Now THIS is a recipe I haven’t had in a long, long time – not for at least 14 years, or since LeeLee and I became vegetarian!
I’ve been noodling – no pun intended (well, maybe a little bit intended ;)) – on how to concoct a vegan version of tuna noodle casserole for a few months now, and tonight I decided to give it a go. It’s so much easier now that we can enjoy vegan Toona via Sophie’s Kitchen! And after I concocted a satisfying vegan cream sauce recently, pairing it with my creamed “tuna” over English muffins, I knew this casserole would be doable indeed.
With that in mind, I got cooking! I put the pasta water on to boil and started in on the cream sauce (details below). Once the water was boiling, I added a package of eggless ribbon noodles and half a bag of green peas, and after the sauce thickened there on the other burner, I added a jar of sliced mushrooms and a jar of pimientos (like a good Southerner, I keep them on hand at all times!). After the cream sauce was nicely thickened, I added two cans of Toona, stirring well to combine, and then drained the pasta. After that, it was simply a matter of mixing everything together in my bright yellow casserole dish, topping the meal off with some bread crumbs, and baking it for 20 minutes!
Let me tell you, friends – this toona noodle casserole was SO good. It tasted just like the seafood version I remember from all those years ago! The cream sauce was smooth and satisfying; the pimientos and peas played nicely amidst the noodles; and the Toona itself was wonderfully flavorful, with a mix of salt and pepper hanging out within the flakes. I confess I enjoyed two helpings, and we’ve got plenty more for lunches for the week! I can already tell you that it’ll be a fight between family members to get the lion’s share for each day’s noontime meal.
OK, enough intro – let’s get on with the recipe!
VEGAN “TUNA” NOODLE CASSEROLE
Serves 4-6
What you’ll need:
1 bag ribbon noodles (think egg noodles, but vegan)
½ bag frozen green peas
¼ cup vegan butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups almond milk
1 jar sliced mushrooms
1 jar diced pimientos
1 can vegan tuna
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
¼ cup bread crumbs
First, set the pasta water on to boil and prepare the noodles according to the package instructions. Add the frozen peas to the pasta pot as well; they’ll all heat up nicely together!
As the noodles cook, prepare the cream sauce. First, make a roux by melting the butter in a saucepan and then whisking the flour in to make a paste. Once those two ingredients are combined, add the milk and whisk continuously until the mixture becomes a cream sauce (this always takes me 5-7 minutes). Once the sauce has thickened to a creamy consistency, add the mushrooms, pimientos, vegan tuna, salt, and pepper, and stir well to combine.
Drain the pasta and peas and then put them into a casserole dish. (The casserole dish I used tonight managed to fit almost all of the cooked pasta; your mileage may vary!) Next, pour the sauce on top a few dollops at a time, stirring to combine as you go. Keep adding sauce until the sauce is all gone (or until there’s simply no more room left in the casserole dish!). If you have sauce left over, you probably have pasta left over, too, so just combine the two and you’ll have an auxiliary tuna noodle casserole for later.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs atop the casserole and put the dish in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes. Once the crumbs have browned and the top noodles are a little crispy, you’re ready to eat!
Enjoy!
:)