Air Fryer Tilapia
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This Air Fryer Tilapia recipe cooks in just 7 minutes with only 5 ingredients! It’s a mild, easy to cook fish that’s great for beginners.
Why you will love this tilapia air fryer recipe
With a simple combination of warm, savory spices, this flaky air fried tilapia is a fantastic option for a healthy weeknight meal. Serve it with a tasty side salad as a great option for a filling and easy dinner that’s good for you too!
In less than 10 minutes of cooking time, you’ll have a delicious flaky fish with familiar flavors that pair well with all your favorite side dishes.
You can easily switch up the seasonings in this recipe for a customized take on this dish. Whether you’re serving it with some rice, in fish tacos topped with a fish taco slaw, as a topping for salads, or in wraps, you’ll love this quick and tasty tilapia.
Ingredients you will need
Tilapia fillets: These affordable fillets have a mild flavor that isn’t too fishy, which makes tilapia a perfect vehicle for a wide variety of other flavors. You can also use another type of fish like flounder, haddock, cod, or pollock.
Seasonings: Start with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, sea salt and black pepper. Feel free to sub them out or add other spices as well.
Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is always a good option, but you could also use another neutral oil or cooking spray like canola oil, avocado oil, safflower oil, or whatever you have on hand.
Fresh parsley: Using fresh herbs is the perfect way to add a pop of color and fresh flavor to this healthy meal.
How to air fry tilapia
- Prepare the fillets. Use a paper towel to pat the fillets as dry as you can.
- Season the fish. Sprinkle each filet with a generous amount of each of the spices.
- Air fry the tilapia. Lightly spritz the air fryer with oil and place the fish in the air fryer basket. Arrange in a single layer and work in batches if needed.
- Garnish and serve. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice and lemon wedges, a bit of olive oil or melted butter, and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.
Recipe tips and variations
- Don’t overlap: Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook in batches. For best results, you’ll want to make sure the fillets don’t overlap.
- Use a store bought spice blend: For an even quicker version of this recipe, use something like Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, or lemon pepper instead of the homemade seasoning mixture.
- Line the basket with parchment paper: Make your cleanup even easier by adding a layer of air fryer parchment paper to the bottom of the basket.
- Flip the fish once: If you’re worried about even cooking, you can flip the fillets halfway through cooking, but this is an optional step.
- Bread the fillets: Another option is to make a breading with Parmesan cheese and Panko bread crumbs for a nice golden brown and crispy crust.
How to reheat tilapia
If you have leftover tilapia, transfer them to an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. You can also freeze them for about 3 months.
They might last longer than that, but past 3 months the flavor and texture will start to deteriorate.
To reheat, I recommend placing the leftovers back in the air fryer at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes. Give them another spritz of olive oil spray to prevent them from drying out.
Air Fryer Tilapia Recipe FAQs
Air frying time can vary based on the size of your air fryer and the size of your tilapia filets. Mine were about 7 oz and cooked fine in 7 minutes. If your fillets are larger, add a couple of minutes, and if they’re smaller, start checking at around 5 minutes or so.
Use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the fish to check for an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees F.
What to serve with air fryer tilapia
Pair your tilapia with a healthy veggie side dish like green beans, broccoli, or asparagus. Another good option would be some fluffy rice or a batch of biscuits. Potatoes of any kind, whether they’re mashed or roasted also work as a great side dish.
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Air Fryer Tilapia
Ingredients
- 4 tilapia fillets
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1/3 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil, for cooking
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400℉.
- Pat the tilapia fillets dry with paper towels. Then season the fish with garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, and half the parsley using your fingers to gently rub it in and coat each piece on both sides. Spritz the air fryer basket with oil or line with greaseproof paper and spray with oil for easy clean up. Note: Depending on the size of your air fryer you may need to work in batches.
- Spritz the air fryer basket with olive oil or line it with air fryer parchment paper and spray with oil for easy clean up. Place the tilapia fillets in the air fryer basket in a single layer and lightly spritz with olive oil.Air fry for 7 minutes or until the internal temperature has reached 145℉.
- Serve with lemon juice and the remaining parsley. I like to add a little drizzle of olive oil too!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
Such a wonderful way to cook tilapia! You had me at just 7 minutes with only 5 ingredients. Definitely perfect for weeknights.