This easy spicy lemon garlic baked tilapia is one of the best tilapia recipes you can make at home. It takes all of 5 minutes of preparation time before you pop it in the oven. Pair it with sautéed vegetables and steamed rice for a hearty meal.
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About This Recipe
This Lemon Garlic Baked Tilapia is not even a recipe. 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 a healthy dinner is ready.
Yes, that easy 🙂
Also if you don’t have access to Tilapia, feel free to use any other white fish.
It’s mostly about the marinade guys. 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. We loved this dish at home so much that I am going to do it a couple of times this week.
This Lemon Garlic Baked Tilapia is a delicious recipe and is one of the many Oven Baked Tilapia Recipes that you can do in your kitchen. Here are some pointers that you should know before starting to make this dish.
What is Tilapia?
“Tilapia are mainly freshwater fish inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes and less commonly found living in brackish waters.
Historically, they have been of major importance in artisanal fishing in Africa, and they are of increasing importance in aquaculture and aquaponics.
Tilapia can become a problematic invasive species in new warm-water habitats such as Australia, whether deliberately or accidentally introduced, but generally not in temperate climates due to their inability to survive in cold water.
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
Step By Step Recipe
Line the fillets on a baking tray.
Add the ingredients for marinade in a bowl and mix well.
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 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.
Although I would recommend having it just out of the oven, reheating it is definitely an option.
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.
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 baked tilapia with some boiled white rice or any other grain like quinoa, couscous, etc.
I also like to serve some sautéed vegetables along with it to make it a fulsome meal.
You can also make Tacos using this Baked Tilapia Fillet Recipe.
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.
Tequila
I made this and it was so good!! Thanks for this delicious recipe!!
Angela W Broyles
This was a hit at my house! Two thumbs up from the family!
Breyana Wynn
Thank you for the delicious recipe! I paired it with some fresh green beans out the field and it was very good . 🙂
Patricia Regan
Is heating oven to 180 for bakina a correct temp???..seems low to me?? Please advise.
Neha Mathur
Hi Patricia. It’s 180 Degree C. Same as 350 Degree F.
Guadalupe Salazar
The calories is it per servings? Or is it for the full 6 servings? Since it says 504
Neha Mathur
Yes, it’s per serving. Since the recipe has lot of butter, unfortunately. But it’s delicious 🙂
Staci
Great recipe! I decreased the lemon juice a bit and added capers. Perfectly cooked at 7 minutes.
nyenbee
I’m totally going to add capers! I’m so glad i always read comments before cooking!
Christi
This was a big WIN at our house and my family LOVED IT. I love how easy it was and your directions were spot on.
Neha Mathur
So good to know this Christi 🙂
Halez20
I am not rating the recipe because I have not cooked it yet. The ingredient list says Chilli power, but the video says Paprika. Which am I suppose to us? I saw the comment above that said they’re the same thing, but to me they taste very different.
Neha Mathur
Hi Halez. If you like less spicy, you can use paprika but if you like spicy, use red chilli powder.
Odessa
You didn’t say to cover before going in the oven, but I went ahead and covered if it looks undone I’ll give it a few min uncovered to let it crisp.
Neha Mathur
I don’t cover it while cooking. That’s why not mentioned.
roxanna
is it 500 total or for just one piece of tilapia?
Neha Mathur
It’s total weight.
Mallory
Can you use frozen tilapia, or is this for fresh?
Neha Mathur
Yes you can use frozen tilapia. Just thaw it before using.
Julie Fournier
Can I use Halibut instead
Neha Mathur
Yes sure, you can.
Shelly
Are you supposed to melt the
butter?
Neha Mathur
Yes Shelly, I will mention it in the post. Thanks
Cecia
Could I cook the fish and sauce together in a skillet vs baking it?
Neha Mathur
Yes sure, you can do.
Amanda
Made this tonight.. it had great flavor.. I tripled the recipe bc I had more fish and I used chrushed red pepper flakes instead of the chili powder
Welchella
Can you substitute olive oil for butter? If not, do you have an alternate to butter for use in this recipe? I am excited to try but can’t use butter. Thanks
Neha Mathur
Yes sure. You can do that.
