Food & Cooking Recipes Ingredients Seafood Recipes 14 Tilapia Recipes That Showcase This Versatile Fish It's mild-tasting and budget friendly. By Anna Kovel Anna Kovel Anna is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Published on June 10, 2024 Close Photo: Martha Stewart Why are tilapia recipes so popular? Because this fish is budget-friendly, neutral in flavor, and one of the most versatile fish you can buy. It's also widely available in markets. Choose U.S. or European-farmed tilapia when possible. Tilapia is usually sold skin-off and is firm enough to hold up to many cooking methods, from pan-fried to grilled to breaded and broiled. In this collection of our go-to recipes, we show you two types of bread-crumb techniques, how to make a simple, yet elegant pan sauce, and some of the best flavors to match with tilapia, from zesty horseradish, fresh lemon and lime to crunchy cucumber, raw cabbage, capers, and even juicy cherries. 22 Easy Fish Recipes for Any Night of the Week 01 of 14 Fish Tacos With Cabbage and Lime Broiled or fried, tilapia is meaty enough to hold its own when folded into corn tortillas. These tacos are topped with crunchy cabbage and a brilliantly simple sour cream-lime sauce. View Recipe 02 of 14 Tilapia With Arugula, Capers, and Tomatoes This easy recipe is a delicious introduction to making a lemony butter and caper pan sauce. Whether you make this to treat yourself alone, or cook for two or more is up to you. View Recipe 03 of 14 Tilapia and Quinoa With Feta and Cucumbers A simple dusting of paprika adds color and helps the tilapia form a slight crust when you sauté it in a nonstick skillet. Stirring cucumber into quinoa lends a refreshing crunch on the side. View Recipe 04 of 14 Grilled Tilapia With Cherry Salsa A fresh, juicy salsa is an inspired pairing for simple grilled tilapia filets—and it doesn't have to be made with tomatoes. Cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and fresh jalapeño finish the easy mix of chopped cherries and red onion. View Recipe 05 of 14 Panko-Crusted Fish Sticks With Herb Dipping Sauce Baked fish fingers are great crowd-pleasers, especially for the under-12 set. These are easy: dip them in an egg and crumb coating and bake in the oven. An optional spoonful of horseradish adds an adult pungency to the dipping sauce. View Recipe 06 of 14 Baked Fish With Summer Squash Con Poulos Juicy tomatoes, peak-season summer squash, and extra virgin olive oil will turn tilapia into a summer feast. This easy method for cooking fish is sure to become a regular part of your repertoire. View Recipe 07 of 14 Pan-Sauteed Sole Tilapia and other white fish fillets can be sautéed the classic French way. We use a light dusting of Wondra flour, which is very fine, so it won’t leave a heavy flour coating on the delicate fish. If you don’t have Wondra, use corn starch, potato starch, or rice starch mixed with a little all-purpose flour. View Recipe 08 of 14 Baked Tilapia With Roasted Tomatoes We've substituted tilapia for flounder in this clever recipe for baked, crumbed fish fillets. It uses an eggless method to help the coating stick. We quickly make our own breadcrumbs in a food processor, but you can buy crumbs if you prefer. View Recipe 09 of 14 Spanish Fish With Chorizo and Fennel Sidney Bensimon This parchment-parcel fish preparation uses cod, but tilapia is an excellent alternative. Though it's cooked in the oven, the fish steams inside the package. Fennel, chorizo, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and orange bring the colors and flavors of Spain to the dish. View Recipe 10 of 14 Crispy Oven-Baked Fish Wraps Chris Simpson Here’s another take on a taco, but this one uses crunchy Japanese panko crumbs. Thinly sliced Granny Smith apple adds tartness to a slaw-like topping. View Recipe 11 of 14 Fish Burgers Linda Pugliese Why not turn your tilapia into a savory patty you can eat on a brioche bun? Don't skip the quick-pickled onion relish on top. View Recipe 12 of 14 Roasted Sea Bass With Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, and Salsa Rustica Justin Walker A sheet-pan dinner like this is an easy meal and a great way to add a couple of different vegetables to dinner. Mild-tasting tilapia swaps nicely in place of the sea bass the recipe calls for. And it's the perfect base for the salsa rustica, a simple herb and caper sauce. View Recipe 13 of 14 Slow-Cooker Indian-Style Fish Curry Stephen Kent Johnson A spiced, coconut-simmered curry is a satisfying meal and can be a base for most proteins. Add tilapia fillets, and serve with steamed greens and rice for a healthy dinner. View Recipe 14 of 14 Miso-Glazed Tilapia The method of brushing fish with Japanese miso and the cooking wine mirin is perfect for tilapia. Its texture is just firm enough to hold up under the grill, and it will form a lovely glaze on top. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit