With warm weather coming, it’s nice to have a meal that’s lighter and fresher but still satisfying. Made in 25 min from start to finish, this pan-seared tilapia recipe hits the sweet spot with its delicious tomato basil sauce. Serve this quick white fish dinner with rice and a glass of crisp white wine!
Most Popular Recipes
Recipes Eatwell101 readers come back to again and again.
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Ingredients list for the Tilapia in Tomato Basil Sauce
For the Tilapia:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 and 1/2 pounds fresh tilapia, cut into 3 or 4 fillets
- Salt and pepper
For the Tomato Basil Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 or 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 small jalapeño, sliced
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Directions
For the Tomato Basil Sauce:
1. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add crushed red pepper flakes and garlic and saute for 1 minute, or until garlic is fragrant.
2. Add the cherry tomatoes and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft and blistering, but still hold their shape, about 12 minutes. Add in the vegetable stock, stir, and allow the mixture to come to a light simmer.
3. Stir in the basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the sauce into a large bowl and set aside for later
For the Tilapia:
1. Heat oil in the same pan over medium heat. Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Place tilapia fillets in the oil and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on both side, until it’s cooked through.
2. Pour the tomato basil sauce over the fish and reheat quickly. Serve all at once at once with additional chopped basil and rice, or cauliflower rice, or zucchini noodles. Enjoy! ♥︎
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Reviews
See what readers thought — or share how it turned out for you.
How did it turn out?
Absolutely delicious! In summer I make up several batches of the sauce with the garden's bounty to freeze, and we can enjoy this dish all year. It's so quick to make with the sauce already prepared. One of our absolute favorite fish dinners.
This was a hit!!! My family loved it. The tilapia was so tender -almost like it got poached in butter & oil.
This was absolutely delicious. We didn’t have jalapeño but otherwise made as is. Served it with quinoa and a spinach strawberry salad.
So good! I made it nice and spicy!
This is a good recipe. I added a few spices for my tastes, and it was delicious.
