I haven’t been great at making seafood in my house lately and I usually like to serve it a couple times a month. It’s great for omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and delicious for summer meals since it’s on the healthier side depending on how you cook it. I go for baked or grilled mostly, but a good cast iron method is also delicious.

This recipe is for tilapia which has more omega-6 fatty acids, is a great source of protein and relatively low in fat. I usually keep frozen filets in my freezer for a random craving, but always recommend fresh seafood from the grocery store when possible.

To keep the tilapia on the healthy side, I like to dampen it with water instead of butter. You can also use olive oil.

Panko and Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 10-13 minutes | Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 thawed tilapia fillets
• 1 1/2 cups of panko crumbs
• 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbs lemon pepper
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp paprika
• couple lemon slices

Recipe

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
• In a medium mixing bowl, add the panko crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, lemon pepper, parsley and paprika and give it a stir.
• Dampen the fillets with water (or olive oil) and individually dip the fillets into the breading mixture until both sides are nicely coated.
• In a foil-lined baking sheet, lay the fillet down and continue with the remaining fillets.
• Use the remaining breadcrumb mixture and sprinkle some extra on top of each fillet to give it some extra crunch while baking.
• Bake in the oven at 400 for 10-13 minutes depending on how thick the fillets are. Do not overcook. You want them to be flakey and the breading to be slightly browned on top.
• Add a little bit of squeezed lemon juice on top of each fillet and serve immediately.
• Enjoy!

XO, Rachel