Good Food logoFeeding four for under $20 is tough, but in this masterclass, Adam Liaw explains how to turn a budget-friendly family favourite into a creamy, crumb-topped winner.June 17, 2026A scatter of crisp, garlicky crumbs at the end elevates a classic tuna mornay.Steve Brown; STYLING Emma KnowlesFeeding a family of four for under $5 each? In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, dinner can feel like an impossible challenge. But the truth is, dishes such as tuna mornay are classics for a reason: affordable home cooking has always been an essential weapon in our kitchen arsenal.Follow my masterclass to ensure this budget-friendly family favourite becomes an instant winner in your household.Ingredients500g dried macaroni80g butter1 large brown onion, diced75g (½ cup) plain flour750ml milk1 tsp vegetable stock powder180g (1½ cups) grated tasty cheese, plus 180g extra to scatter on top425g can tuna in spring water, drained2 tbsp olive oil2 cups stale bread crusts 3 garlic cloves, finely dicedMethodStep 1Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Drop in the macaroni and cook for 2 minutes less than the packet directions. Scoop out a few tablespoons of the starchy pasta water and set aside, then drain the pasta well.Step 2While the pasta cooks, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt half the butter. Fry the onions for about 3 minutes until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for another 3 minutes to form a blond roux. Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until you have a smooth sauce with the consistency of thickened cream. Stir through the vegetable stock powder and 180g of the tasty cheese until melted, then season to taste with salt and pepper.Step 3Break the tuna into large chunks and gently fold it through the cheese sauce. Pour the sauce over the drained pasta and mix well. Transfer everything to a large ovenproof dish, pour your reserved pasta water around the edges, and scatter the extra 180g of cheese over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden and bubbling.Step 4While the mornay is baking, blitz the bread crusts to a coarse crumb (or finely chop into tiny cubes). Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add the remaining butter and olive oil, and fry the breadcrumbs and garlic until beautifully browned and crisp. Season well with salt, stir through the dried parsley, and remove from the heat.Step 5Scoop the hot tuna mornay into bowls and scatter the crunchy garlic breadcrumbs over the top just before serving.MasterclassThe secret to a better mornayMornay is a classic French sauce that begins with a bechamel – one of the French “mother sauces” made by whisking milk into a blond roux of equal parts butter and flour. From that smooth bechamel base, grated cheese is added to produce a mornay. The cheese is classically a mix of gruyere and parmesan – the gruyere providing body and texture, while the parmesan adds strength and savouriness. The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.Sign upFor tuna mornay, the base isn’t a classic mornay as it includes onions, but the main problem with Australian mornay is that we use tasty cheese, a kind of mild cheddar. There’s nothing wrong with that; it adds body and texture similar to gruyere, but lacks the strength of parmesan. This means our mornay sauces are creamy and cheesy, but lack savouriness. You could fix this by adding grated parmesan, but it’s more affordable and easier to add a teaspoon or two of vegetable stock powder instead. The dumbest rule in cookingThe “rule” against mixing seafood and cheese is possibly the stupidest in all of cooking because it just isn’t a rule. Seafood and cheese are paired in almost every cuisine that has access to both. Think lobster thermidor in France, tuna melts in the US, prawn saganaki in Greece, or a classic salmon and cream cheese bagel. Even in Italy, the coastal cuisines of Sicily and Venice are full of dishes such as swordfish involtini and cozze gratinate (baked mussels) that combine the two. But the most popular combination of seafood, cheese and pasta is tuna mornay – and don’t let anyone tell you it’s wrong. Save your pasta from drying outFor any al forno pastas – or pasta bakes, as we like to call them – the classic Italian trick is to undercook the pasta by a few minutes so it’s well short of al dente. Then, add a splash of the starchy pasta water to the mix before it goes into the oven. This gives the pasta the extra liquid it needs to finish cooking perfectly, without drawing all the moisture out of your sauce and leaving the dish dry. Adam Liaw's potato-topped fisherman’s pie uses hot-smoked salmon and marinara mix.Wiliam MeppemSpin it your own wayThis basic, budget-friendly version of tuna mornay is just the beginning. You can swap out the tasty cheese for a sharp mature cheddar, or go all out with a classic French mix of gruyere and parmesan. If you want a change from tuna, canned salmon is an easy switch – or you could elevate the whole dish by baking a fresh salmon fillet for 10 minutes, flaking it into large, succulent pieces and folding them through the sauce. For a green twist, replace the cheese with cooked spinach for a Florentine-style bake, or simply add the spinach alongside the cheese. And if you’re feeling luxurious? Turn it into a proper seafood mornay by adding diced ling, prawns, or even a good-quality marinara mix.Say no to soggy crumbsTexture helps take your tuna mornay from average to excellent. A crisp breadcrumb topping is the perfect finish. However, I recommend cooking your topping separately, rather than scattering it over the pasta before baking. If you bake them together, some of the breadcrumbs will inevitably absorb the mornay sauce and become soggy. Instead, frying coarse crumbs – or even small cubes of bread – in a mix of butter, olive oil, and garlic creates deliciously crunchy garlic breadcrumbs. This gives you the perfect pangrattato topping to scatter over the bake just before serving. From our partnersSimilar RecipesMore by Adam Liaw