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    Home » Pasta & Noodles

    30 Minute Creamy Easy Healthy Tuna Pasta Bake

    Published: Jun 20, 2022 · Modified: Nov 16, 2023 by Deborah Rainford · This post may contain affiliate links · 24 Comments

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    Creamy tuna pasta bake with cheese topping.

    This healthy tuna pasta bake uses frozen veggies, tinned tuna and al dente pasta all tossed in a creamy mornay sauce and baked over with cheese. A cheap, easy tuna pasta casserole that's ready in 30 minutes.

    Healthy tuna pasta bake in a casserole dish with a spoon.

    Pasta is such a reliable go-to quick dinner and this cheesy pasta bake is no exception. You should also try these other pasta bakes like the vegetarian stuffed pasta shells, the veggie pasta bake, and the 30-minute cheesy baked tortellini.

    This cheesy tuna pasta bake has got the creamiest cheese sauce mixed in with frozen peas and sweetcorn and perfectly chewy penne. The mixed spice and the mustard bring a hint of warmth and the butter keeps everything silky smooth. It's the tuna pasta bake that everyone will love.

    Jump to:
    • Why This Recipe Works
    • Ingredients needed
    • Step By Step Instructions
    • Recipe: FAQ
    • Substitutions & Variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Top tips
    • Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake

    Why This Recipe Works

    • The flour, butter, and milk replace cream or cream cheese meaning you save money on luxury ingredients and save lots of fat and calories.
    • By using half vegetable stock in the cheese sauce we're making it much lighter than using cream or all milk.
    • Using frozen veggies means that you probably already have all the ingredients you need to make this pasta bake.
    • You can modify the ingredients like the type of cheese and the type of pasta you use, making this really adaptable to what you have on hand.
    • It freezes and reheats like a dream so it's perfect as part of meal prep or for just making ahead.

    Ingredients needed

    Pantry ingredients for making tuna pasta casserole.
    • tinned or canned tuna packed in water *be sure it's packed in water not oil.
    • tinned or frozen peas and sweetcorn
    • penne or other short pasta like rigatoni or fusili
    • mixed spice and English mustard- these flavours are both classic additions to mornay sauce and accompany fish beautifully
    • flour and butter- the base of the cheese sauce- you can use margarine or dairy free spread
    • cheddar cheese- or other melty cheese
    • garlic- a little goes a very long way in this recipe and we only need 1 clove
    • vegetable stock made from a stock cube- we're using half stock and half milk to make the cheese sauce.
    • fresh parsley

    See the recipe card for quantities.

    Step By Step Instructions

    1 & 2

    Melting butter and making roux sauce.
    • Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside while you make the cheese sauce.
    • In a heavy bottom pan, cast iron, or a high-sided frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic to melted butter and cook gently for about 3-5 minutes until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
    • Whisk the flour into the melted butter. It will turn to a thick paste also known as a roux. Cook the roux for about 2 minutes. This is to cook out the raw flour taste.

    3 & 4

    Mornay sauce with vegetables in a casserole dish.
    • Pour in the milk and the vegetable stock whisking continuously to avoid lumps of flour forming. Bring to a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
    • Stir in the frozen/ tinned veggies and the parsley. Add in some of the cheese and let it melt. Stir in the drained can of tuna and stir well to coat everything.

    5 & 6

    Tuna pasta bake topped with melted cheese.
    • Taste and adjust the seasoning of the sauce. Add in the mustard and the mixed spice. Stir in the drained pasta and toss to coat all the noodles.
    • Top the penne with the remaining shredded cheese and bake in the preheated oven until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese topping is melted and golden brown.

    Hint: using a cast iron pan makes it really easy to go from stove top to oven to table. A skillet or a casserole dish is perfect for this.

    Recipe: FAQ

    Can you freeze tuna pasta bake?

    Absolutely. Because this is a roux-based cheese sauce it will freeze and defrost without any texture changes making it perfect for freezing. Simply divide leftovers between airtight containers with tight-fitting lids and freeze for up to 2 months.

    How do you reheat tuna pasta bake?

    Remove from the freezer and place in the fridge overnight to defrost. Place the defrosted casserole into an oven-safe dish and cover with foil. Heat in an oven preheated to about 350f for 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the pasta is hot.

    Can I use whole wheat pasta in this recipe?

    Wholewheat is a great healthy switch for the white pasta. It's high in fiber and protein. It takes a little longer to cook than white pasta so be sure to check the texture before draining it.

    Substitutions & Variations

    This cheesy tuna pasta casserole is highly adaptable. Below are some of the variations that can be made. They're a starting idea. If you have your own twists then leave a comment and let me know.

    • Stock - instead of using stock in tuna pasta casserole you can use water. Just be sure to check and add extra seasoning if you need to.
    • Cheese - I've used cheddar, but you can substitute any kind of melting cheese. Mozzarella or Swiss are great melty cheeses that work well here.
    • Vegetables - this pasta bake really is great for cleaning out the vegetable drawer in your fridge. Add in broccoli, cauliflower, courgette (zucchini) and mushrooms.
    • Breadcrumbs- It's traditional to top a tuna pasta bake with breadcrumbs to give some real crunch to the texture.
    • Make it gluten-free- use gluten free pasta and gluten-free flour to make the roux sauce.
    • Milk- unsweetened almond milk works as a great substitute here. Stay away from soy milk which tends to be quite sweet.

    Equipment

    This recipe requires only minimal equipment that you already have.

    • Oven safe dish- this cast iron one is what I use.
    • Microplane for grating the garlic
    • Wooden spoon for making the sauce
    • Sauce whisk

    Storage

    In the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

    For reheating instructions see FAQ section above.

