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    🏠Home » Recipes » Fish Recipes

    Grilled Blackened Tilapia

    Jul 9, 2021 · Modified: Oct 28, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 58 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.18 from 156 votes

    Meet your new favorite fish recipe. Healthy eating has never been so good or easy as this wonderfully spicy, grilled, blackened tilapia. Fire up the grill now, and let's get some variety into the grilling season.

    close up picture of grilled tilapia

    Jump To:
    • 👨‍🍳How to make this recipe
    • 🐟The tilapia
    • 🔥How spicing to make the seasoning
    • ♨️Grilling tips
    • 📖Tilapia Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📝Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    It is time to get some fish in your diet with this spicy, super easy, and fast recipe that will become your personal favorite. Only 2 minutes per side to get you a grilled masterpiece. I have included options for cooking tools (basket vs. griddle) and different levels of heat.

    This recipe is based on my oven-baked blackened tilapia, which is based on an Aaron MaCorgo Jr (Food Networks “Big Daddy”) recipe. This man can cook and is a joy to watch; I highly recommend it. The original recipe was pan-fried. I converted that to an oven and now using it on the grill.

    The main complaint about the oven-baked blackened tilapia was the lack of "crustiness," so this has been on the to-do list for a while. Well, this solved that issue. Give it a try; you will love it.

    👨‍🍳How to make this recipe

    1. Preheat the grill to as high as it will go.
    2. Mix blackening seasoning of paprika, salt, black pepper, onion powder, thyme, oregano, and garlic powder. Also, add cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon for normal (3/10 heat), ½ teaspoon for spicy (7/10), and one teaspoon for manly man 10/10 heat.
    3. Rinse and pat dry 1 pound of tilapia.
    4. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and brush both sides of the tilapia.
    5. Coat both sides of the tilapia with a generous amount of rub.
    6. Use a flexible grill basket or a griddle on the grill.
    7. Place the tilapia on preheated grill. The lid may be open or closed—grill for only 2 minutes. Flip and grill for another 2 minutes. Check temperature (145°) and color. You may need a few minutes or so more.
    8. While the thinner fish in a grill basket is generally done in about 4-5 minutes total time—thicker fish may take 6-8 minutes—to cook to good color, and 145° minimum temperature.
    9. Serve immediately, and I suggest with Simple Tartar Sauce.

    🐟The tilapia

    Tilapia is a mild white fish that is commonly farm-raised but can be caught in the wild. You can use fresh or fully thawed frozen tilapia.

    The thickness of tilapia can vary a lot, so cooking time will usually take 2-3 minutes per side, but thick filets may take 4 minutes.

    Other fish may be used and time adjusted for the thickness.

    🔥How spicing to make the seasoning

    Lastly, the heat. I use ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper here. This was a 7/10 hot. I suspect most people will want ¼ teaspoon. I have done this with ¼ teaspoon, which is a 3-4/10 heat level. The original recipe used a full teaspoon which I did once. It was what I call a manly man level of 10/10.

    ♨️Grilling tips

    image of a grill basket

    I used a Brinkmann®️ Steel Flexible Grilling Basket cost about $15 at Home Depot. You can also get one at Amazon. Highly rated by Consumers Report, but I'm sure there are similar devices.

    You can also use a preheated griddle, large grill pan, or even directly grill on the grates, but the fish might fall apart with even minimal sticking.

    Since the fish is thin and uses high heat, you can cook with the grill lid open or closed—it does not matter.

    Grilling Time

    While the thinner fish in a grill basket is generally done in about 4-5 minutes, thicker fish may take 6-8 minutes or more—Cook to good color and 145° minimum temperature.

