Baked Lemon Butter Tilapia
The easiest, most effortless 20 min meal ever from start to finish. And it’s all made in a single pan. Win-win situation here.
Okay, guys. I figured we all needed a little bit of a chicken thigh break.
I clearly love to create a new chicken thigh recipe once a week but we were due for a change. But still, we’re keeping the basics down with the whole lemon-garlic-butter situation.
Because let’s face it. We don’t want to mess with that combination.
So that’s exactly what’s happening here. We’re using budget-friendly tilapia, which cooks in just 10 minutes, drizzled with that butter sauce. It goes right in the oven from start to finish, making your life just that much easier.
You can thank me later.
Baked Lemon Butter Tilapia
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 4 6-ounce tilapia fillets
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together butter, garlic, lemon juice and lemon zest; set aside.
- Season tilapia with salt and pepper, to taste and place onto the prepared baking dish. Drizzle with butter mixture.
- Place into oven and bake until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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This is a regular go-to in my house, not only because it’s fast and easy, but because it’s damn delicious! Thanks for this recipe 🙂
Made tonight with crappie rather than tilapia. Took someone’s suggestion and added a little bit of basil. Cooked for 20 minutes. Delicious! Served with lemon dill riced cauliflower. Will definitely make again!
My family abslolutely loves this recipe! Its so delicious theres never anything left by over! Thank you for sharing it with us!
i was looking for a simple tilapia recipe – one that included the ingredients i knew i had in my fridge.
so, i made this last night. it was love at first bite!
my son said it was the most delicious fish he has ever eaten.
i agree!
thank you for sharing. cbb
Simple yet delicious. It took me a bit longer than 20min because I had to peel and mince the lemon zest with a knife instead of a zester but it still came together really quickly. Had it with asparagus sautéed in sesame oil and white rice. Will absolutely make again!!
I. Can’t wait to try this. It sounds delicious!! I love talapia but didn’t know how to cook it and I came across your recipe. Going shopping tomorrow and get what I need. Thank you
I’ve tried a similar recipe before and it was great!! But I was wondering, would it be possible if I substituted the tilapia for cream dory or any white fish?
Tried this recipe today and it was delicious!! It was super easy and I will be making it again
I have made this recipe a million times with salmon, mahi mahi and tilapia and it’s always a success
Ty
I made Baked Lemon Butter Talapia my first time came out delicious after that I made Garlic Lemon Talapia was also delicious. I am giving recipe to a friend via handwritten she’s unable to receive via text or FB hope she’ll like it.
Amazing. This tasted perfect!
A Proven suggestion ( by me ). Shred the tilapia along with a quarter pond or less of crab meat , careful with the crab meat too much and it tastes only like crab. Mix it together and stuff green peppers , pour lemon butter juice on fish, into green peepers, bake about 15 to 20 minutes, cover for softer peppers and uncovered for crisp peppers. Enjoy it is, terrific.
My second time to make this dish for me and my husband,it’s so delicious.
Awesome.
add a little heat with a chopped Jalapeno or some red pepper flakes.
Made in my cast iron.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! Even my 8 year old tried it and liked it! Looks like we have a new meal in our rotation. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
First time making it and my family loved it.
I will add a little more salt or garlic salt. It was so easy. Can’t wait to make it again. Thank you for sharing.
Delicious with a nice salad!!
very nice
Made this recipe tonight it was very good.
The only thing I did differently was to add shallots and fresh dill.
Definitely will make it again.
Great recipe. I have made it 3 times, once for 40 people and it was delish!! So easy, you can’t go wrong with this one. I have modified it a bit. I use more garlic, I love garlic. I have used roasted garlic too. I also have added capers for a pop of color or some lemon thyme. It’s always the best was to cook this boring fish.
Simply delicious
My husband loved it n so did I !! I asked him if this was a yay n he said definitely !! Thank you for this recipe !!
Quickest fish recipe. Tasty too
This is my second time making this I did substitute a little but it is amazing thank you
Love it
This has been the most requested fish recipe from my family. I made it once and now they can’t get enough. It’s easy, it’s super tasty, and it’s quick. And the best part……the sound they make with every bite . Thank you for sharing your recipe, my family loves fish just that much more
Very good. The only thing I would do different is some lemon pepper seasoning
Will fix again. I have arthritis in both hands, soI had to use lemon juice not from Concentrate. I had to put my oven on broiler for a few minutes.
I have been using this recipe the last few times I have made tilapia, and it is soooo good! Definitely would recommend this! The only thing I would change is more lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Simple and delicious. I used a mix of olive oil and butter and was very generous with the spices. I also added basil because I love it.
So quick and easy to make AND delicious!
I have never had or fixed Tilapia.
With the pandemic, I have had to get creative. The recipe was delicious and the Tilapia was very sweet and no bones.
Only one suggestion! Cook on aliminium foil.
Thanks for being there for me!!
My sister and I made this recipe for dinner today. It was so delicious! The lemon butter flavor on top, definitely gave the fish tilapia a lot of flavor. My family loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
This may be my fav recipe from you yet! Super easy to alter for a serving for one and I used an Emile Henry au gratin dish for single serving to bake it. I also tried it with olive oil with just a bit of butter for flavor (that nasty cholesterol thing…and I’m someone who will no doubt be buried with a pound of butter – I love it that much!) either way it turned out superb. Love the fact this can be downsized easily as I’m sure you have many other followers that are seniors like me cooking for one now!
Great recipe. Less than 10 minutes to prepare, less than 20 minutes in oven. And delicious fish! The only time consuming thing was taking the tilapia out of the freezer and defrosting them in a bowl of cold water for 2 hours. Thanks!
I tried it last night. Very easy to make. A complete success! Everybody had seconds.
