Broiled Tilapia Parmesan Recipe

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan Recipe

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • cup Parmesan cheese
  • cup butter, softened
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • teaspoon dried basil
  • teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • 2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven's broiler and position the oven rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil.
  2. In a bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, softened butter, mayonnaise, lemon juice, basil, pepper, onion powder, and celery salt until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
  3. Place the tilapia fillets in a single layer on the prepared broiler pan.
  4. Broil the fillets in the preheated oven for 4 minutes, flipping them halfway through to ensure even cooking.
  5. After the first broil, remove the pan from the oven and spread the prepared Parmesan mixture evenly over the tilapia fillets.
  6. Return the pan to the oven and broil for an additional 2 minutes, or until the topping turns golden brown and the fish flakes easily with a fork. Be cautious not to overcook.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Calories 224
Total Fat 13g
Saturated Fat 5g
Cholesterol 63mg
Sodium 221mg
Total Carbohydrate 1g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 25g
Vitamin C 3mg
Calcium 95mg
Iron 0mg
Potassium 479mg

Comments

Allrecipes Member

10/06/2025 01:52:54 PM

My husband and I loved this dish. It was so fast and easy. I didn't have any celery salt so I added garlic powder. I will make this again! Thanks for the recipe!!!!!!

SHEILA IN TEXAS

04/21/2006 06:36:27 PM

I've made this several times and this is absolutely the easiest and best tilapia, or any fish, dish I have ever made. Everyone I make it for wants the recipe. I do line a broiler pan with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. The only other thing I do differently is to sprinkle the fish with Old Bay Seasoning before putting under the broiler for the first time and then again before topping with the parmesan mix while it is out of the oven. I also make sure that I start with the side of the fish that has the dark vein running through the center facing up starting out then it should end up on the bottom when finished. Low fat mayo makes it even more healthy than it already is without making a big difference. I've found it best to follow the cooking time closely. It's quick. It's tasty. Try it!

Spyce

08/30/2010 07:14:11 PM

I made some changes to this recipe to lower some of the fat content but I still think it was delicious and deserved five stars. Instead of using regular mayo and butter, I substituted fat free mayo and light butter. I also sprayed the fillets with olive oil cooking spray before placing them under the broiler. Since tilapia cooks quickly, I didn't turn them at all. I let them cook 3 or 4 minutes (oven rack on second slot from the top), added the cheese mixture, and removed them when the cheese started to brown.

LADYJAYPEE

01/23/2007 07:26:08 PM

I scaled this recipe in half and went with some of the suggestions of reviewer, Shannon:) (click on "most helpful" and you'll see her review). I've only had tilapia once and wasn't that impressed with that fresh-water, farmed fish, so I went with rockfish (aka: red snapper in warmer waters; rockfish in colder northern waters). I added to the parmesan mixture: some garlic powder, paprika, a touch of cayenne pepper & some panko bread crumbs. This cheese mixture is really what makes the dish; it was excellent and I liked the way the bread crumbs/cheese browned lightly under the broiler. I only had to broil the fish 2 minutes on each side, plus 2 minutes with the cheese mixture. Served with steamed broccoli. Talk about an easy, quick-prep meal! Thanks, Phoebe!

Shannon

07/05/2006 08:59:50 PM

We love this recipe and I keep finding new ways to modify it (I feel I have to, since I make it at LEAST once a week)This is how we like it: I use celery seed rather than celery salt and usually have parmesan-romano cheese blend on hand so I use that. I also add 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder and 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes. I don't add any lemon juice anymore (I used to just reduce it by half) but now use low-fat mayo that I find to be quite tangy. I also double the amount of pepper and add about 1/2 c. of bread crumbs to the cheese mixture, which creates a nice texture and keeps the topping in place. Seasoning the fish with a bit of Old Bay seasoning, as others have done, really adds to the flavor as well. Thank you for helping us eat fish on a regular basis, Phoebe!

