Pan Seared Tilapia
This Pan Seared Tilapia is my favorite quick fish dinner. It’s fast, flavorful, and finished with a buttery lemon sauce that tastes way fancier than it is.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For Lemon Butter Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
For Tilapia:
- 1 ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 4 tilapia fillets, 4oz each
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Optional Garnishes
- freshly chopped parsley, chives, or lemon slices
Instructions
- Make Lemon Butter Sauce: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add lemon juice, garlic powder, and onion powder and mix to combine. Set aside and keep warm.
- In a small bowl, make the seasoning by combining Old Bay, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
- Thoroughly dry tilapia fillets with paper towels. Press seasoning evenly onto both sides of fillets.
- In a large pan or skillet, heat 2 TB oil until very hot/smoking. Add 2 tilapia fillets to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without moving the fish. Carefully flip over and cook another 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining fish.
- Pour warm lemon butter sauce over fish and garnish as desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Thoroughly pat the tilapia fillets dry with paper towels before seasoning. This helps the fish sear properly and prevents it from steaming in the pan.
- In a pinch, you can microwave butter to melt instead of using saucepan.
- Make sure your skillet is very hot before adding the fish. A hot pan gives you that golden, crispy crust without overcooking the inside.
- If your pan is large enough, you can cook all 4 fish fillets at the same time, but do not crowd the fish. We recommend cooking them in batches for even browning.
- This recipe is part of our Healthy Fish and Seafood Recipes Collection.
- Serve the tilapia immediately after cooking and topping with warm lemon butter sauce. It goes great with some Instant Pot Jasmine Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 368kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 533mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 292IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg