This comforting dairy-free Healthy Tuna Noodle Casserole is made decadently creamy with cashews. Just as satisfying as the original, it’s the ultimate weeknight dinner!
I feel like Tuna Noodle Casserole is a love it or hate it situation. Not much gray happening there.
Like you either vehemently loathe it or you’re absolutely smitten. I’m clearly of the latter camp. And holy moly, I hope you are, too!
I grew up eating tuna noodle casserole and chicken and broccoli with rice and all things cozy. There’s something so comforting about digging into a casserole, am I right?!
Similar to my Vegan Lasagna, I’ve been making a version of this for years (Jeff LOVES it), but just recently took the time to write down the recipe. Because you need this classic in your arsenal!
It’s one of those meals perfect for weeknight dinner because it makes a big pan and the leftovers taste even better.
The magic is in the cashew cream sauce.
You will NOT believe how thick and creamy this sauce is! MAGIC.
Classic tuna noodle casserole recipes call for some combo of milk, cheese, or condensed soup. You can’t go wrong with the classic, but today’s version is a bit more nutrient-dense to power you through your week. Ya dig?
After sautéing the onion, celery, garlic, and mushrooms, you’ll make a roux with flour and creamy homemade cashew mylk. Nutritional yeast adds a nice rich cheesy flavor. Finish her off with peas (obligatory!) and plenty of tuna for fabulous flavor.
Feel free to make this recipe your own. Prefer bow tie noodles or shells? Go for it! Hate peas? Leave ’em out. Want extra cheesiness? Sprinkle parm on top. You do you!
Whatever you do, do not skip the Frank’s hot sauce. It takes this baby to the next level.
My favorite sustainable & delicious tuna:
I love Wild Planet albacore tuna, which I buy in 5-packs at Costco. It’s pole and line caught in the northern Pacific Ocean or off coastal New Zealand, maintaining natural fish populations and preserving the local oceanic habitats. It contains no added oil, water, or fillers, just tasty tuna!
Safe Catch is another excellent choice, which has the lowest mercury of any brand. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch is my favorite resource when it comes to science-based recommendations for ocean-friendly seafood choices.
They even have printable guides to find the most sustainable options for your state! The seafood to avoid means that “they’re overfished, lack strong management or are caught or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment.”
Per the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, here are some simple guidelines to follow when shopping for tuna:
1. Look for the following “Best Choice” sources of tuna caught with trolling lines or handlines and hand-operated pole-and-lines: 1) albacore (aka white tuna) caught in the North Pacific, South Pacific and North Atlantic; 2) skipjack tuna (aka light tuna) caught in the East Pacific and Western and Central Pacific, and 3) yellowfin tuna caught in the Western and Central Pacific.
2. U.S.-caught tuna is a “Best Choice” or “Good Alternative,” except for Avoid-rated Pacific bluefin tuna caught in California and bigeye tuna caught in the Atlantic with drifting longlines.
3. Except for U.S.-caught, take a pass on all tuna caught with drifting longlines and floating object purse seines (FAD). Also, don’t buy wild-caught Pacific bluefin and Southern bluefin tuna.
4. All species of farmed bluefin tuna are on the “Avoid” list. If you’re not sure of the species, where it’s from and how it was caught, err on the side of caution and look for other “Best Choice” seafood.
Can this be made gluten-free?
Yes, as long as you use gluten-free pasta and breadcrumbs. These are my favorite GF breadcrumbs and this is my favorite pasta. The texture of the pasta is perfect—not at all mushy and no whole grain taste.
How to store, freeze, and reheat:
How to store, freeze, and reheat:- Store tuna noodle casserole in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
- This casserole can be frozen! If you’re planning to freeze, follow the recipe except for the topping. Place in a freezers-safe dish like this one and let it cool completely. Cover and freeze.
- To reheat, let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Top with breadcrumbs and bake per the recipe instructions.
If you love this recipe, please let me know by leaving a 5-star rating and/or comment! I hope you adore it as much as I do!
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Healthy Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This comforting dairy-free Healthy Tuna Noodle Casserole is made decadently creamy with cashews. Just as satisfying as the original, it’s the ultimate weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- 12 oz whole wheat egg noodles, fusilli, or pasta of choice
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (see notes for nut free option*)
- 3 tbsp butter or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
- 2 5oz cans tuna, drained (I like Wild Planet or Safe Catch)
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- lots of freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Cook noodles in a large pot of salted water until just al dente. Drain and set aside. While pasta boils, place cashews in a small bowl and cover with hot water.
- Melt butter/oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for another minute.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Drain cashews and place in blender with 2 1/2 cups water (I used my Nutribullet). Blend until completely smooth and creamy.
- Pour in cashew cream and nutritional yeast and whisk well. Once mixture starts to simmer, add peas, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until mixture has thickened. Stir in drained tuna and noodles. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- Pour into baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spray top with cooking spray and bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy hot with Frank’s hot sauce! Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Notes
This casserole can be frozen! If you’re planning to freeze, follow the recipe except for the topping. Place in a freezers-safe dish like this one and let it cool completely. Cover and freeze. To reheat, let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Top with breadcrumbs and bake per the recipe.
