Our pan seared tilapia with lemon butter is super easy to make and comes together in only 15 minutes. This great weeknight dinner is most likely the best white fish recipe you have ever tasted. Slightly crispy on the outside and tender and flaky on the inside this mouthwatering dish will soon become a staple on your dinner menu.
To perfectly flavor this mild tasting fish, we seasoned the tilapia with a delicious spice rub before cooking it and then topped it with a piece of scrumptious lemon parsley butter.
Pan seared tilapia is very versatile and goes well with most side dishes. We love serving it with butter noodles, rice, baked potatoes, steamed or roasted vegetables and a salad.
❤️ WHY YOU'LL LOVE PAN SEARED TILAPIA
✔️ Quick and easy! This recipe only takes 15 minutes from start to finish.
✔️ Keto friendly and gluten free!
✔️ 35 grams of of protein for each serving.
✔️ Pan seared tilapia can be paired with so many meals and side dishes.
PAN SEARED TILAPIA WITH LEMON BUTTER INGREDIENTS
You may have all of these lemon butter white fish ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store. See recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
Jump to Recipe- Tilapia Filets: Tilapia is a flaky white fish that is very mild in taste. Since it has no overwhelming fishy taste it works great in combination with bold flavors like lemon, herbs or garlic.
- Garlic Powder
- Coarse Salt
- Black Pepper
- Paprika: We used regular paprika, but if you are a big fan of smoky flavor you can also try smoked paprika.
- Lemon Zest: For best results use fresh and bright yellow lemons. Make sure you only use the yellow part of the lemon peel and not the white one. The white part, also called pith, tastes bitter and might ruin the flavor of your lemon chicken.
- Olive oil: You can also use avocado oil.
- Salted Butter
- Lemon Juice: For best flavor use fresh lemon juice.
- Fresh Parsley
POSSIBLE VARIATIONS
Tilapia works great with this recipe, but in case you don't have any at hand you can also try other kinds of fish like: SALMON, HALIBUT or TROUT.
Instead of lemon parsley butter you can top your pan seared tilapia with any compound butter you prefer. We also love these flavored butter ideas:
- CILANTRO LIME BUTTER - With just three simple ingredients, this flavorful herb butter adds a fresh and zesty flavor to meat, fish and shrimp.
- GARLIC BUTTER - If you are a big fan of garlic, you can add some finely minced garlic to our recipe or make your own version of garlic butter.
- OTHER HERBS - You can add your favorite herbs instead of parsley to create your own compound butter flavor. Try a mixture of different kinds of herbs.
INSTRUCTIONS
If you'd like to print this recipe, scroll down to the recipe card where you can print the recipe or have it scaled to double or triple. You'll also find nutrition information.
PREPARE LEMON PARSLEY BUTTER: Mix all the ingredients in a food processor. Spoon onto plastic wrap and shape into a cylinder. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to harden. For more detailed instructions on how to prepare the lemon parsley butter, how to best store leftovers and lots of suggestions on how to use compound butter, check out our recipe for Lemon Butter.
DRY FISH: Pat tilapia dry with a paper towel.
BLEND SPICES: Mix garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and lemon zest in a bowl. For spicier tilapia, add a pinch or two of chili pepper to the rub.
🔴 TIP: If you don't own a lemon zester you can also use the fine side of a box grater to rub off the lemon zest or a vegetable peeler. First, peel off very thin slices of lemon peel (avoid the white part) and then chop the lemon peel finely on a cutting board with a knife.
RUB WITH OIL: Rub tilapia filets with oil.
RUB IN SPICES: Rub seasoning mix onto all sides of tilapia.
HEAT SKILLET: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spary.
COOK FISH: Add the tilapia filets. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the edges turn white (opaque). Turn your filets over and finish cooking the other side for 2-3 minutes until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. It should reach an internal temperature of 140ºF.
🔴 TIP: Cooking time may vary depending on the temperature of the pan, the thickness of the fish and the internal temperature of the fish when you started cooking it.
TOP WITH LEMON BUTTER: Turn off the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of parsley lemon butter to the top of each filet. Save the rest of the lemon butter for another meal. You can store the rest of the lemon parsley butter in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to a month.
SERVE: Remove from the pan and serve with lemon slices and fresh parsley.
AIR FRYER INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare tilapia according to skillet instructions.
- Cook at 400ºF for 4 minutes on each side in the air fryer.
- Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the fish reached an internal temperature of 140ºF.
- Remove from the air fryer. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon parsley butter to the top of each filet. Serve.
⚠️ TIPS FOR THE BEST PAN SEARED FISH
✔️ Make sure your fish is firm and fresh. Mushy or smelly fish will not taste good.
✔️ Mix your seasonings before coating the fish. This will help ensure your fish gets evenly coated with the seasonings.
✔️ Use fresh lemon. While you can use a bottle of lemon juice and skip the lemon zest, the fish will taste a lot better if you use fresh lemon. When zesting the lemon, make sure to only zest the outer yellow part of the rind, not the white part.
✔️ Do not overcook. Thin fish like tilapia cooks quickly so check the internal temperature or try to flake it with a fork then remove from the heat as soon as it's cooked through.
STORAGE TIPS
Storing your food properly is important to prevent spoiling or food poisoning.
Refrigerate: Let the pan seared tilapia cool completely. Then store in an airtight container or ziploc bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freeze: Lemon butter tilapia is best eaten fresh. However, you can freeze leftovers in an airtight and freezer safe container or ziploc freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrosting: A great way to defrost is in the refrigerator overnight.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH TILAPIA
We enjoy this tilapia recipe with roasted vegetables, over rice or noodles or with some Homemade Dinner Rolls or Lion House Rolls Copycat.
MORE TILAPIA RECIPES
While we love tilapia with lemon butter we also love some of these other recipes and think you will as well.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Compound butter is softened butter that is creamed together with other ingredients such as herbs, spices, lemon, lime, or garlic.
Of course! Make sure your butter is softened before you start making the flavored butter. Add butter to a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add your seasonings and mix until well combined. Then shape and chill your compound butter.
You can even whip up your butter by hand using a spatula or whisk, then stir in the flavorings. Shape and chill.
Yes, you can!
Prepare tilapia according to skillet instructions. Then cook at 400ºF for 4 minutes on each side in the air fryer. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the fish reached an internal temperature of 140ºF. Remove from the air fryer and top each filet with 1 tablespoon of lemon parsley butter. Serve.
Equipment
Ingredients
Tilapia Ingredients:
- 4 tilapia filets - 6 ounce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tbsp olive oil - or avocado oil
Parsley Lemon Butter:
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley - chopped
Garnish:
- lemon slices
- fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
Prepare Parsley Lemon Butter:
Mix all the ingredients in a food processor. Spoon onto plastic wrap and shape into a cylinder. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to harden.
Prepare Tilapia:
- Pat tilapia dry with a paper towel.
Mix garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and lemon zest in a bowl.
Rub tilapia filets with oil.
Then rub seasoning mix onto all sides of the tilapia.- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spary.
Add the tilapia filets. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the edges turn white (opaque). Turn your filets over and finish cooking the other side for 2-3 minutes until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. It should reach an internal temperature of 140ºF.
Turn off the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of parsley lemon butter to the top of each filet. Save the rest of the lemon butter for another meal.
Remove from the pan and serve with lemon slices and fresh parsley.
Notes
- Prepare tilapia according to skillet instructions.
- Cook at 400ºF for 4 minutes on each side in the air fryer.
- Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the fish reached an internal temperature of 140ºF.
- Remove from the air fryer. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon parsley butter to the top of each filet. Serve.
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