Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake

4.43 from 7 votes

A simple but delicious Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake with leeks and cheddar - so easy to put together but full of flavour. Perfect weeknight comfort food!

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Main Course, Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 750kcal

Author: Carrie Carvalho

Equipment

Baking Dish roughly 20cmx30cm
Pasta Pot

Ingredients

350 grams pasta ideally fusilli, penne or rigatoni
2 145g tins tuna in springwater or brine drained and flaked
2 leeks trimmed and sliced
150 grams mature or sharp cheddar cheese grated
200 ml double cream heavy cream
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley plus extra to garnish if desired
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
pinch salt to taste

Metric - US Measures

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180°c/160 fan/350f and put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Add the pasta to the pot and cook for 2 minutes less than recommenced on the packet instructions. Add the leeks to the pot for the final 2 minutes of cooking.*
Scoop out ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of the cooking water from the pasta, then drain it.
In the same (warm) pot you used to cook the pasta, add the cream, the reserved pasta water, two thirds of the cheese (100g) plus the pepper, garlic powder and salt.
Mix well, then add in the tuna, pasta and parsley and stir again.
Transfer everything into a baking dish, give it another stir to make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese on top is golden brown.
Sprinkle with some extra chopped parsley and serve.

Notes

*for example, if the pasta packet recommends cooking for 10-12 minutes, you should cook the pasta for 6 minutes then add the leeks and cook for a further 2 minutes, 8 minutes in total.

Nutrition