*If you can’t do nuts, you can omit cashews and use 2 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk and a handful of parmesan or cheddar! If it needs to be thicker, make a slurry by stirring together 1 tbsp cornstarch with a splash of milk in a small bowl and stir into sauce.
Recipe by Alexis Joseph of Hummusapien™. Photos by Eat Love Eats.
Hi Alex! I cannot wait to try this recipe. This will put the high speed blender I got for Christmas to good use 🙂 Quick question, do you think I could sub walnuts in for cashews?
Awesome! Nope–walnuts have a very strong flavor that would be overpowering here. Cashews are nice and mild for the perfect sauce!
Comfort food at its finest! So delish!
Hi there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog.
Is it difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things
out pretty fast. I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions?
Cheers
★★★★★
I only have the Pacific Organic Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup. Should I do anything different to compensate? Thanks!
Girl!! This is amazing, my casserole is in the oven as I type this. I tasted the mixture with all the ingredients together (before oven) wow it is so good like that as well. Thank you so much I will be making this as a permanent recipe that I don’t have to feel guilty about!
★★★★★
Yay!! Such an oldie but a goodie!
what kind of tuna did you use? is it salmon or tuna flakes? planning on making this tomorrow! 🙂 thanks
Just regular flaked tuna!
I don’t know what kind of hippie stores you have around you, but I couldn’t find whole-wheat shells, whole-wheat bread crumbs, or organic cream of mushroom soup at the large grocery store in my very urban, diverse town. I did whole-wheat rotini and regular soup instead, which tasted just fine. But the breadcrumbs I used just sat there like lumps of sand and didn’t cook at all! Maybe I bought the wrong kind? The canister just said “Traditional Bread Crumbs.” Anyway, this is an okay recipe. Tastes decent, but not much like real tuna noodle casserole, if that’s what you’re craving.
★★★
if you get bread crumbs ready-made, check to see that they are very dry and crisp. Feel them and see that they are like crisp toast in texture. If not, heat them until they are crisp. If they are not fine in texture, make them so they are very small pieces, almost like flour. You can use a rolling pin or a can to smash the crumbs inside a plastic bag. If the crumbs crisp and dry, they will taste great. Better yet is to make some very dry toast using a good nutty-tasting whole grain bread and use those slices to make the crumbs
Is there a way I can get an estimate nutritional table on this one? Especially the sodium content because I am on a very sodium-restrict diet. Thanks! Love the recipe!
★★★★★
I don’t calculate nutrition info–sorry! You could try entering the recipe into the recipe calulcator on sparkrecipes.com.
I would love to try this for my family, but my biggest, little guy, has a severe tree nut allergy. Do you have a recommendation on how I could adapt this using something other than nuts? Dairy is okay in our house. Thank you so much!!
Hi! You can omit cashews and use 2 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk and a handful of parmesan or cheddar! If it needs to be thicker, make a slurry by stirring together 1 tbsp cornstarch with a splash of milk in a small bowl and stir into sauce. Taste the sauce before mixing everything together, keeping in mind it’ll be saltier since it’s going to mixed with all the other stuff. I often sprinkle parmesan or cheddar on top! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
I will most definitely be coming over for this recipe! Tuna Noodle Casserole is one of those things you get a random craving for and have to fulfill it ASAP!
Right?! So delish.
Did you happen to determine the calorie contents of each serving?
Before You Ever Buy Bread Again Read This
We were having a gross, cold day in South Carolina (which is rare!) and I was craving some good comfort food that wasn’t full of cream, butter, and cheese. After searching through a lot of different recipes, I found this one. Made it for my hubby and he didn’t even comment on the whole wheat noodles, kale, or the fact that it didn’t have the amount of cheese he was accustomed to. We both loved it and he asked for the leftovers for lunch the next day. I think next time I’ll sneak in even more green stuff! Thank you for the wonderful recipe…it’s definitely a keeper.
★★★★★
Hi Kalan! I’m SO glad you enjoyed the recipe! I love that you can easily sneak in peas and spinach 🙂 Thanks for reporting back!
I just made this tonight (found it on Pintrest recently) and have been staring at multiple cans of tuna in my cabinet for weeks now. I hate peas, (which is weird, because I’ll eat anything else on the planet) and as much as they are good for me, I simply can not bear to have them in any dish. I threw in some sliced black olives instead, and used Panko on top. This is SO tasty. I’m glad I found it. Lunch for days! 🙂
★★★★
Yay! I’m so happy it turned out well for you, Tasha! It’s a great way to use up extra tuna. Good call on the panko!
I practically jumped out of my seat at the sight of this post. I used to eat Tuna Noodle Casserole like crazy and the only reason why I stopped was for the very reasons you outlined in the beginning of the post. So glad you introduced me to a better version of mushroom soup and a healthier tuna casserole. Thanks, my dear!!
★★★★★
You’re very welcome, Julia! I was happy to solve the conundrum of icky mushroom soup 🙂 Enjoy!
Okay I’m not going to lie: just the thought of canned tuna icks me out BUT I am loving the sound of this recipe…and imagining it with chicken instead of the tuna! And I bet you could really pimp yo casserole out with different soup flavors ;)!
I don’t blame you at all. I mean it’s tuna in a can…totally weird. I’m surprised it doesn’t gross me out more! Yet somehow I just can’t get enough of it…