You're going to love this quick and easy pan-seared tilapia recipe. It's a simple dish that tastes amazing, just like what you get at a nice restaurant.
Today, I want to share another favorite seafood recipe with you. This pan-seared tilapia with lemon butter sauce is so cheap to make and easy to prepare. It will go straight to your main recipe book.
This recipe was inspired by this popular pan-seared branzino fillet recipe and will go well with this easy sauteed zucchini side dish.
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Easy Pan-Seared Tilapia Recipe
This lemon butter fish contains tilapia that is prepared in a simple way and then served with lemon butter sauce.
The lemon butter sauce plays an important role to bring the tilapia fillet to the next level. It adds depth of flavor and a refreshing taste to the tilapia. This lemon sauce is versatile and you can use it on any white fish of your choice. I'll go into details below.
Ingredients for Pan-Fried Tilapia and Lemon Butter Sauce
To make pan-fried tilapia with lemon butter sauce you'll need the following ingredients:
Tilapia. It is the main ingredient of this dish, please use the freshest tilapia fillet you can get. Frozen tilapia must be completely thawed before seasoning and cooking.
Flour. You'll be using a small amount of flour to coat the fish prior to cooking. This will create a nice golden-brown outer crust on the tilapia fillet. The flour also adds flavor and helps to seal in juices to keep the fish tender.
Salt and Black Pepper. A very basic combination of spices to season the fish.
Garlic salt. Store-bought garlic salt usually contains a combination of garlic, salt, and spices. I used it in a small amount to add flavor to the coating. If you are limiting your salt intake, feel free to replace it with garlic powder.
Paprika. You can use either regular paprika or smoked paprika to add a slightly sweet note and red color to the coating.
Worcestershire sauce. I used a small amount of Worcestershire sauce to add depth and salty savoriness to the lemon butter sauce.
Thyme. This herb is typically used in a fish dish and goes well with lemon butter. I used fresh thyme but the dried version works too.
Butter. Preferably unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter at home, feel free to use it.
Lemon. Use fresh lemon both juice and zest.
Now, let's talk about the cooking process.
How to Make Lemon Butter Sauce for Fish
This lemon butter sauce takes a few minutes to cook. Here's how to make it.
- In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
- Add fresh thyme and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes or until the butter is warm through and begins to brown.
- Pour the butter into a heatproof bowl. Season with salt, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
How to Pan-Sear Tilapia
You can pan-fry the tilapia fish fillets using a non-stick pan or a large heavy skillet.
Make sure that the oil hits the right temperature (hot but not smoking) before placing the fish fillets in a skillet. To test it out, simply throw a pinch of flour into the pan and wait for it to begin to bubble.
1. Prepare the Fish
- Pat the fish fillet dry with paper towels to ensure that it has the right flaky texture when it cooks.
- Season the fish fillet with salt and black pepper.
2. Coat the Fish
- In a bowl, mix flour with paprika and garlic salt.
- Coat the fish with flour on all sides and shake off the excess flour.
3. Pan-Fried the Fish
If your pan is small, cook the fish fillets in batches.
- Preheat oil over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, cook the fish fillets for 1.5 - 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.
5. Serve the Fish
- Serve the pan-fried fish fillet with warm lemon butter sauce.
- Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley if necessary.
Cooking Tips and Variations
- Fish. If you can't find tilapia, any white fish like Bass, Sea Bream, Cod, Grouper, Haddock, Alaska Pollock, and Halibut will work as well.
- Cook the fish and lemon butter sauce in separate pans. Do not cook the lemon butter using the same skillet as the fish. You need a clean saucepan to cook the lemon butter sauce.
- Seasoning. Use this recipe as a start. Always taste the food and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and black pepper if needed.
- Lemon butter sauce. Serve the fish fillet with one tablespoon of lemon butter sauce. Go easy on the lemon sauce, you can always add more later as needed.
- Keep the sauce warm. It's very important to time your cooking so everything is ready almost at the same time. If you have more than one burner, you can start preparing the sauce at the same time as the fish. Just be sure to watch them carefully to prevent burning or overcooking. Alternatively, you can reheat the lemon sauce for about 10-20 seconds in a microwave.
- Fish cooking temperature. The FDA recommends an internal temperature of 145°F for cooked fish. You can learn more here.
- Storing. Allow the leftover fish to cool before sealing it. Properly stored, it can last 3-4 days in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer.
- Reheating. Place the leftover fish on a lightly greased baking sheet. Broil for 1-3 minutes on each side to reheat it. Or reheat the fish in a microwave for 45 seconds or longer until warm throughout.
What to Serve with
I hope you'll enjoy this recipe and share it with friends! If you try it and don't mind, please leave me a comment and/or give this recipe a rating.
📖 Recipe
Pan-Seared Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tilapia fish fillets (about 6 oz each)
- ½ teaspoon salt (about ⅛ teaspoon of salt per side)
- black pepper (as needed)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt (or garlic powder for a less salty result)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- zest from one lemon
- ¼ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (crumble with hands)
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons oil (canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil)
Method
- Lemon Butter Sauce. In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add thyme, cook, and stir often for 2-3 minutes or until the butter is hot and begins to brown. Pour the butter into a heatproof bowl. Season with salt, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir to combine and set it aside.
- Coat the Fish. In a bowl, mix flour with paprika and garlic salt. Pat the fish fillet dry with paper towels. Season the fish fillet with salt and black pepper. Coat the fish with flour on all sides and shake off the excess flour.
- Pan-Sear the Fish. In a skillet, preheat oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, cook the fish fillets for 1.5 - 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and serve it with lemon butter sauce.
Nutrition
Notes
- Salt. If you are salt-sensitive, feel free to use less salt on the fish.
- Hot oil. Make sure that the oil hits the right temperature (hot but not smoking) before placing the fish fillets in a skillet. To test it out, simply throw a pinch of flour into the pan and wait for it to begin to bubble.
- Fish. If you can't find tilapia, any white fish like Bass, Sea Bream, Cod, Grouper, Haddock, Alaska Pollock, and Halibut will work as well.
- Lemon butter sauce. Serve the fish fillet with one tablespoon of lemon butter sauce. Go easy on the lemon sauce, you can always add more later as needed.
- Keep the sauce warm. It's very important to time your cooking so everything is ready almost at the same time. If you have more than one burner, you can start preparing the sauce at the same time as the fish. Just be sure to watch them carefully to prevent burning or overcooking. Alternatively, you can reheat the lemon sauce for about 10-20 seconds in a microwave.
- Storing. Allow the leftover fish to cool before sealing it. Properly stored, it can last 3-4 days in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer.
- Reheating. Place the leftover fish on a lightly greased baking sheet. Broil for 1-3 minutes on each side to reheat it. Or reheat the fish in a microwave for 45 seconds or longer until warm throughout.
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