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Michael and I talk all the time about how being married and eating together has changed the foods we eat.
For instance, I didn’t eat much in the way of potatoes, hardly ever bought red meat, and had NEVER cooked steak of any kind before we were married. Now, potatoes find their way into our menu once every week or two and one of my favorite meals we’ve discovered together is a sort of steak stir-fry.
Michael, on the other hand, never really ever ate fish. Not that he didn’t like fish, he just never really ate it. Now, he really likes tilapia and shrimp (he can’t get enough of our cajun fish sandwiches and shrimp po’boys).
Because I love fish so much, and I’m always looking to expand our seafood recipe repertoire, I hunted down this REALLY easy method for cooking tilapia. After eating this for dinner, Michael said it was the best fish he’d ever eaten. Woo hoo!
Now, I know it looks like fried fish. It isn’t. In fact, all the ingredients required for this dish are pretty healthy and straightforward. I even used whole wheat pastry flour for dredging the fish! Also, I found that it was a great balance of flavor and not too sweet. I loved the combination of lime and honey.
One of the beauties of fish is that it cooks very quickly. With only a little bit of preparation beforehand, this meal comes together in about 10 minutes. Seriously. You did read that right. 10 minutos, dear reader.
I tried an experiment with the recipe, which originally called for marinating the fish about an hour ahead of time. I wondered if it would work to marinate it longer than that, so we cooked half the fish one night after about an hour of marinating time, and waited 24 hours to cook up the rest for dinner the next night. I couldn’t tell any difference in texture, and the flavor was, if anything, better.
Because of that, you could easily mix up the marinade, pour it in a zip-top bag with the fish fillets and keep it in your freezer until you’re ready to eat it. You just pull it out of the freezer, pop it into the refrigerator for the day, and by dinner time, all you have to do is dredge it and cook it up. Easy-peasy!
As for what to serve it with, we tried it with a simple squeeze of lime juice, and it was delicious. Or, you could certainly serve it with some peach salsa. I loved it!
- 4 (4-5oz) tilapia fillets (thawed if frozen)
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1½ Tbsp honey
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½c flour (I tried both white flour and whole wheat pastry flour with good results)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- Assemble marinade by combining lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or shallow container with a lid. Add fish and marinate in the refrigerator anywhere from 1 hour up to 24 hours*.
- When ready to cook, combine flour with salt and pepper on a plate. Remove each fish fillet from the marinade and dredge lightly with the flour on both sides (just a light, light coating).
- Heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook fillets 2 at a time for 3-4 minutes per side or until opaque and browned (this works best if you don’t disturb the fish much while letting it cook).
- Serve with lime wedges or peach salsa.
Adapted from How Sweet Eats
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Looks delish! I have tilapia in my freezer just waiting to be marinated and dredged!
YUM! I’ve been eyeing up that recipe since I saw Jessica post it! Glad to hear the good review! Adding it to the meal plan!
Oh wow this looks fantastic and your presentation is gorgeous! How am I JUST NOW finding your blog?! I LOVE it!! New follower! xoxo
Awesome. I wanted tilapia tonight, but was growing weary of our favorite recipe (I make it once a week). This will be perfect cause I have all the ingredients! Thank you!
This dish looks so yummy.
I wonder if you could bake it. The honey would caramelize in the oven from the natural sugars. Alternatively, maybe use a non-stick pan.
This looks so good, I have tilapia in my sink defrost and have no clue what to do with it. Thanks for the recipe, I will be trying this today.
Looks great, sometimes the best fish recipes are the simplest ones.
What a lovely blog!
I’m happy to have found you, and this recipe for tilapia looks amazing. I have some tilapia in the freezer right now…!
The tilapia looks delious!! I will have to try this recipe. My hubby and I love fish, and he has been talking about buying some tilapia, so I’m going to give this recipe a try. Yummy! Also, you are so right about when we marry and how the different foods come into play. I cook and eat more German meals now, and he enjoys American meals. It is lots of fun trying new foods.
I cooked this for dinner tonight. Simply delicious and it was as quick and easy as you described. This is a keeper! The lime juice was a perfect compliment. The green slices of lime looked cool and refreshing on the serving plate. I used whole wheat pastry flour and a small amount of olive oil. Not greasy at all.
Hi. I just tried your Honey Lime Tilapia. I did not have any Tilapia so I used what I had which was catfish. It was so good. Thank you for such a light and healthy recipe for fish.
My husband absolutely loves fish…I’m not a huge fan but I have been trying to branch out and give it a try. This sounds and looks really delicious. You may just make me a fish convert!
I totally feel the same way. Been trying out some tilapia recipes to make myself like fish and so far only found one. But am excited to try this one too!!!
This recipe does look delicious and easy. I’ll be making it for dinner tonight!
Oh my, what a beautiful blog! Have just discovered it, and it’s all sorts of lovely! Am so inspired…thank you!
This is a fantastic recipe! I made it for dinner tonight and my husband and I both loved it. I served it with roasted corn salsa and black beans and rice…very tasty and very simple! Thanks for the post!
Emily, this recipe is SO yummy! I made if for dinner tonight and adapted it into fish tacos. DELISH! Thanks for sharing!
Ooooh! I LOVE the idea of using it for fish tacos. YUM! I’m DEFINITELY trying that.
This looks delicious! Could it be baked instead of fried?
I’m sure you could bake it without losing any flavor, but I don’t think the texture would be the same. I’m not one for deep-frying, and these didn’t feel greasy or heavy at all, since you don’t use much oil in the pan for pan-frying.
