Baked Tilapia Lemon Garlic (Printable)

Tender tilapia fillets baked in a lemon garlic butter sauce, garnished with fresh parsley and lemon slices.

# What You Need:

→ Fish

01 - 4 tilapia fillets (5–6 oz each), fresh or thawed
02 - Salt, to taste
03 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Lemon Garlic Butter

04 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
05 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
07 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
08 - 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, plus extra for garnish
09 - ½ teaspoon paprika

→ Garnish

10 - Lemon slices, for serving
11 - Extra chopped parsley

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a large baking dish or line with parchment paper.
02 - Pat the tilapia fillets dry with paper towels and arrange them in a single layer in the baking dish.
03 - Season both sides of the fillets with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
04 - In a small bowl, combine melted butter, minced garlic, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped parsley, and paprika. Mix thoroughly.
05 - Pour the lemon garlic butter mixture evenly over the tilapia fillets, ensuring thorough coating.
06 - Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is opaque throughout.
07 - Remove from oven, garnish with additional parsley and lemon slices, and serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It's ready in under thirty minutes, which means weeknight panic becomes weeknight victory.
  • The fish stays impossibly tender and the butter soaks into every flake with barely any effort from you.
  • One baking dish means one cleanup, and honestly, that's worth its weight in gold.
02 -
  • Overcooked fish is dry fish—the moment it turns opaque and flakes easily is exactly when you stop, not after.
  • Melting the butter before mixing saves you from having weird little butter chunks that won't distribute properly in the sauce.
03 -
  • Don't skip drying the fish fillets—it's the single thing that changes cooking from okay to actually perfect.
  • If you're cooking for guests, prep everything before they arrive and just pour the butter mixture over and bake when you're ready; hot tilapia served immediately is always better than fish that's been sitting.

Go Back