Try this easy and comforting Lemon Garlic Baked Tilapa, which will come together in just 20 minutes. It is spicy, tangy and full of garlic flavours. Here is how to make it.
Incase you are looking for more delicious Fish recipes, then here are some more for you – Fish Fingers, Crispy Fish Tacos With Cabbage Slaw, Honey Garlic Fish and Spicy Fish Fry.
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About This Recipe
Lemon Garlic Baked Tilapia is an easy and simple fish recipe which requires a handful of basic ingredients. It is spicy, tangy, garlicky and gets ready in just 20 minutes.
You just have to mix a handful of ingredients in a bowl, pour them over the fish fillets, pop the tray in the oven and your dinner is ready. Yes, It is that easy!
It is healthy and quick meal that you can make for your weekday dinners or just to serve as a side dish with your weekend brunch. You can even grill it on a pan, instead of baking it.
This Lemon Garlic Tilapia is,
- Spicy + Lemony
- Nutritious
- Easy to make
- Fuss free
- Perfect for Quick meals
What is Tilapia?
Tilapia are mainly freshwater fish inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes and less commonly found living in brackish waters.
Tilapia is the fourth most consumed fish in the United States dating back to 2002. The popularity of tilapia came about due to its low price, easy preparation, and its mild taste. – Wikipedia.
Ingredients
To make this easy baked fish, you will need –
Fish Fillets – This recipe is prepared with Tilapia fillets. But if you don’t get access to the same, feel free to use any other white fish. I like to use Tilapia because it’s not super expensive, does not taste super fishy and I get frozen fillets easily where I live.
Marination – For the marinade, you will need lemon juice, butter, garlic, red chilli powder, salt and black pepper. Use fresh garlic, as its adds the most flavour and complements the butter really well. You can adjust the amount of lemon juice and red chilli powder as per your taste.
Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best taste.
You can even substitute butter with olive oil, if you want a healthy alternative.
Parsley – Finally garnish it with some fresh parsley. You can even use fresh coriander leaves instead.
How to make Lemon Garlic Tilapia?
Line the tilapia fillets on a baking tray.
Next, add the ingredients for marinade in a bowl including lemon juice, butter, garlic, red chilli powder, salt and black pepper. Mix it well until it all comes together.
Drizzle the marinade over the Tilapia fillets.
Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) in a preheated oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
The fillets of Tilapia may vary in size and hence baking time slightly varies for everyone.
I bake the fish until the flesh turns white, opaque and flaky, which happens usually between 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees C (350 F).
If you have a candy thermometer, you can check the temperature of the inside of the fish and it should be 62 degrees C or 145 degrees F.
Do check your fish filets after 15 minutes and if the flesh doesn’t look white and flaky, keep it in the oven for some more time. Do not over bake the fish otherwise, it will become too dry and chewy.
This is a great recipe for BBQ. You can wrap the fillets individually in foil with some sauce on top and pop the foil packets in the BBQ for 15-20 minutes.
Flip it once midway to make sure the fish is cooked from all the sides. If you are going outdoors for BBQ, these packets are very easy to carry along.
Butter gives a very delicious taste to this dish but if you are on a healthy regime, you can very well replace it with olive oil. The taste will be very different but I can assure you it will be delicious.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this Lemon Garlic Baked Tilapia with some boiled white rice/brown rice or any other grain like quinoa, couscous, etc. I also like to serve some sautéed vegetables along with it to make it a wholesome meal.
You can also make Tacos using this Baked Tilapia Fillet Recipe. Even a delicious pasta or spaghetti on the side is a good option. For a healthy meal, just serve these baked tilapias along with a refreshing salad.
Storing Suggestions
Once it cols down properly, you can store Baked Tilapia in an air tight container for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge. To increase the shelve life, you can freeze it further in freezer safe containers or sip lock bags for about a month.
Reheat it in an oven until nice and warm before serving again. Just pop the bowl in the microwave for a minute or pop the tray back in the oven for 5 minutes at 200 degrees F for reheating the fish.
Pro Tips By Neha
Make sure to dry the fillets after washing them. You can dab them with a kitchen towel to take out the extra water.
Do not overcook the fillets, they will turn a little chewy if overcooked.
You can try swapping the butter with coconut oil, olive oil, etc.
This recipe can be made with chicken as well.
Increase or decrease the amount of red chilli powder to suit your taste. You can totally skip it too if not fond of spicy food.
You can swap tilapia with any white fish to make this recipe.
If you don’t like spicy, you can replace chilli powder with paprika.
You can use lime juice instead of lemon juice if you like it tangier.
Variations
Mexican Style – To make Mexican Style Tilapia, arrange the fillets on a baking tray.
In a pan over stovetop, heat olive oil. Add sliced onion and chopped garlic and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add sliced tomatoes and cook for another minute. Now add salt, red chilli powder, and black pepper.
Add olives and capers and some brine from the capers. Spread this mixture over the fish fillets and bake until fish is cooked.
Parmesan Crusted – I have a detailed recipe to make Parmesan Crusted Tilapia here. Do check it out.
Some other tilapia recipes that you might like are Pan Fried Tilapia, Roasted Tilapia with Mustard Sauce, Blackened Cajun Tilapia.
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Recipe Card
Lemon Garlic Baked Tilapia Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-6 Tilapia Fillets
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 3 tbsp Butter (Melted)
- 1 tsp Garlic (Minced)
- ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp Black pepper (Freshly Cracked)
- 1 lemon (Cut into thin slices)
- 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
Instructions
- Wash the Tilapia fillets and pat them dry.
- Arrange the fillets in a baking tray.
- Mix lemon juice, butter, garlic, red chilli powder, salt and black pepper in a bowl.
- Pour this mixture over the tilapia.
- Arrange lemon slices in between the fillets.
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 Degrees F).
- Bake the fish for 15-20 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve hot.
