Tomato Tuna Pasta Bake

5 from 1 vote

A quick and easy Tuna Pasta Bake with rigatoni pasta tubes in a creamy tomato-based sauce finished with a delicious grilled cheese topping that is bound to have you coming back for seconds.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Course: Main Course, Pasta

Cuisine: American, British

Servings: people

Calories: 689kcal

Author: Helen

Equipment

baking dish

Ingredients

Filling:

400 g rigatoni pasta (Note 1)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 medium bell peppers cut to. 1cm / ½ inch pieces
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 200g cans tuna (Note 2)
400 ml tomato passata
2 tablespoon tomato puree
100 ml milk
1 teaspoon ground oregano
2.5 teaspoon smoked paprika
0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper (Note 3)
1 teaspoon veg of chicken stock powder
2 teaspoon Worcester sauce optional
1 200g can corn (Note 4)
100 ml single cream (Note 5)
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce (optional)

Topping:

120 g cheddar cheese grated (Note 6)
1 handful breadcrumbs (optional)
2 fresh jalapenos (optional) thinly sliced

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Bring a large pan of generously salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions
Meanwhile, set a large frying pan or dutch oven to a medium heat, add olive oil and fry the onion and peppers for approx. 5 minutes until soft and until the onion is translucent.
Add the crushed garlic and fry for a further minute.
Stir in the tuna and cook for a few minutes until warmed through.
Mix in the tomato passata, tomato puree, milk, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, veg/chicken stock powder, optional Worcester sauce and corn and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the cream and cook for a couple of minutes until warmed through and add Tabasco sauce if using
Mix the sauce with the cooked pasta and spoon it into a baking dish
Top with the grated cheddar cheese and optional breadcrumbs and jalapenos.
Place the tuna bake under the grill until the cheese topping is molten and starts to brown. This should take around 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy.

Notes

Pasta: I like to use rigatoni because it's super yummy when the filling makes its way into the large pasta tubes. Fusili, penne and conchiglie (pasta shells) are also good options.
Tuna: Ideally in spring water instead of oil or brine.
Cayenne pepper: If you are very sensitive to spice you can swap the cayenne pepper for black pepper or leave it out.
Corn: Can also use 165g or 1 cup frozen corn.
Single cream: Substitute with crème fraîche or sour cream. You can use a low-fat cream if you wish to make the tuna bake a little lighter.
Cheddar cheese: Grated mozzarella cheese or another type of hard cheese will also work well.

Storage:

The cooked tuna pasta bake will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure you refrigerate it as soon as it is cool and cover with cling film or store leftovers in an airtight container.

You can freeze the cooked tuna pasta bake for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the sauce alone. This would give you a 15-minute dinner with freshly cooked pasta and melted cheese.

National information excludes optional breadcrumbs.

Nutrition