Meatless Friday: Not Your Mother's Tuna Casserole

My mother made tuna casserole for Fridays during Lent all the time. When I grew up, I found a delicious recipe that I have tweaked over the years to make it healthier. When my girls were little, I had to give it fun names to get them to eat it, but now it's a staple on our menu, showing up about every 5 weeks (or else)! I tend to eyeball the recipe these days, but here are the approximations.

Not Your Mother's Tuna Casserole

• 12-16 ounces of whole wheat pasta
• 3 cans of albacore packed in water, drained well (squeeze that water out!!)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of frozen peas
• 1/2 pound of fresh sliced mushrooms, washed and cut (I usually cut them into 3-4 pieces per slice)
• 16 ounces fat free Greek yogurt
• heaping 1/2 cup of low fat or fat-free mayo
• 1-2 teaspoons of honey mustard
• 1 heaping teaspoon of dried rosemary (or 1 tablespoon of fresh, cut small)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
• 1/2 cup of shredded swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350º F.
1. Cook noodles according to directions for al dente.
2. Meanwhile, combine yogurt, mayo, mustard, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
3. When pasta is cooked and drained, return it to the pot, then fold in other ingredients, except for cheese.
4. Put the noodle mixture in a 9 x 13" pan and top with the cheese.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted on top.

The recipe says this serves 8, but I have a tough time getting 6 servings out of this. Our family
frequently fights over the leftovers, though no blood has been spilled (yet).

Substitutions:

Pasta: Egg noodles are the traditional pasta for this, but I love to use shells or bowties. When the kids were little, I'd call these Nemo Noodles and Sponge Bob Casserole. The shells added fun to the meal.

Greek Yogurt: Fat free sour cream will work well for the purposes of health food, but the yogurt adds some really great flavor and a nice, thick quality to the cream sauce

Mustard: You can use dijon, as well. Honey mustard will sweeten the flavor, dijon adds a tiny bit of bite. Both are delicious.

Cheese: Colby-Jack cheese makes a good substitute, but the shredded swiss is truly delicious and creamy on top. Make sure whatever cheese you use is nice and soft so you don't get a crust, but a nice layer of soft, gooey flavor.

You can find all our Meatless Friday featured recipes here.

Recipe copyright 2015 Christine Johnson. All rights reserved.
Photo : Canva Pro