Blackened Tilapia
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Blackened tilapia makes a super quick and flavorful weeknight meal. You can have it on the table in just 15 minutes!
Tilapia is a flaky, mild-tasting, inexpensive, and readily available white fish that’s super easy to cook and prepare. It is especially good blackened, which doesn’t mean burnt but rather coated in a Cajun-style spice blend that takes on a dark reddish-brown, almost black color when cooked. In this quick and simple recipe, the fish fillets are dusted with a rub made from spices, brown sugar, and salt and then sautéed in olive oil until blackened and flaky.
Serve the blackened tilapia with a vegetable, like roasted asparagus, along with cornbread muffins, cilantro lime rice, hush puppies, or cheddar bay biscuits.
Table of Contents
“First time making tilapia this way. Now, it’s gonna be my only way.”
What You’ll Need To Make Blackened Tilapia
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by making the Cajun spice rub. In a small bowl, combine paprika, brown sugar, oregano, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne. Don’t worry about the amount of cayenne — the spice rub has a little kick but the dish won’t be too spicy, even for kids.
Mix to combine.
Evenly dust the spice rub evenly all over the tilapia fillets.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan, then add the tilapia, presentation side down.
Cook a few minutes per side, until crisp and reddish-brown (“blackened”) on the outside and flaky on the inside.
Enjoy!
You May Also Like
Blackened Tilapia
Blackened tilapia makes a super quick and flavorful weeknight meal. You can have it on the table in just 15 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1½ teaspoons paprika
- 1½ teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 six-ounce tilapia fillets
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional, for serving)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, for cooking
Instructions
- Combine the paprika, brown sugar, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in a small bowl; mix until well combined (use your fingers to break up the lumps of brown sugar). Sprinkle the spice rub evenly over both sides of the tilapia fillets.
- Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick pan. Cook the fillets for 2-3 minutes on each side until reddish-brown on the outside and flaky on the inside. Serve immediately with lime wedges.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 236
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Sugar: 2g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 34g
- Sodium: 672mg
- Cholesterol: 85mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Can this be baked on the oven?
If so on what temperature and how long?
Thanks
Hi Beth, if you want to prepare this in the oven, I’d suggest broiling it. I’d coat the fish with a little bit of oil (so that they blacken a bit more) and broil for 5 – 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets. Enjoy!
This is our only way to prepare tilapia now!
It’s easy to use frozen tilapia if you squeeze them well between paper towels after defrosting (this removes the excess water).
I prepare a 6 recipe size jar of the spice rub and keep it on the shelf–only takes a minute the mix at the ready.
Can’t wait for my cookbook to arrive!!!!!
This is a fantastic recipe! It is on regular rotation on my dinner menu. I normally pan fry it in my cast iron skillet with some grapeseed oil. However, last time I broiled it in the oven. I placed a wire rack in a baking sheet and then placed the fish on top. It came out great that way.
This Blackened Tilapia is fantastic! I made it just as the recipe instructs and it did not disappoint. Served it with roasted asparagus and lemon brown rice–a perfect meal.
Thanks Jenn–your recipes are always so easy to follow and delicious!
I love this recipe!! Its so easy, delicious, and best of all quick! My husband and I don’t like too much spice so I leave out the cayenne and just add a pinch of black pepper instead. Otherwise, I use all other ingredients as stated and it comes out great! I’ve made it with flounder and lemon sole as well and it came out just as good. I definitely recommend!
This sounds wonderful. I blacken catfish a lot, but hadn’t thought of doing so with tilapia. I try to be sugar free, so what would you substitute for brown sugar? Is it crucial to the dish. Thanks.
Hi Bill, you can just omit the sugar — it’s not crucial here. Enjoy!
I am not a big fish person to begin with and I wish I would have followed the recipe more concisely. I didn’t have any fresh limes which I thought would be a great flavor addition, so I used lime juice concentrate on the fish before I put the dry spices on. I honestly didn’t taste much lime doing it this way and the spices didn’t stick to the fish the same. I so wish I had the real deal limes!
Also, thinking it would make it healthier, I grilled the fish instead of pan frying.
Either the paprika or the cumin overpowered the other flavors.
Overall, I believe that if I would’ve followed the recipe better, I may have enjoyed this fish more…..which by the way, my husband loved and devoured!
Another hit! Quick, easy and delicious!
This recipe was out of this world!!!! It was perfect, I have used it several times.
This recipe is to die for. Seasoning is perfect. I truly enjoyed it. Actually making it again tomorrow.