This healthy tuna pasta bake is both gluten free and dairy free. It can be made with your choice of pasta. These days there are plenty of low carb pasta options if you want a lower carb meal. I outline those in the article below.
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I’ve been making this healthy tuna pasta bake for many years. It is a real hit with the kids and is so adaptable that it will suit most diets.
How do you cook gluten free pasta?
It’s really simple to make this pasta bake gluten free. Simply use gluten free pasta in the place of ‘normal’ wheat pasta.
If you have never cooked gluten free pasta before then here are a few tips:
Avoid too much rice
Choose a brand of pasta that doesn’t contain too much rice flour. Rice not only contains arsenic but it also makes the pasta grainy. I prefer the brands that contain corn flour like Barilla from Italy.
Cook in lots of water
The key when cooking gluten free pasta is to use a lot of water. This prevents you from getting a mush of pasta in starchy water
Stir well
Once you’ve placed the pasta in a boiling saucepan of water, make sure you stir it. If you don’t then you will have one huge clump of pasta when it’s cooked.
Don’t over cook
Make sure you keep an eye on the pasta as it cooks and keep testing it. It is very easy to overcook pasta (and the instructions aren’t always accurate) so keep testing it.
How do you make low carb healthy tuna pasta bake?
If you follow a low carb diet then this kind of meal is often one you can’t have.
These days, however, there are a huge amount of different pasta’s available that are made from ingredients that are lower in carbs.
My favourite are those by Nomad Health. They have a green banana variety of pasta along with a flaxseed and a sesame. The latter is my favourite.
Variations to the recipe
This recipe is a base from which you can add your own ingredients.
I love to add capers and olives to mine but you could add fresh different herbs, a variety of vegetables or even different fish. It’s the perfect dish to make when there isn’t much left in the fridge. Frozen vegetables will work well too.
Top the dish with dairy free cheese (or dairy containing if you tolerate it) and grill it for a lovely golden finish.
Pin the recipe for healthy tuna pasta bake so you don’t lose it:
Healthy tuna pasta bake
A simple healthy tuna pasta bake recipe that can be adapted to make it gluten-free, dairy free and low carb. It's also egg-free, nut-free and soya-free. A real favourite with kids.
Ingredients
- 1 onion finely chopped (or whizzed in a handheld chopper)
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped or diced
- 100 g green beans cut into bite-sized pieces
- 100 g sweetcorn frozen or tinned
- 500 ml tomato passata or 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1½ tsp dried mixed herbs fresh if you have them
- 1 pinch chilli powder optional
- ½ tsp wholegrain mustard i use Tesco own
- 1 tin tuna in spring water, drained
- Ground black pepper
- 300 g Gluten-free pasta
Method
Cook the onion, carrot and beans in a large saucepan with enough water to cover them, over a low heat, for approx. 10 mins, lid on
Add the garlic and cook for a further minute before adding all the remaining sauce ingredients except the tuna. Make sure the vegetables don't dry out completely in this time or they will burn on the bottom
Cook over a low heat with the lid on, adding water if necessary to retain a sauce that isn't too think or thin, for approx. 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Stir occasionally to make sure the sauce doesn't stick on the bottom of the pan
- Add the tuna to the sauce along with the seasoning and heat through for a couple of minutes
- While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack
Mix the sauce with the pasta. If your diet allows, place the pasta and sauce in a heat-proof dish, grate cheese on the top and grill for a few minutes until the cheese has melted and started to brown
- Serve with vegetables or salad of choice
Recipe Notes
Nutrition information for guidance only
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