    📖Tilapia Recipes

    Oven Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

    Oven Baked Blackened Tilapia

    Easy Grilled Tilapia with Paprika

    Grilled Lemon Butter Tilapia

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    101's Best Recipes, Easy Dinner Recipes, Fish Recipes, Grill Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Low Fat Recipes
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    clean and oil grill crates

    Preheat the grill to as high as it will go. For me, that is 600°+. If using a griddle instead of a grill basket, then place it on the grill to preheat.

    spices for blacken seasoning

    Combine 3 tablespoons paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon onion powder, one teaspoon black pepper, one teaspoon dry thyme, one teaspoon dry oregano, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Also, add cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon for normal (3/10 heat), ½ teaspoon for spicy (7/10), and one teaspoon for manly man 10/10 heat.

    patting dry tilapia with paper towels

    Rinse and pat dry 1 pound of tilapia.

    melting butter in the microwave

    Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a microwave. About 15 seconds.

    brushing fish with butter on a white plate

    Brush both sides of tilapia with the melted butter.

    adding spices to fish on white plate

    Coat both sides of the tilapia with a generous amount of rub. You won't need all the rub.

    spraying grill basket with PAM

    Spray a flexible grill basket with a generous amount of PAM.

    placing spiced fish in grill basket

    Load the tilapia in the grill basket. Alternatively, if using a griddle, then add a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil to the preheated griddle. Do not use olive oil since it smokes at high temperatures.

    grill basket over direct heat_

    Place the tilapia on preheated grill.  The lid may be open or closed—grill for only 2 minutes. Flip and grill another 2 minutes. Check temperature (145°) and color. You may need few minutes or so more.

    cooked grilled tilapia still in grill basket

    While the thinner fish in a grill basket is generally done in about 4-5 minutes total time, thicker fish may take 6-8 minutes—Cook to good color and 145° minimum temperature.

    pile of blackened tilapia on white plate

    Serve immediately.

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    📝Recipe

    Grilled Blackened Tilapia from 101 Cooking for Two

    Grilled Blackened Tilapia

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Meet your new favorite fish recipe. Healthy eating has never been so good or easy as this wonderfully spicy grilled blackened tilapia. Fire up the grill now and let's get some variety into the grilling season.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.18 from 156 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 4 minutes
    Total Time: 14 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 pound Tilapia
    • 1 tablespoon butter

    Blackening Rub-makes enough for 2 pounds

    • 3 tablespoons paprika
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 tablespoon onion powder
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 teaspoon dry thyme
    • 1 teaspoon dry oregano
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ¼ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the grill to as high as it will go. For me, that is 600°+. If using a griddle instead of a grill basket, then place it on the grill to preheat.
      clean and oil grill crates
    • Combine 3 tablespoons paprika, one teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon onion powder, one teaspoon black pepper, one teaspoon dry thyme, one teaspoon dry oregano, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Also, add cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon for normal (3/10 heat), ½ teaspoon for spicy (7/10), and one teaspoon for manly man 10/10 heat.
      spices for blacken seasoning
    • Rinse and pat dry 1 pound of tilapia.
      patting dry tilapia with paper towels
    • Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a microwave—about 15 seconds.
      melting butter in the microwave
    • Brush both sides of tilapia with the melted butter.
      brushing fish with butter on a white plate
    • Coat both sides of the tilapia with a generous amount of the rub—you don't need all the rub.
      adding spices to fish on white plate
    • Spray a flexible grill basket with a generous amount of PAM.
      spraying grill basket with PAM
    • Load the tilapia in the grill basket. Alternatively, if using a griddle, then add a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil to the preheated griddle. Do not use olive oil since it smokes at high temperatures.
      placing spiced fish in grill basket
    • Place the tilapia on preheated grill. The lid may be open or closed—grill for only 2 minutes. Flip and grill another 2 minutes. Check temperature (145°) and color. You may need few minutes or so more.
      grill basket over direct heat_
    • While the thinner fish in a grill basket is generally done in about 4-5 minutes total time—thicker fish may take 6-8 minutes—cook to good color, and 145° minimum temperature.
      cooked grilled tilapia still in grill basket
    • Done. Serve immediately.
      pile of blackened tilapia on white plate
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    Your Own Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. You may be grilled with the hood open or closed.
    2. I use ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper here. This was a 7/10 hot. I suspect most people will want ¼ teaspoon, which is a 3-4/10 heat level. The original recipe used a full teaspoon which I did once. It was what I call manly man level of 10/10.
    3. Store extra seasoning sealed tightly for next time. This is enough for about 2 pounds.
    4. While the thinner fish in a grill basket is generally done in about 4-5 minutes total time, thicker fish may take 6-8 minutes—cook to good color, and 145° minimum temperature.
    5. You may use other fish but need to adjust cooking time by thickness. Thicker fish should be grilled with the grill hood closed.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Grilled Blackened Tilapia
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 154 Calories from Fat 45
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 5g8%
    Saturated Fat 3g15%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
    Monounsaturated Fat 1g
    Cholesterol 65mg22%
    Sodium 546mg23%
    Potassium 394mg11%
    Carbohydrates 4g1%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 23g46%
    Vitamin A 450IU9%
    Vitamin C 1.7mg2%
    Calcium 30mg3%
    Iron 0.9mg5%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Originally published May 11, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    More Fish Recipes

