Pandemic Cooking: A Quick, and Tasty, Tilapia Recipe

I’ve been eating a lot more fish since my heart issues started back in 2012, but fish preparation can sometimes confuse people and take time. So when I came across a recipe called Easy Baked Tilapia (or Cod), how could I not check it out, and try it?

I used tilapia and the result was a very tasty dinner that was, indeed, easy to make. I made one major change to the recipe, however, switching in olive oil where it called for butter in the topping to get a healthier fat into the mix.

My baked tilapia just after it came out of the oven. Using panko breadcrumbs cuts the salt in the dish since they normally have less salt than regular breadcrumbs.

Also, because I had five large tilapia fillets instead of the four in the original recipe, I doubled the amount of everything to make the topping, which worked out great. I also used bottled lemon juice since I did not have a fresh lemon.

So, as with any recipe, be prepared to adjust depending on what you have available for cooking.

Here are the details:

Easy Baked Tilapia

PREP TIME 5 minutes
COOK TIME 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME 20 minutes
SERVINGS 4 servings
AUTHOR Holly Nilsson
COURSE Dinner
CUISINE Asian

Ingredients
4 filets white fish such as cod or tilapia
½ lemon
1 ½ tablespoons melted butter

Topping

¼ cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon butter melted (I used olive oil instead)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl.
Rinse tilapia filets, pat dry and place on a pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Squeeze lemon juice over the filets.
Top with the Panko mixture.
Cook 15 minutes or just until cooked through and fish is flaky.
Broil for the last minute if desired

And kudos to Spendwithpennies.com for also listing the nutrition information for the dish.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Calories: 240, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 35g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 100mg, Sodium: 203mg, Potassium: 532mg, Vitamin A: 390IU, Vitamin C: 8.5mg, Calcium: 57mg, Iron: 1.3mg

I think using the oil instead of the butter likely cut some, if mot all, of the saturated fat content too.