Instant Pot Tuna Casserole is comfort food that fills you up and tastes so creamy and delicious! We love this pressure cooker tuna noodle casserole recipe. It’s so much easier and faster to make tuna casserole in the Instant Pot!
Instant Pot Tuna Casserole
I don’t know very many people who didn’t have a tuna noodle casserole in their family’s meal rotation while growing up. We sure did, and it was always one of my favorite meals! Still is.
For this tuna noodle casserole recipe, I have adapted my recipe that I have made for years, and raised my kids on. They all love it. What I found it that it is much better made in the Instant Pot®!
What makes Instant Pot Tuna Casserole better than oven baked?
- I didn’t expect it to be better, but to my surprise it is!
- It cooks much faster than in the oven. Minutes vs an hour!
- No pot of boiling water to deal with. Noodles cook with the sauce.
- One pot! I love a one-pot meal!
- The tuna casserole comes out more saucy and creamy.
- The flavors seems more pronounced.
Here’s why I think it’s better:
Can I add a crunchy topping?
Yes you can. See the notes section of the recipe card. But in a nutshell, you can transfer the casserole to a baking dish and add a panko/butter/parmesan topping and broil it.
Or just add crushed potato chips to your serving. Now that’s old school!
How Can I avoid the Burn message?
That’s always a bummer. The best way to avoid getting the burn message is to follow the recipe carefully.
- Weigh your pasta!
- If you put too much pasta in it will soak up more of the liquid. Then there isn’t enough to create the steam needed to build pressure.
- Weighing the pasta is the most accurate way to measure it.
This is the biggest reason people get the burn message when cooking pasta.
Layer the Ingredients.
By not stirring in the thick cream of mushroom soup, you are keeping the thin liquid on the bottom where it can boil and create the steam needed to build the pressure.
I have had a tiny bit of scorching with this Instant Pot Tuna Casserole recipe, but not enough to give me a burn warning or affect the taste of the tuna casserole at all.
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Instant Pot Tuna Casserole is comfort food that fills you up and tastes so creamy and delicious! We love this pressure cooker tuna noodle casserole recipe. It's so much easier and faster to make tuna casserole in the Instant Pot!
- 3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 sm Sweet Onion, diced
- 3 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Dill Weed, dried
- 2 (6 oz) cans Chunk Light Tuna, in water, mostly drained
- 12 oz Wide Egg Noodles, uncooked
- 2 (10.5 oz) cans Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1 cup Half and Half
- 2 cups Frozen Peas
- 2 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
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Turn on the Sauté setting. When hot, add the butter and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to turn translucent.
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Add the broth, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and dill. stir.
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Add the tuna, stir.
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Add the egg noodles. Do not stir.
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Add the mushroom soup and spread to cover the noodles.
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Add the half and half. Do not stir. Turn off the Sauté setting.
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Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 3 minutes (2 minutes for firmer noodles). High Pressure. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
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When the cook cycle has finished, turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to Quick Release the steam/pressure. If any soup starts to come out of the steam vent, close it and release the pressure in bursts until the pressure has gone down enough to open it fully.
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When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid.
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Carefully take the pot out of the pressure cooker housing and set on a heat safe surface (this keeps it from cooking more).
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Add the peas and give a gentle stir.
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Add the cheese and stir. Then put a lid on the pot and let the cheese melt.
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Serve with a sprinkle of parsley as a garnish.
What if I want a crunchy topping?
You can transfer the casserole to a baking dish and add a 1/2 cup Panko / 1 Tbsp melted butter / 1/2 cup parmesan topping (mix those together and sprinkle on top). Then just broil it for a few minutes.
You can also just add crushed potato chips to your serving.
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I can’t believe how easy this was to make! We loved it. This will be a regular recipe at our house!
I’m happy to know this worked for you!
This tuna casserole recipe is the bomb! It is super tasty and super easy. No-meat Fridays just got easier. Thank you.
Thank you, Julie! Tuna casserole is a classic. I love not having to use the oven!
This recipe did turn out O.K. and we enjoyed it; however, it started BURN. I think I followed the recipe exactly. It just burned the bottom of the instant pot.
This will happen when there is too much pasta (weighing it is best), or the ingredients are not layered (or you stirred it).
Stir frozen peas in at the end? Is that enough to warm and cook them? Or should I cook them first before stirring them in?
Yes, just stir them in and the residual heat from the casserole will cook them.
How do you half a pasta recipe for a mini instant pot? do you cut the liquid in half too?
Yes, halve the ingredients but keep the cook time the same.