SACHABEAR

11/04/2003 04:49:25 PM

Excellent! Hubby declared, "best fish ever, let's have it next week"... Only thing I did differently was to add 1/4 tsp garlic powder (because we love garlic) and 1/4 tsp paprika. The paprika really gave it a nice flavor and added a wonderful color to the cheese sauce. We will definitely be making this often.

Kim Carnahan

04/04/2003 02:33:20 PM

We're fish lovers, so maybe that's what influenced our opinion of this dish. The sauce is pungent and overpowers the delicate tilapia. It would work better on a fish with more substance and flavor to it. Tilapia is best served by lightly dressing it with olive oil, real butter and lemon juice, lightly salted and broiled. We won't want this again.

Crystal S

01/19/2010 04:21:33 PM

Have made this on several occasions trying to find the right balance of cheese mixture to fish. The first time I made the recipe exactly as stated (as a courteous nod to the submitter) and it swam in butter so I rated this at three stars (wonderful but loaded with calories). The second time, I reduced the butter again to an 1/8 cup and it was still overpowered by the butter, so try, try again to one tablespoon of butter for the perfect mixture. Wonderful flavor!!!

Rita C

10/18/2002 09:06:16 PM

I was really desperate for something to do with some recently defrosted tilapia fillets and spotted this recipe and it looked interesting. My husband loved it. Loved the texture, the zing of the parmesan and spice was just perfect. Will definitely make again for family & friends. Only issue was I made the spread and put it in the fridge for 1/2 hr. early and it melted way too fast in the broiler. Lost 1/2 the topping. My error. Don't recommend chilling spread 1st.

SassyPasta7345

04/08/2025 10:05:01 PM

I made this recipe without any changes except I used Golden Seabream (tilapia is not common in Portugal where I live). The dish was super delicious. A note to add to anyone who has skin on fish for this recipe. Use it anyway with the skin on. Broil skin-side up first, then flip the fillets and follow the recipe to the end. The skin just falls off easily. This will be served at my next dinner party!

LaEvening

12/11/2020 11:53:52 PM

Absolutely delicious! I also lightly coated the fish with cooking spray after seasoning with old Bay. Started with brown line up, as suggested. My broiler has Lo and High settings, I rarely use these settings, so I wasn’t sure which to use. I did 2 minutes each side on low, but after adding the coating, to which I added 1/4 cup plain panko bread crumbs, I turned it on high for 3 minutes an almost burned my fish! To my delight, it doesn’t taste burnt and is very moist. So, use LOW BROILER setting!

SavvyNut2946

07/21/2025 01:34:47 AM

Easy and full of flavor

Gae

07/15/2025 09:27:49 PM

Easy, delicious and quick!

senhorpoopypants

05/28/2025 01:36:16 AM

Made exactly as directed. Been making it for years. Even my wife that isn't a fish person loves it and will request it

eliseheather

04/15/2025 12:16:01 AM

We have made this recipe, from this site for YEARS - 12+ and I am stunned there are almost no reviews. This is a fantastic recipe.

Anna Carter

04/10/2025 11:49:34 PM

This one’s a keeper.

ebaker82

04/09/2025 07:37:07 PM

The rating is for the topping on the fish. So good, I’m going to put it on chicken tonight. I sous vide my tilapia at 130f for 1 hour and then broiled the topping. Came out delicious.

Marla

04/09/2025 04:36:51 AM

I know I'm in the minority after all these glowing reviews here but I was underwhelmed with this recipe. I found it lacking in flavor. I think I should have taken the advice of some of the posters and sprinkled Old Bay over the fish and that may have helped.

Twila Becker

04/08/2025 11:36:07 PM

This is awesome. It took longer to get browned but not too much longer. The fish was very tender and juicy. I will definitely make this again. I did not use tilapia though because I don't eat it so I used whiting fillets. The best I have ever cooked. Thank you.

Catherine Blake

04/08/2025 02:01:34 AM

I followed the recipe except for celery salt, I didn’t have any. I used cod and it was perfect and the sauce was delicious. I usually don't like to make fish at home, (never as good at home) but this was a keeper. I have found my “go too” fish recipe.