This Pan Seared Tilapia is a super easy 25-minute dinner that is perfect for busy moms like me. The fish is lightly crusty on the inside and flaky on the inside. Serve this with my Mango Avocado Salsa and you will be in heaven!
I am totally having fun with looking for meal ideas that I can execute in about 30 minutes! As a busy mama, it is my goal to make family-friendly meals that do not require hours and hours of cooking!
So this Pan Seared Tilapia is right up my alley! You do not need to coat the tilapia in flour before frying and you only need a few easy healthy ingredients.
How to Make Pan Seared Tilapia
All you need is some fillets (they should be completely defrosted), garlic powder, basil, paprika, black pepper, salt, and olive oil. This combination of seasoning makes the fish taste so good!
I always keep a lot of dry ingredients at home and you totally should do the same. They make life so easy!
Step 1. Rub the spices all over the fish. Be sure that the spices get to every nook and cranny of the fish. There is no need to let the fish marinate first.
Step 2: Heat up some oil in a skillet. Preferably use a cast iron skillet if you have one but any other skillet will do. Once the oil is hot, place two fillets in at a time. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley as a garnish if you want to be a little extra!
Also add some lime wedges on the side for squeezing over and enjoying. So good!
Two easy steps and you have insanely good Pan Seared Tilapia!
I could eat all of this fish in one sitting, I tell you. It is super flavorful. The blend of ingredients I use on them transforms boring tilapia to a restaurant quality dish.
My whole family goes crazy for this! I strongly suggest you double the recipe if cooking for 4 or more people. In the unlikely event that you have leftovers, place them into a bowl with a tight fitting lid and store in the fridge for an easy grab-and-warm lunch or dinner.
This Pan Seared Tilapia goes so well with my Mango Avocado Salsa! I enjoyed the fish and salsa with some corn chips on the side and I loved it! Serve it with some boiled rice, couscous, some fried plantains, some potato fries, break up the fish and serve in tacos or serve with any side dish you enjoy!
Hope this recipe brightens your life in the kitchen as it did to mine!
Watch How To Make Pan Seared Tilapia
Watch me making Pan Seared Tilapia in the video below. Also, SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel so you do not miss any of my videos!
Pan Seared Tilapia
Ingredients
- 1 pound tilapia fillets 4 fillets
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Place fillets on a large plate then rub the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, dried basil and olive oil all over them.
- In a skillet (preferably cast iron) heat 1 tablespoon of oil on high heat for about 3 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium then add two fillets to the pan. Let them cook on one side for about 4 minutes then flip to the other side and let them cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Repeat the process with the remaining fillets and oil.
- Serve warm with some lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the fish as needed. I love to serve this fish with my Mango Avocado Salsa on the side! You could also break it up and use in tacos or serve with any side dish you like. Enjoy, friends!
Notes
Nutrition
Mr. N says
This is so yummy!
Precious says
Yes it is, darling.
Connie Hixson says
I absolutely love all your recipes!! Keep them coming! (and THANK YOU!)
Precious says
Thanks so much, Connie!
mbanweicentis says
So delicious I Wii try this for family
Precious says
Thank you. Please let me know how it goes.
Ajoke says
Great pictures and most importantly, the recipe is very easy to follow.
Precious says
Awww, thank you so much, Ajoke. I really appreciate your comment.
Diane says
Everyone loved this recipe...even my children that don’t really like fish. I don’t need to keep looking for the perfect tilapia recipe, I found it! Thank you, and welcome to Minnesota. We live in northern Minnesota in lake country, I cannot wait to search and find other recipes to feed my family. Diane
Precious says
Diane, reading this made me so happy! Thank you so much for the feedback! My family moved from MN one year ago. Minnesota is special to us because it was our first home in the United States. Hope you find other recipes you love here.
Suzanne says
The yummiest tilapia I've ever made using this recipe and cook time. Thank you. Will be my go to from now on
Precious says
This warms my heart, Suzanne. Thanks for the feedback.
Anna Harris says
This seared Tilapia is ABSOLUTELY the Best recipe ever! I don’t leave comments and I usually don’t eat fish unless it is fried. My husband fell asleep while I was cooking and he is lucky he got any! LOL. We might have it again tonight. Thank you so much!! It’s a keeper.