Hi Chumgah
Another delicious hit! I like a lot of your recipes. As a pescatarian this is how I bake a lot of mild white fish whether it be cod, tilapia etc. This will work with halibut as well. If I have it on hand, I may add a glug of dry white wine. Thank you for sharing.
I made this tonight- quadrupled for a family of 7! Delicious! I obviously had to up the cooking time, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. It was so easy to do, simple ingredients I had on hand and was healthy, flavorful and low carb for our families particular needs. We paired it with steamed buttered cauliflower and lettuce salad. So amazing! I wish I had made more. It’s all gone! 5 kiddos 1-12 gobbled it up.
I bet you could use any fish!! Cant wait to make this again!
You just need to stop reading and go make it!!
Hello for how long did you cook your tilapia?
Made it tonight. Pretty darn good !!
We eat baked tilapia regularly, but were looking for something different. This preparation is so simple, but the butter and garlic and lemon combo conspires to really elevate this dish. Best baked tilapia I’ve made in years. Would make this for a quick weeknight dinner or for company. Yum.
Very tasty! Tried it before, but didn’t have the lemon zest to put in it and the flavor was bland. Had the lemon zest this time and it makes all the difference. Will note that the zest is a must! I didn’t have any issues with the recipe as written—no burning/smoking, like other people mentioned. ♀️ Thank you!
While I like this recipe, I find that the tilapia turns out a little mushy. I would like the fish to a little firmer after cooking. I usually get to 145 degrees internal temp and then pull it out of the oven. Do I need to cook to a higher temperature or use a higher temperature oven?
Needs at least 20 minutes unless you like your fish raw!
Made it! Success! GreT recipe, only I substituted Red Fish for Tilapia. Excellent
Tried your recipe & my Family loves it. It was very easy to do. Will definitely do this once a week.. Thank you for sharing!
Big hit! Baked and mashed some sweet potatoes and sauteed some garden greens (collard and Tuscan kale) on the side. Put extra butter sauce over the greens. College daughter said 10/10!
it was delightful! but a little to much lemon.
I made this for lunch for the first time. Used coconut oil instead of butter. It turned out really good. It’s really great with Garlic Chili Oil. Here’s this recipe
~Garlic Chili Oil~
Overall time: About 10 minutes
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil or oil of your choice
• 6 Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flackes
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium add garlic and cook; swirling pan often; until golden brown; 3-5 minutes.
2. Transfer to a small heatproof bowl. Stir 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes into the garlic oil in the bowl.
~This recipe is great to put on many differant things; such as eggs, grits, soups, baked sweet potatoes, salads, over cucumbers, bacon, chicken, steak, chocolate cake, ice cream, veggies, pizza, noodles, ect~
Delicious and so easy!!
Can I try the recipe procedures using a different kind of fish? Let’s say something like bangus or hito?
Quick, easy and delicious
Made this yesterday for dinner, I used less salt and less butter, and even with that sort of light version, it was amazing! Juicy, tasty, just perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My previous tilapia recipe was so boring, I am so glad I tried this one. LOVE IT
I’ve made this 3 times now but with flounder. It is absolutely the BEST FISH I’ve ever eaten, and I’m not a seafood person. I just bought flounder on a whim for sumthing different but I’ve gone back and bought it 2 more times. In fact, I’m getting ready to do this again tonight. I LOVE IT!
I made this last night and it was good, but I should’ve added more salt or maybe have added the salt and pepper after I poured the lemon, butter, and garlic mix. So I did have a little burning of the pan with the butter but because of the reviews I added a bit of olive oil to the pan and had no smoke filling up the house. I hope this review helps.
Love this! Simple and delicious! I have four teenagers who all agree this is a family favorite.
Excellent recipe!
Easy way to eat delicious tilapia
Pros:
Quick and easy, always my preference
Light & fresh taste
Tender
Cons
Oil smoked up my house 🙁
Paired with/added:
Red pepper flakes
Hot sauce
Dirty rice
Hawaiian roll
Thanks!
This was absolutely delicious! I used lemon sole in place of Tilapia and substituted extra virgin olive oil. It did not detract from the dish at all. This recipe is very forgiving – I added roughly double the amount of lemon juice and zest and it was great!
Wow!! Fantastic recipe. I usually make fish tacos with tilapia because it’s so mild. The buttery, lemon , garlic sauce is just what it needs! My husband asked if we could have it 4 times a wk. 48 yrs. of marriage and I’ve never heard that before.
Delicious and super easy! I added some Hot Hungarian Paprika and broiled for the last few minutes. I will try adding the basil next time. Since it has a lot of butter, I didn’t oil or spray the glass pan I used. It didn’t stick and I assume that may be why I didn’t have the burning oil issue a couple of people had.
Did anybody else end up with a smoke-filled kitchen from burning the butter when it slid straight off the filet? Tips?
yes. use olive oil instead of butter !
Delicious! I make this often. My husband just loves this dish and even though I’m not a “fish lover” I really like it too!
So delicious! My family loved the flavor. Already asked me to make again!
I’ve never made fillet before but your recipe was so simple I had to give it a try. It was YUM!
This was AMAZING! I’ve never been able to get my boyfriend to eat fish and I made this tonight and he loved it!!’ Thank you!
Excellent! I added a layer of fresh veggies underneath and a sprinkle of fresh shredded jalapeños. Perfection! Thank you for that #damndelicious meal!
Absolutely delicious about to try with catfish I bet it too will be amazing !
I made this and it was absolutely delicious!! The lemon zest is the key. Will definitely make again!!
This recipe was great! Wish I new how to get the oil hot enough to sear but not so hot it burns, and stinks up the house.
OMG THE BEST DISH I HAVE EVER EATEN!!!
WE HAVE IT TWICE A WEEK, STARTED WITH ONE FILET EACH AND NOW UP TO TWO EACH!!
