Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake

Tuna with pasta in a lovely creamy, cheesy sauce, a quick and easy meal to put together that everyone loves. Uses ingredients that you will find in your pantry and is a hearty meal that tastes so good.

I use tinned Tuna in olive oil, you can use the one in brine, but I find that I prefer the one in oil (drained before using) as it has more flavour and a richer texture. Frozen peas are a great addition, I always have some in the freezer. You can also add some corn (tinned), not used today in this recipe as I did not have any in the pantry.

The sauce is a combination of butter, flour, cream and chicken stock. This gives a richness along with flavour to the dish. Cheese is layered on the top and just adds that beautiful golden brown topping.

The choice of pasta and cheese can be modified to personal preferences, in this recipe I have used Penne pasta and cheddar cheese.

Let’s get to the recipe

Ingredients

Penne Pasta – 500gms

Tuna – 750gms drained and flaked

Peas – Frozen, 1 cup

Butter – 80 gms

Thickened Cream – 1 cup

Chicken Stock – 300ml

Plain Flour – 5 tbsp

Salt and pepper to taste

Chilli flakes for heat (optional)

Cheddar cheese – enough to layer on top

Method

1. Boil a large pan of water, add the pasta and cook till done.

2. Whilst the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour, mixing in with a whisk till all the flour is incorporated in the butter.

3. Turn the heat to medium and add the cream, using a whisk to stir. Once all the cream is incorporated, add in the stock gradually stirring with the whisk consistently.

4. Allow the sauce to thicken to a desired consistency (thick pour), add in salt and pepper according to taste.

5. Drain the pasta and it is time to assemble. If using frozen peas, I usually put them in the hot water of the pasta for a couple of minutes before draining.

6. In a oven proof tray, put the pasta, peas and tuna and mix through so it is even throughout. If adding chilli flakes, this is the time to do it. Check if the pasta has salt and add some here if needed prior to adding the sauce.

7. Pour in the sauce and mix through, layer cheese on top and place in a preheated oven at 180 deg F for 20 minutes.

8. Serve with a fresh green salad or garlic bread.

Enjoy!!!!