While I’m not a fan of fake cheese products, I’m fine with cheese-like sauces that are comprised of all-natural ingredients. This recipe uses a combination of cashews, potatoes, carrots, onions, and oil to make a surprisingly savory and creamy cheese-sauce approximation. Tuna noodle casserole is a classic American comfort food, and those who can’t have dairy shouldn’t have to miss out!
Dairy-Free Tuna Noodle Casserole
2016-01-23 14:41:47
Serves 4
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Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 hr
Ingredients
- 8 ounces egg noodles
- 6 ounces canned tuna, drained
- 1 cup peas
- 1/4 cup diced pimentos
- 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Sauce
- 1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced
- 1/2 medium carrot, peeled and diced
- 1/3 cup onion, diced
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup raw cashews
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 2-quart casserole dish.
- Prepare egg noodles according to directions on package. Set aside.
- While noodles are cooking, dice and combine potato, carrot, and onion in a small saucepan. Add water and bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until vegetables can be easily pierced with a fork.
- Combine 1/3 cup vegetable oil and cashews in a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Add salt, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, pepper, and cayenne. Blend until smooth. Carefully transfer cooked vegetables and their cooking water to blender. Blend until smooth.
- Mix sauce with cooked pasta. Stir in drained tuna, peas, and pimentos. Pour into casserole dish.
- In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Scatter over pasta.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.
Notes
- Sauce recipe adapted from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food.
Put on Your Cake Pants http://putonyourcakepants.com/
7/18/16 edit: see new photos here!
This looks like something I will definitely try, but where do you find 6 oz. cans of tuna? All the ones I’ve seen have shrunk to 5 oz!
The ones I have (StarKist) are actually 7 ounces! I think I got them at Costco. That’s one of my cooking pet peeves – when manufacturers adjust the amount of product rather than adjusting the price. Sneaky!
Is the sauce in this one similar to the Mac and Cheeze recipe that we made you try at Christmastime?
Yup, the same one! It’s quite versatile 🙂
I can’t wait to try this! Maybe with salmon. Looks delicious!