I just now had this. I had a tilapia in the fridge and didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. I had this with a wedge salad. PERFECT! Lots of flavor. And extremely simple. I just didn’t feel like cooking much.
This was yummy. Over yellow rice and a nice salad on the side. Thanks for sharing 🙂
This was great! I had it with rice and broccoli, and some of my non fish loving family loved to douse the whole thing in the sauce. The lemon and garlic work so well together.
Amazing! Simple, delicious, healthy! I had this fish in my freezer for a while, not knowing what to do with it… now I know and am already looking forward to the next time I make and eat this 🙂 thanks so much for sharing !
A summer hit for all my people (including my picky 10 year old)! I added a little dill for some tang. Thanks for sharing!
Delicious! I have made this multiple times now. It is our new go to recipe. I have made it with flounder and sole. It couldn’t be simpler. Thank you for such a great recipe.
I usually love all of your recipes, but this one just wasn’t for me and my husband. First, 12 minutes was no where near long enough to fully cook the fish. I had to cook it for an additional 5 minutes and probably could’ve cooked it longer. The flavor was just very bland to me even though it was swimming in butter.
Omg Kelly, I’m sorry you didn’t like it? Did you use all of the lemon juice and the zest??? Maybe you’re taste buds are off a tad?
Woah! Maybe your words are not working for you on this day but this (“maybe you’re taste buds are off”) comment made me not make this recipe and to note that this site is toxic.
AMAZINGLY simple and verrry delicious! My taste buds can get wonky at times, so I totally understand your very gently worded question posted to one of the reviewers… so much is misunderstood when only relying on text…
thank you for taking the time to post your recipes.
Kindest Regards
Kathy is not the author of the recipe!
If this is the reason you turned away from this site and recipe then I suggest you stay in your little bubble. good lord people are so damn sensitive.
OMG what a sensitive big baby. Her questions were valid and so was her statement. Everyone’s tastebuds are “off” sometimes and during 2020 when COVID was hitting every other person and impacting both taste and smell, her statement and questions have unique validity. The site is not toxic because the recipe creator asked a very valid and timely question.
KATHY is the new KAREN
Ayyy, here we go
You meant KELLY.
Anyway, this recipe is fabulous. I made it using whiting fish which has a similar flaky texture and light non-fishy flavor. Served with butter garlic mashed cauliflower and green beans for a perfect KETO meal. Thank you for your creativity.
Very good. Great recipe. I had broccoli fettuccine alfredo with mine. Thanks! -m.
This dish was soooo good and so easy. I added small shrimp to mine and had yellow rice and broccoli salad.
Made this tonight. Simple, easy, delicious. Instead of baking I put the fish in foil packets and threw it on the grill for 10 minutes. Came out perfect!
I just got back from Florida and have a ton of Red Snapper to cook. Could I use this recipe with Red snapper?
Thank you, Brigitte
I used this recipe with pollack exactly as written. Very good. A bit of bickering about who was going to get the last piece of fish.
D@mn delicious! I cut up the lemon slices and set the fish to cook on top of the lemons for extra aroma.
I served with wild rice and broccoli. I used the lemon-butter to season the fish and broccoli.
I will make it again. Thank you!
This is the best fish I have ever had. It is also the most easiest recipe I’ve ever done.
Very Very tasty. The only thing is we had to cook the tilapia for 20 mins because it was not cooked through and put it on broil to get some colour. So maybe keep that in mind when making your own.
I wish I had seen your review before I tried this! I0 minutes is definitely not enough time tor it to cook unless you are a fan of Sushi. I’m going to try again with your suggestions. Thank you!!
This is a fabulous dish! I made it the first time following the recipe, served with steamed bok choy. . The second time I made it, the only change was that I doubled the sauce so that we could pour on rice as a side dish. A winner 🙂 Much gratitude
This was a fantastic recipe thank you so much for sharing
I’ve been making this recipe for years now. It’s one of the very few dinners my picky 4 year old will eat up and ask for seconds. LOVE how fast it is, simple, and with ingredients you will always have. And I love how fast tilapia will thaw in a bowl of cold water if you didn’t thaw ahead of time. Thank you!
My husband loved it. we had sweet potatoes on the side. Very healthy.
This sauce was amazing! The only change I made was that I added fresh basil to the sauce.
The best tilapia ever!!
Nice simple recipe. I subbed olive oil for butter to cut saturated fats, and calories,
leaveing the fish in a more healthy state.
Tasty, moist, tender, easy, quick. Thanks for the great recipe!
Here’s the thing… I love you!
My husband and i have been trying to eat healthy. Unfortunately, sometimes healthy = boring. Not tonight, Bland Dinner! Your days are over! Lol, i kid….but not really. This fish was just yet another of your hit it out of the ballpark meals. I saved a little of the lemon mixture and drizzled my quinoa .
Love you Lots!
Keep them coming!
Very easy and tasty receive!
I made this dish as written except I added crumbled Ritz crackers. It was fantastic. Highly recommend!
Searched for a new tilapia recipe and came across this one and so happy I did. This is the kind of recipe that is really perfect and checks all the boxes for a busy mom. Healthy. Easy to make. Yummy. Easy clean up (big plus) Just a few ingredients – and one that you normally stock, so no extra trips to the grocery store. It was nice, light and tasty! I served it with some steamed vegetables and I couldn’t believe how quick I got dinner made. This is a great dish when you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen (for cooking or cleaning) . My kids and husband loved it and said I should add it into my rotation. I highly recommend.
Great easy recipe…..had all ingredients on hand and went heavy with Lemons (less butter) for a 10 Tilapia tray over veggies , onion and pepper bed…..wow….great flavor…could taste the lemon and all flavors!
Thank you!
Holy cow! Never made tilapia before. Took the lemon – buttered tilapia and put a light bread crumb with fresh ground parmigiana cheese on top. Wrapped it in foil and put it on the grill for 10-12 minutes at 400. Tasted AMAZING!
