Tuna, Veggie, and Walnut Casserole

It can't always be about gooey chocolatey goodness. 

For this casserole dish, use healthy ingredients and whole-wheat pasta, and you'll have a nice family-fun meal that won't stretch the waistline (unless you can't resist and take heaping portions like I did the first time I made this). This dish goes great with a small spinach or baby greens salad. Since this is a pasta dish, I recommend leaving bread off the menu.

 

What you really need to ask yourself is do you want an easy to prepare meal that tastes great right from the oven, freezes well, and chances are the kids will like it too? This casserole is just that - not a great deal of effort and a lot of goodness goes into this dish. The idea came from a tuna casserole recipe from Cooking Light; however, I changed things up a bit (well, quite a bit) as I prefer a few more veggies and other goodies they just didn't include. Now, this is still a pretty healthy recipe - the additional calories from the walnuts are worth the nutritional value you'll get, and the walnuts give it a surprisingly nice crunch. As a bonus, it's a great way to get your kids (young and old) to eat their veggies. 

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE.

Tuna, Veggie and Walnut Casserole

Recipe by: Rising Wolf Kitchen

Yield: 10 servings

• 13.25 oz whole wheat Rotini pasta
• 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 12 oz bag frozen veggie mix (corn, carrots, peas and green beans)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 3 cups fat-free milk (add up to 1/2 cup more if you prefer a 'soupier' casserole)
• 1/2 cup + 1oz (5 oz) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbs Dijon mustard (the brand I used has horseradish)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) fresh and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 3 cans regular tuna
• 1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat broiler on low setting.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions (omitting the salt and fat).
3. Heat a fairly large skillet over medium heat; add the olive oil.
4. Add onions and veggies; cook approx 6 minutes or until onions begin to tenderize. 
5. Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute stirring constantly. 
6. Slowly add milk; cook 5 minutes stirring constantly until slightly thick. 
7. Stir in cream cheese, mustard, salt and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tuna and walnuts.
8. Remove pan from heat; stir in noodles and 1/4 cup of the Parm cheese.
9. Spray 4 quart oven-safe baking dish with cooking spray; spoon casserole mixture into dish and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parm cheese over the top. 
10. Broil 5 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. 
11. Let stand five minutes before serving. 

Allergy Warning: this recipe contains dairy and nuts (in posted version) 

Printing Note: I haven't figured out yet how to do those printable recipe cards within the post, but once I do I'll share the recipes in a printable format.