The Best Noodles To Bring Stability To Tuna Casserole
Classic tuna casserole is a dinnertime staple filled with rich ingredients, and it needs a bold noodle to hold up the dish's hearty structure. When selecting a noodle for the dish, why not also grab one that properly reflects the retro feel of the casserole? Egg noodles is the pasta of choice for Campbell's, which is a company commonly associated with casseroles thanks to its line of condensed cream soups. Campbell's recipe also calls for milk, chopped pimiento, frozen green peas, canned tuna, butter, and breadcrumbs. While these are the standard ingredients for the quintessential 1950s casserole, the recipe can be updated to include fresh herbs, like in the Dilly Tuna Casserole recipe, and or shredded cheddar cheese to melt on top.
Whether you use a recipe that is seven decades old or a more modern take, all recipes for tuna noodle casserole create a dish that is dense in its composition, resulting in the need for a noodle that holds its shape while being baked. That's where wide and sturdy egg noodles come in handy.
Why egg noodles work well
Egg noodles are the quintessential starch for tuna casserole for good reason. Not only do the noodles maintain their shape after being cooked in rapidly boiling water, they remain sturdy after they are combined with the rest of the tuna casserole ingredients and baked for 20 minutes. Another great bonus of using egg noodles in tuna casserole is that they curl slightly as they cook, which gathers the sauce, making for a better forkful. Because of the noodle's durability and ability to withstand stir-frying, baking, and being added to soups and sauces, egg noodles are used around the world to make hearty dishes such as beef stroganoff.
Made with all-purpose flour and whole eggs, cooked egg noodles have a rich taste, which complements dishes that are creamy or buttery. There's also that nostalgia factor: tuna casserole just wouldn't feel like tuna casserole if it was made with a different noodle. If you are looking to make a satisfying tuna casserole, make sure to use egg noodles for a mouth-pleasing and tummy-filling meal.