Broccoli tuna noodle casserole

An all-time family favorite, this broccoli tuna noodle casserole is comfort food at its best: cheesy, creamy, crunchy, warm.

The broccoli adds a bright pop of green, and there’s enough of it to satisfy the veggie-conscious out there, but it’s also disguised enough to be acceptable to picky eaters. (Pro tip: You can always chop or process the broccoli super small to further escape detection by said picky eaters.)

But besides the kids, who are we kidding? This is basically a glorified mac n’ cheese. Or really, a creamy cheddar broccoli soup baked with noodles. Or like a tuna melt turned casserole. Oh yeah, and there’s also the pile of butter crackers crushed on top…

It’s inexcusably delicious.

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta (fusilli, farfalle, penne and macaroni are all good choices)
4 tablespoons (2 oz) butter
1 head broccoli (about 4 cups) rinsed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces*
2 tablespoons flour*
2 cups milk
8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
3 cans of tuna (solid white in water is my preference), drained and broken into chunks
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 sleeve of butter crackers (like Ritz), crushed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a large pot of salted water on to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta water comes to a boil, in another large saucepan (I like to use my dutch oven), melt the butter over medium heat. Add in chopped broccoli and cook, stirring occasionally, until it turns a vibrant green and just begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add flour and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute. Add milk and continue to cook, stirring, until mixture just begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add in cheese all at once and stir until fully melted. Stir in tuna and mustard powder (if using). Season with salt and pepper to taste (amount needed varies based on how well the pasta water was salted, and whether the canned tuna is salted).
Add cooked pasta to the broccoli-cheese mixture and stir to combine. Pour into a 13x9-inch baking dish, spread evenly, and top with crushed butter crackers. (If you’re using a dutch oven, no need to transfer dishes; you can simply top mixture with crushed crackers and put the dutch oven straight into the oven.)*
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until warmed through and bubbly. Enjoy!

notes

broccoli: as noted in the recipe headnotes, you can put the broccoli in a food processor and process finely if you’d prefer nearly negligible broccoli bits in your finished casserole. Also, I have made this with frozen chopped broccoli. It works!
make it gluten-free: I haven’t ever made this gluten-free before, but a simple swap of cornstarch for the flour, and gluten-free pasta for the regular pasta, should yield similarly delicious results.
serving/crackers: my mom has recently taken to leaving off the crackers and serving this straight from the pot, more like a traditional pasta dish than a casserole. It’s incredibly yummy this way, and a very simple/fast dinner, but gosh I can’t say no to that crunchy golden butter cracker crust.

Source: I have no idea where this recipe is originally from—we’ve been making it in my family for almost as long as I can remember.