I decided to re-post an oldie-but-a-goodie to start my “Budget Recipe” series. Hopefully you guys were able to score some free/cheap tuna with last week’s coupon ~
Tuna Noodle Casserole is my kind of comfort food and it’s also one of the things I looked forward to my Dad cooking growing up. He liked a lot of tuna and so do I. So here’s my budget friendly, lightened up version:
Ingredients:
- 1 Pound Rotini Noodles
- 1 10 ¾ Ounce Can Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Celery Soup
- 1 10 ¾ Ounce Can Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1 12 Ounce Bag Green Giant Steamers Mixed Vegetables
- 3 Pouches Starkist Light Tuna
- 1 ½ Cups Skim Milk
- ½ Cup Parmesan Cheese
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
Topping:
- 1 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- ½ Cup Parmesan Cheese
- Butter Spray
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
- Cook noodles for 7 minutes and drain. Do not overcook the noodles. They will continue to cook when the casserole bakes and you’ll wind up with mushy pasta…yuck!
- Mix the noodles with all the remaining ingredients except the topping.
- Pour into a greased 9×13 inch baking dish (I use the Kroger brand non-cooking spray).
- In a small bowl, mix the panko and Parmesan with a fork. Spray with butter spray and stir. Keep doing this until it looks like the topping is well coated with the butter spray. Sprinkle all over the top of the casserole. You could use melted light butter. I just REALLY like the super buttery flavor of butter spray.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and well browned.
I am in love with panko bread crumbs. They are light, crispy and do not get soggy (even when reheated). The topping was very crunchy and had great flavor. Talk about a budget meal! This makes a huge pan that could easily feed a family of four for $3.10. In my family, this would be about 8 servings lol, so just $0.39 a serving. For less than the price of ONE fast food combo meal, you can make a whole meal that is satisfying, nutritious and delicious. I challenge anyone that says that all couponers eat is junk food!!
Cost:
- Noodles: Free from stockpile
- Cream of Celery Soup: $0.35 from stockpile
- Cream of Mushroom Soup:$0.35 from stockpile
- Green Giant Steamers Mixed Vegetables: $0.40 from stockpile
- 3 Pouches Starkist Tuna: $0.25 each with this deal
- 1 ½ Cups Skim Milk: $0.25
- 1 Total Cup Parmesan Cheese: $0.50
- 1 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs: Free with $3/1 coupon (no longer available)
- Frank’s Red Hot: Pennies with this deal
- Total Cost = $3.10
Be sure to check the Coupon Deals Page regularly so you have the products that I use in these recipes! Each week I will create a new healthy, budget recipe using the free/cheap groceries that we’ve scored!
Do you have a budge recipe or tip you’d like to share? Email it to andrea (at) savingeveryday (dot) net ![]()
Check out the Recipes Page for more!






























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