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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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!