I made this tonight with the peach salsa and OMG! It was a total hit in my house. Even my picky eater husband loved it! Thank you so much
I made this for dinner tonight and I can’t believe how flavorful the fish was! I was a little skeptical at how few ingredients were in the marinade but this is one I will make again!
I love your blog and your recipes! I posted your blog on my foodie blog above…come check it out:)
C
You sound a lot like me and my husband! Thanks for the recipe–I printed it off and will try it this week.
Great recipe! I made it with cod, and used butter in the pan instead of oil and it was delish. I also boiled up the marinade while the fish was cooking and poured it over to serve. The sweet taste of the honey and the sour taste of the lime were great together.
Thank you for the recipe! We are not “fish people”, and we are trying to be….and your recipe is VERY appreciated!
This is an unusual question, but I would really appreciate an answer if you don’t mind. I found a blog that had 5 main course suggestions for a week, plus one dessert, plus one snack. The blog used to list the recipes on it’s blog, but now it links to other blogs. It picked your fish recipe to link to, and that’s how I found this fish recipe. I lost the website for that blog, and I wondered if you know it? I didn’t know if it linked to your blog without your knowing, or if you were aware that another blog linked to yours for the fish recipe.
Thank you SO much for your response! It is OK to e-mail me!
Susan
Susan, no worries! I’ll email you as well, but the blog is called Can I Get the Recipe. The post you’re talking about can be found here. They do a great job of giving lots of good ideas!
I used this recipe today for fish tacos, with some fresh corn salsa. It was tasty and filling!
I had some limes sitting on the counter, staring at me, begging me to do something great with them. I made these tilapia filets tonight (minus the honey, I have a thing about sweet and savory). Awesome! Thanks for posting!
This is one of the best/easiest tilapia recipes I’ve seen! Looking forward to making this for Sunday dinner tomorrow!
I LOVE this recipe! This is my husband’s favorite fish- and he doesn’t normally like fish! Although I can never seem to get it to look as crispy as the picture, it still tastes delicious!
i am eating this as i write this and the recipe is AMAZING !!! sooo good! i needed a new way to cook tilapia and this is it!
I could cook for a year with your recipes!! Love them!
I can’t believe I have no limes on hand, but I need to cook my tilapia tonight! I do have a lemon, so I’m trying it with that…I’m pretty sure it will be almost as amazing!
What is a good side dish suggestion? I really struggle with low-fat because I always want to choose a rice or pasta.
Amy–We often eat ours with refried black beans (Rosarita brand is our favorite). You can also pair it with a salad or a corn and black bean relish. Or sometimes we just go simple and serve it with fruit and fruit dip. Best of luck!
I made this tonight and added chili powder to the flour mixture. It added a little kick! Very good recipe! Kids and hubby gobbled it up!
I got this off of pinterest, made them tonight and they are so good… Thank you for this refreshing recipe.
Made this tonight…it was absolutly delicious! First time I havent messed up a fish recipe. Thanks
This was really good!
This was so easy to put together & the flavors really blew me away. It was awesome. Takes a lot for fish to be a “wow” entree for me but this did exactly that. Will be on a regular rotation in my recipe box. Thanks so much!!!
Hi, Emily,
In case you are interested: http://cookingmisadventures.com/2012/03/30/honey-lime-chicken/
I made this tasty dish last night! Thank you so much for such an easy delicious recipe. I posted it about it on my blog, gave you credit and linked back.
Made this tonight and it turned out beautifully!
Best dish ever! This has become one of our family favorites. Thank you so much!
I’m going to try this Monday for dinner. Sounds great!
AMAZING!!! I made this yesterday and tonight… I definitely agree that the 24 hour marinated fillet turned out so much better and had tons more flavor. I also have to remember from now on to only cook it on medium heat… my stove gets way too hot! :-p
Absolutely delicious!!! Will be making this again and again (and again!)
All I can say is “WOW”! I really enjoyed the citrus-y sweetness of the marinade. I won’t do a single thing different the next time I make this. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Made this for dinner and it was a hit! Both me and my boyfriend loved it! I’ll be making this again soon. Thank you!
I made this for dinner tonight. I don’t usually get excited about fish, but this was awesome!!
I’m so going to try this. I reblogged and linked to your site about your recipe. Check out my blog to see what I paired it with! YUM!
acountrygirlsrecipes.blogspot.com
For a gluten free version, substitute the flour with Maple Grove Farms Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix…..it was super yummy!!!;-) What a great recipe, thanks for sharing!!
Heather – Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve had lots of gluten-free readers hoping for a substitution like this. THANKS SO MUCH!
This is a regular in our dinner rotation now! We use the marinade and grill the fish! So good! Thanks!
I’ve been meaning to try this recipe for a while, and I finally got around to it tonight. My husband and I loved it! The flavor of the fish was fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
I found your blog through Pinterest and just printed this off to make for tomorrow. I’ve never really liked fish, but my husband does. Though, recently I tried tilapia and fell in love with it. I can’t wait to try this recipe. We fix a lot of tex-mex type meals in our family, and my husband is on a gluten free diet. I’m going to try using brown rice flour instead of the regular flour for him, and pair it with a black bean, corn, and avacado quinoa recipe we’re wanting to try as well.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I bought a package of 10 tilapia today at Costco. I went online and found this recipe. This was seriously easy to fix. I only marinated it for an hour, but the subtle lime and honey mixture was just right. It was a big hit with my husband and 13-yr-old son. Take care not to overcook the fish. It really only needs 3 1/2 minutes per side on a medium heat. I plan to marinate, then freeze the 6 filets that I did not cook today. My husband wants me to add this one to the lineup, and I agree. Yummy!
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