Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (2024)

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The Verdict: Not Horrible Submit a Comment

by RetroRuth | Jun 25, 2014 | Main Dishes, | 13 comments

Who is ready for a disgusting-looking sandwich??

This ugly little guy is Tuna Sandwich Bake.

Tuna Sandwich Bake

Author: Hunts, 1957

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 12 slices bread
  • 2 (6.5 oz) cans of tuna, drained
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 (8 oz) cans Hunts Tomato Sauce with Cheese
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp dry mustard

Instructions

  1. Make sandwiches with tuna, mayonnaise and celery mixture. Place in oiled 8×12 shallow baking dish.
  2. Beat together eggs, milk 1/2 cans Hunt’s sauce with Cheese, salt and mustard. Pour over sandwiches.
  3. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Pour over remaining Hunt’s sauce with Cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer.

Can I confess that it was actually thrilling to make this? It was. It’s been a while since we’ve made something that looks so much like vomit on bread. I have to admit that I was laughing evilly when I put this together.

Two things about the recipe. Well, three. The first is: Really? Who thought this would be a good idea?

The second thing is that I couldn’t find tomato sauce with cheese in it, so I improvised. Those little bits are cheese, not corn. I suppose I should have melted the cheese into the tomato sauce to make it authentic, but the baby was napping and I only had a limited amount of time.

The third thing is that I realized when I pulled these out of the oven that I should have stopped thinking of them as sandwiches and starting thinking “strata”. I think I was supposed to tightly pack them together rather than treat them as just sandwiches with sauce spread on top.

But what was done was done.

And then Tom walked in.

“What is this garbage?”

“I don’t know what it is now. It used to be tuna sandwiches.”

“Of course. Why have a tuna salad sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup when you have have both in sandwich form? God.”

“I know, right? I love mid-century cooking.”

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“Ugh. I do not want to eat this.”

“Take a bite, people are waiting.”

“That the…is that surprise?”

“Yeah, this isn’t actually that bad. Taste it.”

“No.”

The Verdict: Not Horrible

From The Tasting Notes –

Surprisingly, this didn’t completely suck. After I baked it, I realized that I should have packed the sandwiches closer so that it could have become more of a strata and less of a mess, but hindsight is always 20/20. The bread was, of course, a soggy mess, but when you got a bite of the tuna salad and the tomato sauce it was actually pretty good. The worst part was the soggy bread on the bottom. It didn’t have any flavor and was just gross.

If you really want to try this for some reason, I would recommend either packing the sandwiches tight into a dish with some of the tomato sauce on the bottom first OR toasting the bread. Or at least buttering it so that it could have a chance to get toasty on the bottom instead of just soggy. I sprayed my baking dish with Pam, but I think when the recipe said “oiled” they actually meant “pour oil in your dish” rather than just giving it a spritz of Pam.

  1. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (8)

    AnnElise Clarkon June 25, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    Don't think you could pay me enough to eat this! I am sure the added cheese helped. The tomato sauce with cheese didn't taste cheesy at all and I am sure it wasn't Cheddar! Tom lucked out that they don't make it anymore!

  2. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (9)

    Yinzerellaon June 25, 2014 at 8:09 am

    Um, no.

    HA!

    But I have a thing with canned tuna. Barf.

  3. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (10)

    veg-o-maticon June 25, 2014 at 10:30 am

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    Sorry, dude, but that is easily the worst-looking thing you’ve ever made, and I’m including the liver Jell-O with the white “sauce” on top.
    I think it’s the cheese; it kind of looks like pustules.

    Nope, nope, it’s everything.

  4. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (11)

    Lassieon June 25, 2014 at 11:41 am

    Thanks for all the suggestions to make it better, but I don’t think I’m going anywhere near this one!

  5. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (12)

    CATon June 25, 2014 at 12:46 pm

    I have to agree with you. You can make as many helpful suggestions to pretty this baby up, and I’m STILL never going to make it!! 🙂

  6. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (13)

    Ashleyon June 25, 2014 at 3:39 pm

    That looks disgusting.

    That is all. 🙂

  7. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (14)

    dkzodyon June 25, 2014 at 6:23 pm

    12 slices of bread? Where are YOUR 12 slices of bread? I think you are right about the ‘strata’ thing. I seem to remember something like this only it was called welsh rarebit.

    You put the pieces of bread on the bottomed of a buttered pan. They didn’t have Pam back in the 50s. Then you spread the filling on, put the other slices of bread on the top, poured that mixture over it and even let it set for awhile before baking. Like you could make it up in the morning and bake it later in the day.

    Oh, the goofy stuff we did in the 50s and 60s.

  8. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (15)

    Meemon June 25, 2014 at 6:40 pm

    Nice try honey, it looked terrible but Tom liked it so it can’t be all bad. my favorite is still the horseradish meatloaf!!!!

  9. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (16)

    Amandaon June 26, 2014 at 10:31 am

    That looks incredibly disgusting. I really have to stop checking this site after I eat breakfast.

  10. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (17)

    Alan Con June 27, 2014 at 12:21 pm

    Some time you and your husband should both try the dish, and then post both your reaction shots and have readers vote on the best one. That dish looked disgusting.

  11. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (18)

    Jenn Hubbardon June 27, 2014 at 9:12 pm

    Thank Tom for taking another one for the team.

    He tries this stuff so we don’t have to. 😉

  12. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (19)

    Ericaon June 28, 2014 at 4:14 pm

    Strata… or bread pudding with a horrible tuna surprise… Wow.

  13. Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (20)

    Martieon May 5, 2020 at 12:40 pm

    I’m with you, “No.” If I get a sandwich at a restaurant and it’s been near something that made the bread wet, like a pickle, I have to pick the wet part off.

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Tuna Sandwich Bake, 1967 – A Mid-Century Recipe Test - Mid-Century Menu (2024)
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