Oven-baked tilapia with zucchini and asparagus – got to love a recipe that’s healthy, easy and on the table in 20 minutes! Low in carbs, keto diet friendly.
Ahh British weather… how I love you. Two days of scorching sunshine and I was all set to create a BBQ recipe using tilapia fillets. I didn’t act quite fast enough however and the sun has given way to torrential rain and thunderstorms.
So it’s bye bye BBQ tilapia, hello oven-baked tilapia. And you know what? Oven-baked tilapia is just fine, rain or shine. It is such an easy fish to cook, with nice firm flesh and a mild taste that can easily adapt to different flavours.
And the real bonus is how incredibly cheap they are! I keep meaning to add more fish to my diet, but most popular fish are relatively pricy – especially if you are feeding a family. So if you haven’t tried tilapia before you really need to give them a go, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
I wanted to keep this recipe on the healthy side without too many carbs, so have kept the veggies to courgette (zucchini) and asparagus with some cherry tomatoes thrown in for colour and flavour.
As you will see from the photos I was a bit low on asparagus – you can add way more than I did! But I did add a little butter on top of the fish so it’s not too ascetic! There’s also a ton of garlic…
As long as you use vegetables that will cook quickly in a hot oven, you can throw in anything else that takes your fancy. Tenderstem broccoli spears (broccoli rabe) is an especially delicious addition to this recipe. I seem to be adding them to most of the savoury recipes I make lately!
Oven-baked tilapia – step by step
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and drizzle a large sheet pan with olive oil. Once the oven has reached the right temperature, place the sheet pan in the oven and let the oil get really hot.
Step 2. Meanwhile pat the tilapia fillets dry with some kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper. Slice your courgette (zucchini), lemon and tomatoes and have everything ready to go…
Step 3. Toss the vegetables in the hot oil (be careful how you handle that tray) so that they are covered. Place the fish fillets on the tray, nestling them around the vegetables. Top with the cherry tomatoes, lemon and garlic slices, add the capers and sprinkle with fennel seeds. Dot a little butter over the fish, season with salt and pepper and cook for 20 minutes.
Step 4. You can serve this as it is straight from the tray. If you wanted to add some carbs, then couscous would go nicely and would absorb some of the lovely pan juices.
Here’s a few more seafood recipes you might like to try
- One-pan Cod with Chorizo and Chickpeas
- Pancetta-wrapped cod with blistered tomatoes and lentils
- 30 minute Mediterranean sheet pan salmon with couscous
- Herby fish croquettes with easy tartar sauce
- Chilli prawn noodles – ready in 5 minutes
- Pressure cooker smoked salmon frittata
- Air fryer fish fingers with easy tartar sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 tilapia fillets
- 2 small courgettes /zucchini cut into wedges
- Small bunch asparagus
- 15 cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 large garlic cloves sliced
- 2 tbsp small capers
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- Half a lemon sliced thinly
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- fresh thyme to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and drizzle a large sheet pan with olive oil. Once the oven has reached the right temperature, place the sheet pan in the oven and let the oil get really hot.
- Meanwhile pat the tilapia fillets dry with some kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper.
- Toss the vegetables in the hot oil (be careful how you handle that tray) so that they are covered.
- Place the fish fillets on the tray, nestling them around the vegetables.
- Top with the cherry tomatoes, lemon and garlic slices, add the capers and sprinkle with the fennel seeds.
- Dot a little butter over the fish, season with salt and pepper and cook for 20 minutes until vegetables are soft and fish is cooked through.
You can serve this as it is straight from the pan. If you wanted to add some carbs, then couscous would go nicely and would absorb some of the lovely pan juices.
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Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
There’s no predicting the British weather…. but it looks as though the oven baked version was just as yummy. I sometimes buy Tilapia too, when I see it on the fish counter. It’s so light and delicious. x