This oven baked tilapia recipe is an easy, healthy weeknight dinner made with seasoned fillets drizzled with butter, baked until flaky then garnished with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Oven-Baked Tilapia
With a simple yet flavorful seasoning, this oven-baked tilapia is a family favorite. It has mouthwatering flavor and is the ultimate way to enjoy tilapia! Just dredge your fillets in seasoning, dot them with butter, and bake until flaky.
Baked tilapia recipe makes a healthy 30 minute meal easy! It’s mild delicate flavor is appealing to non-seafood lovers plus it’s great source of lean protein and Omega-3’s while being low carb! This crispy lemon baked fish is another flaky white fish we love.
Why I Love This Baked Tilapia Recipe
- Ready in 30 minutes. I love a recipe that I know is healthy and fast but not fast food. It’s filling, nutritious, and light and a great source of lean protein.
- Versatile. This flavorful fish can be seasoned any which way, which means it can be served with everything from an easy rice pilaf or even made into tilapia fish tacos.
Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Tilapia filets: You’ll need about 2 pounds of fish with the bones removed. Trim and pat dry with a paper towel. This recipe works well with other whitefish such as cod, rockfish, or halibut.
- Seasoning: Salt, garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper combined to give the fish a caramelized outer crust, and delicious flavor with a bit of a spicy kick. If you prefer paprika over cayenne for a milder flavor, you can use it instead.
- Olive oil & butter: I like to use both to help brown and crisp up the outside of the fish. The butter gives it a delicious buttery flavor too.
- Fresh lemon: A squirt of fresh lemon juice (or lime juice) is the perfect finishing touch. Citrus is a great way to brighten up any fish!
How to Make Baked Tilapia
In a shallow bowl, stir cumin, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne until combined and blended.
Season tilapia on both sides with the seasoning blend. Transfer them to a prepared baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper and sprayed with nonstick spray.
Drizzle each piece with olive oil and dot with butter. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 20-25 minutes until the fish is no longer translucent and it flakes easily.
Remove the tilapia from the oven and allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving. Squeeze some fresh lemon or lime juice if desired. Enjoy!
Tips for Making Tilapia in the Oven
- To brown the edges, broil the baked tilapia for an extra 2-3 minutes.
- Do not overcrowd the pan. It’s ok if the fillets are touching, just make sure they don’t overlap. Otherwise, some parts of them may not cook properly.
- Switch up the seasoning. Baked tilapia works well with all kinds of classic seasoning blends. Try Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, Greek seasoning, or lemon pepper.
- Add a crust. Use breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese to coat the oven baked tilapia and it will have a nice crunch to it!
Baked Tilapia Serving Suggestions
When serving baked tilapia, I like to provide some extra lemon slices for people to squirt a little extra juice on their pieces if they’d like, and a sprinkle of parsley for garnish.
I love to serve baked tilapia with plain white rice and green beans or roasted brussels sprouts. Level up your baked tilapia recipe with restaurant-style coconut rice, or red mashed potatoes with a mandarin orange salad on the side.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Store: Store any leftovers of this baked tilapia recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Freeze: To freeze the fillets, place fillets in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and flash freeze until frozen. Transfer to a freezer safe bag and keep frozen 3 weeks up to two months.
- Reheat: Reheat in the oven in a baking dish covered with foil, the air fryer, or the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
For this baked tilapia recipe, 375° is the optimal temperature. Cooking at a higher temperature ensures a flaky fish that your family will love.
Baking tilapia fillets in the oven is a pretty simple process and if your oven runs hot I would start checking them at 10 minutes. The fillets will flake easily with a fork if they are done. If they don’t, bake another 5-10 minutes.
When you test your oven-baked tilapia with a digital thermometer, at the thickest part it should have an internal temperature of 140°F.
Don’t miss these other easy fish recipes including British fish and chips, grilled salmon, and pan seared salmon.
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Baked Tilapia Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds tilapia fillets , bones removed, or other white fish *see notes
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter , cut into small slices
- fresh lime or lemon , optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place tilapia on the pan or a cutting board to trim.
- In a shallow bowl, stir together 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.
- Dredge each tilapia fillet in the spice mixture until well coated on each side. Place on baking sheet.
- Drizzle tilapia with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and dot with 1 Tablespoon butter cut into small pieces. Cook 20 to 25 minutes, or until flakes easily with a fork and is no longer translucent in the center. A digital thermometer should read 140°F at the thickest part. To brown the edges, broil an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving. Squeeze fresh lime or lemon on top if desired.
Notes
- Grill. Preheat a grill to medium-high, lightly oil the grates (or use a grill basket), and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Air Fryer. Preheat an air fryer to 370°F. Lightly grease basket. Add fish in a single layer and cook 6 to 7 minutes. You may have to do this in batches.
- Stovetop. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the fish in a single layer, and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side. Be careful not to crowd the pan. You may need to do this in batches.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, American, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Nut-Free
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Excellent and oh so tasty.
So easy and so delicious! I had some limes leftover from another recipe so I squeezed lime juice over my portion. So, so good!
The limes are a yummy touch! Thanks Kara, glad you enjoyed the tilapia!
I can’t believe all of my kids loved this!! That rarely happens lol. Thank you for this recipe!
Easy prep and good. I used Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and grated parmesan cheese. The recipe measurements for seasonings are too small. Dredging didn’t work, so I just sprinkled the fillets with seasonings on each side, and followed the rest of the instructions.
Glad you enjoyed the baked tilapia! Thanks for the tips.
I did not enjoy this recipe. Cayenne pepper and cumin are too overpowering for such a mild fish. Next time I will use fresh herbs which enhance the delicate flavor of the fish without ruining it.
Just perfect. And so easy to make. My whole family loved it, thank you.
I made this in the air fryer. It had the perfect texture… crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
I can’t get enough of this baked tilapia! It was sooo delicious and flavorful! So enjoyable!