I’ll admit it: when my friend Laurel told me her family’s favorite tuna noodle casserole is made by stirring together five cans of food, I thought, That can’t possibly work. The recipe came home from her sister’s Home Ec class in 1963, and Laurel has been making it ever since.
So I got out my can opener and gave it a try. Nearly an hour later, those chow mein noodles had made their own crunchy topping, and I owed Laurel an apology.
When Laurel and I went to high school, Home Ec was still a thing! Ever since the day her sister brought home the recipe, Laurel has been cranking out this casserole to the delight of everyone lucky enough to eat at her table! I mean three generations of happy casserole eaters! She told me the leftovers are even better!
I decided to try it because we like tuna noodle casserole, and we're in a super busy stretch getting ready for our annual antique event. True to form, I forgot the evaporated milk the first time I ran to the store, but today, I made it! And you know what? It's really, really good!
This recipe couldn't be simpler. I dumped the contents of all five cans into a big mixing bowl, gave it a good stir, and poured it into a casserole dish I had sprayed with Pam.
To be honest, it looked pretty beige, and I couldn't stop myself from sprinkling it with parsley for color because that's what I do. I'm a garnish freak.
I popped this baby in a 350-degree oven for about an hour, and when I took it out, I loved what I saw! Somehow, part of those Chinese noodles magically floated to the top and made a wonderful crunchy crust! I had no idea those crispy noodles were so smart!
It turned out to be a pretty casserole, even without parsley, but I will always put parsley on it. I put parsley on everything! 😉 And while it was baking, the kitchen smelled amazing!
The true test came when we spooned it onto our plates. It's a winner! Laurel was right; it is delicious! It baked up thicker and creamier than I expected. I was very pleasantly surprised!
This is a throwback recipe from the 1960s: a tuna casserole made with five cans of food. Simple and very tasty. The leftovers reheat well.
No. Add the chow mein noodles to the bowl straight from the can. Stir everything and let the oven do the work. Some of the noodles rise to the top and turn delightfully crunchy.
Yes. Laurel’s original recipe called for a 6-ounce can, but a 5-ounce can is fine. Drain it before adding it to the bowl.
I’ve made it with canned chicken and cream of chicken soup in place of the tuna and cream of mushroom soup, and that worked, too.
If you often serve tuna at your house, you might like these recipes, too.
Delicious Crispy Tuna Fish Patties - Fast, easy, crispy tuna patties can be served as an entree or made into a sandwich on a bun.
Stuffed Tuna Melts - A twist on tuna melts, this tasty tuna salad is baked in a pocket of yeast dough, runza-style!
Best Tuna Casserole With A Twist - A zhoozed-up tuna noodle casserole with cheese and crushed potato chips.
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Love, GB (Betty Streff)
Real food. Real kitchen. Real easy.
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It was very tasty but I couldn’t find a 6oz can of tuna. They appear to all be 5oz.
I will amend the recipe, good catch (every pun inteneded) I'm guessing that might be the size of a can of tuna in the 1960s when this recipe appeared. It is way better than it sounds. I was skeptical, it is great and I also did it with canned chicken just substituting cream of chicken soup!