Honey Lime Tilapia
This honey lime tilapia is unbelievably delicious. The flavor is so fresh and light and fantastic. Honey and lime basically belong to each other forever.
Admittedly, I’m a big time tilapia lover.
However I’m telling you, even if I didn’t love the fish, this flavor pairing and cooking method would convince me otherwise.
This honey lime tilapia is unbelievably delicious.
I’m no stranger to the honey lime flavor combo.
It’s trending presence in recipes is justified because honey and lime basically belong to each other forever and ever.
Even though this delectable, tender fish looks as if it’s been battered and fried, it’s actually a fairly healthful dish.
The tilapia, which has been marinated and infused with honey lime deliciousness, gets a quick dredge in seasoned flour – whole wheat in my case – before cooking {quickly} to golden perfection.
The flavor, oh the flavor!, is so fresh and light and fantastic that I had a really hard time not stealing my kid’s portions.
Too bad they loved this honey lime tilapia as much as I did.
There wasn’t any excuse to vie for dinner clean-up because there weren’t any leftovers to “put away,” if you know what I mean.
Incidentally, I served this with steamed broccoli and brown rice with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Simple, fast, healthy and tasty. Can’t ask for much more than that.
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Honey Lime Tilapia
Ingredients
Fish and Marinade:
- 4 tilapia fillets, about 4-5 ounces each
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, from 1 large lime
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
Coating and Cooking:
- ½ cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and garlic. Place the tilapia in a gallon-sized ziploc bag and pour the marinade on top of the fish. Press the air out of the bag and seal. Refrigerate the fish for at least an hour and up to 4 hours. It helps to lay the bag in a flat dish and turn it over once or twice during the marinading time since the marinade won’t completely cover the fish.
- Before cooking, whisk together the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish like a pie plate. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until rippling and hot. Dredge each tilapia fillet in the flour, coating both sides lightly. Cook the fillets for 3-5 minutes per side without moving the fish while it cooks on each side; this will ensure a more even browning. Adjust the cooking time as needed depending on the thickness of the tilapia and the heat of the skillet and work in batches if necessary so the skillet isn’t overcrowded.
- Serve immediately with lime wedges.
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Recipe Source: adapted slightly from One Lovely Life, found via Pinterest
Hi Mel! I made this tonight (along with your simple skillet green beans YUMYUM!) and the flavor was good, but I had a few issues I am hoping you can help me with.
1. The tilapia I had was uneven, thicker in the middle, so it seemed that it took longer to cook. Also, I tried pressing the fish down bc it was getting burned in some areas and raw in others.
2. The olive oil seemed to start to burn, so I had to do the second batch in a different pan.
I would soooo appreciate any tips! We are trying to eat more fish and I am just not a confident fish chef!! Thank you!!!
Hi Barbara, try reducing the temperature just a bit so the olive oil doesn’t burn. Also, you can lightly score the top of the fish where it goes from thick to thin and gently fold the thinner part underneath the fish so it’s all one thickness (does that make sense at all)?
I’m someone who doesn’t really know much about cooking, but this dish is super easy to make and delicious!
Followed recipe exactly. Marinated 4 hours. The marinade was so good that just before fish was done I poured it into the middle of the pan ( not on fish) and it immediately de-glazed perfectly without getting fish soggy, just infused all that flavor. Perfect recipe. Definitely not to be ignored! Thanks so much
We tried this recipe last night and loved it! Wondering if you have tried making it in an air fryer. Thanks for the delicious recipes!
This is a delicious recipe for Tilapia. I made a carrot greens pesto as a smear on the Tilapia and served it with pearl couscous drizzled with the marinade. It serves as a light summer meal that bursts with flavor.
Amazing. Our favorite fish by a long shot. I have used Pollock the last few times and that has turned out just as delicious. Thank you, Mel!
I absolutely despise how you kept saying the same thing over and over in the written out section of this. Absolutely terrible; at least make it interesting and change it up next time would ya? Fool.
I seriously can’t believe you would make a comment like this. Mel is awesome and your comment was incredibly rude. Be kind please. You will be happier and so will everyone else.
YUM! Just made this tonight. Thawed the tilapia in the marinade. Then paired it with a cilantro lime rice and steamed broccoli. So delicious. I will be making this again.
Wow, Mel! This was easy, healthy, and delicious. Thank you for doing it again – we probably eat your recipes 3-6 times a week and you’re one of my food heroes (and heroes in many other ways). Thanks for all you do, suggest, and are an example of.
Thank you so much, Jenn!!
Delicious0. Used Costco frozen and thawed in marinade. Heated up leftover marinade and put on brown rice. Served with roasted brussel sprouts. Might try just baking next time. Got a little too brown, maybe burner was too hot.
Really enjoyed this recipe.
The fish was delicious. We ate this with white rice and a Mediterranean (cucumber tomato) salad. I had a bit of a hard time flipping the fish so it didn’t look as pretty as the picture but it was delicioso!
Loved this easy and flavorful dish! I substituted gluten free flour and added just a little bit of chili powder and paprika to the marinade. Even my kids loved it!Thank you!