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    Home » Autumn/Fall

    Cauliflower Tuna Pasta Bake

    By Robyn | Published: May 2, 2019 | Modified: Jun 21, 2020

    TO THE RECIPE
    creamy cauliflower pasta bake with tuna in baking dish on cooling rack next to cooked cauliflower
     
    This creamy tuna pasta bake is the ultimate comfort food, perfect for the cooling Autumn nights. It is a firm family favourite too – and can be made ahead or frozen for those busy weekday nights.
    tuna pasta bake with cauliflower in baking dish on cooling rack with cauliflower florets to the left

    I always have pasta in the cupboard, and stock pile tuna like its going out of fashion when it’s on offer, meaning I can resort to a tuna pasta bake at short notice. Not only is this a recipe I love to cook, but the plates are always clean at the end of the meal. Even if Mini Jones is having a fussy day, he is unable to resist a pasta bake.

    Talking of which, Mini Jones is currently struggling with his daytime naps. As in there have been a number of days recently where, despite my best efforts, he doesn’t nap.

    Police road blocks testing for drugs or alcohol are quite common in Sydney, but last week when we saw one on the road up ahead, we tried our best to avoid it.

    Mini Jones had – to our relief – finally fallen asleep in the car, just 10 minutes from home. If he’s slept in the car, even for 5 minutes, he will not sleep again that day. So, we decided to go on a detour so he would get a longer sleep. He was sleeping lightly, so as we approached the road block, we feared that stopping would wake him. Slowly down long before the road block, Mr Jones desperately looked for a driveway to turn around in. There were none. We edged closer, hoping we would get waved past, but no, we were ushered in to the lane for testing.

    We stopped and wound down the window. We must have looked very dodgy in our flustered state, nervously peering around, me closing my eyes in a ‘don’t wake the baby’ plea, not a ‘don’t get caught’ plea.

    I got the feeling the officer was quite surprised when the alcohol limit came back with zero.

    It worked out in the end as it didn’t wake Mini Jones up, and we managed to keep him asleep for another 40 minutes!

    But back to the pasta bake…

    tuna pasta bake with cauliflower filling the image with edges of plates just visible in top and bottom right corners

    Make Ahead:

    You can assemble the dish and then keep in the fridge overnight, ready to place in the oven the following day.

    Freezing the pasta bake:

    Allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months. Thaw in fridge overnight before reheating

    Healthier Comfort Food

    Using half cauliflower stock and half milk, and making the sauce with wholemeal flour makes the sauce slightly less rich without skimping on the creaminess. The wholemeal flour is higher in nutrients and fibre than plain – the sauce will look slightly lumpy at first but once it’s cooked with the pasta all traces of the bran will have disappeared.

    Why not try…

    If you want to see more lightened up versions of dishes, why not have a look at:

    • Light Peach Eton Mess
    • Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad

    cauliflower and tuna pasta bake freshly baked in baking dish

    Cauliflower Tuna Pasta Bake

    Author: Robyn

    This creamy and comforting tuna pasta bake with cauliflower is an easy midweek dinner recipe loved by toddlers, kids and adults!
    4.08 from 13 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Cook Time 50 mins
    Course dinner, Midweek Meals
    Cuisine modern australian, modern european
    Servings 4 People
    Calories 417 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • ½ small cauliflower – about 350g / 12 oz ($1.30/ £1.00)
    • 250 g (4c ) pasta – fusilli, bows, penne ($0.50/ £0.37p)
    • 75 g (⅓ c ) butter ($0.96/ £0.53p)*
    • 75 g (¾ c ) plain wholemeal flour ($0.15/ £0.13p)
    • 400 ml (1 ¾ c ) milk ($0.62/ £0.23p)
    • 400 ml (1 ¾ c) stock from cooking the cauliflower
    • 75 g (½ c) cheddar cheese or tasty cheese ($0.87/ £0.38p)
    • Dash Worcester sauce ($0.02/ £0.01)
    • 185 g (7oz) tinned / canned tuna in water ($2.00/ £0.79p)**
    • Black pepper
    • 25g (1.5 tablespoons) grated cheddar cheese / tasty cheese ($0.29/ £0.13p)

