Stovetop Tuna Noodle Skillet is a quick and easy, comforting dinner recipe loaded with tuna, egg noodles, peas, and a creamy, cheesy, from-scratch white sauce!
When I need to get dinner on the table in a flash but didn’t exactly plan ahead, I often find myself throwing together a one-pot, stovetop recipe based around ground beef. But {gasp}…sometimes there’s nary a pound of ground beef to be found in the fridge or freezer! And on those occasions, it’s nice to have a recipe in my arsenal that relies on a common, nonperishable, pantry staple instead…canned tuna!
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Who didn’t eat Tuna Noodle Casserole as a kid? I remember my mom making it, and I remember enjoying it. But for some reason, I’ve only sporadically thought to cook it for my own family over the years. So a few weeks ago, when I had one of those it’s-5-o’clock-and-I-don’t-have-anything-planned-for-dinner moments of panic, I spied two cans of tuna in the pantry…and it was Tuna Noodle Casserole to the rescue!
I decided I wanted to keep things as simple as possible and assemble everything on the stove rather than popping a dish in the oven. I also wanted said simple recipe to be homemade and from-scratch, with nary a can of condensed cream of X soup to be included.
So I put a big pot of water on to boil and got the egg noodles going while I started a basic bechamel sauce in another skillet. I know, I know…bechamel sounds all fancy and frou-frou and French. But y’all…it’s so, so easy. In fact, it involves nothing more than melting butter, whisking in flour, and ultimately adding milk to make a creamy, dreamy white sauce.
Once the sauce was thick and silky, I seasoned it and stirred in a big handful of grated cheddar cheese plus two cans of drained tuna. In the meantime, my noodles were almost done, so I dumped some frozen peas into the boiling pasta water to cook for the last minute or two.
Then I drained the noodles and peas, stirred them into the cheesy, tuna-flecked, white sauce…
…and sprinkled the whole skillet with a mixture of crushed butter crackers and grated Parmesan. In less than 20 minutes, dinner was on the table!
So did my kids love this from-scratch Stovetop Tuna Noodle Skillet as much as I recall enjoying the recipe from my childhood? Well, both of my boys scarfed it down. And my (pickypickypicky) daughter actually allowed it to occupy space on her plate. Believe me…that’s a win around these parts.
But the greatest affirmation came later that evening, when I went to put away the paper where I’d scrawled down the recipe as I made it. I saw that my 9-year-old had written “YUMMY” at the bottom, along with a big smiley face and his signature. Hey, it’s not often that something I cook garners legit graffiti on my recipe notes.
With Lent upon us, my family will be avoiding meat on Fridays and putting Stovetop Tuna Noodle Casserole into regular rotation instead. But I have no doubt that this recipe’s popularity at our house will continue long after Easter. After all, such an easy, tasty, comforting meal deserves to be enjoyed year-round! I’ve got recipe graffiti to prove it. 😉
Creamy, comforting, Stovetop Tuna Noodle Casserole Skillet is loaded with tuna, egg noodles, peas, and a cheesy homemade sauce for a quick and easy dinner!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces extra-wide egg noodles
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup (4 ounces) freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 2 (6-ounce) cans tuna, drained and flaked
- 3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley, optional
- 1/2 cup crushed butter cracker crumbs, optional
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the egg noodles and cook per package directions. A minute or so before the noodles are done, add the frozen peas to the boiling water. Once the noodles are cooked to your liking, drain the noodles and peas and set aside.
- While the noodles are cooking, set another large pot, pan, or skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and swirl until melted. Stir in the flour and continuously whisk for 2 minutes. Continue to whisk vigorously as you slowly and gradually pour in the milk. Stir until smooth and bring to a simmer, whisking regularly to prevent the bottom from burning. Cook for a minute or two until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in the salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Gradually blend in the cheddar until melted, and then stir in the drained tuna and the parsley, if using.
- Stir the drained noodles and peas into the sauce and mix until everything is well coated. If desired, combine the cracker crumbs and the Parmesan in a small bowl and evenly sprinkle the mixture over the entire skillet. Serve immediately.
Notes
You may use your favorite type of canned tuna, but I prefer water-packed to keep the calories down. I also prefer chunk light (skipjack/tongol) over chunk white (albacore) because of lower mercury levels.
The way the recipe is written is the fastest way to make it. However, if you don't mind it taking a little longer and you'd prefer to conserve on dirty dishes, you can make everything in the same pot. Start out by boiling the noodles and peas (as directed) in a large pot or Dutch oven. Drain them into a colander, rinse with hot water, and set aside. Then proceed with the recipe by melting the butter in the same pasta pot and making the white sauce (as directed). Finally, add the noodles and peas back to the pot at the very end.
The first time I made this recipe, we really enjoyed the addition of fresh parsley. But I didn't have any on hand when I made the recipe again and took the pictures for this post. So parsley is included as an option in the recipe...even though it's not shown in these photos. 🙂
More easy dinner ideas…
Baked Chicken Taquitos with Avocado Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Great recipe egg noodles for beginners. I liked it so much. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Freya
Delicous!!! MY whole family (kids ages 8, 5, and 2) and my hubby loved it! And iI always have these ingredients in the fridge and pantry. Perfect weeknight meal! Thank you!
This was a good basic base, but I added celery salt, and onion powder. And didn’t have any milk so I used a sour cream and water combo and it worked out perfectly. I’d definitely add real onions, maybe sautéed in the butter, in the future.
Made your recipe tonight! It was awesome.
Boyfriend said, “This is Good!!” I didn’t have everything on hand to follow the recipe exactly, but close. We ate through the refrigerator prior to vacation and returned home having to ‘make do’ I was happy to find your recipe.
I only had evaporated milk in the pantry, so I was a bit short and had to add some pasta water. I used a combo of elbows and shells. I borrowed from another recipe and sauteed some onion and garlic in olive oil and added it to thr rue for more flavor. Also added some additional spices; nutmeg, red pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard and pepper.
Very appreciative, thank you!
So happy you enjoyed it, Sandy…your modifications sound yummy. 🙂
Made this tonight for dinner. I’m thinking (in hindsight) because I didn’t have extra wide egg noodles there was a lot of sauce. To fix I simmered the whole thing for about 15 minutes and all was well 😀 Besides the garlic powder (ran out) and optionals (none on hand) I followed recipe as is for the longer, one pot method. So much better than the cream of mushroom version I’ve made in the past! Thank You!
I’m happy it all worked out and that you enjoyed it, Denise! 🙂
I just made this and it turned out pretty well. The sauce did not seem to thicken much in the pan- I’m not sure if this was because I started mixing the butter and flour before I realized I needed to add in all the milk. I was able to get it to thicken more later on by adding more flour in with everything and letting it simmer. I also only had regular size egg noodles instead of extra wide. I added broccoli as well. It did turn out pretty bland, though. Any suggestions on that for next time?
You can increase the seasonings to your liking, Meagan! Sometimes adding extra salt and pepper, a little bit at a time until it tastes right, is all a recipe needs to make the flavors pop. 🙂