Baked Tuna Casserole
Simple to make, healthy, budget friendly, high protein and extremely delicious.!
The most important rule to cooking healthy is to cook not only for taste but also for the sake of your health. Think about what you’re putting into your mouth every time you eat and drink and whether it has a positive or negative effect on your health. To know what’s in the food you’re eating is the most important thing.
FILLING
2 leeks, finely sliced
4 zucchini (courgettes), diced
150 g (1 cup) green peas
200 g baby spinach leaves
400 g tin tuna in spring water, well drained
2 tablespoons chopped oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Cracked white pepper
tomato and fresh herbs to garnish (optional)
WHITE SAUCE
500 g ricotta
pinch of nutmeg to taste
cracked white pepper
50 g grated parmesan cheese
Combine all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Preheat the oven to 180°C .
Sauté the Leek in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon olive oil over a low – medium heat until soft.
Add the zucchini, peas and spinach.
Cook for 5 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted and zucchini has slightly softened.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and fold thorugh the tuna and herbs.
Season with white pepper and fold the tuna through the vegetables, making sure to leave some nice chunky bits.
Spoon the tuna mixture into individual ovenproof dishes or one large baking dish.
Spread over the white sauce.
Grate over the Parmesan cheese.
Bake the casserole for 30 – 40 minutes until golden on top and heated though.
Serve and enjoy.
Garnish with tomato and fresh garden herbs.
Serves 4
PROTEIN: 28.5 g
FAT: 11.5 g
CARBS: 5.2 g
CALORIES: 239 / 998 KJ
gluten free – wheat free – low Carb – Low GI – high protein – omega 3
- VEGETARIANS CAN USE WHITE CANNELINNI BEANS IN PLACE OF THE TUNA.
- TINNED WILD SALMON CAN ALSO BE USED IN PLACE OF THE TUNA IF YOU PREFER, ALSO POACHED WHITE FISH MAKES AN EXCELLENT REPLACEMENT FOR THE TUNA.
- DAIRY FREE OPTION USE PUREED CANNELINNI BEANS BLENDED WITH A LITTLE ROASTED GARLIC AND A TOUCH OF OLIVE OIL FOR THE TOPPING IN PLACE OF THE RICOTTA AND PARMESAN.
Hi Teresa,
I love all your recipes, I look forward to the days that you publish new ones.
Just a quick Question…. What can you use instead of tuna?
Thanks
Lots of options to replace the tuna. Just check bottom of the recipe.
This looks delish! I will give this one a go on the weekend. Would make great lunches
Hi Teresa,
I see that this recipe says it has 11.5g of fat. How much of that is saturated fat?
it looks super yummy – I can’t wait to make it.
Hi Megan – 6.7 g saturated, 3.1 g monounsaturated, 0.8 polyunsaturated.
x
Do you think if I subbed carrot for the zucchini (both kids & hubby don’t like) it would change the taste or texture too much? Can’t wait to try – have not made a Tuna casserole for the family since I gave up grains 7 months ago.
Thanks for the great recipes!
I made this tonight and was really pleasantly surprised at how the flavours came together once baked. I’m not a fan of the flavour of tuna in springwater, but once it was baked with the flavour from the veggies it was really lovely. This is going into the family meal rotation menu. I served it with some penne for the kidlets as they were starving after a big day of school/sport. It did me well after a big run this arvo. Thanks Teresa, this is the first of your recipe’s I’ve tried, I’m going to go back and find the mushroom pizza recipe and give that a go tomorrow night. xo
Awesome Jayne – very pleased you enjoyed it. The use of tuna in springwater just cuts down the fat a little, please feel free to use a good brand in olive oil if you prefer. Also if you gently poached some white fish, and flake it with a fork – this can be used in place of the tuna and be a lot milder on the palate.
OMG T – this sounds amazing cant wait x
What is a decent brand of Tuna, as most of them come from Thailand
Most of our tinned tuna you buy comes from Thailand. What I sometimes love to do is buy fresh tuna or some lovely white fish fillets and gently poach in water, or saute in a little olive oil until cooked – flaked the meat with a fork and use as per the recipe.
I am trying to cut down on the fat, so I sauteed the leeks et al in water and was happy to give the tuna in springwater a go. No need for me to use tuna in olive oil as the flavour was great without the oil. I did add some diced tomato to the veggies before baking, was a good addition. We served it with sliced fresh vine ripened tomatoes as we didn’t have any cherry tomatoes. Again, great recipe, I recommend it and will definitely cook it again.
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious!!! Can’t wait to tonight’s dinner to have the leftovers. The ricotta cheese on top tasted great. What a good idea. Thanks Teresa
Sorry if I’m blind, but how many servings is this recipe? Look delish!!
Wow this looks great! I’d love to try it during the week for the fam but just a question – how many serves does this recipe make? Cheers Teresa!
Am very much enjoying trying out your recipes Teresa and this one was lovely. I may well have missed it but I was just wondering how many people this serves (i.e. how big is a serve so that I can relate it to the nutritional information)?
The Tuna Casserole serves 4 hungry people
Lovely, thanks Teresa!
Hi Teresa,
i came down to your cafe a last week and im absolutely in love with it! just wondering what i could replace the ricotta for?
You can replace ricotta for either a silken tofu cream or pureed cannelini beans they will both work wonderfully.
Absolutely delicious!!! This will be a regular dish in my house.
What can I replace the zuccini with ?
Replace with leek, spinach, peas, mushroom, kale, cabbage, roast pumpkin or eggplant, white beans, daikon radish, quinoa.
Hi Teresa,
Started cooking your dinner recipes. This baked tuna casserole is a winner. Yum! Who knew Healthy food could taste so good. You silenced my fussy sons- they are now happy to eat tuna.
Sandra