once cooked – top with 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and then sprinkle on 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
- Turn the oven to low broil and bake for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the top is golden brown. Keep an eye on it as it may brown faster depending on your oven and how high the rack is in the oven.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition
Save
Thanks Sandi! I love the tweeks you made to the recipe. I’ll have to come over soon to try this new and improved version. Love you.
Hi everyone ! I’m going to start keto ( sort of) i absolutely love this recipe. What can be used in place of the pasta though ? Any suggestions s will be warmly welcomed. Thank you friends !!!
You can use broccoli or cauliflower in place of pasta. You can also find low-carb pastas available at your local grocery.
Palmini noodles! They are by the pasta sauce, they are made with hearts of palm. Super good. They have linguini, angel hair, lasagna, even rice. I am vegetarian keto so using tofu instead of tuna, and keto bread breadcrumbs.
I’m making it keto now. I found some rigatoni shaped shiritaki noodles. It’s in the oven now so we shall see shortly. I do like the suggestion of broccoli or cauliflower but when you want a pasta shiritaki will.do. There is also a brand of noodles made from hearts of palm that are quite good. They are called Palmini.
Love all of these suggestions!
how would this work using canned salmon?
I have not tried this, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Sandra,
Could I substitute sour cream and a can of mushrooms instead of cream of mushroom soup to the recipe?
Thank you!
Michele
I haven’t tried that, but you should be fine!
What would you add to this to make it spicy?
I’m not sure I would be a fan of this spicy but you could add some spice to the breadcrumbs – like cayenne pepper.
You could use oepperjacj cheese
Try some chopped jalepeno’s
They also have tuna with jalapeño. This might spice it up.
Love this idea!
These dishes are very tasty, easy to make and long preserved in the refrigerator. My husband and I like it.
We eat often. I hope you can introduce more on the page for me to learn.
What temperature do I preheat the oven?
350 degrees
So easy to make. Looking forward to dinner. I made up in morning to have for dinner tonight.
I made my own tuna casserole tonight, then I found this when I Googled: why do people hate tuna casserole. I’ve been putting cheese in mine for a long time. What I put in changes a little from one time to the next. Tonight I just used a Mexican blend of cheese and only cream of mushroom and milk. I used fancy white albacore in water which I drained off to give to the cats, then I like to sear the tuna in a hot skillet with olive oil and butter to cook off the excess liquid and brown the tuna just a little. I then added some white and green onions, let that cook a bit, then the canned soup, milk, and later the cheese after it was bubbling. I typically just cook it on the stovetop because I only cook for myself. I like the potato chips so I just crumble some on top of my serving with a few leftover raw green onions.
I love, love this idea! Thanks for sharing, I will be trying this for sure!
I made this last night, with a few adjustments (added sherry, homemade ‘cream of’ soups, penne noodles-what I had on hand) and it was delicious. The kids said it was great, everyone loved it. Thanks!
I have the memories of a dry and boring casserole that I had as a child. It looked nothing like yours! I can’t wait to try that cheesy goodness!
Makes me feel like a kid again!
So, so goood! Very well! Looks tasty! Love the unique flavors in this recipe! YUM!
I love a good tuna casserole!
It looks absolutely AHHHmazing! A new favorite for kids!
Thank you for sharing this useful information, I will regularly follow your blog
Thank you for following!
This recipe looks delicious but calls for “1/2 tsp garlic salt pepper”…does that mean 1/2 tsp EACH of garlic salt and also pepper, or is there such a spice as “garlic salt pepper”?
I liked the taste of this casserole, and I generally don’t like tuna dishes. I changed a couple things, though. Omitted chicken soup and substituted cream of celery. Also, I only used maybe 8 ounces of Velveeta..With the cheese on top, I felt that was plenty. Also, my top crust got brown very fast, It was brown in less then 5 minutes. Ovens vary. Will definitely make it again.
I’m so glad you liked it! Cream of celery is definitely a good sub, I’ve done that before in a pinch. We love loads of cheese around here which is totally preference! Thank you for letting us know what you thought!
I made this for dinner tonight and YUM! I unfortunately didn’t have breadcrumbs so used saltine crackers instead. Kids even asked for seconds and that never happens. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you and the kids liked it! The saltines sound like a delicious substitute.
