Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake
This delicious creamy tuna pasta bake uses simple store-cupboard ingredients and couldn't be easier to make!
Servings: 5
Cost: £2 / $2.50
Equipment
- Large Deep Pan, Wooden Spoon & Whisk (for sauce)
- Large Pot & Colander (for pasta)
- 9" x 9" Baking Dish (or similar size) (for baking)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board or Scissors (for chives)
- Food Processor (for breadcrumbs)
- Cheese Grater
- Serving Spoon
Ingredients
- 14oz / 400g Penne, or short cut pasta of choice
- 2 cups / 500ml Milk, at room temp
- 1 cup / 250ml Vegetable Stock
- 2 cups / 200g Sharp/Mature Cheddar, grated
- 2x 5oz/145g cans of Tuna Chunks, drained (see notes)
- 1x 198g/7oz can of Sweetcorn, drained (165g/5.8oz drained weight)
- 4 tbsp EACH: Butter, Flour
- 1 slice of Bread, pulsed into crumbs (see notes)
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 tsp EACH: Salt, White Pepper (or to taste)
- 1/4 tsp EACH: Onion Powder, Garlic Powder
- Oil Spray, as needed
- finely diced Fresh Chives, to serve
- Black Pepper, as needed (or just use more white pepper, this is the season the top before baking)
Instructions
- Pop your pasta in salted boiling and cook until al dente (take a min or so off cooking, you want it a touch hard). Drain just before adding to the sauce.
- Meanwhile, in a large deep pan over medium heat melt in 4 tbsp butter. Whisk in 4 tbsp flour to form a roux, then gradually add in milk, whisking as you go to avoid lumps. Whisk in veg stock and simmer for a few mins until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Stir in dijon mustard, salt, white pepper and onion/garlic powder, then turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. Once the cheese has melted, stir in the drained pasta, then gently toss in tuna and sweetcorn (don't be too aggressive or the tuna turns to mush).
- Pour into a baking dish, then level off with a wooden spoon. Top with breadcrumbs, a good pinch of salt and pepper and a liberal coating of oil spray. Bake in the oven for 20mins at 200C/390F, or until golden and crispy on top.
- Finish with fresh chives, then serve up and enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Tuna - I typically use tuna in oil, just because it's a little richer in flavour, but spring water/brine will work just fine. I recommend using chunks, not flakes. I find that flakes go too mushy, whereas chunks hold up better in the sauce. For reference, the amount of drained tuna I use is 7oz/200g, but you could get away with a little more if your cans are slightly larger.
b) Breadcrumbs - Best to use bread that's ever-so-slightly stale and pulse it in a food processor. If you have ready made breadcrumbs (extra points for Panko) just use them. Just a light coating to cover the pasta. If you don't have any sort of breadcrumbs on hand you could top with more cheese instead!
c) Flavour enhancers - These certainly aren't deal breakers, so don't make a special trip for them. Just if you've got them in the cupboards. If you've only got one or the other that's fine, just use what you've got.
d) Prep Ahead - I recommend making this fresh. The texture is much better. However, if you need to prep ahead of time I recommend draining the pasta and tossing in a knob of butter. This will help prevent it bloating in the sauce as it rests. Also allow the sauce to cool to around lukewarm temp, then combine with the pasta. Store in the fridge or freezer without the topping, then thaw and bake with the topping as per recipe. I recommend bringing close to room temp before baking, just to take the chill out of the centre.
e) Tomato Version - for a TOMATO tuna pasta bake, check out my Tomato Tuna Pasta Bake Recipe!
f) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 5.
Nutrition
Calories: 705kcal | Carbohydrates: 81.18g | Protein: 29.85g | Fat: 30.38g | Saturated Fat: 16.872g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.286g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7.685g | Trans Fat: 1.069g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 659mg | Potassium: 573mg | Fiber: 9.7g | Sugar: 7.38g | Vitamin A: 1112IU | Vitamin C: 2.2mg | Calcium: 436mg | Iron: 2.12mg