Easy Baked Lemon Butter Tilapia
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Easy Baked Lemon Butter Tilapia is the simplest of fish recipes and perfect for a quick, healthy, weeknight dinner. The seasoning and lemon butter sauce make the tilapia so flavorful!
Everyone needs a few simple fish recipes to fall back on when life gets crazy. We are a family of fish lovers, and what better way to incorporate a healthy main dish into our weekly menu. I try very hard to make some sort of fish about twice a week, or we often have enough leftovers to make a second meal. My guys have slowly adjusted from having meat most nights, to enjoying fish several times a week. That makes me very happy. 😀
Ingredients needed for Easy Baked Lemon Butter Tilapia:
- Tilapia. This recipe calls for just four 6 oz. pieces, but I often times make more. You can easily adjust the size of the recipe, by adjusting the serving size in the recipe card below.
- Seasoning. You’ll need fresh minced garlic (or garlic powder works too), kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I also like to add some chives, but this is optional.
- Lemons. Buy two lemons. You’ll need 2-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, some zest, and then slices to lay on top of the tilapia for baking. If you aren’t as keen on lemon, skip the zest.
- Butter plus olive oil. I used three tablespoons of unsalted butter plus one tablespoon of olive oil. You could change the combo if you’d like.
How to make Easy Baked Lemon Butter Tilapia:
This recipe takes only about 25 minutes to make. So quick and easy, and the taste is amazing too.
- Set your oven to bake at 450 degrees. Prepare a 9×13 casserole dish with baking spray.
- Prep the tilapia. Pat the tilapia dry with paper towel. Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper, and lay in the bottom of the dish. Top with freshly minced garlic.
- Melt the butter in a small dish. Add olive oil and stir well. Pour the mixture over the fish, covering evenly.
- Add the lemon. Zest one of the lemons, until you get about two teaspoons. Then squeeze it to get about 2-3 tablespoons (depending on taste). Mix the zest and juice together in a small bowl, and drizzle over the fish. Lay lemon slices over fish, and add a few shakes of chives.
- Bake. Bake the tilapia, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Serve. Serve lemon butter tilapia with a side of risotto, asparagus, and/or a fresh salad.
Enjoy!
Make this fish next: Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon
Please let know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.
xoxo ~Sue
Easy Baked Lemon Butter Tilapia
Ingredients
- 4 (6 oz.) each tilapia fillets
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- salt and pepper - to taste
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
- 1 large lemon - to slice
- dash of chives - optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish or pan with baking spray.
- Pat the tilapia fillets dry. Add salt and pepper on both sides of the fish, and lay tilapia in the dish, side-by-side, even slightly overlapping. Top with freshly minced garlic.
- In a small bowl, melt butter. Add olive oil and mix well. Pour evenly over the fish.
- Zest the lemon, and add it to a small bowl. Squeeze lemon into the bowl as well. Pour over the fish.
- Take another lemon, and slice into thin strips. Lay the lemon strips over the fish. Add a sprinkle of chopped chives (optional).
- Bake fish for 10-15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. The baking time will depend on the thickness of your fish.
Notes
- You'll need two large (or three medium) fresh lemons for this recipe.
- Your fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Be careful to not over-cook.
More. Fish. Please. Another outstanding recipe and love this simple steps and limited ingredients.