Blackened Tilapia is a great way to have healthy baked tilapia that is bursting with taste and spicy goodness. With a great flavor profile, you can easily adjust or eliminate most of the heat.
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📰Introduction and My Rating
Baked blackened tilapia is an easy dinner recipe, or you can use it for some great fish tacos. So simple with these step by step photo instructions.
Baking is much healthier than frying. I find frying fish in a pan a “pain.” You have to do multiple batches, keep it warm in the oven, and stand there all the time. And the mess, oh the mess, oven baking is just so much easier.
I ended up with an Aaron MaCorgo Jr (Food Networks “Big Daddy”) recipe. This man can cook and is a joy to watch, highly recommended.
The big change was going from fry pan to oven. This was not that hard. Just spice it up and cook with a little oil, including a light spray of PAM, so the top is not dry. I also adjusted the spicing some.
Do you want the grilled version? Try my Grilled Blackened Tilapia
My Rating
Wonderful. Spice it up to your desire. Just give it a try.
🐟The Tilapia
Tilapia is a mild-tasting fish that is commonly available around the world since it is easily farmed. There are hundreds of different varieties, but they are all about the same for us consumers.
Tilapia is native to Africa and the Middle East that is generally freshwater inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes. However, they’ve been distributed around the world, and they’re farmed almost everywhere since they can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and are very hardy.
Use a different fish
So, can you do this with a different fish? Sure, other fish can be used and will generally cook about the same just adjust for the thickness.
The 10-Minute Rule for Cooking Fish
Originally published in the “Canadian Fish Cook Book” 1959 from Canadian Department of Fisheries, the 10-minute rule is not perfect, but it is very good. It works for any cooking method – frying, baking, and sautéing. For baking, it generally if for oven temperatures of 400 to 450 degrees.
- Measure the fish at its thickest point. If the fish is stuffed or rolled, measure it after stuffing or rolling and then time it accordingly.
- Cook fish 10 minutes per inch, turning it halfway through the cooking time. For example, a one-inch fish steak should be cooked 5 minutes on each side for a total of 10 minutes. Pieces of fish less than 1/2-inch thick do not need to be turned over.
- Add 5 minutes to the total cooking time if you are cooking the fish in foil, or if the fish is cooked in a sauce.
- Double the cooking time for frozen fish that has not been defrosted.
Let’s thank our Canadian neighbors.
♨️ Seasoning
The Blackening Seasoning
First, a brief discussion about blackening, Cajun, and Creole seasoning. All have a base of paprika, pepper, along with some garlic and onion powder. But Creole tends to add more herbs and is milder while Cajun is generally very hot. So depending on how you vary your spice choices, you can change the term.
The Paprika: The original recipe specified “smoked paprika”. I find my standard Spanish paprika works well but use the paprika you like.
The Cayenne pepper and the heat level: The heat level is generally determined by the cayenne. For my suggested mixture of other spices.
- 1 teaspoon will be 9/10
- 1/2 teaspoon will be 7/10
- 1/4 teaspoon will be 3-4/10 – my usual level
- none then it will depend on other ingredients but generally about 1/10
This makes more than you need and save tightly sealed for another cooking. It is very handy to have around and goes well with other fish or chicken.
Can I use a totally different seasoning?
Sure, if you have a favorite season or just want to experiment, season as you wish. The basic cooking method will still work well.
🌡️⏰Temperature and Time
What oven temperature to use?
Generally, bake fish at higher temperatures. That will get better browning without overcooking the interior. You can find recommended ranging from 350 to 450 degrees. For tilapia, I suggest 400 or 425 degrees.
How long will it bake tilapia?
The first thing to say is it varies by the oven temperature and thickness of the fish. To be safe, fish needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 by FDA rules. Also, it should be flaky.
Generally 4-6 minutes cooking time for 1/2 inch thick fish at 400 to 450 degrees oven. Measure the thickest area, and it needs to be thawed. There is also some variability due to the individual oven and starting temperature of the fish.