Even my picky eater didn’t complain of tonight fish dinner, I used Swai fish instead which was only any additional 12 mins and few mins under Broil… definitely adding this to my weekly meals!
Delicious and flavorful!! Kids will love this!
So good. I only had one lemon so I didn’t have the lemon slices but still was so yummy. Paired with sidedish of roasted butternut squash.
Super fast and easy. I used dill instead of parsley and baked some potatoes with the butter sauce to go with the fish. Damn delicious indeed!
Made it tonight for dinner. Very juicy and moist was the comment from the family after a few bites. Will make this again and again. The only thing different I came across was baking it an additional 5 min.
Simple, easy and delicious
Simple and easy.
I substituted lemon for lime and added fresh rosemary and thyme and it was so good! THANKS SO MUCH!
We love This Baked Lemon Garlic Butter Tilapia!! We made it last week and again today!!! I CAN make good baked fish!!!
Very simple and delicious, now I cook it at least once per week.
This is a great recipe! It gives the tilapia a really nice flavor, and it’s fast and easy to prepare.
Some suggestions:
– Add a little paprika to the lemon-butter-garlic mixture.
– The garlic doesn’t really need to be minced. Put the garlic through a garlic press and it will be fine. Three cloves, as suggested, is fine but four of five is even better if you love garlic.
– After 10 minutes on ‘bake’, give it 2-4 minutes under the broiler.
This is a damn fine recipe! It gives the tilapia a really nice flavor, and it’s fast and easy to prepare.
Some suggestions:
– Add a little paprika to the lemon-butter-garlic mixture.
– The garlic doesn’t really need to be minced. Put the garlic through a garlic press and it will be fine. Three cloves, as suggested, is fine but four of five is even better if you love garlic.
– After 10 minutes on ‘bake’, give it 2-4 minutes under the broiler.
Easy and very good. I added Parmesan cheese on top as well.
I love this recipe my favorite way to cook tilapia
What a quick and easy recipe. I had all the ingredients on hand. Along with steamed vegetables, rice and dinner was ready.
What a quick and easy recipe. I had all the ingredients on hand. Along with steamed vegetables, rice and dinner was ready.
Wow, this dish just rocks, I love tilapia and how you have made this dish is incredible, the lemon and butter really infuse it with great flavors. Thank you for this awesome dish. Also, it being baked makes it healthy too.
Another Damn Delicious recipe! Prepared as directed with a white wine splash added. Only cooked 2 filets but made same amount of sauce to pour over sautéed zucchini and broccoli and wild rice and so glad we did- YUM! Cooked 14 minutes and was flakey-perfect. Thank you again!
This was delicious! Just the right touch of lemon. Served with jasmine rice and roasted veggies! Will definitely make again!
This was a super good recipe! My 1st time making tilapia and it was super easy and delicious! Thank you!
Made this tonight as per the instructions and it was phenomenal. My family raved about it. The only way I will prepare tilapia going forward. Taste and texture of a gourmet restaurant meal.
Delicious since I. Followed this recipe – delighted with the outcome – YUM!
Hmmmm.taste good,kids loved it.
Made it for the first time tonight. Loved it!!! Definitely adding into my rotation
This recipe turned out great! It was right on. The fish was flaky and tasty. I served it with boiled Brussels sprouts and baby red potatoes. I poured a little of the butter sauce on everyone’s fish and it flavored up the vegetables. I’ll keep this recipe for sure!
Sounds yummy! Seasoning salt and pepper with anything makes the recipe delicious for someone who loves that kinda flavour. Would it be fine if I replace tilapia fillets with chicken breasts?
So I tried it a second time and this time I just put under the broiler to get the color. It taste good both times but now it has the desired look to go with it
Omg- so good and easy
I followed the recipe but mines doesn’t come out golden at all. It’s pale. I use a ceramic kind of baking dish, could that be the problem? because it is completely cook but it lacks the color and crisp.
Mine too. Same.
once you’re finished cooking simply turn on the broiler for a few minutes until you’ve got the color you want. Be careful though, easy to burn it’ll brown very fast – keep a close eye.
My wife was bored with me pan sautéing and grilling the tilapia. She requested baked fish with bread crumbs and butter. Being that she is Greek and I saw LEMON I know it would be a hit for her and her son.
I added plain bread crumbs slightly after all the other ingredients. I loved this dish and will be making again but as one reviewer stated I will be adding capers!
This was indeed, damn delicious! Only thing I added were capers. Amazing taste and super super easy to make. Love this!!
Delicious! I did it with some carrots, onions, green beans, and potatoes in the pan. The potatoes were undercooked, even though I microwaved them for five minutes before hand. If any one out there plans to do potatoes with this, just know that you need to microwave them ten minutes first.
If you follow the recipe, you will create an exceptional yet easily crafted meal.
Very easy and delicious, made it with rice and roasted acorn squash. Yum!
Great recipe, I just have one suggestion. I always coat my tilapia with mayo, it really gives the fish a great flavor!
This was actually really good. I’m not really a fish person, and I enjoyed this. I made it for my father and my husband and son. Everyone loved it! I served it over brown rice and asparagus. I love everyone of your recipes. Thank you for making me a better cook.
Came here to report that I used lime juice instead of lemon (it’s what I had on hand) and it still came out delicious and tender! Also, I hit broil for 4-5 mins to get a little browning on top. I’m saving this recipe!
We really liked it. Its good to get away from all the fried food. I did replace garlic salt for the cloves and kosher salt. Yummy
Fantastic fast recipe! The flavor is amazing, I highly recommend
excellent method to cook tilapia
I’m a 63 yr old male and never been a cook. Even I looked good with this recipe. My fish was not fresh. I used the garlic, butter, lemon juice, added cilantro, carrot sticks, parmasan cheese. Oh my word was this good. Thanks
I have never been able to cook fish properly, and have resorted to frozen, breaded fish, always unhappy with how they taste. Saw the reviews for this, made for dinner, and it was heavenly! Best fish dinner I’ve ever made!
