Each of the keto noodle substitutes has its place. I love shirataki noodles in place of rice noodles. I’ve recently tried a product called Healthy Noodle from Kibun Foods (available at Costco) that is my new favorite for Italian-style pasta dishes. But if you want to make a casserole that reminds you of the stuff you made as a kid with egg noodles and cream of whatever soup, what you’re looking for is hearts of palm noodles. Cooked properly, these take on the flavor of the sauce they’re in and get that right level of juuuuuust barely al dente that you got with your childhood comfort food casserole favorites.
This recipe is awesome because it’s ridiculously versatile. You can add or remove whatever veggies you like. It’s also really easy to make. The hardest part is sauteing vegetables, otherwise it’s basically just dump and go. Like any casserole, it’s great for meal prep, or it would be awesome for dinner with a side salad.
The first thing you’ll need to do is preheat your oven to 350, then melt two tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. While you’re doing that, finely mince one large shallot and rinse off an 8-ounce package of sliced mushrooms. Dump all that into the melted butter, sprinkle it with a pinch of salt, and saute it about 4-5 minutes, until the shallot turns translucent. Your mushrooms will probably be about 75% cooked and releasing liquid. They’ll finish cooking in the oven, so go ahead and pour all of it, juices and all, into a small bowl, then start working on the sauce.
Put the saucepan back onto the burner, this time set for low. Pour in a cup of heavy cream, then add 4 ounces of cream cheese, cut into cubes. Whisk that together until the cream cheese melts, then add a cup of shredded cheddar in four batches, stirring each batch until it fully melts. Finally, add 1/4 cup of grated parmesan and whisk that until it melts.
At this point, add the mushrooms and shallots back in, along with the accumulated juices. Whisk those in. Add 1/3 cup of frozen peas and carrots. You can easily leave these out if you don’t want the few extra grams of net carbs that they add, but it’s fairly negligible over six servings, and they add some color and texture that’s hard to replace. Open two cans of tuna packed in olive oil, drain them, and add them to the sauce, breaking up any large chunks. Finally, rinse and fully drain two cans of hearts of palm noodles and dump those into the mixture. Stir it around, add a bunch of white pepper and salt to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon), and let it simmer for five minutes.
Pour the whole shebang into a glass or ceramic 9×13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with another 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar. Bake it for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Let it cool for about ten minutes before serving, as it comes out of the oven fairly nuclear in temperature and holds up a lot better once it cools a bit.
Keto Cheesy Tuna Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
- 1 large shallot minced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese cubed
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 2 5-ounce cans tuna packed in olive oil drained
- 2 14-ounce cans hearts of palm pasta rinsed and drained
- salt and white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, deep skillet or saucier over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and saute them for 4-5 minutes, until the shallots turn translucent. Remove them, along with any juices, to a small bowl.
- Put the pan back on low heat. Add the heavy cream and cubed cream cheese and whisk until the cream cheese melts. Add one cup of the cheddar cheese in 4 batches, making sure that each previous batch melts before adding more. Finally, add the parmesan cheese and whisk until it melts.
- Add the reserved mushroom-shallot mixture and its juices, peas and carrots, tuna, and hearts of palm noodles. Turn the heat back up to medium and bring to a simmer for five minutes.
- Pour the contents into a 9×13-inch baking dish and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
- Macros per serving: 439 calories, 6 grams net carbs, 20 grams protein, 38 grams fat.
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