Baked Lemon Pepper Tilapia Fillets make a flavorful, quick and effortless recipe that is perfect both for busy weeknights and for summer occasions.
If you are a fan of seafood, you might want to see our whole baked sea bass, fried calamari and fried fresh anchovies too! And you might want to see our list of side dishes to serve with fish.
If you ever ask me whether I have a back pocket recipe for unexpected guests, here it is: Healthy baked tilapia with lemon and pepper. It is ready in minutes and doesn’t require any effort at all. As it is oven baked, you don’t have to clean the whole kitchen, no mess of frying. With the dressing I use when baking, nobody misses fried fish.
Do you have life-saver foods in the freezer so that you can use to prepare a quick dinner for your family or guests? Make this lemon pepper tilapia fillet recipe and serve it with a refreshing salsa or lemon garlic potatoes.
How to make
Did I tell you how easy it is to make this recipe? I covered the tilapia fillets with an olive oil and lemon dressing which gives them a nice fresh flavor and keeps them moist. Unlike most of the fish recipes around the web that call for butter, this one was made with olive oil, which is undoubtedly healthier with less calories, yet just as tasty. Finally, to give the fish some more flavors, I added garlic powder and black pepper in the dressing. As a result, the flavors on the fish matched perfectly with the black bean salsa.
Seriously, this baked lemon pepper tilapia has been our ultimate fish recipe for a long time because whoever eats it feels pleased. I mean no recipe can go wrong with this super compatible lean white fish, so it’s a good idea to store some in the freezer for later use.
What I love about tilapia is that it is a very low-fat fish with lots of health benefits and can be paired with various foods depending on your taste.
I made an easy black bean salsa that is packed with summer flavors to serve with this oven baked lemon pepper tilapia. Some more healthy stuff on my healthy baked tilapia fillets. Black beans paired with corn, avocado and tomatoes look great when served on the tilapia fillets. Lime, garlic and red onion are must in a good salsa recipe for me and this one is not an exception. Adding jalapeno pepper takes this refreshing salad to the next level.
Notes about the recipe
● My tilapia fillets were large, so I cooked them for 10-11 minutes and they were nicely flaky. If yours are thinner, cook them a minute or two less.
● I use fresh corn in the salsa, but you can use frozen or canned then you don’t need to cook it. Defrost it if you use frozen, rinse and drain if you use canned.
● Leave jalapeno out from the salsa recipe if you are planning to serve the meal to kids.
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📖 Recipe
Baked Lemon Pepper Tilapia Fillets
INGREDIENTS
For the Olive Oil Baked Lime Tilapia:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Juice of a lemon plus a few slices as garnish
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 fillets of tilapia defrosted
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives chopped
For the Black Bean Salsa:
- 1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels
- 1 ripe avocado cut into small cubes
- ½ cup red onion chopped
- 1 medium-size tomato chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded
- 1 clove of garlic peeled and minced
- Juice of a lime
INSTRUCTIONS
To bake the tilapia:
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 F degrees.
- Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Place the tilapia fillets in a large (mine was 9X13) oven-proof casserole dish. Drizzle them with the dressing.
- Garnish them with slices of lime and chives.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
To Make the Black Bean Salsa:
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until tender enough, 3-5 minutes. Drain.
- Mix together all of the ingredients including corn in a bowl.
To assemble:
- Place each fillet on a plate, garnish with the salsa and serve.
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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