This lemon pepper tilapia recipe is the perfect easy weeknight dinner! The tender, flaky fish is bursting with zesty citrus and ready in under 30 minutes. We love it with a simple salad or quick sauteed veggies (even the kids are fans!).
Why we love this recipe
Lately we’ve been struggling with that old question, “What’s for dinner?” As cookbook authors we have written whole books of ideas, but believe us—it’s still a question we ask on a daily basis!
Here’s a great recipe that solves that dilemma: lemon pepper tilapia! It comes together in under 30 minutes and the fish is so tender and zingy, it’s irresistible! Pair it with a quick veggie like sauteed broccoli, an easy arugula salad, and couscous, rice or quinoa, and you’re in business! Our whole fam loves this one, especially with a dipping sauce like dill sauce or tahini yogurt, or lemon garlic butter sauce.
Ingredients in lemon pepper tilapia
This lemon pepper tilapia recipe uses just a handful of ingredients for big, bold flavor. The key—of course—is lemon pepper, a seasoning mix you can find in your local grocery. Here are a few ingredient notes and substitutions:
- Tilapia fillets: Tilapia is a mild, flaky white fish that’s relatively affordable. You can use fresh or frozen here. (Most tilapia is farm raised; keep reading for choosing sustainable options.)
- Lemon pepper is a seasoning mixture of lemon zest and black peppercorns. It’s easily available at most grocery stores in the spice aisle. Don’t have it? Black pepper and lemon zest work as a stand-in (see below).
- Garlic powder and salt: These add savory notes to the tender fish.
- Olive oil: Olive oil is our cooking oil of choice.
- Lemon zest: Though you can make this recipe with lemon pepper alone, we find that real citrus gives the flavor a nice lift. We also like serving with lemon slices as a garnish.
Tips for using lemon pepper
Keep in mind, some brands of lemon pepper you’ll find at the grocery include salt. Make sure to review the ingredients on the lemon pepper container before you start cooking, and reduce the salt in the recipe if it does contain salt.
Don’t have lemon pepper? You can also simply use fresh ground black pepper in this recipe! The recipe also calls for lemon zest from a real lemon, which will bring plenty of citrus notes to the salmon.
What to look for when buying tilapia
Most of the of tilapia that’s available to buy is farm raised, so you’ll want to look for responsibly farmed tilapia. Here’s what Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch recommends when looking for sustainable tilapia.
Sauce ideas
While you don’t have to serve this lemon pepper tilapia with anything fancy, everything tastes better with a little dipping sauce! Our favorite ways to serve it are with a butter sauce over the top, or a creamy sauce for dipping. Here are a few ideas:
- Butter sauce: Try a garlic butter sauce or lemon butter sauce.
- Creamy sauce: Dip it into classic remoulade, tartar sauce, tahini yogurt sauce, or dill sauce.
Ways to serve lemon pepper tilapia
This lemon pepper tilapia is the best easy dinner idea since there’s barely any prep involved! There are so many easy ways: we like to mix up a fresh salad or quick sauteed veggies while the fish is baking. Here are a few ideas:
- Simple vegetables like sauteed broccoli, peas with lemon, sauteed broccolini, sauteed kale, or boiled potatoes
- Salads like arugula salad, Mediterranean salad, strawberry salad, kale salad, apple salad, or chopped salad
- Grains and pasta like white rice, lemon rice, quinoa, orzo, couscous, or garlic butter noodles
Storing leftovers
Lemon pepper tilapia stores refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. Personally, we find fish is best when it is freshly made. When we repurpose leftover fish, we like to make it into new things like tuna salad or tuna cakes (but using tilapia).
More tilapia recipes
We love eating tilapia at our house: it’s quick, simple and flavorful, and it has a mild flavor that everyone in our family enjoys. A few more of our top tilapia recipes are this baked tilapia (a fan favorite!), fried tilapia, Parmesan crusted tilapia, and blackened tilapia.
Dietary notes
This lemon pepper tilapia recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and pescatarian.
Frequently asked questions
Tilapia is a good source of lean protein and contains various vitamins and minerals. It’s also low in calories and fat.
Absolutely! While tilapia is a popular and affordable option, you can substitute it with other white fish like cod, haddock, or flounder.
It’s best to cook tilapia fresh for optimal flavor and texture. However, you can prepare the lemon pepper seasoning in advance and store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Lemon Pepper Tilapia
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 15 minutes
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Total Time: 25 minutes
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Yield: 4
Print RecipeDescription
This lemon pepper tilapia recipe is the perfect easy weeknight dinner! The tender, flaky fish is bursting with zesty citrus and ready in under 30 minutes. We love it with a simple salad or quick sauteed veggies (even the kids are fans!).
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds tilapia (3 to 4 fillets)
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper (no salt added*)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (optional but recommended)
- 1 lemon, zested and half sliced
- 1 handful fresh Italian parsley or fresh herbs, for garnish
- Optional sauce (see Notes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring the tilapia to room temperature.
- Lightly oil the baking dish. Pat each piece of tilapia dry and place it in a baking dish, then drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle the tilapia with the kosher salt*, lemon pepper, and lemon zest (evenly divided among the fillets).
- Bake 16 to 18 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets, until browned and flaky and the internal temperature is 140°F when measured with a food thermometer.
- To serve, spritz with the juice of ½ lemon and garnish with slices cut from the other half. Leftovers store refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Notes
Note: *If using a lemon pepper mixture that includes salt in its ingredient list, reduce the kosher salt to ⅛ teaspoon, then add more to taste when serving.
If desired, serving with a dipping sauce like dill sauce, tahini yogurt, or tartar sauce, or a butter sauce like lemon butter sauce or garlic butter sauce.
Category: Dinner
Method: Oven
Cuisine: Seafood
Diet: Gluten Free
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