Whip Up The Best Tuna Casserole

Published May 7, 2011

Whip Up The Best Tuna

Sometimes it’s hard to plan a meal, much less go to the store to buy all the ingredients. For that reason, I try to stock up on basic foods I know will serve well in a pinch—for example, dry pasta, onions, mushrooms, frozen peas, tuna and cream of mushroom soup. Now, as it happens, all the ingredients above are a part of the recipe I’m about to share, which in my book is one of the best tuna noodle casseroles around.

Quick and Easy

Let’s get started. I can usually whip up this tuna casserole from beginning to end in about 20 to 25 minutes. The key is in knowing the order to start cooking the various ingredients and to open up the cans ahead of time so the soup and tuna are ready to go.

Ingredients

Spice up your tuna casserole. The whole family will love it.

Many tuna casseroles are little more than noodles coated with cream of mushroom soup. Sure, that may be easy, but if you prefer a dish worth sinking your teeth into, start gathering the following ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra light olive or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 medium to large sweet onion chopped

8 to 10 fresh white or brown mushrooms sliced

2 to 3 cloves of fresh garlic crushed

8 to 12 oz dry pasta (I personally like “thin” spaghetti noodles for this dish, but any will do. Use 8 oz of pasta if you prefer your pasta creamier and 12 oz if you want to stretch the recipe.)

¾ to 1 cup of frozen peas (Petite or baby peas taste better.)

1 can of drained tuna or albacore (After draining, use a fork and break it up while it’s still in the can.)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (Have a spatula or butter knife ready to scoop it from the can.)

½ can of milk (Use the soup can to measure it after removing the soup.)

½ cup of low or non-fat sour cream

½ cup grated Italian cheese blend (Comes grated and pre-packaged at the grocery store.)

Salt and pepper to taste.

1 cup of crushed potato chips (Tim’s Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips, Ruffle’s BBQ Potato Chips or Hawaiian Sweet Maui Onion Potato chips are best, but almost any will do.)

Putting It Together

As mentioned, the order you prepare the various ingredients is the key to putting this dish together quickly. For that reason, I’ve broken this into 10 easy to follow steps:

Once the water's boiling with the pasta reduce the heat.

Step 1: Put a pot of water on high to boil the pasta. Add salt.

Step 2: Put a put a large fry pan on a burner and set the temperature to medium. Add oil and soy sauce.

Step 3: As the oil is heating, slice up the mushrooms and onion and throw them in the pan. Crush ground pepper over the mix.

Step 4: As the water comes to a boil, add the pasta, stir, and set your timer so you’ll know when it’s done. After adding the pasta, reduce the heat from high to medium high when the water begins to boil. (If your pasta tends to stick, add a teaspoon of oil to the water.)

Step 5: Add the crushed garlic to the onions and mushroom mix.

Step 6: As the onions and mushrooms become soft and tender (usually 5 to 8 minutes) add in the frozen peas. Stir and cook for a couple more minutes to ensure the peas heat up.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir.

Step 7: Add the cream of mushroom soup, milk, sour cream, cheese and drained tuna to the pan. Stir it all together and then continue to stir occasionally, until the soup just starts to bubble.

Step 8: Meanwhile, drain the noodles whenever they finish cooking. You can set them aside until the rest is ready.

Just as soon as it starts bubbling you can add in the pasta.

Step 9: Stir in the noodles after the soup mixture is fully heated (i.e. starts to bubble). Add salt and or pepper to taste. Remove the pan from heat, cover and call everyone to the table.

Step 10: After letting the pasta rest a few minutes, dish up a plate or bowl and sprinkle the potato chips over the top. Serves about 4 to 6 (depending on portion and appetite).

Enjoy.

By Bob Anderson