Last night on Beat Bobby Flay, this was the dish. For some reason, it made me hungry. It is something I’ve never made, never occurred to me to make, and I haven’t eaten one in likely 30-something years. Now, I want some. Certainly someone here has a favorite recipe … one where I won’t be deep frying my own potato chips.
I haven’t made this in very, VERY long but it was tasty. I used to always have the ingredients on hand. A cousin’s “women’s club” published a cookbook back in the 60s.
A can of tuna
A can of Cream of Mushroom soup
A can of green peas
Mix together, top with grated cheese and bake til bubbly. Serve over rice or toast.
It’s the only tuna casserole recipe I’ve ever seen that didn’t have noodles in it.
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The one that’s never made.
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My mom made tuna-noodle casserole because it was cheap, nutritious, and easy. I was a bit disillusioned when I learned that; I had always thought it was because there were few more heavenly foods in existence, and this just happened to be easy to make.
Hers never had peas, just tuna, noodles and mushroom soup, with enough milk to make it come together. I eventually added cheese and peas, plus a beaten egg to bind it a bit better. Mrs. O, having been brought up by a mom who was French and a dad who cooked that way, had never tasted it until I introduced her to it, and she immediately clasped it to her bosom. God, what a mess … okay, sorry; she adored it, at least until she went veggie on me.
There is no recipe,really. It’s too bad the seriously cheap grade of tuna is no longer sold, because Grated, as it was called, just half a step above cat food, was perfect for this. And BOY, was it cheap. But I get chunk light (in oil!! Please!) and of course the obligatory Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, undiluted at this stage. Beat in an egg, and stir this into about a quart of cooked, drained egg noodles. Stir in a cup or two of thawed frozen baby peas (Trader Joe’s for me) and add some freshly grated cheddar if you like. If it seems a bit dry stir in some milk – remember, the egg is going to be dry when it’s cooked. Top with shredded or sliced cheese; put into 350º oven for about 35-40 minutes.
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You make a god point about the “cheap” tuna. I have “good” stuff and I’d never use it for this.
This is SO figuring into our near future.
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Actually I DO use “good” tuna, just because good Italian tuna in olive oil has the depth of flavor that only our cheap stuff used to have. So I have no compunctions about spending money to recapture the flavors we used to get at a discount … because the flavor is no longer cheap.
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This… and hubby says it must have lots of crushed Lays Potato Chips baked on top. I 
TNC.
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Hmmm …
My mother’s variation on this was to use Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup, plus some generic “curry” powder. Served over toast, usually. It was good!
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Mmmm… I must get the Golden Mushroom. I already have the curry powder, generic and otherwise.
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That sounds like a quest title!
I’ve no idea if it’s even made anymore - haven’t seen it in years, but also haven’t looked for it. I’m thinking the basic CoM world also work?
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I thought you’d like that name. 
I’m pretty sure it’s available - grocery store shelves are still packed with Campbell’s. Question: she put it on bread, but did she add noodles or was it more Sh_t on a Shingle. Sorry folks, I just ate it. I didn’t name it!
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More SOS - and I think it wasn’t baked but rather dumped into a saucepan. She also made tuna noodle casserole, but never with a crunchy topping - I was a deprived child.
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We didn’t have the crunchy topping either but we do now because “That’s how my mom made it.” Moms was right!
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Gourmet! And I remember that over toast was actually quite good.
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Re “favo(u)rite” in the title, the typical British version is apparently tuna, pasta, canned corn, and mayo.
Shiver 