So 1-inch thick will be about 10 minutes. Always check the fish a minute or two early.
Other Tips
I was oven baking but did not want dry, so I use some oil on the tray and even sprayed the top with some oil in the form of PAM.
I did an easy tartar sauce that went well with this. This is included in the recipe to use if you wish.
📖Other Tilapia Recipes
Oven Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
Easy Grilled Tilapia with Paprika
🖼️Photo Instructions
Combine 3 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon onion powder, one teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon dry thyme, one teaspoon dry oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. This makes more than you need and save it for another cooking. The cayenne heat level will be 9/10 at 1 teaspoon, 7/10 at 1/2 teaspoon, and 3-4/10 at 1/4 teaspoon.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Brush it over the foil in an area that will have fish.
Rinse and pat dry 1 pound of tilapia.
Brush the tilapia with olive oil.
Cover the fillets with the spices and rub it in (both sides). You will only need about 1/3 to 1/2 of the spice mix you made.
Place on the oiled pan and give the fish a light spray of PAM. Place in the preheated oven.
If you want a homemade tartar sauce, combine 1/3 cup mayo, 2 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder. Mix well.
Cook until nicely brown and flaky. This is 9-10 minutes for big fillets and a minute or two less for small to medium fillets.
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📖 Recipe
Oven Baked Blackened Tilapia 🐟
Ingredients
- 1 pound Tilapia fillets - about four
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Blackening Rub- More than you need - Keep sealed for future use.
- 3 tablespoons paprika - of your choice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper - to taste
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Simple Tartar Sauce - optional
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Combine 3 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon onion powder, one teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon dry thyme, one teaspoon dry oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. The cayenne heat level will be 9/10 at 1 teaspoon, 7/10 at 1/2 teaspoon and 3-4/10 at 1/4 teaspoon.
- This makes more seasoning than you need and save it tightly sealed for another cooking. You should only use 1/3 to 1/2 of this per pound of tilapia.
- Line a sheet pan with foil and add 2 tablespoon olive oil. Brush it over the foil in an area that will have fish.
- Rinse and pat dry 1 pound of tilapia. Brush with olive oil. Cover the fillets with the spices and rub it in (both sides). Use only about 1/3 - 1/2 of what you mixed. Save the rest for another cooking.
- Place on the oiled pan and give a light spray of PAM. Place in the preheated oven.
- If you want a homemade tartar sauce, combine 1/3 cup mayo, 2 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder. Mix well.
- Cook until nicely brown and flaky. Internal temperature should be 145 degrees. This is about 10 minutes for big fillets and a minute or two less for small to medium fillets. Be sure to check the fish a few minutes before you think it should be done.
Recipe Notes
- The spice mix makes more than you need. You only need 1/3 to 1/2 of the mix for one pound of fish. Save the rest sealed tightly for another cooking.
- The cayenne heat level will be 9/10 at 1 teaspoon, 7/10 at 1/2 teaspoon and 3-4/10 at 1/4 teaspoon. Or skip it if you want.
- The original recipe suggested "smoked paprika" which I tried and it had an "oak like" taste. I use my standard Spanish paprika but use the paprika you like.
- Generally, there will be about four filets of tilapia per pound.
- You may use other fish. Be sure frozen fish is completely before using these instructions. If you want to cook frozen fish, find a different recipe.
- Fish needs to reach 145 degrees for safety and should be flaky when done.
- Cooking time is about 5 minutes per half-inch thickness of the fish.
- The oven temperature should be 400 to 450 degrees. I like 425 convection, which gives a better texture.
- A light spray of oil (PAM) helps prevent a dry surface.
- Check the fish a minute or two early.
- Nutritional information does not include the tarter sauce.
Check Out Other Great Recipes
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Editor note: Originally published August 3, 2012. Updated several times with re-editing of the text and photos.
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Asraf abid
I never cook telapia fish like that, But i think it will be so delicious.
I must try it .
Ellie
Thank you! Excellent!
