Instant Pot Tuna Casserole delivers a ton of home-cooked, delicious flavor. Even better, it’s super low effort. Layer the ingredients, and let your Instant Pot do the rest! In 20 minutes, you can have a filling, tasty, creamy tuna pasta that’s ready to serve.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil
▢1 small yellow onion diced (about 1/2 cup)
▢3 cloves garlic minced
▢1 teaspoon kosher salt
▢½ teaspoon black pepper
▢32 ounce chicken broth about 4 cups
▢1 bag wide egg noodles, uncooked 12 ounce
▢2 cans cream of mushroom soup 10.5 ounce each
▢3 cans tuna (in water, drained) 6 ounce each
▢½ cup half and half
▢1 bag frozen sweet peas 12 ounce
▢2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
▢1 cup French’s crispy fried onions see notes
▢1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
Instructions
Turn the Instant Pot on “SAUTE.” Add olive oil and let it get hot (about 1-2 minutes). Add onion and garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Turn Instant Pot off. Add in salt, pepper, and chicken broth. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pot with the wooden spoon to get all the cooked bits off (this is called deglazing and will help prevent a burn notice).
Add the egg noodles on top and DO NOT STIR.
Dump the cream of mushroom soup on top and DO NOT STIR, just spread gently over the top of the noodles.
Top the soup with the tuna and DO NOT STIR. Pour the half and half over the tuna slowly and DO NOT STIR.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to “SEALING.” Turn on high pressure (manual) and a cook time of 3 minutes. The pot will take at least 10 minutes to come to pressure.
When the cook time ends, you will do a quick release of the pressure by turning the valve to “VENTING.” To prevent liquid from spraying all over my kitchen, I hold a kitchen towel about the valve, tenting it so there is enough room for the release of air.
When the pin drops, open the lid and stir the contents inside. Stir in the peas and shredded cheese. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving (this gives the peas a few minutes to heat up).
Serve with fried onions and fresh parsley.
Notes
For the topping, we loved the flavor the crispy fried onions gave this dish. If you want a more traditional version, swap it out for about 10 crushed Ritz crackers. My family will also use crushed potato chips to add a salty finish.
The key to not getting a burn notice is to NOT STIR where directed. This will ensure even cooking.
Place a kitchen towel over the valve (tent it above the valve so it doesn’t actually touch or hinder the release). This helps to avoid tuna liquid from spraying all over your kitchen during the quick release.
Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes or so before serving it to give the peas enough time to heat up.
Easy Instructions
