Baked Tilapia Oreganata

 

This Baked Tilapia Oreganata is deliciously crispy outside with a moist, white flaky meat that melts in your mouth inside.  Tilapia is a lean mild white fish with a semi-firm texture.  The secret to this recipe is the grated Locatelli Romano cheese. 

 

It’s no secret, we grew up eating seafood every week, and more than once a week.  It’s part of our culture and it’s part of the Mediterranean diet we try to follow as much as possible.

With that said, we love adapting our Mom’s recipes, making them much healthier and this happens to be one of them. 

This baked tilapia oreganata recipe only takes 5 minutes to prep and approximately 20 minutes to bake. 

Yep!  Baked, not fried = healthy!

 

Baked Tilapia Oreganata by 2sistersrecipes.com

Our simple breadcrumb mixture provides more than enough flavor to the tilapia. 

This breadcrumb mixture is similar to our other recipes, only this one is combined with 3 ingredients, Locatelli Romano cheese, dried parsley, and cayenne pepper.  

No need to add any salt or black pepper with this recipe.  It’s just perfect!

Tilapia so flavorful, you will fall in LOVE this recipe!  And, it’s best served with some lemon wedges, to squeeze fresh lemon juice on top. So YUMMY!

What’s more, no one will miss the oregano.  This recipe is so fast and so easy, you will enjoy making this one over and over again. 

 

SO let’s get started, shall we…

First, open the package of tilapia and place it on a plate, or in one of the 3 piece breading pans, as shown below. 

Prepare the breadcrumb mixture, quickly blending breadcrumbs with grated Romano cheese, dried parsley, and cayenne pepper.  Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray, and set it nearby. 

Next, pour extra virgin olive oil in the 3rd breading pan, or plate.  NOW you can begin!

  1.   Dip one at a time, each piece of Tilapia into the olive oil, coating both sides, then allow the excess oil to drip back into the pan.

  2.   Next, dip it into the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides.  Using your hands to do this works best, but you can use kitchen tongs if you prefer.

 

baked Tilapia Oreganata by 2sistersrecipes.com

 

 

3.   Transfer the breaded tilapia to the baking pan.  Then drizzle the remaining olive oil over both fishes.  This will keep them moist while baking.

4.  Bake for 10 minutes per side.  Remove and serve with wedges of lemon on the side.

 

Baked Tilapia Oreganata by 2sistersrecipes.com

 

Best of all, tilapia bakes quickly, its flavorful and light crispy crust is outstanding!  Using good quality ingredients makes all the difference in the world.  Check out my notes below. 

This recipe serves two, and you can easily double the ingredients for a family of four. 

Serve with your favorite sides and dinner is done!  

ENJOY!!

 

COOK’s NOTES and TIPS for Baked Tilapia Oreganata:

  •  Buy good quality grated Pecorino Romano cheese.  We prefer the brand called Locatelli, it makes a huge difference in flavor for this recipe.  If you buy the commercial brands, the ones that sit on the supermarket shelves, you are wasting your money – it’s not real cheese.   

 

Baked Tilapia Oreganata by 2sistersrecipes.com

 

  •   If you are lucky enough to have a local bread/bakery in your neighborhood, call and ask if they sell their own homemade packages of breadcrumbs (making them from day-old bread not sold).  These will be plain breadcrumbs, and usually from semolina bread.  It makes a huge difference in flavor with these breadcrumbs, rather than the ones on supermarkets shelves, which are mostly sawdust. 

  •  Sometimes the smallest ingredients make a huge impact with flavor.  Our mom always told us that cayenne pepper is the one seasoning that “wakes up the flavor” in our food.  So don’t leave it out. 

  •   Always use good quality extra virgin olive oil.  It should state somewhere on the bottle “Product of Italy ” or “Product of Spain” or “Greece. ” Otherwise, you are buying olive oil made from blending different oils from multiple countries, and the flavor and quality are not great.  

  •  Also, I never waste good extra virgin olive oil.  Always, drizzle any remaining olive oil onto your fish, use a silicone spatula to get every little bit of it.  Olive oil will not only keep the fish moist and juicy, but it also makes the crust crispy.  

  •   Tilapia is safe for kids since there are no bones.

  •   Finally, I love working with these stainless steel breading pans, they make it so easy to organize the dipping process in my prep work.  

 

 

    …Thanks for Pinning!

Baked Tilapia Oreganata by 2sistersrecipes.com

More Easy Seafood Recipes, try these: 

 

 

Yield: 2 servings

Baked Tilapia Oreganata

Baked Tilapia Oreganata by 2sistersrecipes.com

Baked Tilapia Oreganata is totally crispy outside with a moist, white flaky meat that melts in your mouth inside. Tilapia is a lean mild white fish with a semi-firm texture. It's delicious and so easy, makes dinner a snap!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Tilapia fish (about 2 large pieces)
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs, and extra if needed
  • 3 Tbsp. grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese
  • 1/8 tsp. dried parsley
  • 2 dashes ground cayenne pepper
  • olive oil cooking spray
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees F (195 C).
  2. In a large baking tray or pan, lightly spray with cooking spray. Set it nearby.
  3. Grab 3 breading pans. Use one pan to hold the pieces of tilapia fish. In the second pan, pour in the olive oil.
  4. And in the third pan, add breadcrumbs, grated cheese, dried parsley, and cayenne pepper and blend with a fork until well blended.
  5. Take each piece of tilapia (one at a time) and dip into the olive oil, coating both sides. Then dip into the breadcrumb mixture and coat both sides evenly.
  6. Transfer to the prepared baking pan.
  7. Bake on the middle rack. Bake for 10 minutes, then use a spatula to flip them over and bake for additional 10 minutes to bake them evenly, and until golden brown.
  8. Remove and transfer to a serving dish. Serve with lemon wedges on the side to squeeze fresh lemon juice over the fish.
  9. Serves 2

Nutrition Information:


Amount Per Serving: Calories: 321Total Fat: 28. 5gSaturated Fat: 5.5gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 269mgCarbohydrates: 13. 5gFiber: .7gProtein: 4.4g

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Happy Cooking!  ๐Ÿ™‚

Thanks for stopping by!  

Anna and Liz

 

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4 Comments

  1. I love a flavorful fish recipe and this sounds delightful! The cheese, crumbs and parsley combination sounds so good!

  2. This is gorgeous and I can just imagine the crunch! So, there’s supposed to be oregano in this dish?!! Hahahahha! Well, I find oregano pretty strong, especially if it’s dried oregano. So I much prefer the parsley addition or substitution. Great recipe.