This classic tuna pasta bake recipe is a student favourite and is tasty enough for a midweek family meal too. This easy recipe will show you how to make a tuna pasta bake that’s really flexible, so you can customise it to suit what’s in your store cupboard.
Ingredients
- 600g/1lb 5oz pasta shapes such as fusilli, penne or farfalle
- 50g/2oz butter
- 50g/2oz plain flour
- 600ml/20fl oz milk
- ½ tsp mustard powder
- 200g/7oz extra-mature cheddar, grated
- 100g tin sweetcorn, drained
- 100g/3½oz peas
- 3 spring onions, sliced
- 2 x 185g tins tuna in spring water, drained
Method
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Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
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Cook the pasta in a saucepan of plenty of boiling water according to packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
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Meanwhile, for the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute, or until the mixture darkens slightly. Slowly stir in the milk, stirring until smooth after each addition of milk. Stir in the mustard powder and continue to cook until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in most of the cheese, and all the sweetcorn, peas and spring onion. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the cooked pasta into the sauce.
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Spoon the tuna into the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Pour over the pasta and sauce. Tap the dish gently so the sauce pours into every nook and cranny. Sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese.
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Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is a golden-brown. Serve immediately.