You will love this Keto Tuna Casserole packed with zucchini noodles, a creamy cheese sauce, and chunks of tuna. This low-carb comfort food is only 3.4 net carbs per serving and will become your new favorite!
Guys, this healthy tuna noodle casserole is one for the books. You are going to love this Keto Tuna Casserole!
Believe it or not, I am a total carb junkie. Have you seen that episode of Friends where Monica tells Rachel she has to do something because she owes it to her inner fat girl, then she says “I owe this to her, I never let her eat!” that is my relationship with carbs.
I love them, but they just don’t love me. One of my favorite things before going on a keto diet was a good cheesy pasta or rice casserole. This Cheesy Chicken and Rice was my particular indulgence in my pre-keto days.
I wanted to recreate some of those good old classic flavors from dishes most of us grew up knowing and loving. So this cheesy tuna casserole is my first in a long list of keto comfort foods!
This dish is packed with zucchini noodles (I have a trick to prevent them from being soggy and watery), a creamy cheese sauce, and chunks of tuna.
Ingredients in Keto Tuna Casserole
For this healthy tuna noodle casserole recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Zucchini
- Butter
- Garlic
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Heavy cream
- Cream cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Canned tuna
- Mozzarella cheese
- Cheddar cheese
How to Make Keto Tuna Casserole
The key to this recipe is prepping your zucchini noodles. Zucchini is full of liquid, so you must pre-bake your zoodles to remove the moisture, otherwise your creamy cheesy sauce will turn out very watery.
- After you spiralize your zucchini and create your zoodles, place them in your baking dish.
- Bake zoodles in 10-minute intervals. Remove and stir every 10 minutes, continue baking at 10-minute intervals until the moisture has evaporated. Depending on the size and moisture level of the zucchini this may take between 10-20 minutes.
- Remove when moisture as evaporated and they have shrunk in size, but before they are brown or crispy.
- While the zoodles are baking, make the cheese sauce. Stir in drained tuna. Remove from heat.
- In a 9×13-inch pan, layer the zoodles, tuna cheese sauce, and remaining shredded cheese to the top.
- Bake until gold and bubbly.
Net Carbs in This Recipe
This dish is only 3.4 net carbs per serving and it is so satisfying! The casserole serves 6, so you can meal prep the recipe if desired.
What to Serve with Tuna Casserole
This creamy baked tuna casserole pairs nicely with almost any vegetable or salad. Here are some side dish ideas to get you started:
Tips for Making Low-Carb Tuna Casserole
- To add a keto friendly crunchy topping, just sprinkle some crushed pork rinds on top. It keeps the net carb count ultra low and will help give you that crunchy texture.
- Shredded chicken or canned salmon chunks can be used in place of the canned tuna, if desired.
- Make sure to use unsweetened almond milk, not flavored or sweetened.
More Keto Casserole Recipes:
- Keto Taco Casserole
- Keto Cheeseburger Casserole
- Keto Philly Cheesesteak Casserole
- Cheesy Cabbage Casserole
- Keto Spicy Sausage Casserole
Keto Tuna Zoodle Casserole
You will love this Keto Tuna Zoodle Casserole packed with zucchini noodles, a creamy cheese sauce and chunks of tuna. This low carb comfort food is only 3.4 net carbs and will become your new favorite!
Ingredients
- For the Zoodles
- 3 medium zucchini, spiralized
- For the cheese sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 (12 ounce) can of tuna in water, drained
- For the top
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- 1/2 mozzarella cheese
Instructions
*Please watch recipe video for tips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In an 9x13 baking dish lightly spray the bottom with cooking spray.
Place the zoodles in the dish and spread out as much as possible.
Bake zoodles at 10 minute intervals. Remove and stir every 10 minutes, continue baking at 10 minute intervals until the moisture has evaporated.
**Depending on the size and moisture level of the zucchini this may take between 10-20 minutes. Remove when moisture as evaporated and they have shrunk in size, but before they are brown or crispy.**
While zoodles are pre-baking heat a medium size skillet over medium heat melt the butter, add the garlic, almond milk, heavy cream, cream cheese and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese. Whisk mixture until it is smooth and cheese has melted, stir in drained tuna. Remove from heat.
