Baked Tilapia In Lemon Garlic Sauce
You are just 20 minutes away from this flakey Tilapia in lemon garlic sauce. The tilapia is baked to perfection with a beautiful crust, the veggies are lightly charred and soak up the buttery lemon garlic sauce. I will share that one trick which will give tender baked tilapia with a lovely caramelization around the edges.
Are you looking for a simple dinner recipe with minimal effort but scores 10/10 in flavor? This baked Tilapia recipe makes an impressive meal. Mild subtle flavor of tilapia gets a lift from buttery rich and bright lemon sauce. I love the layer of sliced onions and peppers adds texture to the dish. Make for a great dinner, we prefer serving with rice as there is just enough pan juices to spoon over.
Days when we just don’t want to have chicken but need to complete daily protein requirement, I either grab a packet of shrimp or tilapia from the freezer. It is convenient, unlike chicken tilapia, which defrosts quickly
Tilapia when cooked right, has tender flakey meat that just melts in the mouth. Another good thing about tilapia is that it’s a mild fish, even someone who isn’t a fan of fish will love this and the buttery lemon sauce also does a good job of hiding any fishy smell. This Tilapia in lemon caper sauce is another gem of a recipe that’s worth serving in a fine dine restaurant.
Ingredients
- Tilapia – Fresh or frozen, look for large to medium fillets. Fresh tilapia should be firm to touch without any funky fishy smell. I always keep frozen ones which come handy.
- Onion and peppers– Thinly sliced onions and peppers. These cook just right while the fish is done. You could use other soft veggies like asparagus, blanched green beans etc.
- Lemon– Fresh lemon juice and a few slices
- Butter– Unsalted butter, melted and cooled down a bit.
- Italian seasoning– You can use any dry herbs you wish.
- Fresh garlic– Minced fresh garlic.
- Seasoning – Salt, pepper, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
Steps To Make Baked Tilapia in Lemon Butter Sauce?
Because it is a mild fish, a bright and bold seasoning is a must for Baked Tilapia. This recipe uses a refreshing lemon and Italian herb marinade. Butter in the marinade helps to keep the fish moist, tender and gives richness to the pan sauce. Make sure you apply the marinade on both sides generously.
Spread a layer of sliced onion and peppers ( how lovely the assorted colorful pepper look). We are not seasoning the veggies separately as they will be cooked in drippings from the fish.
Note – If you are using frozen fillets, then make sure you thaw them completely before baking and also pat them dry. Otherwise, it will water down the sauce.
Generously spread the lemon butter garlic marinade on both the sides of fish and bake until the fish is done. Depending on the size of the fillets, the baking time might vary by one or two minutes.
How Long To Bake Tilapia?
The next important step is baking tilapia at the right temperature and time. Tilapia is a very delicate fish and it is very easy to overcook it. For really moist and tender Tilapia, Bake at 200 C / 400 F for 10-12 minutes. Once baked the fish turns white and flaky.
After making this a million times for dinner, here is the secret to get a beautiful golden crust on the fish without overcooking it – Adjust the rack in the upper third of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Serving Suggestion
This is in itself a complete meal. It has protein and veggies. And a delicious lemon butter sauce to drizzle on top. Yow can either have it as it is or serve it with rice or quinoa. For a low-carb meal, serve it with some cauliflower rice.
Roasted veggies like Airfryer roasted broccoli, hassle back potatoes, oven roasted red potatoes, Parmesan toasted carrots etc.
This caramelized mushroom rice or herb garlic butter rice also pairs well as a side dish.
Storing Leftovers
- Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheat: Warm up the fish in a 350 degree F oven. I cover it with aluminum foil so that it doesn’t dry out. To reheating in the microwave avoid cooking it for too long as it might dry out.
More Fish Recipes
Baked Tilapia In Lemon Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 large Tilapia fillets
- 1 large onions Thick sliced
- 2 cups Peppers Cut in to medium thick strips
- ¼ cup melted unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoons pepper
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or Mixed dry herb)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (substitute with regular paprika)
- ½ teaspoon onion powder (optional)
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 3-4 fresh lemon slice
Instructions
- For the marinade mix melted butter, garlic lemon juice, Italian seasoning, paprika, onion powder salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Pre heat oven @200 C/ 400 F and place the rack in upper third of the oven
- In a baking tray add sliced onion and pepper. Arrange in a single layer.
- Then place Tilapia fillets. Apply the marinade generously on both the sides.
- Place lemon slices.
- Bake in the upper third part of the oven at 200 C/ 400 F for 10-12 minutes.
- Serve on a bed of rice alongside veggies. Spoon leftover lemon butter sauce from the pan.
Video
Notes
- You can use other soft veggies like asparagus, and blanched beans along with onion and peppers.
This was an excellent dish. Perfect flavors. Thank you!
Awesome recipe. So simple yet delicious. We’ve added zucchini and use that as the base and then add the peppers and onions and we’ve been super pleased. Brush the foil covered tray with the delicious buttery mix and then lay it on. Drizzle the remaining and bake. We definitely pull the fish and then broil the remaining veggies. Nice touch. Thank you!