When you get your hands on a super simple fish recipe (a recipe that is essentially foolproof), that’s cause for happiness. It’s also cause for a fish dinner, any night of the week. The sauce takes about 10 minutes to make, the fish takes about 10 minutes to bake in the oven, and presto, you’re done.

The Lemon Garlic Tilapia recipe uses a butter sauce that cooks along with the fish, resulting in a browned butter sauce that is fragrant with garlic and brightened by the lemon juice and lemon zest. If you like a spicier sauce, add a bit more red pepper flakes.

Make sure to serve some nice crusty bread with the fish to sop up all of the delicious sauce. Or serve the fish with its sauce over rice or another starch or grain like polenta or grits so that not a drop gets wasted.

Lemon Garlic Tilapia: This is the simplest baked fish recipe with a butter sauce that is bright with garlic, lemon juice and lemon zest. 

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Lemon Garlic Tilapia Ingredients

• Tilapia filets – Tilapia should be available at your local fishmonger or grocery store, but if you can’t find it, see below for other options. Price clubs often carry large packs of tilapia.
• Unsalted butter – The butter gets browned before cooking, giving the sauce a warm, toasty, nutty flavor.
• Parmesan – Use finely grated Parmesan so that it melts smoothly into the sauce.
• Minced garlic – Adds so much flavor to the browned butter sauce.
• Red pepper flakes – Add more if you like a spicier sauce.
• Lemon – This recipe uses both the zest and the juice of the lemon for maximum citrusy flavor.
• Parsley – Fresh parsley brings herby flavor and gives the presentation of the fish a little flourish.

Substitutions for Tilapia

You can make this with any firm, flaky fish filet, such as catfish, red bream, flounder, red snapper, branzino, trout, and striped bass.

Frankly, this recipe is so straightforward that other fish not all that similar to tilapia would also be great; it’s really about baking the fish in a lemon garlic butter, a sauce which, as far as I know, is a perfect companion to any fish or shellfish on the planet. Try salmon or perhaps a swordfish steak.

What Is Tilapia?

Tilapia is a very firm, mild-tasting white fish. There are several species available, and Seafood Watch (the respected seafood sustainability agency run by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California) has information about which are the most healthful and least impactful on the environment.

They say that Blue Tilapia (also known as Izumidai or Saint Peter Fish) from Peru is the most sustainable. Hybrid Red Tilapia from Ecuador is also a “best” choice, as is Mozambique tilapia from various sources. Find out where the most eco-friendly tilapia is from and what the best farming methods for tilapia are.

How to Make Baked Lemon-Garlic Tilapia

1. Prepare to bake: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season tilapia with salt and pepper and place in a shallow baking pan in a single layer.
2. Make the sauce: In the microwave or a small pot, melt the butter until it turns a light golden brown. Add the Parmesan, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and zest, then pour over the fish.

3. Bake: Bake the tilapia for 10 to 12 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. You can tell that it’s cooked through when it is opaque and flaky.
4. Serve: Sprinkle with the parsley and serve hot.

What to Serve With Baked Tilapia

Simple Roasted Asparagus with Shallots and Parmesan

Greek Orzo Salad

Sauteed Broccolini and Corn

More Simple Fish Recipes

• New England Baked Haddock
• Tortilla Crusted Tilapia
• Grilled Swordfish
• Dedie’s Herbed Salmon