This air fryer tilapia is one I like to make and have available once I need to make my fish tacos, or simply to change issues up from hen. Four fillets get rubbed with smoked paprika, garlic, and onion powder and prepare dinner for 7 minutes at 400°F. It’s significantly that straightforward, and dinner is on the desk in 10 minutes. Tilapia is gentle and cooks quick, so for those who’ve all the time been just a little nervous about cooking fish at dwelling, begin right here!
Why This Air Fryer Tilapia Works!
A ten-minute dinner! That’s much less time than it takes to agree on takeout, and there’s no breading station to arrange or wash. The course of is tremendous easy: rub the spices straight onto the fish, place the fish within the air fryer basket, and the air fryer does the remainder whilst you make a aspect!
Smoked paprika is what makes this work with out a crust. It provides the fillets a deep rust-red colour, and I really like the smokiness it brings, particularly subsequent to Mexican sides. From there it goes wherever you need it… over rice, on a salad, in a wrap, or tucked into heat tortillas with my crunchy fish taco slaw.
Jordan
Ingredient Notes
- Tilapia fillets: Tilapia is gentle, skinny, and never too fishy. It takes on no matter seasoning you placed on it. Flounder, haddock, cod or pollock are good subs.
- Smoked paprika: Smoked, not candy. It’s the one spice that isn’t in each different model of this recipe, and it’s the place the colour comes from.
- Olive oil: One tablespoon for 4 fillets, simply sufficient for the spices to stay and the perimeters to brown. Extra virgin olive oil is all the time a superb possibility, however avocado, canola or safflower oil, or a cooking spray, all work too.
- Fresh parsley: I take advantage of this for colour and just a little contemporary taste, however you may omit if you would like.
Recipe Variations
- Other fish: Cod, halibut, flounder, pink snapper, and even catfish can stand in for the tilapia. Thicker cuts like cod or halibut can take 10 to 12 minutes, so go by 145°F quite than the clock. If you desire a thicker fish with its personal seasoning, attempt my air fryer halibut recipe, which has an extended prepare dinner time.
- Store-bought seasoning: For an excellent faster model, skip the selfmade seasoning mix and use a bottle of Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning or lemon pepper as a substitute.
How to Make Air Fryer Tilapia
- Step 1: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Mix your spices in a small bowl to mix so each inch of tilapia will get good taste.
- Step 2: Pat the tilapia fillets dry with paper towels, then rub the garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and half the parsley onto either side along with your fingers. Patting the fish dry is the trick right here. The fillets ought to look evenly rust-colored with no naked patches. Spritz the basket with olive oil, or line it with air fryer parchment and spritz that, then lay the fillets in a single layer with just a little house between them and provides the tops a lightweight spritz.
- Step 3: Air fry the tilapia at 400°F for 7 minutes, till the fillets are opaque all over, flake simply with a fork, and an instant-read thermometer reads 145°F within the thickest half.
- Step 4: Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice and the remainder of the parsley. I like so as to add just a little drizzle of olive oil too!
This is the type of dinner the place the aspect takes longer than the fish. Serve yours over rice with a spoonful of my lemon caper piccata sauce for a dressed-up model. Or add your filet to the highest of a bowl of mushroom and herb Israeli couscous. If you need the entire meal out of 1 equipment, my air fryer zucchini can go in proper after!
Recipe Tips
- Flipping is completely elective. The sizzling air cooks either side in an air fryer, so I go away my fillets alone. If you’re apprehensive about even cooking, flip them on the midway mark, however tilapia is delicate, so flip fastidiously!
- In a giant air fryer, all 4 fillets slot in one layer. If yours is smaller, prepare dinner them in two batches, as a result of fillets that overlap steam the place they contact.
- Fillets fluctuate in thickness. A skinny one is completed at 7 minutes, and a thicker one may have one other minute or two to succeed in 145°F. I haven’t tried this from frozen, so thaw your fillets first.
Storage & Reheating Tips
Transfer cooled fillets to an hermetic container and preserve them within the fridge for two to three days. You also can freeze them for about 3 months.
To reheat, put the leftovers again within the air fryer at 350°F for about 5 minutes. Give them one other spritz of olive oil spray first so that they don’t dry out.
Recipe FAQs
Nope! If the middle nonetheless appears to be like translucent or shiny, it wants one other minute. The one exception is a darker line operating down the center of some fillets, which is a traditional a part of the fish and never an indication it’s undercooked.
The air fryer, for me. It cooks a lot sooner than the oven, and on a sizzling day, heating up the oven is simply not an possibility.
More Air Fryer Seafood Recipes
- Air Fryer Chilean Sea Bass
- Air Fryer Pistachio Crusted Salmon
- Panko Crusted Salmon
- Air Fryer Popcorn Shrimp
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Air Fryer Tilapia
Ingredients
- 4 tilapia fillets
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons contemporary parsley
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400℉.
- Pat the tilapia fillets dry with paper towels (that is the trick). Then season the fish with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, and half the parsley utilizing your fingers to softly rub it in and coat each bit on either side.4 tilapia fillets, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoons contemporary parsley
- Spritz the air fryer basket with olive oil or line it with air fryer parchment paper and spray with oil for simple clear up. Place the tilapia fillets within the air fryer basket in a single layer and calmly spritz with olive oil.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Air fry for 7 minutes or till the inner temperature has reached 145℉.
- Serve with lemon juice and the remaining parsley. I like so as to add just a little drizzle of olive oil too!lemon wedges
Notes
- Depending on the scale of your air fryer you might have to work in batches.
- Make your cleanup even simpler by including a layer of parchment paper to the underside of the basket.
- If you’re apprehensive about even cooking, you may flip the fillets midway by way of cooking, however that is an elective step.
