Tuna pot pie
Tuna and vegetables in a creamy sauce under fluffy golden biscuits, a cozy old-school dinner made almost entirely from the pantry and freezer.
- 45 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.84 a serving
- 590 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 cans canned tuna, drained
- 1 can refrigerated biscuit dough, 8 biscuits
From your pantry
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried thyme
Each serving has about 590 calories, 24 g protein, 69 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $1.84 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No frozen mixed vegetables? Frozen peas or frozen corn or frozen green beans work.
- No canned tuna? Canned salmon works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
the butter in a large over medium heat and cook the onion for 4 minutes, until soft.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Sprinkle in the flour and for 1 minute.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Slowly in the broth, then the milk, and 3 to 4 minutes, until thick and bubbly.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Pour slowly and keep whisking. That’s all it takes to avoid lumps.in the salt, pepper, thyme, frozen vegetables and tuna and cook 2 minutes, until the vegetables are no longer frozen.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Pour the filling into an 8x8-inch baking dish and lay the biscuits on top, close together.
15 to 20 minutes, until the biscuits are deep and cooked through underneath.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 17 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Lift the edge of one biscuit with a fork. If the underside is still doughy, give it 5 more minutes.Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Let it sit for 5 minutes, then serve.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
