My mom was visiting and I wanted to make a delicious & healthy casserole for dinner one night so I decided to make this Italian Tuna Casserole.
A little tuna, pasta, spinach, cheese and seasoning. How can it go wrong? Besides burning the onions and garlic, this recipe is pretty simple to make, even for beginners.
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This recipe does require quite a few ingredients, but don’t let that distract you. This recipe is pretty simple to make and doesn’t require any special skills to make.
Most of the ingredients needed are pretty common and you should already have most of them on-hand, except maybe the spinach.
I try to keep at least one frozen package of spinach in the freezer at all times but since I don’t use spinach that often, I sometimes forget to replenish the freezer.
If you enjoy making recipes like this, make sure you check out my collection of delicious Casserole Recipes. My Thai Peanut Chicken Casserole is one of my absolute favorites as is my Club Chicken Casserole. If you like cooking with tuna, you should try my Tasty Pasta Tuna Salad.
An alternative to using chicken broth is Better Than Bouillon. I often use it when I don’t have broth on hand.
Gather your Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make this Italian Tuna Casserole recipe (see recipe card for quantities): Frozen Chopped Spinach, Salt, Pasta, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Unsalted Butter, Yellow Onion, Garlic Cloves, All Purpose Flour, White Wine, Low Sodium Chicken Broth, Milk, Ground Nutmeg, Hot Sauce, Dijon Mustard, White Tuna in Water, Parmesan Cheese and Fresh Parsley.
How to Make Italian Tuna Casserole
- Defrost the spinach according to directions on the package. Place the defrosted spinach on paper towels pat them dry. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add salt. Cook the pasta al dente according to the directions on the package.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a deep large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil then melt the butter into the oil. When the butter melts, add the onions and garlic and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour around the pan and cook for a minute, then whisk in the wine. The mixture should thicken almost immediately. Whisk in the chicken broth and the milk and bring it to a bubble. Reduce the heat to low.
- Add the nutmeg, hot sauce, and mustard to the sauce mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Add the spinach, separating it as you add it to the sauce.
- Add the tuna, flaking it as you go, and stir to combine. Let the mixture heat for a minute or so. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix to combine.
- Transfer the tuna mixture to a casserole dish and cover it with the parmesan cheese. Place the casserole under the broiler for 2 minutes to brown the edges and cheese.
- Top with the parsley and serve.
Italian Tuna Casserole
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Ingredients
- 10 oz Frozen Chopped Spinach
- Salt
- 1 lb Pasta
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
- ½ Cup Yellow Onion, finely chopped
- 5 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup Dry White Wine
- 1 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 Cups Milk
- ¼ Tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Tsp Frank's RedHot Original Hot Sauce
- 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 15 oz White Tuna in Water, drained
- 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
- 1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
- Fresh Parsley
Instructions
- Defrost the spinach according to directions on the package. Place the defrosted spinach on paper towels pat them dry. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, bring water to a boil, then salt. Cook the pasta al dente according to the directions on the package.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a deep large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil then melt the butter into the oil. When the butter melts, add the onions and garlic and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour around the pan and cook for a minute, then whisk in the wine. The mixture should thicken almost immediately. Whisk in the chicken broth and the milk and bring it to a bubble. Reduce the heat to low.
- Add the nutmeg, hot sauce, and mustard to the sauce mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Add the spinach, separating it as you add it to the sauce.
- Add the tuna, flaking it as you go, and stir to combine. Let heat for a minute or so. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix to combine.
- Transfer the tuna mixture to a casserole dish and cover it with parmesan and breadcrumbs. Place the casserole under the broiler for 2 minutes to brown the edges and cheese.
- Top with the parsley and serve.
Notes
I tried this recipe yesterday as I was curious about it. I was not a fan of tuna, but my family loves it so decided to try it. Ir was very easy to make and to my surprise I really liked it. My family were crazy about it. I love spinach so I figured it would be ok. It was more than ok, it was delicious. There was enough left over for lunch today and it tasted even better. Definitely a keeper.