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.
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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!