Tuna Noodle Casserole (AIP, Paleo)

I have always been a fan of comfort food, and Tuna Noodle Casserole is one of my favorite cozy meals.

I think that most people are casserole lovers, and when the days get shorter and the weather gets colder- these are the types of dishes I crave.

Growing up this was not a dish my mom made.

I was always envious of my friends who had Tuna Noodle casserole and yet they never understood why- claiming it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

So I figure you either love Tuna Noodle Casserole or you hate it.

I was lucky enough to eat this dish a few times growing up when I was over at a friends house, and when I was in university I ate this dish at least once a month.

So when I used to make this dish back then, it included noodles, tuna, peas, and some sort of cream sauce.

Of course I had to recreate this dish and make it AIP friendly.

So I swapped out the noodles for sweet potato noodles (you can sub zucchini noodles or butternut squash noodles instead) and swapped out the peas for celery and broccoli.

Instead of a dairy cream sauce I used my favorite Aroy-D full fat coconut milk, and some arrowroot to thicken it.

For seasoning I used AIP Paleo Powder but you could just use garlic powder, onion powder, sage, and oregano instead.

I made this dish exactly how I remembered it, but there are a few ways you can jazz it up.

You can add 2 Tbsp of nutritional yeast to the sauce for a cheesy flavor.

Go ahead and add crushed plantain chips or sweet potato chips and sprinkle on top of the casserole and a little bacon never hurt anyone either- just saying.

To make this meal quick on a week night:

I recommend buying your veggie noodles already spiralized so that you can just throw them in.

Or do this on Sunday along with chopping your veggies so they are ready to go for a busy weeknight.

This meal is a life saver!

When you forget to pull some protein out of the freezer and are wondering what you are going to have for dinner, cook up this AIP Tuna Noodle Casserole.

Happy Cooking!

XO Meagen Ashley

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Tuna Noodle Casserole (AIP, Paleo)

Comfort food at it’s finest- A healthier version of your favorite Tuna Noodle Casserole!

Course Main Dish, Side Dish

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 cans tuna in water drained
• 2 cups spiralized sweet potato noodles
• 1 crown brocolli, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 Tbsp lard, divided plus extra for greasing
• 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp AIP Paleo powder

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking dish with lard.
2. Spiralize the sweet potatoes (or buy them already spiralized) and chop the onion, celery, broccoli, and mince the garlic.
3. Put a Tbsp of lard in a medium pan and heat over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and celery and saute until lightly golden brown (5-6 minutes). Put into a bowl and set aside.
4. In the same pan, heat 2 Tbsp of lard and then whisk in the arrowroot. Simmer over medium low heat until just beginning to bubble (2-3 minutes).
5. Add in the salt, AIP Paleo Powder (or seasonings of choice) and slowly whisk in the coconut milk. Whisk until fully incorporated and the mixture is thick and bubbling. Remove from heat.
6. In the greased pan, mash the tuna with a fork and mix in the cooked veggies, broccoli, and sweet potato noodles. Pour the coconut milk mixture over top of the veggies and stir until all of the veggies are coated in the mixture.
   
7. Put in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until bubbling and lightly brown on top (If the top is getting browned too quickly then cover the casserole for the remaining baking time).
8. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Store in a glass container in the fridge for up to 2 days.