I made this a few days after Easter as a simple main to serve with the leftover veggie side dishes I made. It was quick, simple and tasty!

I wanted to use Panko, but I was out, so I used regular breadcrumbs. I think the Panko would have added a welcome crunch to this dish. But it gets major points for being quick and easy. Yet another great use for that giant bag of tilapia I have hanging out in the freezer!

📖 Recipe

Baked Tilapia with Garlic-Thyme Crust

Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen - Ashley Covelli

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Course: Seafood

Ingredients

4 boneless tilapia fillets
⅓ cup unseasoned bread crumbs regular or Panko*
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves stripped from the stems
1 teaspoon system-ui, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol';font-size: 19px;letter-spacing: 0.5px" href="https://www.amazon.com/Simply-Organic-Certified-3-64-Ounce-Container/dp/B00MHTEUXA?crid=3SJUW68YMON5R&dchild=1&keywords=garlic+powder&qid=1632347445&sprefix=garlic+powder%2Chpc%2C158&sr=8-13&linkCode=li2&tag=bigflafroatin-20&linkId=6660cdc938b600bb56dbb35cc466cf16&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-tasty-links-append-disclosure="">garlic powder
¼ teaspoon system-ui, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol';font-size: 19px;letter-spacing: 0.5px" href="https://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Peppers-Crushed-1-2-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B0001M11BE/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=red+pepper+flakes&qid=1590511769&sr=8-10&linkCode=li2&tag=bigflafroatin-20&linkId=6ff1acf5f0c36a8990541946b0c8d4ad&language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-tasty-links-append-disclosure="">red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon system-ui, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol';font-size: 19px;letter-spacing: 0.5px" href="https://www.amazon.com/Morton-Coarse-Kosher-Salt-lbs/dp/B06XPN2785/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=165UXS82M5JM1&dchild=1&keywords=morton+kosher+salt+coarse&qid=1590096093&sprefix=morton+koshe,aps,143&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=bigflafroatin-20&linkId=e4241a89cadfe0f3f57ca978e5c5e871&language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-tasty-links-append-disclosure="">kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly system-ui, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol';font-size: 19px;letter-spacing: 0.5px" href="https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Brand-Ground-Pepper-Ounces/dp/B07QY25R7M?keywords=ground+black+pepper&qid=1649428451&sprefix=ground+bla%2Caps%2C60&sr=8-24&linkCode=li2&tag=bigflafroatin-20&linkId=e87b154c0c6b32fc2a330dfcc5659d87&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-tasty-links-append-disclosure="">ground black pepper
2 teaspoons low fat system-ui, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol';font-size: 19px;letter-spacing: 0.5px" href="https://www.amazon.com/Hellmanns-Real-Mayonnaise-Squeeze-count/dp/B01H07E286?dchild=1&keywords=mayonnaise&qid=1624042887&sr=8-6&linkCode=li2&tag=bigflafroatin-20&linkId=56fbbf41c28ed7480a18ffe07d414869&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-tasty-links-append-disclosure="">mayonnaise

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with a baking rack and spray lightly with oil or non-stick cooking spray.
Pat the tilapia fillets dry. On a plate, mix together bread crumbs, thyme, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Spread ½ teaspoon of mayonnaise on one side of each piece of tilapia. Invert each piece onto the breadcrumb mixture, press firmly, and place on the prepared baking rack, breadcrumb-side up. Repeat with remaining fillets.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork.