Take your classic comfort food to a new healthier level with this delicious and creamy Whole30 & Paleo Tuna Zoodle Casserole. Comes together quickly, and so easy as well!
Did anyone grow up eating tuna casseroles? Being raised in a Korean American household, we never had them and I didn’t try it until I was older. I actually thought they sounded pretty lame before tasting my first bite, but I realized how wrong I was after. The creamy rich flavor was amazingly comforting and I didn’t expect it to be so addicting!
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Whole30 & Paleo Tuna Zoodle Casserole Recipe
I recently made this paleo tuna casserole using zucchini noodles to create a healthier and lower carb version of the classic dish, and I was honestly surprised by how crazy good it was. I honestly did not miss real gluten noodles or the cheese at all, and this paleo tuna zoodle casserole is now on regular rotation in our house.
I’ll share my tricks to making yummy zoodles and dairy free cream sauce below, and these 2 really bring the textures and flavors together along with the mushrooms and .
Why I Chose StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Yellowfin Tuna
The quality of tuna for this tuna zoodle casserole recipe is really what makes this dish so flavorful and delicious. I just love that StarKist® is creating such high quality products that are so affordable, and their Pouches are great for creating a quick meal or a snack, even on-the-go.
Most importantly, I love that these seafood products are all wild-caught and are packed in cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil. I was pleasantly surprised that the pouches contained mostly fish and the meat wasn’t submerged in olive oil, so I didn’t have to drain them like I have to do with cans.
The ingredients for all their pouches are squeaky clean and simple, and it’s been my go-to for when I need a quick snack or when I want to use it in recipes like this paleo tuna zoodle casserole recipe!
Tips for Making Whole30 & Paleo Tuna Zoodle Casserole
What’s really important when making this paleo tuna casserole is that the zucchini isn’t watery. That will mess with the texture of the entire dish and add too much liquid when you want it to be rich and creamy. Here are my top tips for making a tuna zoodle casserole that you’ll want over and over again:
- After spiralizing the zucchini, generously sprinkle and toss with salt and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. This will “sweat” the zucchini and make it easier for you to squeeze out all the moisture, so it doesn’t make the tuna zoodle casserole liquid-y during the cooking process.
- No need to drain pouches before adding them during cooking. However, if you are using canned tuna, make sure to drain well before using it in the recipe.
- When making the cashew cream sauce, I found that I didn’t need to soak the cashews in water. However, if you don’t own a high-speed blender, you may want to soak the cashews for an hour so they break down more easily for a creamy sauce.
If you aren’t a fan of mushrooms, you can make easy substitutions with other vegetables like green peas, carrots, bell peppers, and/or celery! If you are gluten and dairy free like me, this tuna zoodle casserole recipe is such a delicious way to enjoy your favorite comfort food while feeling great at the same time.
Other recipes you might love…
- Paleo Shrimp Alfredo with Artichoke Hearts
- Simple and Easy Tuna Patties
- Paleo Chicken and Rice Casserole
- How to Make Perfect Zucchini Egg Nests
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini or 3 small
- 1 tsp sea salt plus more to taste
- 3 pouches StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Yellowfin Tuna (2.6 oz each) – Drain if you are using canned
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or your cooking oil of choice
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 8 oz mushrooms sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- pepper to taste
Cashew Cream Sauce
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 3/4 cup bone broth or chicken broth or water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Use a spiralizer or a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini into zoodles (zucchini noodles).
- Chop the zoodles roughly so they aren't too long.
- Place the zoodles in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt. Let this sit for 30 minutes to sweat while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Place all ingredients for the cashew cream sauce in a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes until fragrant.
- Add mushroom and garlic with salt and pepper and cook stirring for 5 minutes until the mushroom slices are softened.
- Stir in StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Yellowfin Tuna and break apart the meat. Remove from heat.
- Wrap the zoodles in a paper or kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Stir zoodles and the cashew cream sauce into the tuna and vegetable mixture.
- Transfer to a 9×9 baking dish and bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.
- If you'd like, you can serve with chopped parsley and/or red pepper flakes!
I LOVE this! Was definitely one of those who made tuna noodle casserole on quite a few occasions in the past. Now that I’m mostly Paleo, this one fits perfectly for me! Can’t wait to try.
I need to do this! I love tuna casserole, just needed your inspiration and recipe!! 🙂
This was absolutely delicious! So easy to make and so tasty – it will be a regular in our house.
I have always feared cashew cream but your recipe was faultless!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!!
Mmmm… I love how creamy this is! I’ve missed tuna noodle casserole since going paleo. Can’t wait to add it back in to my menu!
