Old-Fashioned Tuna Mornay with Crunchy Chip Topping
Classic tuna mornay with creamy cheese sauce, pasta, and a crunchy topping. A comforting family dinner from the Old Fashioned Dinners series.
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Ingredients
- 1 × 425 g tin tuna in spring water drained
- 500 g cooked pasta any shape – spirals work well
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 50 g butter
- ¼ cup plain flour
- 3 cups milk
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 cups grated cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
For the topping
- 50 g butter melted
- 150 g bag plain salted potato chips (crisps), crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for about a minute to cook the flour.
- Gradually add the milk, whisking continuously until smooth. Add the onion powder and garlic powder and continue cooking until the sauce thickens.
- Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the grated cheese and frozen peas and stir until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat.
- Gently stir in the cooked pasta and drained tuna, keeping the tuna pieces slightly chunky.
- Spoon the mixture into a casserole dish.
- In a bowl, mix the melted butter with the crushed potato chips.
- Sprinkle the chip topping evenly over the pasta.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve hot.
Notes
Stacey's Kitchen Tips:
- If you already have leftover pasta in the fridge, this recipe comes together very quickly.
- Try not to break the tuna up too much when mixing. Leaving it in larger pieces gives the dish a nicer texture.
- The crushed potato chip topping sounds unusual, but it adds a lovely crunch and extra flavour too.
Variations & Substitutions:
- Swap peas for corn or mixed vegetables.
- Use any short pasta shape like penne, shells, or macaroni.
- Add a little mustard powder to the sauce for extra flavour.
- If you prefer a traditional topping, use buttered breadcrumbs instead of potato chips.
Servings: 4 people