Tuna Lasagna

When you’re in the mood for comfort food, any type of lasagna usually does the trick. This recipe is a riff on the classic, made with pantry staples like boxed lasagna noodles, canned tuna and condensed soup—like a slightly elevated tuna noodle casserole. Instead of traditional ricotta, use cottage cheese smoothed in a food processor. Mozzarella melts into gooey layers, and sprinkled Parmesan turns into a slightly crispy topping.

The white sauce for lasagna with tuna incorporates many flavors but requires almost no effort; just saute some onion, then dump in the tuna, soup, milk and seasonings. Serve this white lasagna as a budget-friendly family meal on a busy weeknight or as a seafood lasagna at a potluck or casual dinner party.

Tuna Lasagna Ingredients

• Onion: Sauteing mellows the harsh bite of raw onion, and the softened pieces practically melt into the lasagna’s white sauce as the dish bakes.
• Butter: Even with the other layers, you will likely taste the richness of butter-sauteed onions. If you only have olive oil or a milder oil on hand, cook the onions in that instead of leaving them raw.
• Canned tuna: For this lasagna, choose a quality brand of tuna packed in water—like water-packed albacore tuna. Tuna in oil might give the lasagna a strong fishy taste and leave an oily sheen in the sauce. The best tuna brands have large chunks that flake easily without being overly soggy or salty.
• Condensed soup: Condensed cream of mushroom soup provides instant thickening power. Many commercial condensed soups are heavily salted, even when the label touts them as reduced sodium. The nutrition facts on the back let you compare the real numbers.
• Milk: With rich condensed soup and cheeses, you can use a lower-fat 2% milk in this recipe. If your go-to milk has a different fat percentage, use it, but expect a slight difference in the thickness of the sauce.
• Seasonings: Garlic salt, dried oregano and pepper lightly season this comfort food dish. To make garlic salt, start with two parts garlic powder and one part sea salt, then adjust to taste. Plain garlic powder is a good substitute, since the recipe’s other ingredients contain plenty of sodium.
• Lasagna noodles: Boiled lasagna noodles have a silky texture that softens into the other layers for consistently fork-tender bites. Most boxes contain 18 lasagna noodles, so you need just half a package for one pan of tuna lasagna.
• Cottage cheese: Full-fat, 4% cottage cheese has a similar flavor and texture to ricotta once blended. Keep in mind that cottage cheese already has a higher water content than ricotta, so a reduced-fat version might make the lasagna watery. If there’s a lot of liquid, strain it before blending.
• Mozzarella: Sliced mozzarella layers evenly in with the sauce and lasagna noodles. Part-skim cheese works fine in this tuna lasagna recipe.
• Parmesan: For the finishing touch, sprinkle grated Parmesan over the top of the lasagna. Grate your own cheese for the best texture and a golden garnish. The anti-caking ingredients mixed with bagged shredded cheese keep it from melting evenly, and the stuff in the shaker can will stay bland and powdery.

Directions

Step 1: Puree the cottage cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the cottage cheese in a food processor bowl fitted with a blade attachment. Process until it’s smooth, and then set it aside.

Step 2: Make the tuna sauce

In a large saucepan, cook and stir the onion in butter until it’s tender. Stir in the flaked tuna, condensed soup, milk, garlic salt, dried oregano and pepper until they’re combined.

Editor’s Tip: If you want smooth lasagna sheets flat on the baking dish, wait to stir in the flaked tuna. Spread just the white sauce across the dish’s bottom, where it will keep the noodles from sticking. Top this with the first layer of lasagna noodles, and then mix the tuna into the white sauce for the remaining layers.

Step 3: Build the lasagna

Spread 3/4 cup tuna sauce over the bottom of a greased 11×7-inch baking dish. Layer with three lasagna noodles (trim them if necessary to make them fit), another 3/4 cup of the tuna mixture, half the cottage cheese and a third of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat these layers. Top the lasagna with the remaining three noodles, tuna mixture and mozzarella cheese, and then sprinkle it with the Parmesan cheese.