Would this work with salmon as well? Do you think the flavors would pair as nicely with salmon?
Delicious and easy. Even my picky teens love it.
We love this recipe. I make it once or sometimes twice a month. I keep frozen cod and tilapia on hand. Great recipe.
Loved it ! Really quick and easy , would defiantly make again .
This recipe is great!! Fish tastes really good!!
Love this recipe. Always loved tilapia but now even more with this recipe. Super easy and quick.
I have frozen fish filets. Do you need to thaw them first?
Yes, I recommend thawing.
This came out juicy and tender – a difficult feat for an often overcooked dish. The extra butter sauce in pan was perfect for drizzle before serving.
I added chopped celery leaves with the parsley prior to cooking. Also, I left the tilapia whole (did not filet).
Yummy recipe, I love talapia!
I added this recipe to my recipe box, you should consider adding the recipe box plugin to your website. Is such an easy way to save recipes you love.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Ingredients are simple and quick to put together. The fish is tender, moist and lemony.
Made this recipe for dinner with rice and broccoli instead of asparagus and we all loved it. Even my son who hates fish ate all of his. Thanks for a great recipe.
I don’t have unsalted butter on hand would regular butter be okay to use?
Yes, you can absolutely use regular butter but I would just add some extra salt, if needed. 🙂
I love this recipe! Between my daughter and I, we’ve made this a few dozen times. It’s a real winner in our family.
I needed a quick recipe for chicken breast (when I realized I didn’t have all the ingredients for a different dish), and because this was a big success with tilapia, I thought I’d give it a try. I don’t suggest you try it yourself. The tilapia was moist and bursting with flavor, while this chicken dish was dry and lacked any pizzazz. Stick with the white fish, and save your breasts for something else.
I dont have butter in hand, would olive oil work?
Didn’t have tilapia but used this recipe for walleye fillets. We eat a lot of fresh caught fish here in Michigan. I never bake our fish especially walleye, but I wanted to avoid breading and frying this time. This is the best baked fish I’ve ever had! Ever! It even tops anything I’ve had in fine restaurants. Paired it with sauteed zucchini and carrot ribbons. Perfection! Thank you!
I just made this for dinner tonight…. Sooooo Good. Will be making this again,again and again….
Loved it. My wife loved it. Added asparagus to the dish too. The lemon complemented the asparagus were nicely. Very easy to prepare.
Great addition! So happy you enjoyed it.
Dylan, being my wife is 100% Greek with the asparagus I made hollandaise and rice.
Omg!! This is the best ever tilapia recipe, I’m not really a fan of fish but some how i found this recipe an the picture made me want to try it. I did an it’s AMAZING!!!! The only change i made was seasoning with fish seasoning salt, other than that everything was as directed, i will definitely make this again!!!
I’m a college student who’s living on their own. I want to tell you how inspiring your recipes have been for me in the most recent weeks. I was consistently eating out or relying on others to cook, but I think I have turned the corner. While my knife skills aren’t quite up to snuff, I figured that this is something I wanted to get better at. THANK YOU FOR BEING AN INSPIRATION!!
Delicious and easy to make. Secret is don’t skimp on anything.
Made this tonight with rice and brussel sprouts. Very good. Stayed true to the recipe only I doubled the sauce ingredients.
Followed the recipe to the tee excellent 12 minutes and it’s ready. My husband who dislikes fish ate it no complaints. Said he would eat it again. So easy !!
That’s great, Stella!
I’ve read some of the comments. Are people really that ignorant?
Great recipe! I used 5 Tbsp of butter so we could have a little extra sauce for our rice. Thanks!
I multiplied this recipe by 3 because we had 12 tilapias. I also added extra lemon juice from fresh squeezed lemons, lemon pepper, and extra garlic. Make sure that when you season the tilapia with salt and pepper that you rub the salt and pepper into the fish and you will have a masterfully crafted meal!
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing.
This was so easy and it came out so juicy..
Perfect to tease.
definitely will be making this again!!
Damn delicious! However, the fat content will induce a heart attack. I reduced the butter and used a high grade EVO to replace it. The dish still tasted DELICIOUS.
Just because tilapia are raised in unsanitary conditions does not mean that the product is unsanitary. Pigs are raised in horrid conditions but everyone loves bacon. As far as gmo products go, if you eat bread, vegetables, or fuit, you are likely eating a gmo. Farm raised tilapia from Asia are not likely a gmo. A gmo is costly to develope. Tilapia is just a fast growing fish that can live and thrive in unfavorable conditions. Conditions typicaly found in under developed countries.
Easy, and tasty.
Best fish ever. I usually don’t care for baked fish but this recipe changed my mind. Absolutely delicious!!!!!!!!!!
If this recipe is followed exactly as instructed you will have the best talapia ever! My grown son hates fish but he really likes this…..he even asked for seconds
Amazing!
Hi I was wondering what I could substitute for garlic? My hubby does not tolerate any type of garlic.
Thanks so much!
You can omit the garlic if you prefer.
Hi,
Thank you for sharing.
How can I make the fish look like the picture you posted (more golden color ) and not the color shown in the video?
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Hi! The pictures were taken as the recipe is written. Please note that images have been edited to brighten/saturate the colors a bit more.
Printing a book for us to read before we get to the ingredients and instructions which I haven’t found yet anyway
Did you have a question, Mike? The instructions are here if you still need them. https://damndelicious.net/2016/04/30/baked-lemon-butter-tilapia/print/
Another person in the comments suggested putting the fish under the broiler for a couple minutes to get the color and the crisp.