Holly M
This was wonderful! It’s the first time I’ve ever baked fish and not had my house overwhelmed by fish smell! While it was baking, it just smelled of fragrant garlic (I doubled it) and mine cooked through right at 10 minutes.
I had a half a pint of grape tomatoes that were starting to go & needed to use them up. I sliced them in halves and sprinkled them all around the pan before baking. They cooked perfectly and added such a wonderful flavor! I also mixed cilantro with my parsley because I had some chopped. Mmmmmm!
I served mine with some curried couscous. It cooks in 5 minutes and is very light like the Tilapia.
Thank you for so much for the recipe and thank you everyone else for adding their own suggestions. I always read through the comment section first out of curiosity 🙂
Neha Mathur
Wow Holly. Your take on this recipe sounds fabulous 🙂
Alejandra Loyet
So delicious. I made this with a cauliflower mash and it paired so well.
Neha Mathur
I ma glad you liked it:)
Lauren
Could I use lime wedges instead of lemon? Is regular chili powder the same as red chili powder?
Neha Mathur
Yes sure, you can.
Melissa
Love it! The i didn’t have butter so I subbed extra virgin olive oil. The sauce was delicious. I had a little sample before pouring it over the tilapia and it could be used as a tangy salad dressing with a kick! Simple and delicious. Thank you!
Tricia
if your making it from frozen should I defrost first. Is overnight okay to defrost
Neha Mathur
You can defrost it overnight in refrigerator or on counter for a few hours.
Charles Bodnar
I just thawed out 2 Tilapia fillets and will follow your receipe exactly. Will let you know how it comes out. My wife is not a big fish fan so we will see what happens. Thank you CB
Natalie
I subbed the butter for coconut oil (since I didn’t have any butter) and it turned out super delicious!
Tamra
I just made this recipe and it was a hit. I added shrimp to mine and was enough with fish for 3 to 4 people. Next time I am going to add cherry tomatoes like the lady above. will make again.
Christa P
Perfect except for the sliced lemons… The sliced lemons give too strong of a flavor. The little bit of lemon juice in the recipe is good enough. I love the spice from the chili powder to combat the tangy lemon. And who doesnt love garlic ????. I baked on 450 for 8 mins.
Neha Mathur
You can skip adding it next time.
LPhillips
Great recipe! Kept the Tilapia from getting too dry. We’re thinking it’s a keeper. 👍🏻
Neha Mathur
Nice to know 🙂
Anchal
The recipe came out great! I served it with grilled vegetables and Quinoa:)
Sharni
Delicious
Carolyn
Sounds delish. I’m making tonight. Undecided about using butter or olive oil. We’ll see. Thanks for sharing this
Neha Mathur
Butter Butter 🙂 But honestly it tastes great with both, so feel free to use whatever you fancy.
Aga
I really want to try this recipe for tomorrow’s dinner but I can’t use butter bc my daughter is allergic to diary. Can I substitute with extra virgin olive oil- or other oil, and get the same results? Thanks!
Neha Mathur
Yes sure, you can.
Aga
I had made this last night and already added to my favorites! Simply yet delish recipe. I substituted butter with evoo since my daughter is allergic to diary, but it still came out great! I paired it with herb and roasted garlic couscous and green beans. Everyone was happy at the dinner table! 🤗
Neha Mathur
Awesome 🙂
Melanie East
I’ll be making this for the 2nd time tonight. It was delicious and we loved it the first time! Tonight, I’ll serve it with rice and salad. Thanks so much!
Angie
If I want to meal prep this, how long would the baked tilapia be good for? (how many days)
Neha Mathur
It will be good for 3 days in the refrigerator.
Savannah
Hello Neha,
my family adored the recipe! Thx for the wonderful recipe! I put it at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 mins and it seems to cook well. Just something I noted!
steve verster
i haven’t made it yet but am really looking forward to doing so.
janea washington
Looks good