One-Pan Tuna-White Bean Casserole

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 50 minutes
Rating: 4(1,508)
Notes: Read community notes

This is not the classic, cream-of-something soup tuna casserole you may be familiar with. It’s based on a recipe for a Breton tuna and white bean gratin from the food writer Diana Henry’s cookbook, “Simple” (Mitchell Beazley, 2016). Several steps were eliminated, and an essential potato chip topping was added, which may put it squarely into tuna casserole territory. But you can call it whatever you like. (This recipe is part of the From the Pantry series, started in the days after the coronavirus lockdown.)

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1onion, 2 shallots, 4 scallions or 2 leeks, chopped
2tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of red-pepper flakes
Pinch of kosher salt
6garlic cloves, sliced
1rosemary sprig (optional)
2anchovy fillets (optional)
2(15-ounce) cans white beans, drained and rinsed
½cup white wine, or use water or broth
¼cup milk
2(5-ounce) cans of tuna
1 to 2tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, tarragon, chives or a combination
Zest of ½ lemon
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 to 6tablespoons grated cheese (any kind, though Gruyère, Cheddar, Parmesan or Jarlsberg would be great)
½cup potato chips, crushed
1tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
Lemon juice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In an ovenproof skillet, sauté a chopped onion (or shallots, scallions or leeks) in olive oil over medium-high heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Add red-pepper flakes, salt and garlic cloves. Throw in the rosemary sprig, if using. Add anchovy fillets, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes, until the garlic is slightly golden and very fragrant.
Step 3
Add the white beans and the wine. Let it simmer until the liquid evaporates and the beans are soft, about 5 minutes, then mash the beans with a potato masher or a fork. Make them as smooth or lumpy as you like. You just want to release some of their starch. Turn off the heat.
Step 4
Now, add the milk and the tuna. If you have the oil-packed kind, add the oil. If you have the water-packed kind, drain them, and drizzle in more olive oil.
Step 5
Mash the tuna into the beans, leaving it a little chunky. Mix in the herbs, lemon zest and add lots of black pepper. Finally, mix in 2 to 4 tablespoons of any kind of grated cheese. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Step 6
Spread the mixture evenly in the skillet, and top it with potato chips. Scatter on more grated cheese, about another 2 tablespoons, and dot the top with little nuggets of butter.
Step 7
Bake until the tuna mixture bubbles around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. If you want the potato chips to get more brown, you could run the whole pan under the broiler. Finish with lemon juice.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,508 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Lindsay3 years ago

I use 1 and a half cups Panko crumbs,1cup of grated Parmesan and 4 tablespoons Olive oil.Mix them up till the olive oil has darkened the crumbs and cheese and then top with that. then bake for the 25 minutes. delicious

lee3 years ago

How about Panko or regular breadcrumbs sauteed in some olive oil to brown them a bit?

Monika3 years ago

I don't happen to keep potato chips on hand and don't want to buy some just for the topping. Suggestions on a substitution? Would saltines or some other crisp cracker work or perhaps skip the topping entirely?

Nik Cecere3 years ago

If you are in the grocery store anyway and don't usually have potato chips around, you could buy one of those individual serving packs of chips and have all you need for the recipe as written.

Maria3 years ago

I feel like i might put mushrooms in this. But then, I feel like i might put mushrooms in everything.

Marilyn3 years ago

I added a little Dijon mustard at the beginning, when I was cooking the beans and the wine, and it brightened the flavor nicely.

Helene3 years ago

You don’t have to sauté the panko.... if you mix/rub it with olive oil first the crumbs will brown in the oven; no need to dirty another pan.

JP553 years ago

The original recipe cited (which was a wonderful comfort food dish during the start of the pandemic) uses Panko bread crumbs as a topping.

Karen Artiaco3 years ago

Depending on what’s in the vegetable bin, adding vegetables would add nutrition and also give you an easy one pot meal. A handful or two of leafy greens like spinach, chard, kale, etc. could be thrown in before baking. Coarsely chopped broccoli or cauliflower could be lightly microwaved before adding, or left raw to give a little crunch. Frozen vegetables could also be used. Good versatile recipe!

Roald3 years ago

I apologize in advance since I am sure to offend many. For the record, I love the NYTs cooking section, and I have "saved recipes" since the site went online. It is always my "go to" when looking for inspiration. Plus I am a big fan of Melissa Clark. Finally, the potato chips sold me. But this concoction of wallpaper paste was essentially inedible. I should have been suspicious: mashing beans for a casserole is never a good idea, as this unfortunate recipe conclusively demonstrates. Flee

Deb3 years ago

I had a good chuckle when I came to the crushed potato chip ingredient. We used that in my 8th grade cooking class in the mid 60's on top of a tuna noodle casserole.