Was wondering what kind of pan to cook the fish in? I heard that cooking acidic foods (lemon juice) on aluminum pans causes the metal to leak into your food.
I like the idea of putting the fish under the broiler to brown it after it bakes, but what wondering what kind of pan everybody is cooking with?
Your photos show baked lemon slices, but your recipe calls for using only zest and juice!
The lemon slices are simply used for photographic purposes. 🙂
Website very irritating due to too many pop ups
This is how we keep our recipes completely free for our amazing readers. 🙂
Very good recipe!! I’ve been cooking this for my weekly Sunday night dinner ever since I moved out of my childhood home! Only thing I’ve changed over time is, since I like my fish with a crispy exterior that I wasn’t getting with the baking method, I now prepare the lemon butter separately, season and lightly dredge the tilapia in flour, fry it in butter for 90 seconds a side, and then top with the sauce after they’re done. Yields a much more satisfying result in my honest opinion. 😛
Awesome, thank you, Jimmy!
Wow!!! You are my new and favorite tutor! That’s not platitudes, let’s break it down. NOTE: I visited your site for a Baked Tilapia recipe. Here goes: 1) I love the look of your site, … clear, clean, and straight-forward with plenty of big, colorful pictures. 2) It is always time for a new chicken thigh recipe. 3) The video was spot on, straight to the point, clear, concise, and clear. Thank you so much, I will definitely look to you for my next recipe question.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Grady!
Ohhh wow! I really loved the recipe, very easy and tasty. Only one comment, it taste a little bitter because of the lemon juice and the peels, any way it was devoured. Thank you 😉
Happy you enjoyed it!
Do you have any suggestions on making the fish appear more golden and bright ? It looks more like it in the picture but less in that video . Just experimenting with making my food more pleasing to the eye .
Moniquee, some brand of butters can be more “golden” than others. You can also garnish with parsley and lemon slices to make it more pleasing to the eye! 🙂
Tried making it! It’s easy and delicious! Thank you got the recipe!
Great!
Yummy recipe!!!
This is my new favorite way to make tilapia! It really is damn delicious. Thank you for sharing!
The garlic turned blue/green on mine as well, which I noticed another person also experienced. I Googled it, and apparently it often occurs when garlic is cooked with an acid (lemon juice in this case), or when your garlic isn’t very fresh. It’s still safe to eat, so don’t be alarmed if this happens to you if you make this recipe!
What a delicious recipe! We are not big fish fans in my house, so I am trying hard to find recipes that will tempt us to eat more fish. This recipe was a hit with both adults, and two out of three kids. My third child needs her food separate and has a difficult time acclimating to change, so I expected her to not rave about it…but she ate it! Success! We served it with rice pilaf which was also a hit with the kids. Thanks for posting!
would you recommend putting parchment paper under the fish so it doesn’t stick?
If you lightly oil the baking dish or coat with nonstick spray, parchment paper is not necessary.
Loved this recipe making it again tonight. The side dishes I used were jasmine rice and microwaved fresh asparagus. My husband liked it also. Thanks
Just tried it and we all loved it! Very quick, Super moist and flavored recipe. My 8 & 4 years old enjoyed it as well. Thank you!
I love this fish ppl say its bad for u any truth to that
So yummy! Absolutely delicious! Divinely easy to make! Mahalo!
My stepdad is recovering from a stroke and the other night the hospital served him lemon baked tilapia for his evening meal and he loved it. I started looking for a similar recipe so that once he’s home I can make it for him. According to Dad your photo looks the most like what they served him. Soon as he’s home again, I’ll try to fix this for him. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
On a side note, do you think I could cook some shrimp in with this recipe? I don’t care for fish, but I do enjoy shrimp.
Yes, absolutely! Hope your stepdad makes a speedy recovery!
This was damn delicious! Thank you for the inspiration! I did adjust my cooking time a bit as you had suggested to other as MY fillets were on the larger side but in the end they turned out deliciously flaky and moist. The butter sauce is flavour full and bang on!
We served ours over a mound of sautéed spaghetti squash; sautéed with fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic and spicy calabrese olives! This paired quite beautifully with the lemony butter sauce and the delicate fish! YUM
Thanks again!
Can I sub lime for lemon
Yes, absolutely.
Holy amazeballs this was SO SO SO good. Yes, SOx3. I broiled it at the end for extra umph and burned my mouth trying a bite. So yummy.
Turned out perfectly! Will definitely cook this again
I have to say, I’ve been looking for a good baked lemon, garlic and butter recipe for a while and I thought I hadn’t found the perfect one when I clicked the link to this recipe…. However, the picture looks nothing like the end result in the instructional video. I’m a little disappointed.
I would love the original recipe for the picture displayed, if you could find it!!
The recipe in the video is made just as written.
I get all my recipes from the Internet. I will read 10 or 12, and take a little bit from this one a little bit from that one. This is the first recipe that I have done it exactly as instructed. It was fantastic! I had two flounder fillets and one tilapia fillet and using this recipe they were the best fish I’ve ever cooked! I usually avoid cooking fish because it never comes out as good as I want. This recipe is the bomb!! This is now my go to fish recipe!
P.S. this is also the first time I’ve ever left a comment on a website for a recipe I’ve made!
Hi. Any changes recommended to do when using full fish? I have the tilapia cleaned and ready.. But not fillet
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I’ve made this dish probably 20-30 times at this point. My family loves it and anyone who eats with us loves it. Thank you for this easy, healthy, affordable, delicious recipe!
I’m so glad I came across this! I will make it later. My family loves tilapia!
My fish was swimming in liquid. I used a white fish called cod. Is it more of a fatty fish and caused the excess liquid? TIA
Oh no – what a bummer! I’m not entirely sure why this happened. I haven’t used cod in this recipe.
In the nutrition facts, it says this recipe contains trans fats. Does that come from the unsalted butter?
