Cheesy Crockpot Tuna Noodle Casserole

Crockpot tuna noodle casserole is the ultimate comfort food. Dump and go slow cooker dinner that is cheesy with tender pasta that kids love.

Slow Cooker Tuna Casserole Recipe

I have made Instant Pot tuna noodle casserole for years now. It is a quick meal that reminds me of my childhood. Sometimes I’d rather make a one pot meal in the morning though and have it ready after a busy day. That’s when this one comes in handy.

Get out your favorite 6 or 8 quart and try it yourself. I bet this will become a family favorite meal in your home too and you’ll make it over and over again.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

This one as well as many others on our blog are very cheesy. Why? Um because we’re obsessed with all things cheese! Of course if you want or need to leave that out by all means do, and it’s still a yummy meal. Another optional ingredient are crushed Ritz crackers.

Ingredients

1. Butter to make it creamy and delish
2. Diced onion is optional but a must for us
3. Minced garlic we love for flavor
4. Dill, salt and pepper for seasonings
5. Canned tuna, I always choose solid white Albacore
6. Chicken broth for liquid to cook this
7. Shredded cheese, cheddar is the best for us
8. Wide egg noodles are my choice to make almost any slow cooker casserole. They don’t take long to cook and have a great texture.

Substitutions and Variations

If you wanted to make this dairy free you can use lactose free vegan plant based sticks, Country Crock has a great one we use. Frozen peas or diced celery you can add for texture and flavor. We will drain a can of corn at times as you see here which is a nice add in.

What is the best canned tuna?

Growing up I always just had the flake variety, I knew no different. When I grew up I once bought chunk style that was a bit more expensive and WOW is that better! Always buy solid white Albacore in water for the best flavor and more texture. I use this here and to make our air fryer tuna melt sandwiches too.

This meal only takes 2 hours to cook. There is not any raw meat in it so you’re really just softening the noodles and warming all the ingredients up. Keep that in mind when planning your day. If you are making this for dinner you can throw it together around 4 when you’re home and have it done in time to eat.

If you’re making something with fresh meat like our slow cooker cheesy chicken and rice it would take much longer of course. Canned meat is already cooked so you don’t have to worry about bacteria and reaching a certain temp.

How to Make Easy Crockpot Tuna Noodle Casserole

• You can soften onions and celery with butter and garlic in a pan on your stovetop first. OR you can just throw all of that into the slow cooker as is.
• If you cook them down, pour into your Crock when softened. Add drained corn, season with salt, pepper and dill.
• Stir in milk and broth. Then layer the egg noodles on top with the tuna on top of that. Do not stir together.
• Cover and cook on high heat for 2 hours (less if you want pasta more al dente).
• 15 minutes before the cook time ends, lift lid and stir all contents together.
• If you want to top with cheese add to the top and put lid back on again so that can melt.

That will only need about 10 minutes to do. Transfer to a large bowl and on to the table for serving.

Tuna Noodle Casserole Uncooked Noodles

You do not want to stir ingredients together or the pasta will be more done and too soft submerged into the sauce below. Leaving it on top will allow them to steam sorta’ and get tender, but not fall apart. If you wanted to use canned chicken in this instead of “meat from the sea” that would be a good substitute.

Using this as a leftover chicken breast recipe is a great idea too. I hate wasting food. If I buy a rotisserie chicken to make our chicken and rice casserole recipe, I will likely make this the next day. I only use 1.5 breasts for the first meal, then chop up what’s left and make this the next night.

If you do have leftovers of this it heats up nicely the next day too. Just store in an airtight container and transfer to a microwave safe dish. Heat in 30 second increments stirring each time so it warms evenly.

Bread Crumb Topping for Tuna Noodle Casserole

If you want to add a bit of texture to the top, crush butter crackers or potato chips and sprinkle them on top. Do this after you stir all the contents together.

Then sprinkle your final layer of cheddar cheese on the top. Close the lid for about 15 minutes and let that melt. Then you get this crunch with the ooey gooey topping in every bite. Alternatively you can put cheese and breadcrumbs crushed on top of each bowl when served.

Unlike other recipes like this one we don’t use cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup either. A lot of people don’t like canned condensed additions like this so instead it it more homemade. Have leftover ham after the holidays? Make this with it! It’s a great way to change things up but still add protein.

Tuna Noodle Casserole with Egg Noodles

Recipe notes, ingredients, and steps are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Nutritional information such as calories and saturated fat are listed there too. Keep in mind it is calculated by the card itself with the exact ingredients listed below. Some canned items may vary.

Give our Crock Pot tuna noodle a whirl and let us know what you think below!