I forgot about Pam, omitted cayenne (don’t like it),halved dry ingredients, baked at 425 convection and was totally surprised how moist and tasty the pieces of tilapia turned out.
Who knew :-)
P.S. Beautiful pictures of your dog. My dog got baked tilapia too minus all the spices. He’s still licking his chops lol. Thank you again :-)
Laura
Excellent recipe. Cooked on grill at 425.next time I’ll leave it on a bit longer for the blackening effect, but the spices were perfect. We used the full amt of cayenne because we love spicy!!
Thank you!
Pat Dougherty
Sounds great. I’ve tried cast iron on the stove, but the smoke alarm was not happy.
A couple of questions: Can I use un-oiled silicone baking pads instead of foil? If I’m doing a smaller quantity of fish, does the cooking time change?
Thanks!
DrDan
Hi Pat,
Welcome to the blog.
So your questions. The silicon mat. Yes, but I think it needs a bit of oil. So a light spray of PAM in both sides of the fish would probably be better. But you can try without.
Cooking time would be unchanged for smaller quantities.
Dan
Krystal Alley
Dr.Dan, will the recipe be messed up if I don’t use the Cayenne pepper at all? My husband is allergic to it.
DrDan
Hi Krystal,
Welcome to the blog.
There is a lot of tastes other than the cayenne so go ahead. Of course, there will be no heat.
Dan
Colleen
Loved the recipe! I like seafood and I’m always looking for new fish recipes. Baking is way better than cooking on the stovetop. Less mess and more reliable (for me at least).
DrDan
Hi Colleen,
Welcome to the blog.
I do love this recipe. The seasoning is just right. I have issues with stovetop fish, it is always fried, makes a mess and I always break the fish somehow. Plus I don’t seem to get it done correctly. Baking or grill are much more reliable for me.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Elizabeth G.
Ohhh I’m excited to eat this blackened tilapia again tonight. It is VERY good! I’ve made your tartar sauce as well and it’s just as good. My question is if I double the tartar sauce how long will it keep in the fridge?
DrDan
I would only keep it for about 3 days just like most leftovers.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Tammy
I usually make our tilapia with fresh lemon and pepper, but didn’t have any lemons. So I did a quick google search for recipes with Tilapia, and found yours. Very very good. Happy to not only stumble upon this recipie, but will notlw check out your others. Thanks!
Idriceanu
Thank you ! Lots of great ideas, love it !!
Judy Uhl
Made for dinner tonight and it smells delicious! Yummy. Used 1/4 tsp. Cayenne. Just right!
Donna
I’m new to your cooking for 2 recipes (you had me at the oven baked Iowa pork tenderloin recipe a week or so ago! Will be trying that soon!). I haven’t searched a lot, but this blackened tilapia recipe made me wonder if you had an oven baked blackened salmon recipe? I’m all about oven baking, too, as it’s so much easier than standing over a stove and then cleaning up the grease spatters. Glad to have found a (former) Iowan providing recipes! (I’m nestled halfway between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Born and raised an Iowan… GO HAWKS! LOL!)
DrDan
Hi Donna,
I do love the baked pork tenderloin. I always get disappointed anymore with the Iowa restaurant versions. They seemed better years ago. Also, I try to bake and not fry if I can. It probably helps that I use real tenderloin and HyVee “tenderloin” is really loin.
I don’t have much seafood on the blog. I’m from deep in farm country (Chariton) and if it didn’t moo, oink or cluck, you didn’t eat it. Having said that, I’m learning to love less “fishy” things like this recipe. About blackened salmon, no I have never done it but if you find “The 10-Minute Rule for Cooking Fish” which should help adapt this to salmon.
Nice to hear from somebody from Iowa. GO CYCLONES ;)
Kenneth
Dr. Dan, I am not sure what to say other than excellent. I was looking for a fish recipe for fish tacos and found your blackened tilapia on a grill. However it was 1*F and my gill was covered in snow so I when noticed a link to the oven baked blackened tilapia I had to give it a try as my wife does not like me to blacken things on the stove top due to the mess and the smoke.