Precious says
This makes me so happy, Anna! Thank you for taking time to let me know.
amy says
mygoins@gmail.com
We made this tonight using flounder. My family loved it! Thank you for this recipe.
Precious says
So glad you loved it, Amy!
Charity Jackson says
I found this recipe and had my teenage daughter use it for our dinner. I also made the mango salsa. Delicious! It's simple and not time consuming. Thank you and will look for more of your recipes.
Precious says
So glad you loved it! Thank you for coming back to let me know. Hope you find other recipes here that you enjoy.
Joshua rozek says
I'm a busy son taking care of my parents its hard work cooking meals for them and this was excellent and not hard to cook my family loves it thank you.
Precious says
You are so welcome, Joshua.
Stacey Wolfe says
Oh my stars! So easy and DELICIOUS! Thank you for this wonderful recipe... We will add this to our weekly rotation for sure!
Precious says
So glad you loved it Stacey! Thank you for the feedback!
Fran says
made this tonight and it was delicious!!! thanks
Precious says
So glad to hear that, Fran! Thanks for the feedback!
Lisa says
This was just perfect. I had this as fillets and as fish tacos - tasted great. Thank you!
Precious says
So glad you loved it, Lisa! Thanks for the feedback!
Jennifer says
The recipe says to add the oil and spices to the uncooked fillets but then says to add 2 tbsp to pan to cook. So is this a total of 4 tbsp for the recipe?
Precious says
Hi Jennifer, you need 2 tablespoons of oil for this recipe. You either add to the fillets or you add to the pan to cook. Thanks for pointing that out.
Jennifer says
Thank you. It’s a yummy easy recipe!
Precious says
You're welcome! Glad you loved it!
Erik S says
I’m 61 years old, and have never cooked a proper meal. I followed your instructions & made dinner for my daughter & myself & it came out great! Thank you, this inspires me to try other recipes. -Erik
Precious says
You are so welcome, Erik. This makes me so happy!
Latha says
Best tasting and quick fish recipe
Thanks for the recipe
God bless you
Precious says
Thank you Latha! So glad you loved it!
Tree says
Absolutely delicious, quick and simple recipe!!!! Thank you so much!
Precious says
Glad you loved it!
Sandra Wright says
The seasoning on this was so delicious. Even my incredibly picky kids loved it. Thank you for giving me a recipe I can add to my rotation.
Precious says
You are so welcome, Sandra. Thank you for the good feedback.
Brenda Morgan says
This recipe is easy and incredibly delicious! My two daughters love this recipe!! And I do too. Thank you so very much for sharing this. Have used about 6 times and always perfect
Precious says
So glad to hear that, Brenda. Thank you for sharing this with me.
Brenda says
This is the tastiest ever! My husband and father are not a fan of fish but they LOVE this and so do I. It’s a keeper for sure. Thank you!
Precious says
Thank you for the wonderful feedback, Brenda!
Joanna says
This was delicious and my family loved it! I did have trouble with sticking. Had to really scrape it off the cast iron pan with a spatula to flip--tongs caused it to fall apart. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Precious says
You are welcome, Joanna. Next time, try adding a little more oil to the pan before adding the fish so it flips easily.
MPT says
This is the best version of pan-fried tilapia I've ever tasted! I only used two tilapia since I cooked it for one person but it was delicious.
Precious says
Thank you so much for the great feedback!
Gini Fanter says
Soo good and quick, and basic ingredients we had on hand. I would have posted a photo but we devoured it too quickly. We’re going to run out and get more tilapia. Thanks for sharing this !
Precious says
You are welcome, Gini. Glad you loved it!
JB says
Very easy and delicious. My idea of a 5 star. (I did use extra seasoning to get good coverage). Everyone enjoyed and fought over the pan scrapings. Immediately added this recipe to my rotation.
Rhea Le says
Made this for be and my bf and we both loved it!
Precious says
Happy to hear that, Rhea! Thank you for the great feedback!
angie says
Very Good! I added some Old Bay to my seasoning mix
Precious says
That's a great addition, Angie! Thank you for the review!
Heather Fisher says
Yummy! I don’t like tilapia, so I used swai instead!
Precious says
Glad you loved it, Heather!