Great recipe. What do you do with the Velveeta cheese?
Thanks! It should be shredded cut into small cubes and mixed in with the noodles and other ingredients. I’ve corrected the recipe to make it more clear.
This is an amazing recipe. It is like a mac and cheese with tuna. I added some broccoli and some olives because I had them and I had to use onion soup rather than cream of mushroom or chicken soup. And I had cheddar cheese so I used that instead of the Velveeta. But it was still fantastic and I have been eating it all week.
That sounds delicious! I love recipes that work with substitutions, it definitely makes dinner easier!
This Tuna dishes truly amazing so rich and creamy I want more
Thank you!
We love pasta and tuna together, add the cheese and it’s perfection!
It’s definitely delicious! Enjoy!
I am very much looking forward to making this for dinner!
I hope you enjoy it!
This Tuna Noodle Casserole couldn’t look any more perfect!
Thank you!
Your version looks a whole lot better than the dish I remember from long ago. I think I need this casserole another shot!
It definitely lives up to its name! I hope you enjoy this delicious version!
Delicious casserole, loved every bite of it!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing!
I just love classic recipes like this! My kind of comfort food. 🙂
They’re the best! Enjoy!
My family loves casseroles!! This sounds incredibly delicious!
Enjoy!
Oh, the memories this recipe brings back. To this day tuna casserole is still one of my favorites!
It’s one of mine too for sure! I hope you enjoy!
This is my kind of comfort food; exactly what I was looking for for dinner tonight! Looks too good to pass up!
I hope you enjoy it!
This was very good! I used egg noodles instead of the elbow pasta. Will definitely be making again. Thanks!
Wonderful!!! Thanks for sharing about the noodles as well, I will try that sometime. San
Anybody used French’s fried onions on top?
My first and only time I made Tuna Noodle Casserole was in Home Ec class Jr.High School 1978. The group I was with selected my recipe that was created by a nationally
known soup company I found in a magazine. We did not like the end result and I was blamed for finding the recipe. LOL!
Reading this recipe wants me to try making again. What would you decrease and how much to make this recipe a recipe for 1 or 2?
I just made this today. Very very creamy. Really enjoyed it. I didn’t have Velveeta so used Jalepeno cheez whiz (of course made it even creamier) – and I like a bit of heat so the flavor worked for me. will recommend this recipe.
That sounds yummy! A little heat sounds like a good addition. So glad you enjoyed it!
I roasted a chicken yesterday and can’t wait to make this with my left over chicken instead of tuna!
That sounds delicious! I hope you enjoyed it!
I always love new casseroles to try, thank you so much for sharing!
This brought back so many memories. Comfort food at its finest.
Yummy tuna casserole! We’ll make this again and again!
A creamy delicious dinner and fairly easy to make! Perfect for my family
I like how creamy and cheesy this Tuna Noodle Casserole. Can’t wait to make this for my family!
Yummy! My family and I devoured this and we all loved it! Making this casserole again!
This is the best tuna casserole recipe! My kids keep asking me to make it again.
Thank you!
Like the recipe, but I would caution against 10 minutes under the broiler on low. I nearly ruined the entire dish. After less than one minute, the bread crumbs had burned to a black crisp. I cannot imagine 10 minutes under a broiler, no matter the oven. Ended up scraping off the blackened top as best I could to salvage the rest….unfortunately, a lot of the cheese topping went with it.
I’m sorry to hear it browned so quickly for you! Your oven may broil hotter than mine, so it may be best to stick it back in for 10 minutes on 350 instead. It usually is fine in our oven for that time. I updated the recipe with a warning to keep a close eye on it.
This will be a perfect meal for through the week, thank you for sharing!
This Tuna Noodle Casserole looks absolutely delicious! Yummy!
I love this recipe. It tastes just like Grandma used to make.
Such a really amazing comfort food! It is so good and delicious!
Yummy! Tuna Noodle Casserole is a family favorite! This sounds incredibly delicious!
This Tuna Noodle Casserole looks SO delicious! I can’t wait to try it
What size casserole are you using?
Hi Judy, we use a 2.5 or 3-quart casserole dish.
If I use a 4 qt dish would I need to adjust the cooking time?