    • Baked Blackened Tilapia
    • Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
    • Baked Lemon Butter Salmon in a Convection Oven
    • Lemon Butter Tilapia—Grilled or Baked

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    1. Jason

      July 26, 2020 at 9:01 pm

      Thank you so much for your beautiful recipe, i just finished making Tilapia on the barbecue using your rub recipe and it's now gone. Keep up the good work in the kitchen.

      Reply
    2. NickL

      June 05, 2020 at 12:49 pm

      The last time, the spices stuck to my hand, the plate and less so the fish. What am I doing wrong to cause this?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        June 05, 2020 at 1:25 pm

        Hi Nick,

        Welcome to the blog.

        A couple of things will help. Give the butter a few minutes to firm up on the fish. Be sure some butter is on the plate. Put it on and pat with a spoon. Flip with a fork. And move to the grill basket with a fork. Don't be afraid to add a bit more to "patch" it or just more flavor.

        Dan

    3. Alex Jones

      June 03, 2020 at 3:10 pm

      5 stars
      I've cooked this numerous time in a cast iron on the stovetop, but always missed that grilled flavor. Finally bought a grill grate and turned out phenomenal. We put ours in tacos with some slaw mix that I toss with some quick and easy ingredients, my wife makes an amazing jalapeno cilantro and lime dressing to top it with. One of our favorite meals! Great recipe

      Reply
    4. Nick L

      April 20, 2020 at 10:13 pm

      5 stars
      Well, tried this for this first time and I’m not the home cook specialist. Used a cast iron pan, on the gas grill, no paprika but everything else. Turned out great!! Better half rarely if every eats fish - but liked this and would consider it again. Thank you!
      Can this work with other fish besides Tilapia?

      Reply
      • Alex Jones

        June 03, 2020 at 3:11 pm

        I have done it with other white fish such as cod, but I wouldn't recommend using a basket for this but rather a griddle style pan on the grill

    5. Dorothy Duncan

      September 10, 2019 at 9:15 am

      Can this be cooked on a stovetop?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        September 10, 2019 at 9:45 am

        Hi Dorothy,
        Welcome to the blog.
        This should pan fry fine. About 3 minutes or so per side depending on the thickness.
        This recipe is based on my oven-baked recipe which is based on a stovetop Food Network recipe. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/big-daddys-blackened-tilapia-recipe-1948646
        Dan

    6. Jaime

      February 03, 2019 at 11:48 am

      What other spices can you recommend besides cayenne pepper? That's way too hot for me. Can't handle it. Maybe chili powder or cumin?? I'm new at this.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        February 03, 2019 at 12:06 pm

        Hi Jaime,
        Welcome to the blog.
        The cayenne adds very little taste, mostly just heat. So skip the cayenne and don't substitute.
        Dan

    7. Bruce

      January 12, 2019 at 6:46 pm

      This was AWESOME. It’s -20 here today so my grill wouldn’t fully heat up so I just kept an eye on it and ended up doing 10 minutes per side! But it worked out great anyway. Thanks so much.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 12, 2019 at 10:02 pm

        Hi Bruce,
        Welcome to the blog.
        That is some serious grilling. Glad it worked well even at low temperature. I grill all winter but it rarely gets to zero here. I will add a few minutes to a burger or steak.
        Thanks for the note.
        Dan

      • Crista

        September 01, 2020 at 2:32 pm

        Could this be placed in foil and put on the grill?