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 180˚C fan / 200˚C /360˚F convection / 390˚F.
    • In a large saucepan bring 1 litre (4.25 cups) water to the boil, break the cauliflower into large florets then place in the boiling water and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the cauliflower is just tender.
    • Drain the cauliflower in a sieve over a bowl, keeping the water to use in the sauce.
    • Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water according to packet instructions – around 10 minutes. Drain.
    • In a medium saucepan over a low heat add the butter. Once it’s melted add the flour and stir until well combined. Cook for a couple of minutes, until it starts to bubble, then gradually add the 400ml (1 ¾ c) milk and 400ml (1 ¾ c) cauliflower stock, whisking with a balloon whisk between each addition. Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes until it starts to thicken.
    • Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes until it starts to thicken. Take off the heat and stir in the cheese, dash of Worcester sauce and then the tuna. Season with black pepper.
    • Tip the cauliflower and pasta into an oven proof dish, then pour over the sauce. Mix to thoroughly coat the past and cauliflower in sauce, then sprinkle over the remaining 25g / 1.5 tablespoons of grated cheese.
    • Place in the preheated oven and cook for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling. Stand for a couple of minutes before serving.

    Notes

    *if you want to reduce the costs further, use margarine instead of butter.
    ** in the UK tins of tuna weigh 145g rather than 185g, use one tin.
    Estimated costs of recipe:
    Australia: $6.71, or $1.68 per serve. With margarine instead of butter: $6.17, or $1.54 per serve.
    UK: £3.57 or 89p per serve. With margarine instead of butter: $3.22 or 81p per serve.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 417kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 22gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 1165mgPotassium: 777mgFiber: 5gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 1330IUVitamin C: 47mgCalcium: 295mgIron: 3mg
    Keyword cauliflower bake, tuna pasta, tuna pasta bake, tuna pasta bake recipe

    HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?

    I’d love to see your creation!

    Tag me! #atmrsjoneskitchen
    Tag me! @atmrsjoneskitchen

    Or just leave a comment below!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Viv says

      May 16, 2019 at 10:03 pm

      Ok Mrs Jones – one for June!!!!!

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 18, 2019 at 2:35 pm

        Sounds good! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Marcellina says

      May 07, 2019 at 9:06 pm

      My children are young adults but I remember too well driving around to put the baby to sleep! And whoa if we had to stop the car for anything! I can just imagine how you felt! Hopefully you had something as good as this in your freezer for dinner when you got home. I love the convenience of canned tuna.

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 08, 2019 at 10:02 am

        Ha yes, don’t wake the baby!! And yet they often sleep pretty soundly once they are finally asleep!

        Reply
    3. Sylvie says

      May 06, 2019 at 7:13 pm

      I’m a sucker for a good pasta bake, they are my ultimate comfort food! Cant wait to try this one 🙂

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 07, 2019 at 1:26 pm

        Me too Sylvie! This is definitely pure comfort food!

        Reply
    4. Jaimie @ Nosh says

      May 06, 2019 at 11:55 am

      What an awesome and easy little mid-week recipe! Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 06, 2019 at 2:05 pm

        Thank you Jaimie!

        Reply
    5. Adrianne says

      May 05, 2019 at 4:20 pm

      The tuna in water is a good idea as the other ones can be so oily! I bet this tastes delicious. I wish I was having a serving for dinner, YUM!

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 06, 2019 at 2:05 pm

        They can be oily can’t they? It is always a winner in our house!

        Reply
    6. Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes says

      May 05, 2019 at 3:07 pm

      This just says “comfort food” doesn’t it? And who doesn’t love comfort food? Just delicious! 🙂

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 06, 2019 at 2:03 pm

        Oh yes, pure comfort food 🙂

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Easy Tuna and Potato Patties - It's Not Complicated Recipes says:
      September 1, 2019 at 2:04 am

      […] Cauliflower Tuna Pasta Bake by Mrs. Jones’ Kitchen […]

      Reply
    2. Tuna Puff Pastry Pinwheels - It's Not Complicated Recipes says:
      August 27, 2019 at 2:19 pm

      […] Cauliflower Tuna Pasta Bake by Mrs. Jones’ Kitchen […]

      Reply

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    Robyn Jones, Recipe Developer & Food Photographer

    Robyn Jones

    Recipe Developer | Food Photographer | Writer

    Hi! I'm Robyn, a toddler mum with a passion for all things food! Having moved internationally 7 times in the past 12 years I have developed a love of making international recipes into family friendly ones you can make in your own home, with local ingredients; wherever you live!

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