Anna Louise Tuna pasta bake is the ultimate weeknight comfort dish — the thing I make when the fridge is not particularly well-stocked, when time is short, and when something warm, creamy, and completely satisfying is specifically needed.
It has the quality of being simultaneously very simple and genuinely delicious, which is a combination I find more valuable than any number of technically impressive but complicated dishes.
The version I make has a proper white sauce — not a tin of soup, not a jar of sauce — made in five minutes with butter, flour, and milk, and enriched with a generous amount of mature Cheddar.
Good tuna — good quality tinned tuna in spring water, not the pale, slightly flavourless water-packed variety from the cheapest tier — gives a bake with a clear, clean tuna flavour that suits the creamy sauce.
Sweetcorn gives sweetness and colour. The golden, slightly crispy cheese topping is the element that transforms the whole dish from a pleasing pasta bake into something that people reach for the second helping of every time.
Ingredients for Mary Berry Tuna Pasta Bake
For the Pasta Bake
- 350g penne or rigatoni — cooked to al dente in well-salted water, then drained
- 2 x 145g tins good quality tuna in spring water — drained thoroughly
- 200g frozen sweetcorn — defrosted, or tinned sweetcorn, well drained
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
For the White Sauce
- 50g unsalted butter
- 50g plain flour
- 600ml whole milk, warm
- 150g mature Cheddar, coarsely grated — 100g for the sauce, 50g for the topping
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
For the Topping
- 50g mature Cheddar — reserved from above
- 25g Parmesan, finely grated
- 2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs — gives a particularly good crunch
- A drizzle of olive oil over the topping before baking
How to Make Mary Berry Tuna Pasta Bake
Step 1 — Cook the Pasta
Cook the pasta in a large pan of well-salted boiling water for two minutes less than the packet instructions — al dente with a slight bite remaining. The pasta will continue cooking in the oven. Drain and set aside.
Step 2 — Make the White Sauce
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour — stir for two minutes until the raw flour smell has cooked out and the mixture is smooth and slightly golden.
Add the warm milk gradually — a splash at a time initially, whisking constantly to prevent lumps — then in larger additions once the sauce is smooth. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon generously.
Remove from the heat. Add the Dijon mustard, nutmeg, and 100g of the Cheddar. Stir until the cheese has melted completely. Season assertively with salt and white pepper. Taste — the sauce should be clearly, confidently seasoned and clearly cheesy.
Step 3 — Combine
Preheat your oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6.
In a large bowl, combine the drained al dente pasta, drained tuna, sweetcorn, spring onions, and parsley. Pour the cheese sauce over everything. Stir gently to coat every piece of pasta in the sauce.
Spoon into a large, deep ovenproof dish — approximately 30x20cm. Spread evenly.
Step 4 — Top and Bake
Scatter the reserved 50g of Cheddar and the 25g of Parmesan evenly over the surface. Scatter the breadcrumbs over the cheese. Drizzle a little olive oil over the breadcrumbs.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the topping is deeply golden, slightly crispy, and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
Rest for five minutes before serving.
My Top Tips For Perfect Mary Berry Tuna Pasta Bake
Make a proper white sauce — not tinned soup. A condensed soup sauce gives a slightly flat, slightly salty, processed flavour that is immediately apparent. A proper white sauce — five minutes of butter, flour, milk, and cheese — gives a sauce that is specifically and properly good. The time difference is five minutes.
Cook the pasta two minutes under and finish in the oven. Pasta cooked to the packet instructions and then baked for twenty-five minutes gives slightly overcooked, slightly mushy pasta. Two minutes under gives pasta that is perfectly al dente when the bake comes out of the oven.
Season the white sauce assertively. The pasta and tuna absorb a significant amount of the perceived seasoning from the sauce. Season the sauce until it tastes slightly bolder than you want the finished bake to be — it will be perfectly calibrated once the pasta and tuna are combined.
Use good quality tuna in spring water. The quality of the tuna is immediately apparent in the finished dish. Good quality tuna gives a clean, clear flavour. Economy tuna gives a slightly flat, slightly metallic note. The difference in price is small and the difference in result is significant.
The breadcrumb and Parmesan topping gives the crunch that transforms the dish. A tuna pasta bake without any topping crunch is pleasant but slightly monotonous in texture. Breadcrumbs and Parmesan baked until deeply golden give the specific textural contrast — creamy inside, crispy on top — that makes every mouthful more interesting.
Serving Suggestions
With a simple green salad alongside — the freshness contrasts well with the creamy pasta. With garlic bread for something more substantial. On its own — a generous portion of tuna pasta bake is a completely self-contained and completely satisfying meal.
How to Store Mary Berry Tuna Pasta Bake
In the fridge: Store covered for up to 3 days. Reheat covered with foil at 180°C for 20 minutes — removing the foil for the final five minutes to re-crisp the topping.
In the freezer: Freeze assembled before baking for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 200°C for 40 to 45 minutes, covering with foil for the first 25 minutes.
Mary Berry Tuna Pasta Bake Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Cook pasta 2 minutes under packet instructions — drain. Set aside. Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6.
- Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour — stir 2 minutes. Add warm milk gradually — whisk smooth. Bring to boil — stir until thick and glossy. Remove from heat. Add mustard, nutmeg, and 100g Cheddar — stir until melted. Season assertively.
- Combine pasta, drained tuna, sweetcorn, spring onions, and parsley in a large bowl. Pour cheese sauce over — stir gently to coat everything. Spoon into ovenproof dish — spread evenly.
- Scatter 50g Cheddar and Parmesan over surface. Scatter breadcrumbs. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake 20–25 minutes until deeply golden and bubbling. Rest 5 minutes. Serve.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add other vegetables?
Yes — frozen peas added with the sweetcorn, finely diced red pepper, or baby spinach wilted and well-squeezed all work well. Add them in the combining step.
Can I use a different pasta?
Yes — any substantial pasta shape works well. Penne and rigatoni are the best choices because their tubes catch and hold the sauce. Spaghetti or linguine do not work as well in a pasta bake.
Can I use salmon instead of tuna?
Yes — tinned salmon gives a slightly richer, slightly more delicate result. Use the same quantity and method. The breadcrumb and cheese topping suits salmon equally well.
Can I add a layer of sliced tomatoes on top?
Yes — thinly sliced tomatoes arranged over the pasta before the cheese topping goes on give a slightly sharper, slightly more colourful result that works very well.
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