Do you have a quick “go-to” dinner recipe? A fallback for when you arrive home from work uber-exhausted, and just want to whip up something healthy and delicious in a snap?? Well any roommate of mine who’s heard the oil start sizzling in the skillet minutes after I walk in the door will tell you I undoubtedly have a favorite: blackened tilapia. It’s true — I make this all the time, but have yet to ever tire of it!
The beauty of this recipe is that, especially if you can mix together a batch of the blackening powder beforehand to have ready in the cabinet, it truly is super-speedy to cook. And, it’s super-healthy. And, you get a ton of flavor for minimal calories. And…it’s the fish that Jesus ate! :) (Heard our pastor mention a few years back that scholars believe this to be true, since apparently tilapia are plentiful in the Sea of Galilee. Go figure!)
While it can easily stand on its own, you could also serve this recipe topped with creamy sauce to balance out the spice. (For some reason I’ve never been a fan, but know that many are!) Or, it works fantastically in fish tacos or on sandwiches.
My favorite method to turn this into a 10-minute meal, however, is to cut up and stir-fry whatever veggies I have on hand simultaneously in another skillet. Then, cut up some fresh fruit to go on the side – and voila! A very yummy dinner is served. :)
10-Minute Blackened Tilapia
Ingredients
Tilapia filets:
- Vegetable Oil
Blackening Powder Recipe:
- 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
- 2 tsp. thyme
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl to create blackening powder. Then moisten the sides of each tilapia filet (either with water or cooking spray), and coat with blackening powder. (I generally use about 1 Tbsp. powder per filet.)
- Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil per filet in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is almost smoking, add filets and cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until fish is opaque and can be flaked with a fork. Remove from pan and serve immediately.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
What is the name of the blackening powder you talk about?
What brand is the blackening powder?
Going to have to try this. We love Talapia, so looking for new recipes for it.
Thanks for the post.
Tried this tonight and it was delish! The hubs and son loved it. Had asparagus with it.
Delicious and so simple..love Tilapia!
This was a delicious recipe. Thanks for submitting it!
Do you know the recipe for creating a quick cream sauce that can be added to the blacken tilapia recipe?
Hi Ava!
Hmmm…one easy idea is to just do a mayo sauce. (1 cup mayo, plus maybe some lime juice and cilantro. Or lemon and flat-leaf parsley.) Or you could combine mayo and sour cream (or yogurt!) and do the same.
Or for a sauce with actual cream (or milk), just make a roux by sauteeing 2 Tbsp. butter and 2 Tbsp. flour together in a saucepan over medium-heat until well-blended. Then gradually add 1 cup of milk (or cream), and continue stirring fairly often until the mixture is brought to a simmer. Maintain the simmer until the sauce thickens. And feel free to add in some herbs (thyme, paprika, or whatever sounds good), plus salt and pepper. :)
And a dash of hot sauce always seems to make any creamy sauces better in my opinion.
Hope that helps! Enjoy!
~A
Oh my goodness, absolutely delicious! It is just full of flavor. I hope this isn’t a tilapia fopue, but I made this for me while Jamie grilled brats and I wanted to seem like I was grilling out too…so I put the tilapia on a hot dog bun with a bit a mayo and it was awesome :)
The photo all by its lonesome made me even more hungry than I already was. Beautiful blog!
Very good to know. We’ve got a lot of tilapia in our freezer. We’ll have to try this. W.W.J.E.? – tilapia, of course!