Mary Berry Tuna Pasta Bake Recipe

Mary Berry’s tuna pasta bake is a creamy, deeply comforting pasta bake with tuna, sweetcorn, and a golden cheese topping — the best weeknight pasta bake.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings: 6 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 490

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

Pasta Bake:
350 g penne or rigatoni cooked 2 minutes under al dente, drained
2 x 145g tins good quality tuna in spring water drained
200 g sweetcorn frozen, defrosted; or tinned, drained
3 spring onions finely sliced
2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
White Sauce:
50 g unsalted butter 50g plain flour, 600ml warm whole milk
100 g mature Cheddar coarsely grated (for sauce)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and white pepper
Topping:
50 g mature Cheddar coarsely grated
25 g Parmesan finely grated
2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
Drizzle of olive oil

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

Make a proper white sauce — tinned soup gives a flat, processed flavour. The difference is 5 minutes.

Cook pasta 2 minutes under — it continues cooking in the oven and will be perfectly al dente.

Season the white sauce assertively — pasta and tuna absorb significant seasoning.

Use good quality tuna in spring water — the tuna quality shows directly in the finished dish.

Breadcrumb and Parmesan topping gives the essential textural contrast — creamy inside, crispy on top.

Freeze assembled before baking for up to 3 months.