Jen3 years ago

I don't know if I'd give this 5 stars as written, but after seeing the very mixed reviews in the comments, I made a few changes and it was spectacular: added capers, doubled the herbs & liquid (I used veg broth), and mashed about 1/3 cup of beans beforehand rather than letting the liquid reduce too much. Cooked 12 min at 425 and broiled 1 min to brown the cheese. It came out the perfect consistency & flavour. If you're eating with toast you can skip the chip topping, but don't skip the anchovy!

Gregg3 years ago

Surprisingly really delicious! I followed the recipe exactly, adding the optional anchovies and sprig of rosemary. For the herb mixture I used half fresh basil and fresh tarragon. Of course, I topped it with a cup of crushed potato chips. We all agreed it was a keeper! Wonderful, fresh flavors when finished with a squirt of lemon juice.

S Schwarzy3 years ago

I hesitate to top this with potato chips. Any suggestions for potato chop topping substitute?

Millie3 years ago

I'm guesstimating about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of dry beans, but really you might as well cook up a cup of beans, use the 1 3/4 cups of cooked beans that equals a 15-oz can for this recipe, and find another use for the rest of it -- some cooked white beans would enhance many dishes. Cooked beans freeze well, too.

Rose1 month ago

Super easy and tasty meal. I’ll definitely be making again. I used panko mixed with parm and olive oil in place of the potato chips and added more salt. I also threw in lots of spinach while the beans were cooking. Used parsley for my herb. The lemon is key. Great recipe.

joyce4 months ago

Added an extra can of tuna and forgot the milk, whoops. It was still delicious. A modern twist on a 1970s classic.

Emily5 months ago

I love this recipe! I will take beans over pasta and tons of heavy cream any day. I'm using some store-bought fried onions for the topping for my second time making this, but my teen boy loved the potato chips.

Celeste5 months ago

There's potential for a favorite here. As always, make it as recommended once and then adjust to your preferences another time, although I did delete the anchovies and reduce the salt overall for dietary reasons. Next time I will add garden peas and baby carrot medallions for some color and flavor variety. Will also only crush about a quarter of the beans to make the sauce, leaving the rest whole to show the veggie ingredients.

gus6 months ago

Delicious flavors but I can see where some could find it too mushy. To this end, I barely mashed the beans and tuna. Also used slightly less wine and milk. A crisp romaine salad on the side helped immensely!

Kate in Minnesota6 months ago

I used sliced almonds in place of the potato chips and because I made one half of the recipe and didn't have tuna, used 2 packes of wild pink salmon in olive oil. I also added dijon as recommended in a review and capers. Once baked I added a drizzle of quality EVOO. It was a delight!

Morgan9 months ago

I highly suggest using kettle cooked chips for the topping. They stay nice and crisp. No soggy chip parts in sight.

Michael M9 months ago

Nice recipe, lends itself to customization. I left out the milk and butter to make it much lower dairy for a lactose intolerant person. Subbed panko for potato chips and added mushrooms for bulking it up a bit. Family enjoyed quite a bit. Anchovies are necessary I used 3 filets. A couple possible additions: a little dijon, a lot more herbs, a tablespoon of tomato paste.

philippa10 months ago

This is a well loved dish at my house. I had not made it for some time and discovered tonight that now having a teenager in the house greatly reduces the serving size. Would definitely recommend increasing by half to more comfortably feed 4 as a main meal.

Tamelon11 months ago

This was a flop. Followed recipe. Texture was seriously off-putting and despite lots of fresh herbs, flavor was musty. There are much better ways to make a pantry meal.

Mark Cullings1 year ago

Have now made this twice. First time found it to be rather bland and quite dry. This time, doubled the anchovies, added capers, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, leftover frozen peas, salt and maybe 3T chicken broth before the chips topping. Made a big difference.

Steve1 year ago

I made this two years ago with what I could find at the store during lockdown overseas, and it was just ok. I tried it again tonight on a whim and added the rosemary sprig and some anchovy paste vice anchovies. Wow. It was really tasty. I couldnt stop noshing.

Paul1 year ago

Used one (1) chipotle in adobo instead of the pinch of red pepper and used mild BBQ kettle chips (Manishevitz). Went heavy on the herbs. OMG good!

vb cooks1 year ago

Spurred on by others, I made some changes. Added peas and mushrooms along with the leeks. Added a bit of mustard to the sauce. And used sour cream and chive potato chips. I didn’t have wine so used white vermouth. Totally forgot the milk and the lemon. But it was good as I did it. Would recommend adding them though.

Tylwyth1 year ago

Made this in a cast iron skillet. My son suggested it was a childhood regression meal [potato chips tuna] and he was not wrong. A great family meal! Everyone loved it!

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