This cheesy, creamy tuna pasta bake recipe will satisfy any comfort food craving you have. With its silky texture, no roux (who has time for a roux on a weeknight?) and delicious crispy cheese on top, this is needs to get into your rotation. If you’re looking for a lighter, zesty option, my 15 minute tuna pesto pasta is a quick winner too!
Table of Contents
Try these other pasta bake recipes; Healthy Baked Ziti Inspired Pasta Bake, Aubergine Parmigiana Pasta Bake, Easy Tomato Tuna Pasta Bake
The main ingredients that make this Tuna Pasta Bake recipe fantastic are the following:
Tuna
I used tuna stored in brine in this recipe, which reduces the calories in comparison to oil packed tuna. Itโs also more flavourful than tuna in water, in my opinion. For a different take using tinned tuna, check out my easy tuna fishcakes, a budget-friendly, crispy delight.
Cheddar
Mild cheddar adds a perfect richness to the creamy sauce and provides thickness and body to the sauce once melted. It also obviously crisps up amazingly to form the most flavourful golden cheese layer on top of the pasta bake.
Cream Cheese
With most creamy tuna pasta bakes, youโll find that many people use a roux (flour, butter and milk) to form the base of the cheese sauce. I wanted to keep this recipe super simple by using cream cheese, cheddar and pasta water to create the cheesy sauce. This reduces the prep time before the oven for the pasta bake.
See theย recipe cardย for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
Love a creamy pasta dish? Consider making these other delightfully creamy recipes during the week: Creamy Philadelphia Chicken Pasta, Steak Pasta with Creamy Sauce, Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
Start by preheat oven to 180ยฐC โ Grill. You may want to prepare a side dish like my creamed cabbage to complement the meal
3. Add the rigatoni to salted boiling water, set the timer, follow the packet instruction time minus 2 minutes (Image 3).
4. In the same pan, add the drained tuna, cream cheese, grated cheddar and two ladles of pasta water. Stir until the cheese melts and a creamy sauce is achieved. Add extra pasta water as necessary (Image 4).
5. Add extra pasta water as necessary. Add the lemon juice and dijon mustard and stir into the sauce. Then season with salt and lots of pepper (Image 5).
6. To a large baking dish, add the drained rigatoni, sweetcorn and cheesy tuna pasta sauce (Image 6).
7. Stir to incorporate everything and top with the remaining cheddar (Image 7).
8. Pop the cheesy tuna pasta bake under the grill for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is crispy and golden brown on top. Top with fresh parsley and season with salt and lots of black pepper (Image 8).
If you have leftover tuna consider making one of these yummy recipes; Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad, Spicy Tuna with Crispy Rice (Budget Recipe), Tuna-Mayo Courgette Salad โ
To meal-prep, cook the whole batch as described in the recipe. Allow it to cool and then divide it into 5/6 meal prep containers. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Store the parsley separately.
When itโs time to eat, remove from the fridge/freezer and place in an oven-safe dish. Cook for 10 minutes or under the grill until crispy and golden. Season with salt and lots of black pepper and enjoy!
Since this tuna and pasta bake is so cheesy and comforting, I like to lighten up my side dish by having a Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing without Anchovies (Low Calorie!) or Crispy Smashed Broccoli with Parmesan.
Want to add some additional veggies on the side? How about these pairings:
However, if Iโm feeling like I need a little extra comfort, I will make Frozen Garlic Bread in Air Fryer!
Refrigerator:ย You can refrigerate this dish covered or in an airtight container for up to 5 days. If you love meal prepping pasta dishes, you should also consider my easy boursin cheese pasta– it never gets old!
Freezer: ย Iโd cook the whole batch in one baking dish and then divide into individual portions and freeze once cooled.
Reheat: You can either reheat the tuna pasta bake in the microwave or oven. If you pop your heat proof meal prep dish under the grill for a couple of minutes youโll get a better crispy cheese layer, but the microwave works just fine in a rush.
Try some sweet recipes after the tuna pasta; Chocolate Tiffin Recipes, Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe, Simple & Easy Brownies
Yes definitely! In fact I encourage it for this recipe. The cream cheese and pasta water is the foundation of the sauce, so if you don’t mind having the extra few calories, it results in a silkier, more luxurious sauce!
I recommend cooking the pasta to al dente before adding it to your pasta dish otherwise it’ll take a long long time to cook in the oven, and the quanitites for the liquids will be wrong.
I actually use tuna in brine. It provides more flavour than water, and less fat than oil.
This recipe is super easy to customise to be GF, simply trade out the pasta with your fave GF pasta, It is a bit harder to make dairy free but if you have a go to dairy-free cream cheese and cheddar, then you will definitely enjoy the results with your favourite substitutions.
This could be because you didn’t add enough pasta water or you cooked it out too much. When you pour it into the baking dish, it should be creamy and saucy, if it’s looking dry, add an extra ladle of pasta water before topping with your cheddar.
Definitely! I would hold off on adding the cheddar layer and ensure that you tightly cover in cling film to prevent any freezer burn. When it’s time to eat, let your tuna pasta bake defrost on the counter, then top with cheese and follow the oven steps.
Try some other pasta recipes: Creamy Chicken & Bacon Pasta, Creamy Tomato Tortellini Pasta Soup and Creamy Gochujang Pasta.
If you tried this Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys ๐ Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Comments