Oven Baked Tilapia
Lemon Butter Baked Tilapia is quick and easy to make, made with fresh tilapia fillets topped with a garlic lemon butter sauce and baked until tender and flakey, budget-friendly and ready in 20 minutes!
Oven Baked Tilapia is one of those recipes that sounds fancy, but is actually really easy to make! This tender fish in an incredible garlic butter sauce will leave you feeling like you’re at a coastal seafood restaurant. It’s made using a few simple ingredients, and the entire recipe takes 20 minutes to make from start to finish. For a complete meal, pair this with my Oven Roasted Red Potatoes, and my Sautéed Green Beans!
If you love this recipe, you’ll also like my Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi, and my Lemon Butter Baked Cod!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Budget-Friendly – Tilapia is one of the most budget-friendly pieces of fish you can buy, and works really well in most white fish recipes. This oven baked tilapia recipe uses simple ingredients, most you might already have in your pantry!
Quick and Easy – My recipe comes together in just a few minutes and only needs 10-15 minutes max to bake, making this a really good choice for a weeknight dinner. Guaranteed to turn out moist and flaky every time!
Ingredient Tips & Substitutions
Tilapia Fillets. When I pick out tilapia fillets, I always make sure they smell clean and mild (not fishy), and have a firm pink-white texture and color. Tilapia is a mild fish and shouldn’t smell fishy.
You can also use cod, mahi mahi, or flounder for this recipe, but you may have to increase the baking time for thicker fish fillets.
Unsalted Butter. I like to use unsalted butter so I can control how much sodium is in the recipe. If you’re dairy free, you can use olive oil instead of melted butter.
Lemons. I like to use fresh lemons because they will always taste better than bottled lemon juice. We’re using the lemon juice and lemon zest to maximize the flavor, and lemon slices for flavor and presentation.
Garlic Cloves. Fresh garlic cloves will taste the best, but you can also use garlic powder if that’s what you have.
Spices. I’m using quick and easy spices like Italian seasoning, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Fresh Parsley. This adds a nice flavor and color to the fish, but you can also use dried parsley.
Kitchen Tools
For this baked fish recipe you’ll need a baking dish and a small mixing bowl to melt the butter.
How to Make Oven Baked Tilapia
Melt the butter and whisk with the lemon, parsley, garlic, and seasoning.
Grease the baking dish with cooking spray and place the fish in, then pour the lemon butter sauce on top and garnish with the lemon slices.
Bake 10-15 minutes, until tender, flakey, and completely opaque. Add additional kosher salt and black pepper to-taste. That’s it!
Recipe Variations
- I’m already adding red pepper flakes to the recipe, but if you want more heat you can use some hot sauce or cayenne pepper.
- Try adding some parmesan on top of the fish when it comes out of the oven for a garlic parmesan version. It’s amazing with the lemon-garlic butter!
- Make this Mediterranean style by drizzling olive oil instead of butter, and baking with some cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers, and dried oregano.
- You can use other citrus instead of lemons. Try an orange or lime version.
- You can also make this in a pan, cooking for a few minutes on each side until flakey.
Recipe Tip! Tilapia cooks pretty quickly, I recommend checking it around the 10 minute mark and adding more cooking time as-needed. The fish is done when it’s no longer translucent and flakes easily with a fork, or reads 145°F on a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the fillet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh fish is best when it’s just out of the oven, so I don’t recommend baking this ahead of time. But what you can do is prep your ingredients beforehand. Mix the spices together in a container, slice the lemon (refrigerate), chop the parsley (refrigerate), and set out your baking dish so it’s ready to go.
Recipe Tip! I’m making this in a baking dish so the fish can cook in the butter sauce, but you can also use a rimmed baking sheet. Line it with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easier cleanup.
More Seafood Recipes
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Storage
Refrigerate leftover baked tilapia in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Freeze in a freezer-safe container for 2-3 months.
Cooking Tips
- Try to make sure your tilapia fillets are all around the same size, so they finish cooking at the same time.
- If the fillets are on the bigger side, I might overlap the edges of the fish fillets just a little bit so they all fit in one dish. I’m not laying them completely over each other, though.
- Tilapia is a delicate fish, so use a spatula and gently lift it up and out of the baking dish when serving.
- You can use frozen tilapia, just remove it from the packaging and defrost overnight in the refrigerator first.
- Serve this with veggies like steamed broccoli, asparagus, or a green salad.
Tried this recipe? ⭐ Leave a review and share what worked best for you—your tips help other home cooks get the same delicious results!
Oven Baked Tilapia
Equipment
- 1 9×13" baking dish
- 1 small bowl to melt the butter
Ingredients
- 4 medium tilapia fillets, (about 2 pounds)
- 2 medium lemons, (one is for juice and zest, the other is for slices)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease the baking dish and set aside. In a small bowl, add the butter and microwave in 15 second increments until fully melted (about 1 minute). Once melted, whisk in the minced garlic, juice and zest of one lemon, spices, and parsley.
- Pat the tilapia dry with a paper towel and place each piece in the baking dish, leaving room between each one. Pour the lemon butter sauce over the fish.
- Use a spoon to make sure each piece is evenly coated with the sauce. Cut the second lemon into slices and place on top of the fish.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the tilapia is completely cooked through. Tilapia is done when it turns opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Notes
- Tilapia cooks pretty quickly, I recommend checking it around the 10 minute mark and adding more cooking time as-needed.
- Try to make sure your tilapia fillets are all around the same size, so they finish cooking at the same time.
- If the fillets are on the bigger side, I might overlap the edges of the fish just a little bit so they all fit in one dish. I’m not laying them completely over each other, though.
Nutrition
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This sounds exactly like what I had in mind! Having this for dinner tonight!