In the 9x13 pan you pre-baked your zoodles in layer the zoodles, and tuna cheese sauce and remaining shredded cheese to the top. Bake 25-30 minutes until gold and bubbly.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 295Total Fat: 20.6gCarbohydrates: 3.4gFiber: 0.1gProtein: 23.4g
Other Easy Keto Recipes
If you are new to Keto try my favorite Sausage Egg and Cheese Bites, they contain less than one net carb per bite and they are perfect for meal prep! One of my favorite easy low carb dinners is this One Pan Cabbage Casserole.
It is so easy, cheesy and delicious and it has less than 9 net carbs per serving. Some other favorites, Keto Chocolate Cookies, Pimento Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Peppers and Sausage and Cream Cheese Pinwheels!
Lavonne says
Did you mean to say tuna when you said to layer the doodles, taco meat…? Sounds like a recipe worth trying.
amayoza says
Hi Lavonne! Yes! Thank you for catching that, I have fixed it. This is a spin on my Keto Taco Zoodle Casserole on my other website Maebells, that was my mistake. Just in case that recipe sounds good to you here is the link! https://www.maebells.com/keto-taco-zoodle-casserole/ 🙂
Lavonne Sylvester says
Thanks..thought I was maybe going crazy there. ? Ended up making the taco recipe by mistake. Was very good. Thanks so much!
Jennifer says
Hey do you think I can make this and then store the extra servings in the freezer then reheat?
amayoza says
Hi Jennifer, yes I think that would work just fine! I usually reheat my casseroles at a bit lower temp like 325 so they don’t dry out.:)
Rebecca says
Hi! This sounds really good, but trying to work with what I have in the fridge and avoid extra grocery store trips right now. Do you think I could sub out regular whole milk evenly for the almond milk and half and half for the heavy cream, or would you adjust the ratios? Also, do you think mushrooms would work in this (if so, sauteed first or no)? Thanks so much! 🙂
Annie says
Hi Rebecca, I completely understand. I am doing the same thing! I do think you could use 1 1/4 cup total whole milk verses the almond milk/heavy cream and it would work just fine. Also, I do think I would sauté the mushrooms just until tender since they do tend to release moisture as they cook. I think this will prevent you from ending up with a soggy casserole. I hope that helps! 🙂
Rebecca says
Great! Thank you so much for responding so promptly to me and for the suggestions! I am going to make it tonight and will report back. 🙂
Rebecca says
Hi again! So, to follow-up: I made this with your suggestion to use the 1.25 cups whole milk I had on hand instead of the almond milk/cream. I sauteed fresh Cremini mushrooms with the fresh minced garlic before adding the other sauce ingredients to the skillet. After layering the Zoodles and sauce, I also added finely chopped fresh (raw) broccoli as an additional layer, as well as some chopped pecans for a crunchy texture, before topping with the cheddar & fresh mozzarella. I did also use salmon instead of tuna only because that is what I had in the cupboard. I am not someone who normally ever modifies recipes, but I was willing to be a little adventurous to avoid the store right now. 🙂 Anyway, it came out great! So yummy and flavorful! I will definitely make this again. Thanks so much! 🙂
Annie says
That sounds delicious! I’m so glad the milk substitution worked for you! I love your idea for adding mushrooms, I think I’m going to try that the next time I make it! 🙂
Siera says
Great recipe. We all liked. I doubled the garlic. For next time: add black pepper, double the amount of zucchini used to make the zoodles(keep the amount of sauce the same), and dry zoodles prior to putting them in the oven to reduce cook time. Also, three (5 oz) cans of tuna were used.
Ginger says
Would this work with frozen zoodles? How would I go about preparing them?
Annie says
Ginger, I’ve never used frozen zoodles so I cannot say for sure. I would just recommend they are dried out before adding to the rest of the dish otherwise they will add too much moisture.
Tina K says
What is a substitute for unsweetened almond milk that is keto friendly?
Annie says
The only options that come to mind are coconut milk (though it can be higher in carbs), flax milk, macadamia nut milk or half and half.
Ria Hallmark says
These flavors are delish!