Healthy Tuna Bake with Butternut Squash

Tuna bake with butternut squash, spinach and feta on white plate.

This healthy tuna bake is equally delicious with pasta, potatoes, rice or fresh, crusty bread - make a big batch and enjoy more than once with your favourite side dish!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine International

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings people

Calories 221kcal

Author Monika Dabrowski

Ingredients

450 g butternut squash peeled, cubed weight
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 bay leaf
225 g canned tuna (2 small cans) in brine (reserve the brine from 1 can)
400 g canned chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
100 g spinach finely chopped
100 g feta crumbled or cubed
4 tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
1 tsp fine sea salt plenty of pepper and paprika for sprinkling on top (optional)
Fresh parsley or chives for garnish

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5.
In a medium saucepan heat up 2 tablespoons of oil, add the bay leaf, garlic and onion and saute on a low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, brine from 1 tuna tin, season, cover and simmer for 7 minutes.
In the meantime in a large pan heat up 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the squash cubes on a high heat for about 7-8 minutes stirring often until softened and lightly browned. Remove from the heat and place in your oven dish.
In the same frying pan heat up the spinach and cook over a fairly high heat until reduced in size, for about 1 minute, stirring all the time. Stir the spinach mixture into the tomato sauce. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Spread the tuna over the squash, pour the sauce over the whole thing, top with feta, drizzle with a little oil, sprinkle some paprika and bake for 30 minutes. If the feta starts to brown too much cover loosely after 20 minutes.
To serve garnish with parsley and enjoy with pasta, quinoa, potatoes, couscous, crusty bread or simply on its own.

Notes

You will need to use tuna in water rather than oil (you will use some of the water in the recipe).
The spinach will need only about a minute of frying. Once it wilts down it is ready to combine with the sauce.
Serving: Serve with pasta, potatoes, rice, quinoa, couscous or slice of crusty bread (there'll be lots of sauce to soak up!). Sprinkle over fresh herbs, such as chives or parsley.
Refrigerate leftover tuna bake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezing: Once cooled transfer into an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost place in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave.

Nutrition