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    🏠Home » Recipes » Fish Recipes

    Baked Blackened Tilapia

    Feb 26, 2022 · Modified: Mar 16, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 185 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.25 from 509 votes

    Blackened Tilapia is a delicious way to have healthy baked tilapia in the oven bursting with taste and spicy goodness. With a great flavor profile, you can easily adjust or eliminate most of the heat—a super easy 20-minute dinner recipe.

    close up of tilapia on white plate.

    Jump To:
    • 👨‍🍳How to make this recipe
    • Ingredients
    • ❓FAQs
    • 🐟Tilapia Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    Baked tilapia recipes are generally very easy and quick to make. And even fish haters will like tilapia.

    Baked is much healthier than frying. I find frying fish in a frying 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 bit of 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.

    👨‍🍳How to make this recipe

    1. Start with frozen or fresh tilapia. If frozen, thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight. Give it a good brush of olive oil.
    2. A large baking dish, a sheet pan, or a baking tray work well. I like to use foil for easy clean-up and a heavy coat of oil or cooking spray like PAM to prevent sticking.
    3. Give the tilapia a nice coat of the blackening seasoning (Not all of what you mixed). You can use a different seasoning if you want.
    4. Fish is best cooked in a high oven. 425° conventional for tilapia, but you may adjust the oven temperature to lower if you need to for other dishes.
    5. Bake to an internal temperature of 145° in the thickest part by FDA rules. Always check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Also, it should flake easily with a fork. It will take 7-8 minutes or about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. but always check the fish a minute or two early.
    6. Do not overcook the tilapia or it will become very dry rapidly.

    Ingredients

    🐟About Tilapia

    Tilapia is a mild-tasting fish that even non-fish eaters will love when appropriately seasoned. It has much less of that "fishy" smell and taste many people don't like.

    Tilapia is a good source of low-fat protein. It is also low in sodium, low in calories, low carb, and, of course, gluten-free. It fits nicely in a healthy diet even if a few "health" sites have attacked tilapia with click bate headlines.

    Most tilapia is farm-raised around the world. While farm-raised tilapia is slightly lower in omega-3 fatty acids than some wild fish, it is also lower in mercury.

    Can I substitute a different fish for the tilapia? Generally, yes, another fish, like cod or halibut, can be used and will normally cook about the same thickness adjustment. Generally, fish will need about 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

    🔥The Blackening Seasoning

    First, a brief discussion about blackening, Cajun, and Creole seasoning: all have a base of paprika, pepper, and 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.

    For this blackening seasoning, there are two ways to adjust the heat. Or, if you prefer, buy creole or cajan seasoning mix.

    First is the paprika. Many people will like to use smoked paprika. Hungarian paprika is generally hot. But most paprika is just called paprika is what is called sweet paprika, which is what I usually prefer.

    The second heat adjustment is the amount of cayenne pepper amount.

    • 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper will be 9/10 hot
    • ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper will be 7/10 hot
    • ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper will be 3-4/10 hot—my usual
    • none-the heat will depend on the paprika

    ❓FAQs

    Can this recipe be used for fish tacos or sandwiches?

    Yes. Many people will use this for fish tacos or just served on a bun as a blackened fish sandwich.

    Can I use tartar sauce with blackened tilapia?

    Tartar provides a great contrast to the spiciness of the blackened fish.

    I did an easy tartar sauce that went well with this. This is included in the recipe to use if you wish.

    What should be served with baked tilapia?

    Lime or lemon slices for fresh lemon juice or lime juice. Side dishes of veggies, rice, or potatoes.

    🐟Tilapia Recipes

    Grilled Blackened Tilapia

    Oven Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

    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
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    Spices for blackening seasoning

    Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.

    brushing oil on baking tray

    Line a sheet pan or baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with PAM or add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brush over the foil.

    mixing rub ingredients in metal bowl

    This makes more blackened seasoning than you need. Store the extra for later sealed airtight.

