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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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.