Tuna Noodle Casserole
Tuna noodle casserole boils egg noodles one minute short of the package time, sautés onion and mushrooms in butter, builds a cream sauce with flour and milk, folds in drained tuna and half the cheddar cheese, then bakes the mixture topped with the remaining cheese at 190 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. Undercooking the noodles is intentional - they continue absorbing sauce and softening in the oven, so fully cooked noodles turn mushy by the time the casserole is done. Toasting the flour in butter before adding milk eliminates the raw flour taste and produces a smooth sauce when the milk is poured in gradually. Draining the tuna well keeps the sauce from becoming greasy. Splitting the cheese between the sauce and the topping gives the casserole depth throughout while creating a golden, bubbling gratin crust on the surface.
Adjust Servings
Instructions
- 1
Cook egg noodles 1 minute shy of package time, then drain.
- 2
Melt butter and sauté onion and mushrooms.
- 3
Stir in flour, then gradually add milk to make a cream sauce.
- 4
Fold in tuna, cooked noodles, and half of the cheese.
- 5
Transfer to a baking dish, top with remaining cheese, and bake at 190C for 20 minutes.
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