    In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ¼ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon dry thyme, one teaspoon dry oregano, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. The cayenne heat level will be 9/10 at 1 teaspoon, 7/10 at ½ teaspoon, and 3-4/10 at ¼ teaspoon.

    drying tilapia filets with paper towel

    Rinse and pat dry with paper towels 1 pound of tilapia.

    brushing tilapia with oil

    Brush the tilapia with olive oil.

    rubbing spices onto tilapia

    Cover the fillets with the spice mixture and rub it on both sides. You will only need about ¼ to ⅓ of the spice mix you made. DO NOT USE ALL THE MIX.

    spraying tilapia with PAM

    Place on the oiled pan and give the fish a light spray of PAM. Place in the preheated oven.

    cooked blackened tilapia on the baking tray

    Cook until nicely brown and flaky. This is 8-9 minutes for big fillets and a minute or two less for small to medium fillets. For safety, fish needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°

    ingredients for simple tarter sauce

    If you want a homemade tartar sauce, combine ⅓ cup mayo, 2 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish, and ¼ teaspoon onion powder. Mix well.

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    Recipe

    flacking Blackened Tilapia on a white plate

    Baked Blackened Tilapia

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Blackened Tilapia is a delicious way to have healthy baked tilapia in the oven bursting with taste and spicy goodness. With a great flavor profile, you can easily adjust or eliminate most of the heat—a super easy 20-minute dinner recipe.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.25 from 509 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 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
    • ¼ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper - to taste
    • 1 teaspoon thyme
    • 1 teaspoon oregano
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

    Simple Tartar Sauce - optional

    • ⅓ cup mayonnaise
    • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
    • 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
    • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.
      Spices for blackening seasoning
    • Line a sheet pan or baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with PAM or add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brush over the foil.
      brushing oil on baking tray
    • This makes more blackened seasoning than you need. Store the extra for later sealed airtight.
      In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ¼ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon dry thyme, one teaspoon dry oregano, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. The cayenne heat level will be 9/10 at 1 teaspoon, 7/10 at ½ teaspoon, and 3-4/10 at ¼ teaspoon.
      mixing rub ingredients in metal bowl
    • Rinse and pat dry with paper towels 1 pound of tilapia.
      drying tilapia filets with paper towel
    • Brush the tilapia with olive oil.
      brushing tilapia with oil
    • Cover the fillets with the spice mixture and rub it on both sides. You will only need about ¼ to ⅓ of the spice mix you made. DO NOT USE ALL THE MIX.
      rubbing spices onto tilapia
    • Place on the oiled pan and give the fish a light spray of PAM. Place in the preheated oven.
      spraying tilapia with PAM
    • Cook until nicely brown and flaky. This is 8-9 minutes for big fillets and a minute or two less for small to medium fillets. For safety, fish needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°
      cooked blackened tilapia on the baking tray
    • If you want a homemade tartar sauce, combine ⅓ cup mayo, 2 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish, and ¼ teaspoon onion powder. Mix well.
      ingredients for simple tarter sauce
    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

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. The spice mix makes more than you need. You only need ¼ to ⅓ of the mix for one pound of fish. Save the rest sealed tightly for another cooking.
    2. The cayenne heat level will be 9/10 at 1 teaspoon, 7/10 at ½ teaspoon, and 3-4/10 at ¼ teaspoon. Or skip it if you want.
    3. Use a cajun seasoning or any other seasoning you want.
    4. Remember, you can cook fish with different seasonings on the same tray.
    5. Generally, there will be about four filets of tilapia per pound.
    6. You may use other fish. Be sure frozen fish is completely before using these instructions. If you want to cook frozen fish, cook by temperature.
    7. Fish needs to reach 145° for safety and should be flaky when done.
    8. Cooking time is about 5 minutes per half-inch thickness of the fish.
    9. The oven temperature should be 400° to 450°. I like 425° convection, which gives a better texture.
    10. A light spray of oil (PAM) helps prevent a dry surface.
    11. Check the fish a minute or two early.
    12. Nutritional information does not include the tarter sauce.

    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
    Baked Blackened Tilapia
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 178 Calories from Fat 90
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 10g15%
    Saturated Fat 2g10%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
    Monounsaturated Fat 5g
    Cholesterol 40mg13%
    Sodium 563mg23%
    Potassium 60mg2%
    Carbohydrates 5g2%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 21g42%
    Vitamin A 300IU6%
    Vitamin C 4.1mg5%
    Calcium 50mg5%
    Iron 2.3mg13%
    * 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 : Fish|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.

    Editor note: Originally published August 3, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    1. Amber

      August 03, 2017 at 10:45 pm

      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.

