Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia is easily made in under 30 minutes with refreshing, buttery fish topped in lemon, garlic, and Old Bay Seasoning.
If you’re new to making seafood, this baked fish recipe is a great place to start. Tilapia has a mild, but delicious taste without a lot of fishy taste. So, even those who don’t love seafood will probably enjoy Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia because the fish absorbs the flavor from the blend of lemon, garlic, and butter baked around it. Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia makes an amazing Weeknight Dinner Recipe that you can make in a half hour. For more fish recipes, try Baked Thai Peanut Salmon or our easy Shrimp Boil Recipe.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia
Garlic Baked Tilapia is also a fairly healthy option for a weeknight meal. Fish in general are a good dinner option for healthy recipes because they’re usually lower in calories and sodium than other meats. Plus they’re full of healthy fatty acids. So, you get the benefits of protein, important nutrients, and fewer unhealthy drawbacks. Plus, this recipe is so easy as you just prepare the ingredients and bake until ready!
Ingredients
- 2 Lemons: One of the major ingredients in this recipe is the slices of fresh lemon. As it bakes, the slices leak lemon juice that mixes with the butter and gets absorbed into the fish for lemon flavor. Feel free to garnish with lemon zest for an extra zing!
- 4 Tilapia Fillets: It is a mild and flaky white fish. It serves as the main protein in this dish, absorbing the flavors of the garlic butter and Old Bay seasoning. You can use other white fish fillets like cod or sole as alternatives. Bonus points if you’re using wild-caught fish!
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter: Butter adds richness and a creamy texture to the dish. When melted, it coats the tilapia and infuses it with a buttery flavor.
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning: Old Bay Seasoning is a bold blend of spices that typically includes celery salt, paprika, and red pepper. It provides a savory and slightly spicy flavor, enhancing the overall taste of the dish. You can make your own spice blend if Old Bay is not available, but it won’t be exactly the same.
- 2 cloves Garlic: Garlic adds a robust and aromatic flavor to the butter sauce. It complements the fish and lemon, creating a harmonious combination. You can adjust the amount of garlic to suit your taste preferences.
Kitchen Tools and Equipment
- Oven: You’ll need an oven to bake the Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia. Make sure it’s preheated to the specified temperature (375 degrees Fahrenheit) before placing the dish inside.
- Baking Pan (9×13): A baking pan of the specified size (9×13 inches) is essential for arranging the lemon slices and tilapia fillets. Grease it to prevent sticking.
- Mixing Bowl: You’ll require a mixing bowl to combine the melted butter, Old Bay seasoning, and minced garlic for the yummy butter sauce.
- Spoon or Basting Brush: A spoon or a basting brush is handy for evenly spooning or brushing the butter mixture over the tilapia fillets before baking.
- Cutting Board and Knife: You’ll need a cutting board and a Quality Chef’s Knife to slice the lemons into rounds.
How to Make
Time needed: 30 minutes.
- Preheat the Oven and Prepare the Baking Pan
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- Cut Lemons into Slices
Place the lemon slices at the bottom of the pan in a single layer.
- Arrange the Tilapia
Rinse the tilapia in clean water and pat them dry with paper towel. Then, lay the tilapia fillets on top of the lemon slices in the baking pan.
- Step 4: Make the Butter Sauce
In a mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, Old Bay seasoning, and minced garlic. Mix well until it forms a flavorful butter sauce.
- Coat the Tilapia
Season tilapia by spooning the butter mixture evenly over the tilapia fillets, ensuring they are well-coated with the sauce.
- Bake
Bake the prepared dish in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until it is cooked through and the fish flakes easily with a fork. When you take it out, spoon the garlic lemon butter sauce over top of each fillet for extra flavor before serving.
- Serve
Serve your Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia hot, garnished with fresh parsley, extra lemon slices, and red pepper flakes if desired.
Can Tilapia Be Made Ahead Of Time?
The Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia recipe is best enjoyed fresh out of the oven to maintain its optimal texture and flavor. While you can prepare some components in advance, such as slicing lemons or mixing the butter sauce, it’s recommended to assemble and bake the dish just before serving for the best results.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store
Storing
If you have any leftovers from this weeknight dinner recipe, don’t leave it out for more than an hour or two. To store leftover fillets, you can cover the dish with foil, or transfer them to an airtight container. Then store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating Tips
When you’re ready to reheat the tilapia, take the airtight container out of the fridge or freezer. Then lay the fillet on a baking sheet and reheat for 7-10 minutes in a 450-degree oven, or 370º in the toaster oven until warmed through 5-7 minutes.
Freezing
Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia can also make a great meal prep meal. Once the fillets have cooled transfer them to serving serving-sized meal prep container. As long as they’re carefully sealed, frozen tilapia fillets can stay good for up to 3 months.
Ideas to Serve Baked Tilapia
While the delicious meal is cooking in the oven, you can get to work on prepping some simple and delicious sides. Lemon Butter Baked Tilapia would taste amazing with vegetables like Sauteed Green Beans, or Mushrooms. You can also add a side of creamy and filling Mashed Potatoes.
Once you have the meal ready, you can serve it up with the side dishes and drizzle any extra garlic lemon sauce over the sides.
Frequent Questions
Tilapia is a freshwater fish commonly used in cooking. It has a mild, white flesh and is known for its versatility. Tilapia is often chosen for its neutral flavor, making it a popular choice in various recipes, including this one. It’s readily available in most supermarkets and seafood markets.
Yes, you can substitute tilapia with other mild white fish like cod or sole for a similar result.
While unsalted butter is recommended, you can use salted butter, but be mindful of the overall saltiness since Old Bay seasoning already contains salt.
You can make your own spice blend, but it won’t replicate the exact flavor of Old Bay. It’s a key ingredient for the recipe’s unique taste. Try other blends such as Cajun Seasoning or a paprika & celery salt blend.
Frozen tilapia can be used, but thaw them completely and pat them dry before following the recipe.
Fresh garlic provides better flavor, but you can use garlic powder as a substitute. Use ½ to 1 teaspoon of garlic powder per clove as a rough guideline.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 2 lemons , cut into 8 slices
- 4 tilapia filets
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Grease a 9×13 baking pan and add the lemon slices, then top with the tilapia.
- Mix together melted butter, Old bay seasoning and garlic.
- Spoon the mixture over the tilapia and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Notes
- Click on the “yield” amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- Click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
- To convert measurements to grams, click on the “Metric” option next to “Ingredients” in the recipe card.
Nutrition
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Variations
- Seasonings: You can easily experiment with the flavor of Lemon Butter Tilapia by adding different kinds of fresh herbs and spices. You can add an herb mixture to the butter sauce with ingredients like flat-leaf parsley, fresh dill, or rosemary. Spices like black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, or a dash of paprika powder would also taste great sprinkled on top.
- Crusted Tilapia: To add a delicious crispy coating to the Baked Tilapia, you can use a cracker crumb, panko breadcrumb, or parmesan coating. Start by brushing the butter mixture over the fish fillets. Then toss them in the crumbs mixture until they’re coated. Place the fillets back in the baking dish and bake as usual.
- Lime Tilapia: You could also make more of a tangy and spicy fish dish. Replace the lemons with limes at the bottom of the pan. Then lay the fish over the top. Add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to the butter mixture and spoon it over the lime fillets. These ingredients give the Tilapia more of a bold Southwestern-inspired flavor.
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