Step 4: Bake the lasagna

Bake the tuna lasagna, uncovered, until bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving it. If desired, sprinkle the noodle dish with torn fresh oregano leaves, additional Parmesan cheese and additional pepper.

Editor’s Tip: If the top cheese layer starts to brown too quickly or the noodle edges seem to be drying out, cover the pan with aluminum foil or an oven-safe lid for the first half of the baking time. Remove any covering for the final minutes so that the sauce bubbles and the cheese turns golden, and then let it rest before slicing so that the sauce thickens.

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Tuna Lasagna Variations

• Saute other vegetables: Add frozen peas (a classic tuna casserole ingredient) or sliced meaty mushrooms to this dish. Both frozen and fresh vegetables release lots of water as they cook, so saute them with the onion until they’re tender, then drain off any remaining liquid. If you want to use the sliced mushrooms as a lasagna layer, saute them separately.
• Change the sauce: To control the sodium level, replace the condensed soup and milk with this basic white sauce recipe. Jarred Alfredo sauce works too; most brands have half the sodium of regular condensed soup. To be sure, check the label before substituting it for the recipe’s soup and milk.
• Use no-boil noodles: Oven-ready lasagna noodles cut down on the prep steps for this recipe. They plump and soften as they absorb the moisture from the baking casserole, so the lasagna may be less saucy and need more oven time. Many companies put fewer noodles in their oven-ready boxes, so be sure you have enough for the recipe.
• Add a binder: Whisk a lightly beaten egg into the cottage cheese. It will set as the lasagna cooks and thicken the sauce.

How to Store Tuna Lasagna

Cover the pan with foil to store the tuna lasagna whole, or divide it into smaller portions and put them in airtight containers. This tuna lasagna recipe takes time to cool, but for food safety reasons, you want to move it from the oven to the fridge within one to two hours. Splitting it into portions while it’s still warm shortens the cooling time.

How long does tuna lasagna last?

Baked tuna lasagna lasts for three to four days in the refrigerator. The leftovers might taste even better after the flavors slowly meld in the fridge and the noodles absorb more of the sauce. If you built the lasagna and refrigerated it uncooked, bake it the next day.

How do you reheat tuna lasagna?

Reheat tuna lasagna in a full-size oven or toaster oven at 350° until it’s warmed through, which could take 30 minutes or longer for an entire pan. If you’re reheating a whole pan, let it sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven. Cover the pan or portion with foil to prevent the noodle edges from getting too crispy and add a splash of water or milk if the lasagna seems to be drying out. You can also reheat lasagna slices in the microwave, drizzled with water and covered with a tented paper towel, in 90-second bursts until they’re warmed to the center.

Can you freeze tuna lasagna?

If you want to freeze tuna lasagna, assemble it, but don’t bake it. It will last up to three months in the freezer; after that, the layers will then lose their texture and become soggy. Before you freeze lasagna, wrap the entire pan with storage wrap so that it’s airtight in order to block air and prevent freezer burn. If you built the lasagna in a glass or ceramic baking dish, refrigerate it for a few hours to lower the temperature before you move it to the freezer. Let frozen tuna lasagna thaw in the refrigerator overnight and sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before you bake it as directed.

Tuna Lasagna Tips

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Why is my tuna lasagna watery?

Poorly drained noodles will make the tuna lasagna watery. Stir the pot often as you cook them to keep them from sticking. When ready, drain the cooking liquid off the noodles, but don’t rinse them with water. Instead, lay the hot noodles on a lightly oiled baking sheet in a single layer. Drain the tuna well, too, so you don’t add salty liquid to the dish. Using nonfat milk or cottage cheese will make the sauce thinner.

What can you serve with tuna lasagna?

Serve a side salad or lightly cooked vegetables with tuna lasagna for a well-rounded meal. Steam fresh green beans or broccoli, or roast the vegetables slowly in the oven alongside the casserole for bonus flavor. In the spring, stick with a kid-friendly, lightly sweetened pea pod and carrot medley, or offer the mild zing of roasted radishes. Mix a fall garden medley of root vegetables in a programmable slow cooker so they’re tender by dinnertime. While the lasagna bakes, cut up fresh fruit for a refreshing tropical fruit salad.