Tortilla-Crusted Tilapia
on Feb 04, 2022, Updated Jun 17, 2025
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A salty, flaky crunchy coating and a slightly spicy, creamy sauce turns fish filets into a family-friendly dinner.
Tender mild fish encased in a crunchy tortilla chip coating is a total winner, and when my kids were young, it was the easiest way to get a kid-pleasing fish dinner on the roster. Really, this 4-ingredient tilapia recipe comes together in less than half an hour, is a great way to use up that half bag of broken tortilla chips, and you can play around with different sauces to find your family’s favorite.
You can also cut the tilapia into strips to make them feel a little more like fish sticks, perfect for dipping. We love the fish served with a creamy but punchy sriracha sauce. The crunchy tilapia would also be fantastic with Tropical Fruit Salsa, Peach and Roasted Pepper Salsa, Citrusy Mango Salsa, or Horseradish Sauce. Or just served with some lemon or lime wedges for squeezing over!
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Kitchen Smarts
Place the tortilla chips in a food processor and pulse until they are finely crushed but not ground to a powder. You still want a bit of texture. You can also place them in a large, sturdy zipper-top bag and use either a rolling pin, a bottle of wine, a meat mallet, or some other heavy, blunt item to gently whack away at the bag until the tortillas are well crushed. Let the kids help with this (with supervision!)
How to Make Tortilla-Crusted Tilapia Fillets
- Crush the chips.
- Cut each piece of fish down the middle, forming two filets.
- Coat the fish: Dredge each filet in the egg mixture and then the tortilla crumbs, allowing any excess to drip back into the bowl.
- Cook the fish: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the filets. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, until the fish is cooked through and the outside is crispy. Transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Serve: Serve hot with the Sriracha Sauce.
Variations
- Many mild white fish would work beautifully here, such as cod, haddock, or sole.
- You can add some seasoning to the egg mixture if you’d like, try a bit of cumin, chili powder, cayenne, or paprika.
- Try this in the air fryer — preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F. Spray or brush the bottom of the fish with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place the fish in the air fryer, making sure to leave at least 1/2 inch between each filet. Spray or lightly brush the top of the filets with olive oil. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip the filets. Spray or brush them with olive oil again and cook for another 5 minutes, until the fish is nicely crispy outside and flaky and tender inside, with an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
- Bake the tilapia instead of pan-searing it. Spray or lightly brush the top of the filets with olive oil. Bake on a lined baking sheet in a 400-degree preheated oven for 8 minutes. Flip the filets, spray or brush with olive oil again, and bake for another 5 minutes until the fish is crispy and cooked through.
What to Serve With Tortilla-Crusted Tilapia
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Tortilla Crusted Tilapia
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 bag tortilla chips
- 4 (8-ounce) pieces tilapia
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (or olive oil or canola oil)
- 4 large eggs
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- Sriracha Mayo
Instructions
- Place the chips in a food processor and pulse until they are finely crushed but not ground to a powder. You still want a bit of texture. You can also place them in a large sturdy zipper top bag and use either a rolling pin, a bottle of wine, or some other heavy, blunt item to gently whack away at the bag until the tortillas are well crushed.
- Cut each piece of tilapia down the middle (you will see a dividing line) so you have two fillets.
- Heat half the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a wide shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the pepper. In another wide shallow bowl, place the tortilla crumbs.
- Dredge each filet, starting with the larger, thicker halves, in the egg mixture, making sure each piece is completely coated. Then dredge in the tortilla crumbs, making sure each piece is well coated. When the oil is hot, add the filets, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until the outside is golden brown and the fish is cooked throughout, adjusting the heat as necessary. Transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Heat the remaining oil and cook the smaller fillets, which will probably only take 5 minutes per side at most. Drain those on paper towels as well.
- Serve hot with the Sriracha Sauce.
I made this last night and it was a big hit with hubby and daughter! It will definitely become one of the regulars in my rotation.
So nice to hear. It will be on the menu in our house this week– we have several half bags of tortillas left over from last night’s superbowl festival!
I did something very similar to this recently using cod. I added guacamole and coleslaw for kind of a deconstructed fish taco. It’s one of my favorite meals recently.
that sounds awesome!