When I was a kid we pretty much lived off of Hamburger Helper. My dad grocery shopped and cooked, but mostly easy convenient foods, and stuff from a can.

In his defense it was the late 80s, early 90’s and boxed foods like hamburger helper were all the rage.

Affordable, easy, and deliciously comforting.

We never ate a lot of Tuna Helper but once my dad remarried, my stepmom added some new dishes to the mix, like her famous tuna casserole.

I think because I had been living off of Hamburger Helper for so long, any change was a welcome change. Especially when she made her tuna and rice casserole.

Like most southern casseroles it involved a few cans of “cream of” soup, cheese, a starch and a protein. Her casserole was rice, tuna, cream of mushroom, and cheese. And to top it all off, she microwaved it.

Say what you want, but I ate my weight in that casserole growing up, and even when I was grown, she often would make it when I came to visit until we went vegetarian and eventually vegan.

Now despite my affection for this nostalgic classic, my own kids were never fans. So when I decided I was craving some tuna casserole, I decided I would take a chapter out of the old Tuna Helper book, and but would veganize it, but also change it up. I would try to convince my kids that they LOVE vegan tuna NOODLE casserole…since they were not buying the tuna rice combo.

So how does one recreate a tuna, noodle, cheesy casserole when vegan, you may be asking?!?

Its easy, y'all! Jackfruit in a can (in brine) is great at mimicking lots of meats, and when you shred it, the texture is super tuna-y. Next all you need is a super, easy, all purpose vegan cheese sauce, and a box of macaroni! Sprinkle on a crunchy topping, and you are good to go.

This vegan tuna noodle casserole is so quick and easy, and surprisingly every single person in my family ate it up, even the four year old, who mostly only currently eats beige carbs. ( I mean if I thought I could get away with it I could live off the same diet as she is currently attempting)

This vegan tuna noodle casserole recipe actually makes a LOT, but will freeze well. You can very easily half this recipe if you do not need a giant 9x13 pan of casserole. Or you can make the full recipe and eat on it all week. We just happen to have a large family and extra kids over all of the time so it’s my habit to make extra, knowing it will get eaten eventually!

So if you used to eat a lot of box casserole mixes or even a homemade non vegan tuna noodle casserole and have been craving it, this recipe might be the answer. Quick and easy vegan comfort food is always my favorite!

INGREDIENTS:

This recipe makes a full 9x13 casserole dish, making it good for pot lucks or larger gatherings. You can easily half this recipe and bake it in a smaller dish. I often bake a large one and freeze half for later.

3 cups dried macaroni, or ribbon noodles
2 cans jackfruit in brine, drained and rinsed
1 large yellow onion
2 teaspoons vegan butter
2-3 teaspoons dulse flakes (optional)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
2 cups vegan panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt

Cheese Sauce:

1 cup cashews (plus water for soaking)
2 cups water
1/4 cup sauerkraut (cabbage only, no liquid)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons smoky paprika
1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Boil noodles according to package directions in a large pot or dutch oven. Drain and set aside.
Add cashews to a microwave safe container and cover in water. Heat on high for three minutes. Drain the water. Add the the softened cashews along with remaining cheese sauce ingredients to a high speed blender, and blend until the mixture is completely smooth and there are no more bits of cashew floating around. If you have something small like a bullet blender, you may have to blend in batches. Set aside.
Shred the pieces of jackfruit between your fingers or with a knife ( heads up, using your fingers is faster and easier.) Finely dice the onion.
Heat the pot you boiled the noodles in over medium heat. Add the butter, onion, jackfruit and garlic. Cook unit the onions are translucent.
Add the blended cheese sauce to pot with the onions and jackfruit and reduce the heat to medium/ low. Cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously until the vegan cheese sauce begins to thicken. Once it thickens, add the drained noodles back to the pot. Add the sour cream, and dijon mustard, and give it all a good stir.
Transfer the mixture to a 9x13 baking dish. Mix the panko bread crumbs, salt, and nutritional yeast together and sprinkle on the top of the casserole. Give it a spray with a little cooking oil and pop it in the oven on the middle rack.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or unit the breadcrumbs begin to get golden brown. You can garnish with fresh parsley or diced green onions to serve.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

INGREDIENTS:

Cheese Sauce:

DIRECTIONS: