Tuna Pasta Bake

The store-cupboard hero: creamy, cheesy, crunch-topped.

Prep Time25 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time50 mins
YieldServes 5 to 6
Tuna Pasta Bake
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Before You Start

Tuna pasta bake is the dish every household thinks it invented, and the good version deserves its place here: a real cheese sauce rather than soup from a tin, sweetcorn and peas for pop, and a crumb topping that gives the crunch the dish is secretly about. Undercook the pasta by two minutes, since it finishes in the oven.

Instructions

  1. 1

    Boil the pasta in well-salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet says. Drain.

  2. 2

    Meanwhile melt the butter, stir in the flour for a minute, then whisk in the milk gradually until smooth. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes until it coats a spoon.

  3. 3

    Off the heat, stir in the mustard and the cheddar until melted. Season with pepper and a cautious hand of salt.

  4. 4

    Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Fold the pasta, flaked tuna, sweetcorn and peas through the sauce and tip into a large baking dish.

  5. 5

    Mix the breadcrumbs with the parmesan and scatter over the top.

  6. 6

    Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden-crusted and bubbling at the edges. Rest 5 minutes before serving to let the sauce settle from lava back to cream.

💡 Baker's tips

  • The sauce should look slightly too wet going into the oven. Pasta keeps drinking as it bakes, and a perfect-looking sauce at assembly is a dry bake at the table.
  • Tuna in oil tastes better here than tuna in brine, and fold it through gently in big flakes rather than mashing it in.

🔀 Make it your own

  • A handful of chopped sun-dried tomatoes or capers sharpens the whole dish.
  • Swap tuna for tinned salmon, or leftover roast chicken with a squeeze of lemon.

📦 Storing & freezing

Fridge for 3 days, reheating portions covered. It freezes baked for 2 months, though the pasta softens a grade on thawing. The 10am leftover portion eaten cold is between you and the fridge.

❓ Frequently asked

Why is my pasta bake dry?

Fully cooked pasta plus a tight sauce plus oven time. Undercook the pasta by 2 minutes and keep the sauce visibly loose at assembly. It absorbs as it bakes.

Can I make tuna pasta bake ahead?

Assemble it, hold it in the fridge up to a day, and bake with 5 to 10 extra minutes. Add the crumb topping just before baking so it stays dry and crisps.

Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.

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