Yes.
About to have a late dinner, I wish I had seen this dish earlier. I will be making this this week.
No, we did not have Easter Dinner this year…. Long story
So quick and easy and it looks delicious! Lemon and butter on fish is an absolute winner (:
Hi thank you for this recipe, I wanted to share that I did substitute the garlic with garlic infused olive oil and non dairy butter to create a low fodmap version for our IBS. To get the golden finish I did broil them for 5 min at 500F. This dish was a hit, my picky eater had seconds!! Thank you so much!! We did pair with brown rice and zucchini squash/ peppers stir fry. Great dinner.
What are the reheating instructions? I am planning to make this for a meal train dish for a friend in need.
You can reheat via stovetop, oven or microwave.
Omg, thank you so much!
Made it for a first home dinner with my boyfriend last night. When he saw the dish, he went “Sorry, I don’t eat fish. At all”, but agreed to try it for me… Hahaha, apparently from now on he DOES eat fish, cuz he loved it so much that asked for the second round after!
😀 And I’m so happy with how fast and easy the whole thing is, thank you, you made my night yesterday! 🙂
Thissss is theeee best tilapia I’ve ever had! And this is me a non fish eater!
This looks delicious what can i pair it with as a side?
My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
I am not a big fan of anything fish. At the same time I didn’t want to deny making seafood dishes for my hubby. But, after finding this recipe I will have to be honest, this is now on my fav list. It was super easy to make and it didn’t take long to cook! Thank you for the amazing recipe. You have now made me a new seafood fan.
This was delicious! I doubled the sauce and put half in the brown rice. And instead of salt and pepper I used a spicy citrus rub. Thanks !!
What a great recipe. My family loved it! Thank you.
I seriously have loved all of your recipes! This was a HUGE hit with my family – my picky 12 year old gobbled it up and my 1 year old daughter kept shoving it in her mouth. This was her FIRST fish dish to try ever. = ) So easy and so delicious. But really, you can never go wrong with butter, garlic and lemon. Thanks again for another fabulous recipe!
Is there anyway to cut this down for just one fillet? Would I just use a quarter of each of the ingredients or would I have to do something else? I’m new to cooking and I only cook for myself. So any advice would be great!
Yes, you can try to quarter the recipe!
Delicious! Got rave reviews at my house the fish came out super fluffy and yummy garlic and lemony goodness. Will definitely be stalking your site for future dinner ideas 🙂
Can I use SWAI?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
my fish fillet is 1/4 to 1/2 inch what temp and how long PLEASE HELP
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I made this tonight and it was relish side broccoli & onions. It was so good.
When mixing the butter, lemon juice and garlic things turn a green color, do you know why that happened? We are trying it tonight, will keep you posted.
No idea! How strange!
If the garlic turned green, your butter must have been too hot.
Agreed!
Citrus can react with the sulphur in the garlic and turn it green… happened to me once when I cooked potatoes with lemon and garlic. I thought there was something off with the garlic but when I looked it up, it’s a normal chemical reaction and totally harmless…
What is the market price???
Market price depends on your location.
This was amazing! Made it tonight. I like a lot of sauce so I doubled the quantities for the sauce. Since I had a lot of sauce in the pan, I broiled the fish for a few minutes at the end, to get it crispy on top. Thank you!!
This was a really good base recipe. For those of you whose fish turned out dry, try making more butter sauce. We ate this with roasted veggies (great use for leftover sauce). Fish literally cooked perfectly in 15 mins. Sooooooooo easy!
I have been making this for years. The only difference is I just added the lemon juice to the fish. Seems it is everyone’s favorite and all request it every week. I have never had it cook in ten minutes though, more like forty. Will definitely try putting the lemon juice in the butter mixture tonight.
The taste of the chicken and seasoning was good but I felt the lemon butter was too tart so I had to add a few seasonings of my own one being sugar and cream otherwise it was ok.
Absolutely Damn Declious!!!!
Can I download this recipe? If so, how?
You can print the recipe using the “PRINT RECIPE” button.
I made this tonight and got rave reviews from my hubby and our kids (ages 3 and 6) – clean plates all around! Thank you for this recipe – I’m not usually a seafood fan and I loved the way the tilapia turned out. This has officially been added to our family cookbook.
I just made this last night and it was really good! Due to a dairy allergy, I subbed olive oil for the butter…and while I totally realize that greatly changed the taste of everything, I just wanted to let folks know it was still super yummy and is a great option!
I tried this recipe and it was wonderful. …Cooked perfect!
Do you cover your pan with foil first or just put it in the oven?
No foil needed. 🙂
How long will it last? I’m meal prepping and this is something i want to try out. Curious if it will last for 3 days if stored properly?
Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with.
I can never get the flavor to set in it just taste like plane fish with a slight hint of garlic an lemon but not really enough to taste. Any advice?
You can try adding more garlic and lemon juice, to taste.
I made this tonight 9/1/16 it was delicious, the only thing, mines was not flaky as I would liked it to be. It took 15- 20 minutes to cook 6 tilapia fillets. For my side dishes I made steamed white rice, steamed broccoli /carrots, and garlic& herb breadsticks. Will definitely try it again.
Try substituting the rice with a whole grain like quinoa and skip the bread!
This was delicious! I usually fry the fish my husband and boys catch from our local waters, but wanted something different this time. I will definitely make it again! Thanks!
can i subsitute the butter for olive oil
Yes, but I find that this is best when butter is used. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Second time making this. A great recipe for seafood beginners like me! Thank you!
I used a little more butter in my recipe and used frozen fish. Still waiting lol It’s gonna be another 10 minutes ❤
Cooked this last night. Mine also did not have that nice golden color. Mine was rather whitish gray. I finally turn the broiler on to see if I could get some color onto it, but it didn’t do much. Taste was fine though.
