Tuna Noodle Casserole
Classic Cafeteria Comfort Food
Tuna Noodle Casserole is a simple, affordable, and filling recipe made using canned tuna, creamy mushroom soup, green onions, water chestnuts, and mayonnaise. A few pantry staple seasonings add some zing before it’s topped with butter and potato chips and bakes up bubbly and delicious.
A Recipe Born From Desperation
Truth be told I have only had one or two tuna noodle recipes in my life that were really great. One of them was a casserole a former boss of mine named Peggy used to make.
I have yet to get that recipe.
Fast forward to today at our lake house in Watersmeet, MI where we are iced in. It was Friday and Lent and my Mom didn’t want to eat meat.
I foraged in the fridge and the pantry that we keep well stocked and came up with this recipe. It was delicious.
If I am being completely honest there was one thing that was slightly wrong with it and this was that it was dry. I had only used ONE can of soup and we all agreed that it needed TWO cans of the soup.
Therefore, the recipe card reflects this change. Even being slightly dry, it was comforting and delicious and adding the extra soup will take it over the top.
German Egg Noodles
The recipe card calls for you to use any noodles you prefer. We had only two kinds of noodles in our house when I made this today.
We had spaghetti and these German egg noodles. The spaghetti would be weird to me in a Tuna Noodle Casserole, so I went with the German egg noodles.
It was a good choice. They were substantial and held the tuna and sauce really well.
Other Noodle Choices
I am aware that all of you won’t have access to German egg noodles. I got these at Aldi, but many noodles will be great in this recipe.
You can use macaroni, shells, or even regular egg noodles. I was also thinking that the pasta I use in my Simple Sunday Pasta recipe will be a good choice as well.
The Chips
The only chips we had on hand were these limited-time chips from Kwik Trip, a gas station in Wisconsin. We bought these hot dog chips on a whim and I decided the seasoning on them would be perfect on the top of this casserole.
You can use any chips you like. My old boss Peggy who made the best tuna casserole used the potato matchsticks, which would also be great.
Other Topping Ideas
Some other toppers you can use are French fried onions, buttery crackers, Panko bread crumbs, or even cheese instead of crunch. This recipe can be easily versatile, though I do think the crunch will really add to this recipe.
Green Onions and Water Chestnuts
The green onions and the water chestnuts were a risk in this recipe, but they ended up really elevating the dish. I thought of the water chestnuts because most tuna casseroles I have had use celery.
I actually liked the water chestnuts more than the casseroles I have had with celery. It had better crunch and absorbed the flavors of the casserole and was also not stringy like celery.
The green onions were also a great addition as they had a more mild flavor than a white or yellow onion. They also added some pretty color to the dish that is normally a very gray looking dish.
The colorful, seasoned potato chips also added a nice color to the top of the dish as well. The top was dotted with butter which made the topping even more decadent and flavorful.
By the way, those limited time chips were also delicious on their own. I love ALL the Kwik Trip line of chips, especially the Ketchup Chips.
Other Lenten Recipes
I have other recipes that are perfect and meatless for the Lenten season. I have compiled a list below for you to peruse:
- Egg Salad Sandwiches
- Tuna Salad Sandwiches
- Cucumber Sandwiches
- Easy Zucchini Bake
- Air Fryer Avocado Tacos
Tuna Noodle Casserole Recipe
This recipe was actually created at the last minute using canned tuna, creamy mushroom soup, water chestnuts, and other fridge and pantry forage. Add noodles of your choice, top with crushed potato chips, and bake until bubbly and brown.
Ingredients
- 2 twelve oz. cans of Tuna packed in water, drained well
- 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup (10.5 oz each)
- 3 cups of Noodles (I used German egg noodles)
- 1 small can of Water Chestnuts, diced (8 ounce)
- 5 Green Onions, sliced, both white and green parts
- 4 tablespoons of Butter, sliced into thin pats
- 1 cup of Mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons of Celery Salt
- 1 teaspoon of Black Pepper
- 2 teaspoons of Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoons of Dried Parsley
- 2 cups of crushed Potato Chips (any flavor)
Instructions
- In a bowl combine your canned soup, mayonnaise, pepper, celery salt, onion and garlic powder, and half of the parsley. Whisk until smooth.
- Boil and drain your pasta and set it aside.
- Drain your tuna and add it to the bowl with the soup and mayonnaise mixture. Mix well to combine.
- Drain the water chestnuts and finely dice, add to the tuna and soup mixture, and toss to coat.
- Thinly slice the green onions and add to the tuna mixture.
- Add in the noodles and mix well.
- Add 4 to 6 pats of the thinly sliced butter to the bottom of a 9 x 12 casserole dish.
- Pour the tuna mixture into the pan and spread it evenly in the pan.
- Top the casserole with the crushed potato chips (see the post for the chips I used) then top the chips with the remaining slices of butter.
- Bake in the oven, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. *every oven bakes differently so be sure to keep an eye on this the first time you bake it. Top with the remaining parsley.