There’s nothing better than a delicious, creamy tuna casserole! Love that you’ve made it healthy!
Love this casserole recipe! Vegetable and protein rich and it was very hands-off cooking which I like!
I’m gong to have to make this for my boys. They don’t eat enough seafood, and this is a wonderful option that they would love!
I haven’t had anything like this in SO LONG! Thanks for bringing it back into my life!
I have a million zucchinis exploding out of my garden right now! This dish would be a perfect way to use them up. You make tuna casserole look good!
Yay, I have all the ingredients to make this! I have not had tuna casserole since the 70’s because I don’t enjoy peas, lol. Yours is free of peas, so it is a win!
I’ve never thought of combining tuna and zoodle, and this one looks so good. Not to mention it is so easy to make.
Cannot wait to try this recipe! Will need to look for those Starkist pouches too!
The zoodles instead of noodles does lighten it all up and that’s another plus for me.
i’m super excited about this recipe — I have some canned tuna I was trying to find a way to use, my hubby likes all these really old-school ways from his childhood to eat it that don’t appeal to me. But I think this zoodle idea is the perfect compromise and it looks delicious too!
Just perfect timings for our overgrown zucchinis in the garden. I had no idea what else to do with them
Can this be made without cashews?
That’s what gives the casserole a creamy casserole. You can, but it’ll come out watery.
I’ve made this once already for my family, and it sad a big hit! However, I’m at a loss currently for raw cashews! I was wondering if full- fat coconut milk or coconut cream might be a decent substitute?
Oh no! You can try coconut cream, but it might be a bit thinner. Steamed and mashed cauliflower can also work in a pinch.
This is an absolutely phenomenal recipe!! I loved tuna casserole growing up but have been doing a more keto/paleo style diet since moving out on my own. AND THIS WAS SO DELICIOUS! I’m glad I came across it and cannot wait to try more of your recipes 🙂
I have a question about it though: how long does it keep for in the fridge? And is it okay to freeze?
Thanks so much! It should be good for 4-5 days in the fridge. And yes, you can freeze it! Just cut into individual portions before freezing.
We didn’t have cashews on hand, so I subbed mac nuts. I had to use a bit more than the 3/4 cup because the consistency was pretty watery with just 3/4 cup. I ended up using about 1 cup of mac nuts. I thought it tasted great, but my husband didn’t like the texture of the ‘cream’. It was a little on the crunchy side because the mac nuts were so finely chopped. Next time I will try with cashews as the recipe called for, but in a pinch, the mac nuts were a good sub in my opinion!! 🙂 Oh! I also used frozen zoodles…because I only had those on hand. I used 4 packages (microwaved and drained and squeezed and cut). Then I used two 7 oz cans of tuna in olive oil, drained. I think I could have used just one can according to the above recipe, but I think two worked nicely. Thanks for sharing this healthy take on an old standby! Especially when I’m trying to get creative with what we have on hand since this ‘stay home’ order in effect. Mahalo!!
So glad you enjoyed!!
This was really delicious and not complicated at all. Thank you for this recipe! It was my first real experience making noodles.
So glad you enjoyed it!!!
I may just need to make this every week! It was so good. Thank you!
Yay!!
I made this tonight and I was blown away. It is so good! The salt, chicken stock, and mushrooms come together in an explosion of flavor that reminds me of the gluten and dairy laden casseroles of my childhood. My only wish was that I’d made a double batch! My only issue was that I had to cook it longer than the stated 12-15 minutes to get the top to brown and I was already running late tonight. Next time I’ll plan to cook it longer and make more. Thank you for sharing this incredible recipe.
So glad it worked out! Thanks so much for leaving a review.
This looks amazing and so creamy! But I have to start the renew diet so can’t have cashews. Do you think coconut milk and/or paleo mayonnaise and/or cauliflower would work instead?
I think steamed and blended cauliflower mixed with a bit of mayo will work!
I’ve made this many times and love it. I’m dying to make it for my mom but she is incredibly allergic to zucchini. Do you have a suggestion for another non squash noodle that may work in this recipe?
Can she have spaghetti squash? Otherwise, you can try grain free Jovial noodles. Cook it al dente first before baking!
Absolutely delicious 🙂 Loved this amazing and simple recipe. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the unique recipe.
Just love this unique recipe. I’ll definitely try this on weekend. Thank you so much for sharing this healthy recipe.
Just love this unique recipe. I’ll definitely try this on weekend. Thank you so much for sharing this healthy recipe. Keep sharing.
I can’t get enough of this!!!