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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Hi,
Could I grill this in the oven?
Hi Lynda, when you say you’d like to use the oven to grill it, I’m assuming you mean broiling. If so, Yes– I’d coat them with a little bit of oil and then broil them so that they blacken a bit more. Enjoy!
First of all, I would like to say I just love your recipes!!!!!!! Can you use this blackening seasoning on any white fish?
Glad you like the recipes, Lisa! Yes, I think this seasoning would work nicely on a variety of fishes.
Decided at the last minute to make this for dinner tonight but didn’t have any fish in the house. Used chicken instead. Cut the chicken into strips, then coated with the Cajun seasoning and sauteed the strips in an olive oil/butter combo. Served with roasted carrots with thyme (my very favourite way to serve carrots – thank you!) and sauteed asparagus. Absolutely wonderful and less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Thanks so much for your awesome recipes!
So easy and quick! It has become my favorite fish recipe.
I’ve never been a fan of tilapia until now! Great recipe. Next time I want to stir fry rice in the pan used to cook the fish. I’ve made scrambled eggs using the pan I’ve cooked fried seasoned fish in before and they are always amazing. Thanks for another winner!
This looks delicious!! I’m always looking for fish recipes & was wondering if I could substitute haddock for the tilapia? I will be trying this very soon.
Hi Cathy, I think that should work. I’d love to hear how it turns out with the haddock!
I was looking for a fish recipe that was different than my usual breaded flounder or lemon/garlic/parsely dressing. This was absolutely fantastic. The Cajun spice was the perfect balance to the sweetness of the fish.
Thanks for another great recipe! I know I can always count on your website for wholesome, easy, but really delicious meals!
Happy Thanksgiving (and I’ll be using your stuffing recipe as well!)
Great recipe! Loved it AND quick!
Could you fry this in coconut oil to give it a little of that flavor profile? I was wanting to pair this with some rice with red peppers and coconut and cajun corn on the cob. Any suggestions! I am looking forward to making this, it seems foolproof!!!!
Hi Sabrina, I haven’t cooked this in coconut oil, but another reader did and was happy with the results. I like the sound of the sides you’re planning to serve with the fish. Hope you enjoy!
This is one of our “go to” recipes and we love it!