We eat fish about once a week but sometimes the cost is insane. My family loves a delicious sockeye salmon, but the price is out of our weekly food budget. That’s when the obsession with tilapia began! It was during a search for quick and delicious weeknight meals that I came across all the delicious easy tilapia recipes that were not only easy on the budget but quick to make on busy weeknights.  And since Tilapia is a relatively inexpensive fish and mild on flavor, it’s easy to add to our regular shopping list. You can find frozen tilapia in the Walmart frozen section, or Costco and pretty much any grocer. Frozen tilapia has the same nutritional value as fresh and is ready to be used whenever you need a 30-minute meal.

With Lent approaching, our family food tradition of fish will move to Friday and I’m excited to start exploring new tilapia recipes. Find my list of favorites below, including our Lemon and Rosemary Tilapia recipe with ingredients straight from our garden.

Delicious Tilapia Recipes

Tilapia Nutrition

Even more impressive then the cost is how healthy tilapia is. As a lean source of protein, we eat this fish in lieu of chicken at least once a week. Tilapia nutrition includes a variety of vitamins and minerals, including being rich in niacin, vitamin B12, phosphorus, selenium, and potassium.

The main concern in healthy tilapia claims is the relative lower Omega3 fatty acids found in tilapia compared to wild salmon and the issues surrounding farmed tilapia fish in some areas of the world (specifically China). Tilapia mercury level is also low compared to these fattier fish.

Is tilapia bad for you? That’s for you to decide. There are better nutritional fish to consume, but the accessible cost and ease of cooking are hard to ignore. This article from HealthLine on Tilapia was really informative to help guide our shopping behaviors.

5 Baked Tilapia Recipes We Love

With its mild flavor, tilapia acts as a blank slate for a recipe. Savory, sweet, or spicy, this white fish can become whatever you need it to be! Baked tilapia recipes are a quick way to get dinner on the table fast. With lots of combinations on what to season tilapia with, the options are endless. Wrap the fish in foil with seasonings and in a few minutes,s you’ve got a delicious protein to add on top of rice, quinoa or stuff into tortillas. Here are 5 of my favorite easy tilapia recipes:

• Garlic Crusted Tilapia
• Asiago Cheese Crusted Tilapia
• Honey Lime Tilapia
• Peppered Tilapia
• Baked Breaded Tilapia with Marinara

Related: Quick Pesto Salmon Recipe

Lemon Rosemary Tilapia Recipe

To make Lemon Rosemary Tilapia, you’ll need…

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 4 filets of tilapia (frozen works fine)
• 1 lemon, sliced in rounds
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• Salt/pepper to taste

Cooking Tilapia

Cooking tilapia fillets is easy and happens fast! Tilapia can be cooked on the grill or stovetop, but we love baking tilapia in a foil packet.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lay foil on a pan and arrange the tilapia filets. Then season the fish with salt, pepper and chopped rosemary. Top with a sliced round of lemon. Cover with foil and cook for approximately 18-20 minutes for frozen fish and 15 minutes for thawed. You’ll know the fish is cooked when it is completely white and flakes easily.

Serve immediately on a bed of brown rice or lettuce. This recipe has 4 servings and takes about 30 minutes, start to finish.

Related: Cod Fritters – Frituras de Bacaloa

Oh, the aroma! This dish smells so great. This tilapia recipe is so simple to make. It takes such little time and is great on the budget, too. Lent is right around the corner and I can see us enjoying this simple meal many times, combined with rice, vegetables or even as a mid-day salad.

Lemon Rosemary Tilapia Recipe

Baked tilapia recipes are quick and easy on the budget... and this Lemon Rosemary Tilapia smells great too.

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 4 filets of tilapia (frozen works fine)
• 1 lemon, sliced in rounds
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lay foil on a pan and arrange the tilapia filets. Then season the fish with salt, pepper and chopped rosemary. Top with a sliced round of lemon. Cover with foil and cook for approximately 18-20 minutes for frozen fish and 15 minutes for thawed. You’ll know the fish is cooked when it is completely white and flakes easily.

Serve immediately on a bed of brown rice or lettuce. This recipe has 4 servings and takes about 30 minutes, start to finish.