Air fryer tilapia is a delicious and mouthwatering meal. One of the most popular seafood dishes is Tilapia. It is a delicate, white fish that cooks fast and with little effort and has a gentle flavor that isn’t overly fishy. Most of us rely on red meat for protein, but what about white meat? White meat is healthier, according to the most recent health studies. Therefore, we had to increase our fish intake. The air fryer has significantly facilitated our ongoing efforts to eat more fish in our diet. With recipes like air-fried salmon, air fryer calamari, and air fryer shrimp, it has been easy to get delicious and healthy seafood meals in just 15 minutes.

How to Air Fryer Tilapia Recipe in 10 Minutes

I prepared this recipe using my 5.8 liters Casori Air Fryer. Any air fryer will work, but this model’s cooking time is shorter than most brands. Let’s get started.

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Ingredients:

We’re keeping the ingredients in this dish incredibly basic, using just our favorite seasoning blend and a touch of lemon to provide some vibrancy.

• Tilapia filets: 4 tilapia filets
• Olive oil: 1 tablespoon

For seasoning:

• Pepper: ½ teaspoon cracked
• Garlic powder: 1 teaspoon
• Onion powder: ½ teaspoon
• Smoked paprika: ½ teaspoon
• Salt: ½ teaspoon
• Parsley, for garnish
• Lemon wedges for serving

How to make air fryer tilapia:

Step 1:

Use a paper towel to pat your tilapia filets dry. After that, apply olive oil to both sides using a brush or spray.

Step 2:

Then, add your preferred seasonings.

Step 3:

Warm up the air fryer. I am aware that not all air fryer products need this action. However, placing your fish on a heated basket or rack would be best. This will prevent the fish from clinging to the basket’s bottom while it cooks. Make careful to mist the rack with olive oil spray before frying the Tilapia because we’ll be using high heat (not extra virgin olive oil).

Additionally, you might use a different high-heat oil, like avocado or canola oil. According to the thickness of your filets, place the Tilapia in the air fryer basket and cook for 8–12 minutes. Use a silicone spatula to flip the fish over after 4 minutes gently.

Then keep cooking it until the fish is flaky. Since every Air Fryer cooks differently, it is best to check your Tilapia after around 6-7 minutes, particularly when preparing thin filets. After that, take the Tilapia out of the pan, add some fresh lemon juice, and enjoy!

Fresh or frozen Tilapia to prepare air fryer Tilapia?

Fresh Tilapia:

I advise using fresh Tilapia to obtain all the nutritional benefits. Based on your fillets’ size and the capacity of your air fryer, air fries the fish for 8 to 12 minutes. By poking the fillets with a fork, you can see if they are fully cooked. The fish is ready to serve if it flakes when touched.

Frozen Tilapia:

For around five minutes, cook the fish in your air fryer. This will enable the fish’s surface to defrost. It should be taken from the air fryer basket and seasoned adequately on all sides. Put it back in the basket, and air fry your fish for 6-8 minutes, depending on its size.

When the tilapia flakes at the touch of a fork, it is prepared for serving. It will take more time to air-cook frozen tilapia fillets.

Additionally, seasoning them before putting them in the air fryer is not a good idea because the seasoning may dribble off as the fish thaws. Therefore, before adding any sauce, I strongly advise air frying the frozen fish for a few minutes to let the surface melt.

You can also defrost the fillets of frozen Tilapia before using them. If they have been thawed, you can prepare them using fresh fish cooking methods.

How to select the best fish for the air fryer tilapia recipe?

Wherever the fish you buy comes from, you must be very careful. This is so because farms are where Tilapia is raised most often. Your fish could not be healthy, depending on where it was grown. While a few fish farms are in the US, most tilapia farms are overseas.

Furthermore, many of the tanks are packed with fish-fed chemicals and antibiotics. So be sure your Tilapia for the air fryer comes from a healthy farm before you buy it.

How should you preserve air fryer tilapia?

The flavor of air-fryer Tilapia is most excellent the day it is cooked, but you can keep any leftovers in the refrigerator for three to four days if you store them in a zipper bag. To reheat them, you place them back into the air fryer.

Best tips to season air fryer tilapia:

Tilapia is plain by itself. So the seasoning is crucial to have a fantastic air fryer tilapia. Here are my top suggestions for making this recipe a success:

• Put some seasoning that complements your side dishes. Use taco spice if you plan to serve the fish in tacos.
• Use the Mediterranean seasoning blend to serve it with Mediterranean-style roasted veggies.
• An essential salt and pepper mix works well.
• Add spices, including chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.

• Servings: 4 people
• Course: main course
• Cousin: American
• Calories: 190 kcal

Equipment:

• Air fryer

Additional kitchen hardware tools:

• Chief knife
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Spatula

Air fryer tilapia

Air fryer tilapia is a delicious and mouthwatering meal. One of the most popular seafood dishes is Tilapia. It is a delicate, white fish that cooks fast and with little effort and has a gentle flavor that isn't overly fishy.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Servings 4

Calories 190 kcal

Equipment

• Air fryer
• Chief knife
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Spatula

Ingredients

  

• Tilapia filets: 4 tilapia filets
• Olive oil: 1 tablespoon
• For seasoning:
• Pepper: ½ teaspoon cracked
• Garlic powder: 1 teaspoon
• Onion powder: ½ teaspoon
• Smoked paprika: ½ teaspoon
• Salt: ½ teaspoon
• Parsley, for garnish
• Lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

 

• Use a paper towel to pat your tilapia filets dry. After that, apply olive oil to both sides using a brush or spray.
• Then, add your preferred seasonings.
• Warm up the air fryer. I am aware that not all air fryer products need this action. However, placing your fish on a heated basket or rack would be best. This will prevent the fish from clinging to the basket's bottom while it cooks. Make careful to mist the rack with olive oil spray before frying the Tilapia because we'll be using high heat (not extra virgin olive oil).

  Additionally, you might use a different high-heat oil, like avocado or canola oil. According to the thickness of your filets, place the Tilapia in the air fryer basket and cook for 8–12 minutes. Use a silicone spatula to flip the fish over after 4 minutes gently.

  Then keep cooking it until the fish is flaky. Since every Air Fryer cooks differently, it is best to check your Tilapia after around 6-7 minutes, particularly when preparing thin filets. After that, take the Tilapia out of the pan, add some fresh lemon juice, and enjoy!

Notes

I advise using fresh Tilapia to obtain all the nutritional benefits. Based on your fillets' size and the capacity of your air fryer, air fries the fish for 8 to 12 minutes. By poking the fillets with a fork, you can see if they are fully cooked. The fish is ready to serve if it flakes when touched.