      Reply
    2. Anna

      June 20, 2017 at 3:33 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        June 23, 2017 at 10:40 am

        Thanks for the note. This is the easy way to blackened fish.
        Dan

    3. Rose Correia

      May 28, 2017 at 9:06 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 29, 2017 at 10:40 pm

        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

    4. Lorraine

      May 21, 2017 at 9:53 pm

      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 : )

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 22, 2017 at 8:10 pm

        Thanks Lorraine, I like a little spice in my life.
        Dan

    5. Brianne

      February 20, 2017 at 10:19 pm

      Has anyone done this on a Forman grill

      Reply
      • DrDan

        February 20, 2017 at 10:27 pm

        Not that I know of but it probably would work but the timing is unknown to me.

        Dan

    6. Kevin perala

      January 22, 2017 at 6:20 pm

      Great recipe

      Reply
    7. Peggy

      January 18, 2017 at 1:07 am

      I thought this was fabulous! I used the full amount of cayenne because we like it spicy. Thanks for the great recipe!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 19, 2017 at 7:39 pm

        Hi Peggy, Thanks for the note. I'm cutting back the cayenne even more as we get older.
        Dan

    8. Melanie Edwards

      January 04, 2017 at 7:54 pm

      Is this recipe for frozen or thawed tilapia?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 04, 2017 at 8:01 pm

        Fresh or thawed frozen.

    9. Brandi Williams

      November 29, 2016 at 10:40 pm

      Great day at gym, so why not cook! Tried this recipe and it was amazing! Added baked patatoes and spinach... Cooked enough for me and mom! Of course, she loved it! Thanks!!!

      Reply
    10. Linda Reeser

      October 29, 2016 at 1:18 pm

      Just finished eating. This was amazing. We often eat blackened mahi when we eat out. Now we can make fish anytime we want it. We did add Old Bay seasoning as we love it instead of all the paprika.

      Reply
    11. Tasha

      September 28, 2016 at 1:15 pm

      I made this last night. Excellent! I cut the seasonings in half for just myself and had 4 filets (for leftovers). I had just enough of the rub. I WILL be making this again. Never cooked tilapia very often (usually stick with salmon or catfish) but this was amazing. So happy I found this recipe and I don't think it could be more simple. I didn't have Pam so I just drizzled a bit more olive oil over the fish after the seasonings were on. Awesome! thanks

      Reply
    12. LESLIE FEENEY

      July 08, 2016 at 7:37 pm

      LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS RECIPE

      Reply
    13. Ryan

      May 17, 2016 at 4:42 pm

      Oops, I mis-read this last night and cooked them in a NON convection, bottom-tier apartment normal-oven, @ 425 for 10-12 minutes. It came out cooked, but the outside was not crispy at ALL.

      I'm going to try again tonight, and I'll do 450 for 6-7 minutes, then maybe finish it off with the broiler for the last few minutes. Logically, I think this would give us more of a crispy outside we're looking for in 'blackened' fish. Any thoughts, Dan?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 17, 2016 at 5:18 pm

        This is not a very "crispy" recipe... it is more about flavor. The grilled version is much crispier. Also check the original version linked above which is pan fried.
        DrDan

    14. Amanda

      April 27, 2016 at 1:05 pm

      Excited to try this recipe today, I am not a fish lover but last summer I had blackened fish for the first time. I feel in love but have not found a recipe online that tasted as good as the one I had. This one has great reviews so i'm hoping for the best.

      Reply
    15. Katie

      April 25, 2016 at 5:52 pm

      Yummy! I like extra onion powder, some paprika (I use it in everything!) and horseradish (my addiction) in my tartar sauce, but otherwise a perfect quickie!
      Thanks!

      Reply
    16. Paige

      April 03, 2016 at 5:34 pm

      Would white cod be ok for this dish rather than tilapia?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        April 03, 2016 at 5:56 pm

        No. The spice of course would be ok but the thickness and mass of the white fish would change the cooking technique. The time would be significantly longer.
        DrDan

    17. Cherrie

      March 29, 2016 at 6:26 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! Thank you! :-) I made the tartar sauce with paleo mayonnaise and yum!

      Reply
    18. Christina

      March 04, 2016 at 1:17 pm

      This sounds like a great recipe. Like many, I am not much of a fish person; however, I do enjoy tilapia and shrimp. I prepare nearly all of my meals on Sunday for the upcoming week and I am wondering if you think this is one that can be prepared ahead of time to be enjoyed later in the week during lunch? Thanks!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        March 04, 2016 at 7:16 pm

        The tarter sauce could be made a few days ahead but I wouldn't do a week. The fish is just spice so the spice could be mixed weeks ahead and applied just before cooking.

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