10-Minute Blackened Tilapia

Tilapia fillets are coated with an amazingly flavorful blackened spice rub and pan-fried to perfection. It is super quick! Less than 10 minutes to make this blackened tilapia and that includes the prep time as well. Tasty, versatile in terms of what you can serve with it, ideal for weeknight dinners, when you are far too tired to whip up a fancy meal. Keep this 10-minute blackened tilapia recipe handy.

I L-O-V-E this recipe.

This is my go-to recipe for days when I know I have to get a lot done and preparing food is not on the top of the list. The only thing you have to remember is to thaw the fillet if you only have frozen tilapia. Just take a couple of fillets from the freezer, chuck them into the refrigerator to thaw earlier in the day. In the evening, prepare this 10 minutes blackened tilapia and enjoy a healthy dinner.

I love recipes that take less than 10 minutes to make like my potato raita recipe that I shared earlier this week. They make life so easy in the kitchen.

Jump to:

• 🥘Ingredient details
• 🔪Equipment Needed
• 🧾Step By Step Instructions
• 💭Making Blackened Spice At Home
• 🥣What To Serve With Blackened Tilapia
• 💭How To Quickly Thaw Fish
• 📋More Fish Recipes
• 🍲Leftovers?
• 📖Additional Notes
• Blackened Tilapia

🥘Ingredient details

🔪Equipment Needed

As mentioned in my pan seared tilapia recipe, I prefer non-stick skillet for searing/preparing fish on stove top.

🧾Step By Step Instructions

Full recipe + measurements + video can be found in the recipe card below.

Pat dry the fillet lightly. Remove the remove extra moisture, leave the surface a little damp so that the spice rub can adhere to the surface.

Taste the spice rub especially if store-bought. Most of the store-bought spice rubs have salt in them. Sprinkle a wee bit of salt on both sides of the fillet if you feel there is not enough salt in the spice mix.

Sprinkle blackened spice rub approx. ¼ tablespoon (use according to your taste) on each side. Use more of the spice rub if you like more flavor.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. When the oil is hot, place the fillet gently. Cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes.

Flip to the other side and cook for another 3-4 minutes. OR until the fish is cooked to your desire.

Remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Follow the FDA guidelines to ensure seafood safety.

💭Making Blackened Spice At Home

The blackened spice that I make at home has:

I shared my blackened spice recipe in detail in my cauliflower steak recipe. It is super simple to prepare. Just mix all the ingredients and store in an airtight container. Use as required.

When you use the spice mix, remove the required quantity to a small bowl and discard the remaining spice rub in the bowl. This will ensure that the blackened spice in the spice jar is free of moisture and cross-contamination.

🥣What To Serve With Blackened Tilapia

Ooh! This is indeed a versatile recipe that goes with lots of other dishes. :).

1. You can do a quick sauté of some asparagus spears and serve that along with the blackened fish. This is a good low-carb option.

2. You can also serve it with your favorite side salad.

3. Get some spiralized vegetables, toss them in some olive oil, salt, sugar, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve this spiralized salad with the fish. This yet another low-carb meal and gets ready in minutes.

4. If you have a little bit more time, then try this fish with some saffron rice. It is one of my favorite combination.

5. This fish is also good with a few dished from Kerala cuisine like aviyal, moru curry etc. If this is the meal, I have planned, then I serve some steamed rice too.

6. This tastes lovely with simple tomato rice as well.

💭How To Quickly Thaw Fish

• If you are planning to make this for dinner, pop the frozen fillet into your refrigerator in the morning.
• But if you forgot to do the above, and you want to thaw the fish quickly to get the dinner going - here is the best way to thaw the fish -
  • keep the fish in its packaging (or the plastic wrap it came in) [I usually buy frozen tilapia fillet from Costco and store it in my freezer. It comes individually packed in plastic sheets].
  • Fill a bowl with cold water (not ice-cold, use water colder than room temp) and immerse the fish in the bowl. Replace the water every 20-25 minutes until the fish is completely thawed.
• I have tried to defrost fish fillet in a microwave using the inbuilt defrost option. But the results are not pretty. Depending on the thickness of the fillet, some parts got cooked while defrosting. So, I do not recommend this option.

📋More Fish Recipes

I love fish recipes because they come together quickly. Here are a few that you can try:

🍲Leftovers?

Since it takes so little time to prepare the tilapia on stovetop, I prefer to make it fresh.

But if at all you have leftovers from dinner, you can store it an airtight container for 2-3 days. I prefer to reheat it on stovetop on low heat, by drizzling a little oil on the skillet and reheating thoroughly. The fish may feel a little tough/overcooked, but not too much that you cannot eat.

📖Additional Notes

• 1 CUP = 250 ML. (US cups are typically 240 ml. You can use US cups with no significant change to the dish). 
• 1 TEASPOON = 5ML; 1 TABLESPOON= 15 ML
• Adjust the serving size to suit your dietary needs. If I am serving this dish as the main course, it serves two. If I serving this as a side, (usually along with some rice and curries - See serving suggestions), this serves 3-4 - I cut each fillet into two giving me 4 pieces.
• Adjust the spice used to suit your taste.
• Time-Saving Tip: As seen in the video, I start to heat the oil. While waiting for the oil to heat up, I sprinkle the spice mix on the fillet.