Yummy! This is one mine and my daughter’s favorite casseroles even my picky son loves it too! Such a delicious and quick dinner recipe. Going to make this again soon!
This is SO good! Thank you for this!
Oh my goodness! I am drooling over this tuna noodles! Love how creamy is!
I’ve made it and this is the best tuna noodle casserole!
Our family loved this version of tuna noodle casserole!
Amazing blog about the foods and cutlery really writer has chosen the unique content in the blog.
Is that 1/2 tspn. each of garlic powder, salt & pepper? Thank you!! With the 2 kinds of soup used, just wondered if you really need to add the salt. Can’t wait to try this!!
Yes, but you can of course adjust to your taste and use less or omit it completely if you’d prefer to. I hope you enjoy it! xo
i am foody.. i also like tuna noodle.. Thanks for sharing
This was so good!! Loved it and froze some stuff n separate containers to enjoy again!! Thank you.
Following the sudden death of a family member, I haven’t eaten in days. I’m craving tuna noodle casserole and yours looks the BEST! I had it growing up with thawed frozen peas and sautéed onions, mushrooms and celery. Could I add these without changing the composition of this award winningvrecipe? Lastly, for breadcrumbs, crackers whatever should I add pats of butter for browning under the broiler?
Love a good tuna casserole! This is one is so simple and quick to make, it’s perfect for those busy weeknight meals!
This looks the perfect meal to feed the whole family on a weeknight! Thank you so much for sharing!
My kids loved this casserole! And it was so simple!
First time making homemade tuna casserole. I put an extra can of tuna and a can of green chilis. I would maybe do another can of tuna and more velveta. still good tho!!
I love the idea of green chiles! I will try that soon!
This Tuna Noodle Casserole needs to happen at my house very soon!!
I love cheese however this had too much cheese I’d cut the amount of cheese used in half
What kind of bread crumbs for the topping, panko or regular?
Bread crumbs are what’s pictured in the recipe, but I prefer panko over bread crumbs any day! Use whichever you have on hand as either will be tasty.
Great recipe other than the broil part. My cheese got cooked and crispy, did not melt. I did use the broil low as stated in directions. Did this happen to any one else?
I just made this tuna casarole
It’s taste fantastic it’s so good
I use little of jalapeño in the mix it’s wonderful
Thanks for sharing this great tuna recipe
I love the addition of the jalapeno! We will try that soon!
Stir the remaining ingredients together? As for the velvetta do you leave it in cubes or mix it until it’s all blended and smooth?
Leave them cubed, enjoy!
Wow, alot of people have been cooking this recipe for a long time. I’ve read alot of reviews, y’all are awesome! I’m making this tonight, love me some tuna casserole! Keep inspiring us!
Oh yay!!!!! I can’t wait for you to make it, let me know what you think. xo San
It is better than I remember it being as a kid! Perfect recipe!
Made my night! Thank you!
Sorry for the goofy question but Is the pasta supposed to be 12oz of uncooked noodles that are then cooked, or is this supposed to be 12oz of noodles measured after cooking?
No goofy at all – 12-ounce box, so before cooking. ❤️
The perfect meal for through the week that everyone will enjoy and perfect for leftovers. If there are any!
Looks beyond delicious! Adding on our must make list!
Always looking for new hearty dinners, and this checked all the boxes!
I LOVE tuna casserole, and was excited to find this easy recipe. I made it last night, followed the recipe to the letter, but I am left underwhelmed. There is definitely something missing. I don’t know what it is, but this was the easiest, Yet the blandest, tuna casserole I have ever had. I wish I could put my finger on what is missing here, but I haven’t had any success so far.
Hmmmmm, not sure if you are looking for spice. Maybe try adding some cayenne pepper.
My whole family loves tuna so they will love this casserole!
I followed your recipe almost exactly, using tip from someone else about searing tuna in a little olive oil and butter. I added diced onions to tuna, when they softened, I stirred in a can of medium diced green chiles. Then mixed with soup mixture, etc. My family ate every drop, the bowl set aside for my lunch the next day, disappeared when my sister stopped by!!! It was creamy and delicious!! When it was time for cheese and panko, I turned my oven to broil, but put inside oven. It browned and crisped crumbs/cheese PERFECTLY in 5 minutes!!! Thanks for the GREAT recipe!!!
You are so welcome!