Cheesy Tuna Casserole Recipe with Ritz Cracker Topping, egg noodles, and peas is a traditional old fashioned, and classic comfort food that you have likely grown up with. And talk about an easy recipe!
This simple tuna casserole with ingredients you most likely have in your home.
Why you will love Cheesy Tuna Casserole
This dish is an easy weeknight dinner that only takes about 30 minutes. Comfort food at its finest, the crunchy topping (with the help of buttery Ritz crackers) is so satisfying.
Super cheesy, this dish has cheese on top and the inside, making sure every bite contains the best flavor.
Filling and delicious, this savory dinner casserole makes excellent leftovers for next-day dinners as well.
Ingredients
- Egg noodles – I believe that only wide egg noodles should be used in a tuna casserole. They have the right amount of hold without being too thick. While pasta is often interchangeable, you do not want too dense of a casserole in the creamy sauce—just prep per package instructions.
- Tuna – Make sure to get canned tuna in water and not oil. I like white tuna, but it is acceptable to use light tuna.
- Frozen peas and carrots – Grab a bag of frozen peas and carrots and let them thaw at room temperature or in the fridge overnight. Remove any excess water before use. Typically this isn’t an ingredient you should use from cans as canned veggies tend to be softer, and you want the crisp-tender version that frozen provides this dish.
- Cream of mushroom soup – This super creamy Campbell’s cream soup is one of the main ingredients for a burst of delicious flavor. And because it’s canned, it’s likely right in your pantry! Now traditional throwback tuna casserole recipes like this always use Cream of Mushroom, but it’s the creamy part that counts. If you hate canned soup, you can test out replacing it with sour cream or a half sour cream and half mayo blend for a still creamy white sauce taste without the soup. You will lose some of the overall flavors, however.
- diced onions
- garlic powder + salt + black pepper
- cheddar cheese
Ritz Cracker Topping
- Ritz Crackers – I prefer a Ritz cracker topping on casserole dishes like these. I usually have them in the pantry, and it makes it easy. But growing up, my mom always crunched up Ruffles or Lays potato chips to make a crispy topping. You can also use panko bread crumbs if you prefer.
How to make Homemade Tuna Casserole
BEFORE STARTING: Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set casserole dish aside.
- Boil egg noodles and completely drain any excess moisture.
- Add drained canned tuna, defrosted vegetables, Cream of Mushroom soup, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, and chopped onions to a bowl.
- Dump in all seasonings, including garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper. Stir cream sauce ingredients well to make sure all spices are incorporated.
- Slowly add milk and stir to combine. Now add cooked noodles and stir once more.
- Spread into a large casserole baking dish.
- Top casserole with lots of shredded cheddar cheese across the entire casserole.
- Sprinkle with crushed Ritz crackers.
- Bake tuna noodle casserole for 15-20 minutes or until edges are bubbly, the top is golden brown, and the center is hot.
Ingredient Variations
- Frozen Peas (without carrots)
- Add Cooked or Canned Mushrooms
- Cooked Rice
- Pre-cooked bacon pieces
- Sauteed Sliced Mushrooms
- Substitute Cream of Mushroom for Cream of Chicken
Recipe FAQ’s
Absolutely!
Just make one day ahead of time, but wait till the day of to add cheese layer and Ritz topping (or any bread crumb topping) till ready to cook. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before baking and set sit at room temperature. Then add topping and bake. Remember that chilled dishes often take longer in the oven than the original recipe due to how cold the food is.
Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Casserole Dish Recipes
- SPINACH CASSEROLE RECIPE
- CHEESY ASPARAGUS AND SHRIMP BAKE
- CHICKEN CASSEROLE WITH RITZ CRACKERS
- EASY CHICKEN AND RICE BAKE
- CHEESY BEEF AND TORTILLA CASSEROLE
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Tuna Casserole Recipe with Ritz Cracker Topping
Ingredients
- 12 oz. egg noodles cooked and drained
- (2) 5 oz. cans of tuna packed in water, drained
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots thawed
- (2) 10.5 oz. cream of mushroom soup cans
- 1/4 cup diced onions
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided – 1 cup for mix and 1 cup for topping
- 1 sleeve Ritz Crackers crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Boil wide egg noodles and drain of any excess water.
- Add drained canned tuna, thawed vegetables, both cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, diced onions, milk, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese to a large bowl and mix well.
- Fold in boiled egg noodles.
- Pour tuna casserole mixture into previously prepared pan.
- Top tuna casserole with remaining cheese (adding extra is fine if you like your tuna casserole extra cheesy) and crunched up Ritz crackers.
- Bake cheesy tuna casserole for 15-20 minutes or until edges are bubbly and center is hot.
Notes
Can you Freeze Casseroles?
Typically you can freeze casseroles like this one. As with any fridge or frozen foods, it must be tightly sealed from air with saran wrap or in an air tight container and its smart to mark with the date. Once ready to serve, defrost in fridge (which will likely take the night) and then bake the next day until heated through. Remember that cold items take longer in the oven, so you may have to cover the top with foil to prevent your tops from burning. Overall freezing and defrosting varies depending how much you are freezing and your oven, so you may have to monitor.Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.
Comments & Reviews
Jessica Draeger says
Enjoyed this casserole. A little too much garlic for us. Next time I’ll use 1/2 tsp instead.
Blossom Smith says
My 3 young girls have been making this for our family since we found it here several years ago. At the time they were 7 7 and 5 years old. One is an extremely picky eater but when she gets to cook this she can’t seem to get enough. I’ve even convinced them to add extra peas to the dish. Now the only problem is keeping track of who’s turn it is to cook it!:)
Trisha Haas says
Awesome! So glad to hear that other kids are in the kitchen too. My kids love to cook (more than eat what they cook too, lol).
~Trisha
Anthony says
I just pulled this out of the oven and it tastes fantastic. I baked it for an extra 5 minutes or so.
This will be gone by tomorrow.
Trisha Haas says
Yay! Tuna casserole really is one of my very favorite comfort foods. I am so glad you enjoyed!
trisha
MAUREEN says
Ingredients list 2 cans of Mushroom soup but direction says to 1 CAN?
Trisha Haas says
I said to “add can of mushroom soup” and I think I just inadvertently left off the “s” and didn’t catch it but the ingredient list IS correct. Its 2 cans. Thanks for pointing out the mistake!