How do you make a classic dish like tuna noodle casserole healthier while keeping its rich and creamy taste? The secret is hidden cauliflower! In this recipe, we hide one whole head of cauliflower in the sauce!
Tuna noodle casserole is comfort food at its finest. Its rich, creamy and full of flavour. It also typically has a handful of healthy ingredients like tuna, a good source of protein and omega 3 fatty acids, along with any veggies you like such as celery, carrots, mushrooms and peas.
In this recipe, we turn up the nutrition a notch by hiding one whole head of cauliflower! Simply steam and puree it with milk, mix it with shredded cheddar cheese and voila! You have a lovely cheesy sauce.
Health benefits of cauliflower
- Low in carbohydrates and calories
- Rich in nutrients, including dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, and folate
- Promotes digestive and cardiac health
Healthy cooking tip:
If you usually eat white pasta because you don’t like the firmer texture of whole wheat pasta, try whole wheat pasta in baked pasta dishes. Once its baked with a sauce, proteins and veggies, you won’t notice the firm texture as much.
My older daughter loved this tuna noodle casserole. But my younger daughter didn’t fancy any of the chopped veg in it. She did enjoy the pasta which was covered with the cheesy hidden cauliflower sauce though.
Normally, if served in its recognizable form, she would not eat cauliflower so I still count this as a nutritional win. If you have any picky eaters at home, you can leave out the diced veg, but at least you’ve gotten them to eat cauliflower without complaining!
For more pasta recipes with hidden veg, check out:
Tuna Noodle Casserole with Hidden Cauliflower
Equipment
- High-powered blender
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower chopped and steamed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 white onion diced
- 1/2 cup carrots diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 7 cremini mushrooms sliced
- 500 g Whole wheat fusilli or short pasta of choice
- 2 cups milk
- 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 can tuna 185g
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese 2 cups in the sauce, 2 cups to top the casserole
Instructions
- Chop cauliflower and steam until soft.
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
- In an oven safe casserole pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms and garlic.
- Blend steamed cauliflower with milk using a high powered blender until smooth.
- Add cauliflower puree, tuna, pasta and 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese to the casserole pot with the vegetables. Mix to combine. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.
- Top with 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake at 425°F or 218°C until cheese is browned.
