Butter, garlic, and fresh lemon juice plus a sprinkle and smoked paprika make this lemon garlic tilapia so incredibly delicious, with hardly any work at all! This is the perfect dish to make on busy nights when your fridge is running low. Plus it’s light and high in protein, what’s not to love?!
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Ingredients For Lemon Tilapia
This oven baked lemon garlic tilapia is EASY to make with a few simple ingredients. Here’s what to collect, with a few potential swaps below:
- Fish + seasoning: I like to keep this baked tilapia simple with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Be sure to pat the fish dry before sprinkling with seasoning, and if you’re using frozen fish, make sure it’s completely defrosted for even cooking.
- Lemon butter: Lemon juice, garlic, and butter. Yum!
How to Modify
This lemon tilapia is easy to adjust based on what you have on hand, or to better suit your cravings. Some ways I like to switch things up include:
- A sprinkle of grated parmesan, ala parmesan crusted tilapia. When doing this I typically reduce the amount of salt I add. You can also skip the butter.
- Seasoning the tilapia filets with more herbs, think dried oregano, cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning–whatever best compliments your sides.
- Opt for lime juice instead of lemon, and cilantro instead of parsley for a South Western take.
How to Make Lemon Garlic Tilapia
This lemon butter tilapia is a weeknight staple in our house because it is just so darn easy to throw together! Here’s how with step-by-step photos to help:
- Pat tilapia dry, and sprinkle with seasoning.
- Combine the lemon butter ingredients together.
- Pour over tilapia, bake, sprinkle with fresh herbs, and enjoy!
What is a good side dish for tilapia?
We love this oven baked tilapia with all sorts of sides. Some of our favorites include:
- Roasted vegetables like roasted green beans, potatoes, or roasted broccolini. I like to toss a sheet pan of veggies in the oven first. Then tent them with foil as the tilapia bakes.
- Light and crisp side salads like my kale salad or this simple arugula salad.
- Grains are a great way to soak up any extra lemon butter. Make a fresh batch of rice, quinoa, or even cauliflower rice.
Leftovers + Reheating
Since this lemon garlic tilapia is so light, we often don’t have a ton of leftovers. But if you happen to be making a large batch for meal prep, here’s how to store and reheat them easily:
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Be sure to drizzle all extra lemon butter over the filets so it doesn’t go to waste!
- Reheat in the microwave with a damp paper towel on top to keep your lemon tilapia moist. Don’t forget that lemon butter at the bottom of the dish you stored your fish in!
- Leftovers also make a great addition to salads when served cold, take a note from my avocado shrimp salad or my salmon salad.
More Weeknight Fish Recipes
Lemon Garlic Tilapia
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 4 tilapia fillets
- salt + pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter melted + cooled
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F, option to line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.
- Pat tilapia completely dry and place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Sprinkle filets with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, and press to adhere.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, melted butter, and garlic. Pour over the tilapia.
- Bake in preheated oven until the tilapia is white all the way through, and flakes easily, about 12-14 minutes. Garnish with parsley before serving, and enjoy!