    Top tips

    Don't over-mix the tuna. You want nice large chunks throughout the pasta.

    Need help with meal planning? You can find our (Aldi ingredients only) weekly meal plans here! Sign up to receive them free every week or take our quick meal planning course and grab the blank meal planner and use all these recipes to create your own meal plans. Follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.

    creamy tuna pasta bake with a spoon in it.

    Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake

    This tuna pasta bake is the perfect cheap healthy dinner. Creamy sauce tossed with veggies baked to cheesy perfection. Healthy Aldi Recipes.
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: pasta
    Cuisine: British
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6
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    Author: Deborah Rainford

    Ingredients

    • 500 g (4 ⅕ cups) dried penne, cooked according to the package instructions
    • 100 g (⅖ cups) butter
    • 2 cloves (2 cloves) garlic, minced
    • 100 g (¾ cups) flour
    • 425 (1 ⅔ cups) milk, any type (whole, skim, etc)
    • 250 g (1 cups) vegetable stock or water, made from a stock cube
    • 250 g (2 cups) shredded mature cheddar
    • 1 (1) tin tuna packed in water, drained
    • ½ (½) bunch fresh parsley, chopped
    • pinch (pinch) mixed spice
    • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) English mustard
    • 100 g frozen peas
    • 100 g frozen sweet corn

    Instructions

    • First, start by boiling some pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside while you make the sauce. Preheat the oven to 180c.
    • Melt the butter in an oven-safe dish and garlic. Let it soften gently in the butter for 3-5 minutes until its fragrant. Once the garlic is fragrant add in the flour and whisk to a paste.
    • Once you've whisked the butter and flour to a paste and cooked it out for about 5 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste, gently and slowly pour in the milk and vegetable stock. Whisk continuously to avoid lumps in the flour. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Stir occasionally so the sauce doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. Once the sauce is smooth, thick, and creamy stir in the frozen peas, drained sweet corn, and chopped parsley. Add the mustard and mixed spice. Stir half the cheese into the sauce and reserve the other half for topping the pasta and baking. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
    • Drain the tuna and fold it in leaving any large chunks. Toss the pasta in the sauce and make sure that every noodle is coated evenly. Scatter the remaining cheese over the top of the pasta and bake in the preheated oven until the pasta is hot all the way through and the cheese is melted, golde,n and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 646mg | Potassium: 225mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1054IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 395mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Tag Me @savvybites or tag #savvybites!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Aati Ferrari

      November 19, 2022 at 7:11 pm

      5 stars
      I was so tired of the regular tuna casserole that I make with mushroom soup... So I decided to give this one a go. I love that it has no onions, and the taste is amazing. I used beef broth because I didn't have veggie... And I didn't have mustard so i used little mustard sauce (do not do this!) But it ruined it so I didn't add more lol. but it turned out great. Thank you for the great recipe!

      Reply
      • Deborah Rainford

        November 21, 2022 at 1:33 pm

        Thanks so much, Aati! So happy that it worked out well. And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. It is so appreciated! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Laura

      November 08, 2022 at 4:34 pm

      What weight if peas and sweetcorn do I need?

      Reply
      • Deborah Rainford

        November 09, 2022 at 9:07 am

        I used 100g of each and I've updated the recipe with the amounts now. Sorry about that! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Moses

      September 25, 2022 at 5:23 pm

      How long does this recipe keep in the refrigerator?

      Reply
      • Deborah Rainford

        September 25, 2022 at 7:54 pm

        It'll keep 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Helen

      July 02, 2022 at 2:17 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is such a great weeknight saviour. And my kids love it. Thank you.

      Reply
    5. Sarah

      May 26, 2022 at 10:17 pm

      Hi when do you put the mustard in - it doesn’t say? Thanks

      Reply
      • Deborah Rainford

        May 27, 2022 at 4:49 pm

        Sorry about that. It goes in with the parsley in the sauce. The recipe has been updated.

        Reply
    6. Tressa Collocott

      March 11, 2022 at 10:37 am

      5 stars
      I loved this tuna pasta bake! My kids normally hate tuna, but they loved this one.

      Reply
      • Deborah Rainford

        March 11, 2022 at 11:18 am

        Thanks so much, Tressa for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating!

        Reply
    7. Julie

      June 22, 2021 at 4:35 pm

      Can you confirm how much stock please? Should it be 250ml ?

      Reply
      • Deborah Thompson

        June 22, 2021 at 5:14 pm

        That's right. 250Ml. If you feel you need to add a little more to get your desired consistency just add a little bit of boiling water until the sauce is just how you like it.

        Reply
        • Farzeen

          February 03, 2022 at 7:02 pm

          How much is 1 tin of tuna? How many grams?

          Reply
          • Deborah Rainford

            February 04, 2022 at 6:50 am

            It's a 160g tin of tuna packed in water which works out to 112g when drained.

            Reply
    8. Tracy

      June 07, 2021 at 2:06 pm

      Wondering where the vegetable broth is used in this recipe, as it's not mentioned at all in the instructions?

      Reply
      • Deborah Thompson

        June 08, 2021 at 9:59 am

        So sorry Tracy. It goes in with the milk. Thanks for catching that. The recipe has been updated now.

        Reply

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    Creamy tuna pasta bake with cheese topping.

    Hi, I'm Deborah! A Cordon Bleu graduate with more than 10 years of restaurant cooking experience. I now focus on helping you create easy, delicious and healthy(ish) budget recipes from scratch using only Aldi ingredients. Welcome to my virtual kitchen!

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