I had 1 lb of halibut fillets (3) just over an inch thick. I used your recipe as written with one change. I was out of cayenne powder so I sub’d 1 teas of NM chili powder. I cooked 6 minutes per side and it came out great. Cooked but still moist and flaky. We made fish tacos with flour tortillas, cole slaw, and your easy tarter sauce. My wife was suitably impressed. This is another recipe that goes in the “do it again” stack. Thanks from Alaska.
Teresa C
Question: do I need to defrost the fish first?
DrDan
Hi Teresa,
A general role is to double cooking time for frozen fish. I think that is a bit much for something this thin. I would thaw mainly since I don’t think the seasoning would penetrate the fish well. Froze is usually vacuum packed so it won’t take long in a pan of cool water.
Dan
Lori
My husband and I both thought this was too salty. And coming from me that’s saying a lot because I even put salt on my pizza. I put about 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper and still too salty. I would put 1/2 tsp salt next time. Otherwise it was tasty and thanks for sharing the recipe.
Jessica
Truly one of my favorite recipes! I feel like I’m a pretty good cook and can handle very complex recipes…but this is so simple and the result is amazing! I have shared this recipe with so many friends and coworkers and they all love it too! I have done this with frozen tilapia filets straight from the bag (cooking temp/time on the bag) and this works great too. Even the tartar sauce is great!
Dawn Scotland
I tried the Oven Baked Blackened Tilapia last night. It was SUPERB!!! I definitely will cook it again. Thanks so much for this Easy to Prepare, Easy to Clean Up recipe. The fish was perfectly Delicious; my Mom and I loved, Loved, LOVED it!
Kat
I have to say, Dr. Dan, you’re the only other person I’ve run across who sprays the top of meat or fish before baking. I believe it’s a must-do for keeping things moist and helping with browning, especially at higher temps. Love the spice combo for the tilapia, hits just the right taste buds especially with the
tartar sauce. AIas, couldn’t stop myself from adding sour cream, finely diced purple onions, and lime juice to the tartar sauce but, Wow! It was perfect!
Amber
I made this recipe for 4 and they all loved it, including myself. They all suggested to have it made more often. It’s a really easy and convenient meal. Thank you so much! DEFINITELY great if you like spicy.
Anna
I’m not much of a fish fan but after having some delicious blackened fish tacos at a restaurant I decided to give making my own blackened fish a try. This recipe was great super easy to make for the tartar sauce I used Greek yogurt in place of the mayo since I’m trying to be healthy. Everything tastes great. I imagine it’d be better with mayo but still better than I expected with the yogurt!
DrDan
Thanks for the note. This is the easy way to blackened fish.
Dan
Rose Correia
Since I almost have tilapia in my freezer, I am going to try this because it is oven baked rather than fried. If this was based on Big Daddy’s recipe I know it will be good as I have made that recipe quite a few times but not lately. I used to fry it in grape seed oil as this oil withstands a higher temperature without burning and also emits a good flavor.
DrDan
Hi Rose,
I still remember working on another recipe watching Big Daddy for the first time cook blackened tilapia. It looked great but I really didn’t want the pan frying. Leading to this recipe.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Lorraine
We made this tonight and it was sooooooo good! Easy peasy and healthy too. We did use just ½ tsp of the cayenne and it was just the right heat. Definitely a keeper : )
DrDan
Thanks Lorraine, I like a little spice in my life.
Dan
Brianne
Has anyone done this on a Forman grill
DrDan
Not that I know of but it probably would work but the timing is unknown to me.
Dan
Kevin perala
Great recipe
Peggy
I thought this was fabulous! I used the full amount of cayenne because we like it spicy. Thanks for the great recipe!
DrDan
Hi Peggy, Thanks for the note. I’m cutting back the cayenne even more as we get older.
Dan
Melanie Edwards
Is this recipe for frozen or thawed tilapia?
DrDan
Fresh or thawed frozen.