MY HUSBAND LOVES TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE. I HAVE TO ADMIT, I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT WAS UNTIL I MET HIM.
It’s just one of those things, like many American comfort food staples, we didn’t have in my house. My parents are Cuban, they immigrated to this country in the eighties. While I don’t think my moms cooking was very representative of Cuban cooking, she had her own style, it definitely didn’t include casseroles.
I LIKE TO THINK OF MY MOTHER AS MY GREATEST TEACHER.
I inherited her passion for cooking and some of her skill too. My style has evolved from mimicking hers to include dishes from all over. I greatly attribute that knowledge for my different jobs in kitchens, to moving around with the military, to loving to go out to dinner and of course, to traveling!
The first time I made tuna noodle casserole for my husband I was vegan. Ha! Yes… I used to be vegan. Well, by the time him and I were serious I had added sea life back in to my diet. So I made him this dairy free, heavy, gluten-full tuna casserole with lots of dairy free franken-food cheese. He ate it. Bless his heart.
Today I wanted to create something SUPER easy to make. A budget friendly, time friendly, low carb meal that fit in with my macros. I wanted something warm. It’s been a crazy few days and this girl needs all the comfort she can get.
THIS. THIS HAS ALL OF THAT. AND IT’S TASTY AF!
YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE CASHEW CREAM FOR THIS.
But seriously… if you’re not already making my cashew creamer for your coffee and other cooking needs you are missing out! This stuff is thick, creamy,and thickens when warmed.
It’s amazing.
How to make it:
Soak 2 cups whole raw cashews. Submerged in water with a pinch of salt for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Drain. Rinse.
Place soaked cashews in blender. Add in 2.5 cups filtered water. Blend on high until silky smooth
Store in a jar in the fridge up to a week. Boom.
Variations
To make this NUT FREE:
You can make a cream sauce by using sun butter or tahini. Mix 2 tablespoons with 1/2 cup water until smooth.
Or you can use cauliflower alfredo, recipe HERE.
To make this EGG-FREE:
Skip the mayo, mix 1 tablespoon of gelatin with cream sauce or use AIP cheese, recipe HERE.
Use a 5×7 or 8×8 baking dish. Double the recipe for a full-size casserole!
Tuna Zoodle Casserole
Healthy Tuna Noodle Casserole!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini
- 2 cans Safe Catch Albacore Tuna, in water
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 3 large cremini mushrooms
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2-3 tbsp paleo mayo (Primal Kitchen or Homemade, search one minute mayo for my recipe)
- 1 broccoli crown
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts, or cashews)
- 2/3 cup cashew cream (see text above for details)
Instructions
- First, make sure you have your mayo and cashew cream ready!
- Pre-heat your oven to 325F.
- Zoodle your zucchini. Lay the zoodles flat on a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle with salt. Let them rest here to they release liquid while you prep the rest.
- Mince onion and garlic, add in to the casserole dish.
- Thinly slice mushrooms and add them to the dish too.
- Open and drain tuna cans, flake the tuna into the casserole dish.
- Add in the salt, pepper, 1 tbsp mayo, mustard, lemon juice and rosemary.
- Mix well.
- Wrap the kitchen towel around the zucchini and squeeze the water out.
- Add the zoodles to the casserole dish and toss to combine.
- Pour in the cashew cream. Gently Mix.
- Cut your broccoli crown into florets and mince them into 1/4 inch pieces.
- Toss with chopped pecans in a bowl and mix with remaining mayo.
- Spread this mix over the top of the casserole.
- Sprinkle lightly with salt.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- It will be toasty on top and creamy inside! Make sure to use a knife to cut your pieces before serving or your zoodles will pull out the whole thing!
Notes
- Nutrition Info, per serving: Calories: 272 Fat: 20.7 Grams Carbs: 8.1 Grams Protein: 14.6 Grams
Keywords: Keto Tuna Noodle Casserole
I love this recipe! I use broccoli rice on top to save time and broil for 3-5 mins to give it a little more crunch. Thank you for sharing. Also, how many servings is this recipe? I see your nutritional info but can’t find how many servings. Thank you!
Great IDEA!
I made this tonight, It was amazing! I did saute the mushrooms, onions and garlic prior to adding them to the cassserole. Also, I added a bit of cheddar cheese. The result was the best tuna casserole I have ever had. Thank you
Mmmmm yum!!!
How many servings are in this recipe?
Four, it’s a small casserole… you can double it to make it in a full size casserole dish.
What size casserole dish? 8×8?
It’s a 5×7 I believe.
Have you ever tried freezing the casserole? If yes: (a) before or after cooking. (B) How did it hold up? Thanks.
I have not tried freezing it. However, if you are going to, I would freeze after cooking.
Great recipe!!!
Thanks!
Hi! I made this tonight and it came out truly amazing!!! Seriously my new favorite recipe–thank you so much! 🙂 I did follow Vicki’s lead (Commenter above) and sauté the mushrooms/onions/garlic together before adding them to the casserole and also added 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar on Top right before baking. This is such a fantastic and healthy twist on an old favorite. I will definitely be making it again and look forward to trying your other recipes!
Oh thank you so much Rebecca!! So thrilled you loved it!
Could you substitute spaghetti squash for the zoodles?
Sure thing!
HeY! Do u think i can sub the cashew cream with coconut cream?
I don’t think it will be thick enough, maybe cauliflower cream?
Good lord this recipe is AMAZING! Im not a fan of hot tuna so i used rotisserie chicken. When i made my cashew cream, i also threw in Two cloves of garlic and a couple shakes of dry mustard…so good!
love those modifications!! Yum!!
Im trying to eat low carB, but i do miss casseroles – eSpecially tuna noodle casseroles. I cant wait to try this – thank you!
This recipe is the bomb. I’ve made it twice in a week and plan to make it again for friends this weekend! If you like tuna noodle casserole it is a must!!!
thank you so much for coming back to leave a comment! Yeay!