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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Comments
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So easy & so delicious! Will definitely be fixing this again soon!
Thanks!
Hi Jenn,
Any other fish you could recommend instead of Tilapia?
Hi Elisa, Hi Kristen, You could substitute pretty much anything here. A couple great options are salmon, snapper, grouper or mahi mahi.
This is literally a tried and true recipe for me! Thank you so much. Whenever I make it everyone loves it. Just a tip: If you’re feeling a little unhealthy, add some butter, a splash of lime juice, some peppers, and any leftover seasoning to the pan after you take all of the fish out to make a really flavorful sauce . I did that the last time I made this and it was AMAZING!
Just awesome! Thanks for the great recipe. I made it for my wife with cajun Brussel sprouts and she thoroughly enjoyed it.
Do you recommend making up a larger batch of the rub and keeping it on hand?
I have a meat rub that I keep ready.
Thanks for ll the goodies!!!
Sure, it’s always nice to have extra on hand!
Hi!
What do u think about grilling this is foil packets instead of frying? Just looking for ease of prep as I am planning on also making a sauté of veggies(zucchini,yellow squash and tomatoes) and Pearl couscous.
Also wanted to say that for more years that I can count I have loved looking at food blogs and trying many recipes. Without a doubt your blog has brought me the most success! Thank you! Each and every one I have tried has been delicious:)
Hi Kath, Thanks for the kind words – I’m so glad the recipes are working for you! I think you could definitely grill the tilapia in foil packets; the only thing is that you won’t get that nice sear, which adds texture and flavor.
My tilapia has not been the same since I started using this recipe. I love it!!!!
This is excellent. It’s foolproof. I usually don’t have luck with fish, but this turned out perfect!
The seasoning is amazing. It’s one of the most easiest and quick kid friendly dinners that I frequently make. However, before using the seasoning… I mix it with unflavored yoghurt and it really gives the fish an amazing flavor.
This seasoning is fantastic. We usually use a store bought brand, but this far exceeded the other one. We live on the Gulf Coast and use it regularly.