Pan-Seared Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce
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.
Ingredients
- 2 tilapia fish fillets, (about 6 oz each)
- ½ teaspoon salt , (about ⅛ teaspoon of salt per side)
- black pepper, (as needed)
Flour Coating:
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt , (or garlic powder for a less salty result)
Lemon Butter Sauce:
- 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)
Instructions
- 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.
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 507kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 35gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 683mgPotassium: 542mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.3gVitamin A: 784IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg
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