Name: Easy Grilled Tilapia with Paprika
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 16 min
Ingredients: 1 lb Tilapia ( about 4-6 medium fillets); 3 tablespoons oil (not EV olive oil); 2 teaspoons paprika; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Recipe Table of Contents

4.09 from 36 votes

Spice you life up a little. Grilled tilapia with paprika is an easy and quick weeknight dinner recipe in under 20 minutes. It’s time to eat more fish, and this favorable healthy dish fits that need.

Grilled Tilapia with Paprika on a white plate

Table of Contents

🐟 Tilapia
🌶️ Paprika
♨️ Grilling
📖 Tilapia Recipes
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
📝Full Recipe

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Introduction

My wife is always asking for fish, but I just don't seem to think of it very often. I'm from Iowa, and if it doesn't moo or oink, you don't eat it. But it is time to break out of those old habits, and this is a great way to start.

Start with economical tilapia, add simple spices, and a few minutes on the grill. In under 20 minutes, you will have a healthy dinner with great taste.

The inspiration recipe was a Cooking Light recipe. It looked a bit bland, so I upped the flavor in the coating and now depend on your choice of the type of paprika for the taste you want.

My Rating

A very nice higher four but could be a lower five if you're not from Iowa.

🐟 Tilapia

Tilapia is a mild-tasting fish that is easy of mass to production on farms. So it is a widely available, healthy protein source.

They are generally freshwater inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes. They are native to Africa and the Middle East. However, they’ve been distributed around the world, and they’re farmed almost everywhere. They can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and are very hardy. Due to these characteristics, they can act as an invasive species at times.

Some internet "health sites" have been attacking tilapia as unhealthy using misleading headlines like "worse than bacon." While you can attack any farm-raised fish 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 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. If you want to debate this whole issue, do not comment here. This is a cooking site. I'm sure I know more nutrition and medicine than you, and I will delete any comment about this issue.

Can I use frozen tilapia?

Yes. Either fresh or frozen will be fine. I suggest thawing the frozen tilapia before starting, but some will cook with unthawed frozen fish. My experience with that is the seasoning washes off while cooking some. So please thaw first.

🌶️ Paprika

The main seasoning is paprika. It comes in an infinite variety, but I generally like nice sweet paprika. But I'm a wimp. Here is a summary of some classifications that may be useful, but these are just some guidelines that help. But they come from nature, so the variety is wide.

Types of Paprika

Sweet Paprikas are the most common types and are usually just labeled as paprika. They will generally have some sweetness, bright color, and usually only a little heat.

Hot Paprikas are commonly called Hungarian and will add spiciness and a lot more flavor than the sweet version. Some versions will be quite hot. So know what your variation brings to the party.

Smoked Paprikas known as Spanish and are made with oak-smoked peppers. They can run from mild to very hot in spiciness. Many will users like the deep smoky flavor, but to me, it oakiness gets in the way usually.

♨️ Grilling

You need a hot griddle or an enclosed grill basket you can flip. They will need a nice coat of a higher temperature oil - so not olive oil.

The grill temperature should be medium to medium-high so 450°-500° degree range - not 650°, which is high on my grill.

This is one of the few recipes to grill with the lid open since the fish is thin.

📖 Tilapia Recipes

Grilled Blackened Tilapia

Oven Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Oven Baked Blackened Tilapia

Grilled Lemon Butter Tilapia

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

Easy Dinner Recipes, Fish Recipes, Grill Recipes

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Pat dry the tilapia. If frozen, thaw completely.

Preheat grill with a griddle on medium heat with a grill surface temperature of 450°-500° and hood open. Spray griddle with grill rated Pam or brush with oil (Not EV olive oil).

In a small bowl mix 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.

Brush oil/spice mixture on both sides of the fillets and place on griddle.

Cook about 4 minutes per side with lid or closed.

📝Full Recipe

Easy Grilled Tilapia with Paprika

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Spice you life up a little. Grilled tilapia with paprika is an easy and quick weeknight dinner recipe in under 20 minutes. It’s time to eat more fish, and this favorable healthy dish fits that need.

Tap to leave a Rating

4.09 from 36 votes

Print Collection

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 16 minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 serving

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

Instructions

Pat dry the tilapia. If frozen, thaw completely.
Preheat grill with a griddle on medium heat with a grill surface temperature of 450°-500° and hood open. Spray griddle with grill rated Pam or brush with oil (Not EV olive oil).
In a small bowl mix 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
Brush oil/spice mixture on both sides of the fillets and place on griddle.
Cook about 4 minutes per side with lid OPEN.

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.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

You may use frozen or fresh tilapia. If frozen, it must be completely thawed,
Be sure to thaw the tilapia completely if frozen.
Use the type of paprika you want. If just labeled as paprika, it is usually sweet paprika and will only have a little heat.
Some Hungarian paprika is very hot.
Use a medium grill surface temperature of about 450°. Not much hotter.
Can be grilled with the hood open or closed.
Thinner fish in a grill basket is generally done in about 5 to 6 minutes total time, thicker fish will take about 8 minutes or more—Cook to good color and 145° minimum temperature.
If you use a grill basket, the cooking time may decrease a little.

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

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 : Fish|Main Course

Cuisine : American

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Originally published June 25, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.