Blackened Tilapia
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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!
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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
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- 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.
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Saw this in my inbox yesterday and picked up the tilapia at the store. The rest is history. This goes down as the “best fish I have ever made, as exclaimed by my 22 year old son”. I had all the ingredients on hand except the fish, and it was a very quick, simple, impressive and delicious high point of our meal. Thanks once again! All I have to say is once upon a chef…and my family knows what to expect! (This would be great to use in a fish taco dish).
This is a super easy full proof fish recipe and we all love it. Thanks for taking the fear out of cooking fish!
Absolutely delicious! A new go to for quick dinners! This is easy to make for one person, esp since you can keep the spice mixture sealed up!
I paired with sauteed green beans and brown rice & quinoa mixture.
Another fabulous recipe. Served it with oven roasted broccoli splashed with a little fresh squeezed orange to balance out some of the heat. We ate on a OUAC kick and have been using your recipes almost every day. Keep them coming. I love checking my emails for new recipes !
I have made this dish many times as it’s so very easy and tasty. My husband loves it every time and even my grandaughters’ have eaten it. I have doubled the spice mixture to make it easy to prepare it the next time we have it. I’ve served it with rice and roasted vegetables for an easy, nutritious meal. Thank you Jennifer for creating this recipe!
This is a fantastic weeknight meal – simple and quick to prepare, and best of all delicious! My entire family loves this recipe – I do put a little less of the spice mixture on the kids’ fillets, my husband loves it loaded up. To keep things quick and simple, I serve it with couscous and sautéed spinach.
This recipe is a staple in our home. My family loves the flavorful tilapia and I love the speed and ease with which it can be prepared even on a busy weeknight. I usually pair it with rice and a green veggie. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I have served this tilapia dish often. It is quick and delicious, a hit with my whole family. The rub is awesome; I have used it on salmon and chicken as well. I have made the rub as is, and also cut the paprika in half and used regular chili powder in its place. They are both good; it is a little spicier with the added chili powder, which we like. Serve with rice and a green vegetable.
Simple, fast, and yummy. Perfect weeknight recipe.
This is one of my favorite ways to make tilapia. It delicious and perfect for a quick, weeknight meal. I prefer to use fresh tilapia and I it cooks up easily in my cast iron skillet. I like to serve it with sauteed swiss chard or roasted broccoli. In the summer, it is great with fresh corn on the cod.
Great when combined with the Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers, Avocado & Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette!!!