      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        September 01, 2020 at 2:39 pm

        Hi Crista,

        Welcome to the blog.

        I never cook fish in foil but it probably would work. It is just fish with seasoning but this has nice surface that won't be there in foil.

        Dan

    8. Debbie

      September 23, 2018 at 3:20 pm

      Was wondering if you could use a cedar plank with this recipe?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        September 23, 2018 at 5:11 pm

        Hi Debbie,
        Welcome to the blog.
        Yep cedar plank would work if that is your preference. It will take about 50% longer and no flipping. I'm not a big fan of plank so I usually don't discuss it.
        Dan

    9. Alicia

      July 27, 2018 at 8:00 am

      This looks delicious and easy. Question: do you use the frozen tilapia or fresh? Thankli

      Reply
      • DrDan

        July 27, 2018 at 8:02 am

        Hi Alicia,
        I use frozen thawed. But fresh would be great but I'm in Michigan.
        Thanks for the note.
        Dan

    10. Davey

      July 23, 2018 at 8:01 am

      In terms of herbs/spices, this is a good blackening seasoning mix, but I think it needs a good bit more salt. Perhaps I'm used to the 7:2:1 seasoning mix which is more salty. I'm going to up the salt content for my next batch. On the plus side, the fish came out well-cooked.

      I tried to close the lid of the grill, but the lid pressed down on the arm of the basket and raised the basket off the grates. Like a see-saw. So I had to leave the lid open. Didn't seem to affect things much.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        July 24, 2018 at 12:12 pm

        Hi Davey,
        I could see a little more salt at least for me.
        The lid can be open or closed for this recipe since the fish is so thin and the heat is high.
        Thanks for the note.
        Dan

    11. Elizabeth Gillings

      July 11, 2018 at 9:30 pm

      Thanks so much for addressing this issue...I definitely will be back to eating it...I've missed my blackened tilapia!

      Reply
    12. Elizabeth Gillings

      July 11, 2018 at 6:03 pm

      I loved your oven baked blackened tilapia when I've eaten it in the past so I bet it's even better grilled. My question to you as a Doctor is tilapia not as bad as people say anymore? I hear how "poisoned" it is and would like your opinion because I really miss eating it. Thanks!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        July 11, 2018 at 6:12 pm

        Hi Elizabeth,

        Some internet “health sites” have been attacking tilapia as unhealthy using “click-bate” headlines like “worse than bacon.” While you can attack any farm-raised fish the for the method, or any farm product for that matter, the facts still support tilapia as a good source of low-fat protein.

        Tilapia is a bit lower in omega-3 than some wild fish but also lower in mercury. You can have that whole discussion about the impact of over-fishing of oceans. It goes on and on.

        So the "people" that are attacking tilapia have an agenda or are highly misinformed.

        So enjoy your tilapia.

        Dan

    13. Kenneth

      July 07, 2018 at 10:41 pm

      Dr.Dan, Thanks for the recipe, I went to my email to grab your website address to get the recipe for oven blackened tilapia as I had used it before. I found this for grilled blackened tilapia. I used it with a griddle that works on my grill. Of course being from Alaska I used some fresh halibut. I used your spices to the best of my ability but ran out of thyme so had to skip it. No cayenne so used some NM red chile powder instead. Followed the technique using a timer. Came out very good. A crust but not dry. My wife had fish tacos and I had blackened halibut with cole slaw. Same meal just skipped the tortillas due to diet restrictions. A great summer dish and did not heat up the house. This will be on the menu again. I also used the simple tarter sauce but used lime juice instead of lemon because I was out. Still good and so easy. Thanks again.

      Reply
    14. Kathleen

      July 04, 2018 at 5:38 pm

      So wonderful, a genuine 5 star! We grilled it without a basket and it turned out perfectly. We had it with sautéed beet greens, grilled zucchini, and garlic bread. This is definitely something we will have often, thanks for sharing.

      Reply
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