Creamed Tuna on Toast
intro
A nostalgic, budget-friendly comfort food: creamy savory tuna sauce ladled over crisp golden toast, ready in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Steps
Toast the bread slices
Preheat your oven broiler to high (260°C/500°F). Arrange 8 slices of white sandwich bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden brown with crispy edges, watching closely to avoid burning, then set the toasted slices on a serving platter.
Melt butter for roux
Set a medium 2-quart saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat (stovetop setting 4/10). Add 3 tablespoons (42g) of unsalted butter, and melt fully over 1 to 2 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter foams lightly but does not turn brown.
Cook the flour roux
Add 3 tablespoons (24g) of all-purpose flour to the melted butter, whisking constantly to form a smooth, lump-free paste. Cook the roux for exactly 2 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring nonstop, to eliminate raw flour flavor; the finished roux will be pale golden with a faint nutty aroma.
Whisk in the milk
Slowly pour in 2 cups (480ml) of warmed whole milk, adding 1/4 cup at a time while whisking vigorously to prevent lumps from forming. Once all milk is incorporated, increase heat to medium (stovetop setting 6/10) and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, cooking for 3 to 4 minutes until it thickens enough to evenly coat the back of a metal spoon.
Add tuna and peas
Stir in 370g of drained, flaked canned tuna, 1/2 cup (75g) of frozen green peas, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Reduce heat to low (stovetop setting 2/10), and simmer for 3 minutes until peas are tender and tuna is heated through, stirring occasionally to break up any large tuna chunks.
Assemble and serve
Ladle 1/2 cup of the hot creamed tuna mixture evenly over each serving of toast (2 slices per serving). Serve immediately while the sauce is piping hot and the toast retains its crisp edge texture.
Tips
2.Avoid over-stirring the tuna once it is added to the sauce, as this will break the flakes into tiny mushy bits; gentle folding keeps the texture pleasant and substantial.
3.Adjust sauce consistency as needed: simmer 1 to 2 extra minutes for a thicker sauce, or stir in 2 to 3 extra tablespoons of milk for a thinner, pourable consistency.
OMG this was SO good! I threw this together last night when I had zero grocery runs left and my kids devoured it, even the picky one who turns his nose up at anything fish. Total game changer for busy weeknights! I added a little sprinkle of paprika on top for a tiny kick, chef’s kiss.
I grew up eating my grandma’s creamed tuna on toast every Sunday after church and I’ve been chasing that flavor for YEARS. This recipe is dead on! Cook time was exactly 20 minutes like it said, no fancy ingredients, just pure cozy comfort food. Brought a batch to our neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were begging for the recipe.
This is the perfect cheap dorm meal! I had a can of tuna, a little milk, some flour, and stale bread in my mini fridge/pantry and it came out amazing. Way better than the instant ramen I’ve been surviving on all semester. No fancy equipment needed either, just a single pot, zero cleanup stress.
Has anyone made this with gluten free bread? I have celiac and have been craving a good comfort food meal that doesn’t require a million specialty ingredients.
This base recipe is perfect! I doctored mine up with a little dash of hot sauce, some diced celery for crunch, and a pinch of Old Bay and it tasted just like the tuna melts I get at my favorite diner, minus the melted cheese (though I bet that would be good too!). Super easy to customize to whatever you have in the pantry.
Wait, I’ve always hated tuna casserole and anything creamy with fish, but my partner made this for dinner last night and I was shocked how much I liked it? It’s not fishy at all, the sauce is so smooth and savory. Do you think this would work with canned salmon too?
I made a big batch of this on Sunday for weekday lunches and it held up so well all week! I stored the creamed tuna separate from the toast so the bread didn’t get soggy, just toasted a slice each morning and topped it when I got to work. Saved me so much money on takeout this week, will absolutely be adding this to my regular meal prep rotation.
I’ve been making creamed tuna on toast for 40 years and this recipe is exactly the no-fuss classic I remember! So many recipes these days add weird fancy ingredients that don’t belong, but this is just the simple, creamy, comforting dish I made for my kids when they were little. My adult kids asked me to make it when they came to visit last weekend and they said it tasted just like home.
Uh, total beginner here – when the recipe says make a roux for the sauce, is that supposed to be lumpy? I think I messed up the first step because my flour and butter got clumpy before I added the milk. It still tasted good but the texture was a little off.
Made this last night when my kid’s soccer practice ran late and I had 20 minutes to get dinner on the table before homework time. It was so easy even I couldn’t mess it up, and we all left the table full and happy. Only change I made was adding a handful of frozen peas to the cream sauce for a little veggie boost, worked perfectly.
I had this for brunch today instead of dinner and it slapped! I put a runny poached egg on top of the tuna toast and when the yolk ran into the cream sauce? *Chef’s kiss* 10/10, will be making this for my next brunch with friends.