This simple bread crumb, herb, and olive oil topping works well with almost all fish and takes seconds to make…the idea was “stolen” from Tyler Florence, who used it on a belly of Wild Atlantic Salmon. Sorry, salmon, you’ve just turned into budget-friendly Herbed Breadcrumb Crusted Tilapia. (The recipe is for 4 fillets, the photos only show two.)
Herbed Breadcrumb Crusted Tilapia
It’s always hard to find decent fish at a good price in my area, and I’m not a huge fan, but I’m trying – thanks to the gentle urging of my brother, who’s something of a guru on health and nutrition. (He would tell you, though, to be careful of the omega-6 ratios in Tilapia, and stick with the smaller fish in the ocean.)
I’ve noticed a lot of my friends are just picking up the frozen fillets of Tilapia for quick dinners, and I decided to follow suit, and was pleasantly surprised. The herb crust kept the thin cut moist and succulent, added a wonderful flavor, crunch, and texture, and I could *almost* pretend the Tilapia wasn’t there! How’s that for a fish endorsement!
I’m a little chagrined by my somewhat public admission, but I will say if you don’t have fish lovers in your family, maybe the bright, lemony, herby topping will help ease them into submission. And if you do have fish lovers? Well, what’s not to love here?
Herbed Breadcrumb Crusted Tilapia is an easy recipe, quick to make, and can be used on almost any fish and is fabulous on chicken, too. Toasting your own breadcrumbs will always give the best flavor and texture, but no one’s looking. You do you! I’m going to try to convince you, though.
More About the Breadcrumbs:
When working with any bread crumb topping, starting out with a toasted bread crumb can help speed along the browning process and is ideal for items that spend short time periods in the oven: Casseroles, boneless chicken breasts, and fish are a few things that come to mind.
Mixing the crumbs first with Olive Oil (or melted butter in certain cases) also helps promote gorgeous browning and crunch, and works out so much better than adding crumbs, spraying them with cooking spray, and hoping for something that looks and tastes good.
Save a bit of the bread crumb topping out, and gently press the crumbs onto the fish or chicken so they adhere. Sprinkle the saved bit over the top, and you’ll have a beautiful crust with dimension rather than something that looks flat and contrived, and you’ll find it has more crunch than if you had just simply pressed the crumbs on.
I hope you enjoy this Herb Breadcrumb Crusted Tilapia! Thanks for visiting, and I hope to see you here again!
Mollie
Herbed Breadcrumb Crusted Tilapia
Herbed Breadcrumb Crusted Tilapia
A quick and easy recipe, very adaptable.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish Fish or Seafood
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 fillets of Tilapia
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup bread crumbs, lightly toasted
- 1/2 lemon, squeeze a bit into the bread crumbs and save a bit for serving
- five or six leaves of fresh basil, torn, or other herbs of your choice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place one rack in the center of the oven and the other about four inches from broiler. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil (optional) and lightly spray with cooking spray. Lay the tilapia fillets out on the tray.
In a food processor or blender, pulse the garlic, add bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and basil leaves together and pulse several times to once or twice. Through the shoot, add lemon and a tablespoon or two of olive oil, and pulse until the bread crumbs are coated and the basil has thoroughly mixed with the bread crumbs. (One or two pulses.)
Gently pack most of the bread crumbs over the tilapia fillets. Lightly sprinkle the rest over the tops. (This makes the crust look a bit more attractive.) Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. If not quite browned, turn on the broiler, place the fillets on the top rack, and brown the crumbs for a moment or two, watching closely.
Nutrition:
Cal 311; cal from fat 91; tot at 10g; sat fat 1.85g; chol 16.16g; sod 411mg; tot carb 39.37; fib 2.46g; sug 3/36g; prot 14.72g
