The Easiest Baked Tilapia Recipe Ever

This really is the easiest  baked tilapia recipe ever.  A bold statement, I know.  But it’s true.  It’s so, so easy, and the kicker is it’s really delicious every time.  It’s my all time favorite way to cook tilapia.  This recipe is a regular in our rotation because I almost always have these ingredients on hand.   It’s a quick, easy weeknight meal that requires little to no planning.  After all, there are only four ingredients – counting the fish!   Lemon juice, white wine, grill seasoning, and fish.

The grill seasoning is great because it has so much in it – salt, black pepper, garlic, onion, red pepper, paprika, etc.  I really like Montreal Steak Seasoning, but you can use whatever brand you like.

We try to eat fish on a regular basis because of the Omega-3, though tilapia is relatively low in that department compared to some other fish like salmon.   But, tilapia is still really good for you.  It is low in saturated fat, calories, carbohydrates and sodium, and is a good source of protein.  It also contains nutrients such as selenium, vitamin B₁₂ and potassium.

Ok, are you ready for this?  I hope you’ve prepared yourself.  You’re going to read the recipe and go, “What’s so great about that?”  Try it.  It is really flavorful and takes zero effort.  Which means I don’t actually measure the lemon juice, wine, or grill seasoning when I make it.  I’ll put some amounts in the recipe for the sake of argument, but don’t feel obligated to measure.  Just pour carefully and slowly until the surface of the fish is just moistened.  And use the grill seasoning to your taste.  We like a lot of pepper, so we are pretty heavy with it.  You can definitely use frozen tilapia for this.  I usually do.  And obviously, make as many filets as you need.  If they are large, one per person is enough for us.  If they are small, I’d make more than one per person.

Easy Baked Tilapia

Ingredients:

(2 servings)

• 2 tilapia filets (fresh or frozen)
• 4 tsp lemon juice, fresh or bottled
• 4 tsp dry white wine
• 2 tsp grill seasoning, like Montreal Steak Seasoning

Preheat your broiler if your tilapia is thawed or fresh.  If it is frozen, preheat to 400 degrees.

Lay a wire rack inside a baking pan that has been lined with foil.  You can skip the foil if you want, but it makes cleanup so much easier.  Lay the tilapia filets on the rack and on each pour 1 tsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp of wine, and 1/2 tsp of the grill seasoning.  Flip the filets over and repeat on the other side.

If your tilapia is thawed, broil on the middle rack for 4-6 minutes.  When the fish begins to turn white around the edges but is still pink in the middle, it’s ready to flip.  Broil for 4-6 minutes more, until the fish is white all the way through but not dried up.  If you are cooking filets that are different sizes, smaller ones would need to come out earlier and larger ones would take a minute or two longer.  These times also depend on your broiler.  On my old oven, the broiler seemed to be much hotter than on my current one.  So just keep an eye on them and use your best judgement.

If your tilapia is frozen, you’ll need to cook them at 400 for about 10-12 minutes on each side, using the same guidelines as above – flip when edges are white and take out when it’s white all the way through but not dried up.  Don’t worry if it takes more or less time that I’ve estimated.  There are a lot of variables here – how hot your oven runs, how frozen your fish is, how big the filets are…  You’ll get the hang of it.