A little paprika will give nice color and should not change taste.
Would lime work as well or just better with lemons?
Yes, lime will work as well!
Hi – I just followed your recipe and the dish didn’t turn out the way I expected. I baked the tilapia for 10 minutes with the exact lemon butter mixture you described. The fish turned out pretty dry, even a bit overcooked. And it didn’t get the yellowish golden layer like yours on the picture you posted. Was I missing something??
Bummer! I am not entirely sure – did you make any substitutions?
The picture and her video seem to look different? Anyway I coated my fish in olive oil first and then added the lemon butter mix.
This was great. The only thing I did differently was to add a splash of dry white wine to the butter lemon sauce. We wanted to lick our plates afterwards! Had sauteed yellow squash and tomatoes with it. Really awesome, easy recipe.
Just curios. Did you remove the black skin of the tilapia before it was made into a fillet? If so how to do it? Thanks
It was actually already removed upon purchasing from the butcher.
My husband is a bass fisherman. Would this recipe work well for bass filets? Seems like it would. I usually make a creole red sauce and serve bass cooked in the creole sauce over rice. We both need to stop eating rice every day. This would be a very good start. We are trying to get our carbs from vegetables. However, I still cannot get him to eat cauliflower!
Yes, absolutely!
Try chopping the cauliflower up finely to make “cauliflower rice” my family loves it as a rice substitute, also I paired it with roasted green beans and it was a hit!
Can you do the same with frozen fish or does it need to be thawed filets?
I recommend using thawed filets.
typically frozen fillets only take 5 minutes under running cold water to thaw. I cook Tilapia fillets all the time and buy the frozen as they are individually packaged for me 🙂
Cooked this last night for my family and they loved it! My 3 year old daughter kept asking me for seconds, then thirds!! I will definitely be making this again.
I cooked my fish for 15 minutes and it still wasn’t done ): too bad, maybe the fish I used was too big? It was larger than tilapia I’m used to.
Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the fish.
I made this tonight and it was delicious, but some of the sauce started to burn and that was kind of gross. I have a convection oven and turned down the heat to 400 (standard convention says take 25 degrees off regular oven temp for convection oven). Any thoughts?
Perhaps you can reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F?
Are we supposed to cook lemon slices with the fish? You don’t say to do that in your recipe but it looks like thats what you did?
I used lemon slices simply as a garnish for photographic purposes. It is not required.
We’re trying this over the weekend. Just wondering, would it be possible to mention in your various recipes what side dishes would pair wonderfully with each entree? I know it would be some work for you but you always have great taste (pun intended)
My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
Made this tonight…. didn’t have fresh lemons (used lemon juice) and it was delicious! Just wish I would have made more!
Thanks for sharing!
This is perfect! I love tilapia so I’m definitely going to give this a try 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. This meal didn’t work out for me and my family but I think it was the tilapia we used (which was frozen then thawed). I’m determined to make this work and will try again in the future.because it was very simple and quick to make.
I have a ?, in your dish it looks like you have 3 fish pieces but your recipe calls for 4. Were you only able to bake 3 in that pan?
I used a smaller baking dish for photographic purposes only.
Hi What other fish could be used I am unable to get fresh Tilapia and I don’t purchase anything in a bag or farm raised any other fish I could use
You can substitute other white fish including snapper, grouper, flounder, and rockfish.
Yum! My son love ALL seafood. Can’t wait to give this a try. Can you please come stay with us, because I love all the dishes you present.
Probably a dumb question, but is this time based on frozen or thawed?
Nope – not a dumb question at all. This is based on thawed fish, not frozen.
shrimp on the mind? LOL.
Yes! Thank you for pointing that out! 🙂
This looks easy and delicious, but I wouldn’t use Tilapia as it is farm-raised.
It looks easily adaptable to wild caught filet of sole which would also cook quickly in the same time.
What is wrong with farm raised?
Farm raised is all gmo
Lmfao
the fact that people dont understand that everything available in any american store (co-ops as well) is a GMO of some type (unless your bananas have seeds the size of small grapes all throughout being an example). half of the no-gmo freaks dont even know what it means. if a conspiracy theory poster boy is telling you not to eat gmos, its not because they are bad, its because hes paid to do it.
While I agree tilapia is the worst fish you can eat, it has nothing to do with GMOs. The problem is that 99% of all tilapia comes from Asia, where they raise it pretty much in a sewer. Just yuck.
Wow! 99 percent? How did yoi come up with that? Can I see the study where you got your numbers? Thanks!
Last time I checked edible fish do not grow in sewers. There is a big issue with farm raised fish and it has nothing to do with it being genetically modified or not. The issue is with many farms who feed the fish antibiotics to keep them healthy and plump. This means more money in their pocket. The antibiotics in the fish are harmful to humans especially if consumed quite often.
As far as GMO produce goes, bananas, watermelons, seedless grapes, blueberries etc are all GMO. If they weren’t it would hardly be edible.
Watermelons with thousands of seeds inside. Bananas with huge seeds inside. No seedless grapes ever.
What is tilapia fillets in Australia
It’s just a white fish. Any white fish should come out similar, you just might have to change the cook time.
This looks great!
Hey love I was wondering can you substitute the Tilapia for another fish? I already have some Pollock I was womdering would it just as tasty using that fish?
Yes, absolutely, although cooking time may have to be adjusted as needed.
Could I substitute another type of fish? The hubby doesn’t eat tilapia.
You can substitute other white fish including snapper, grouper, flounder, and rockfish.
Would salmon work for this recipe
Yes, of course!
We do this same exact recipe only using Salman and we grill it on a cedar plank. So yummy! Gonna try the same recipe for my tilapia via oven.
Great idea!
We now eat this at least once a week. It’s wonderful and soooooo easy!!
Love the taste of zesty lemons on a chicken thigh!