Baked Tilapia with Sun-dried Tomato Parmesan Crust

Easy baked tilapia fillets with sun-dried tomato, Parmesan, breadcrumb crust, and optional berry sauce.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated October 02, 2023
Elise Bauer
Baked Tilapia with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Parmesan
Elise Bauer

Do you cook with tilapia? Tilapia is farm-raised and rather mild in taste. I usually lean toward more flavorful fish, that said, this recipe is one of the best recipes I've ever made with any white fish.

The flavor is all in the crust, a mixture of sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, panko breadcrumbs, and spices—perfect to liven up tilapia, or another mild white fish like snapper or cod.

We originally made the recipe paired with a mixed berry sauce, just a simple reduction of mixed berries, a little sugar, and water.

Baked Tilapia with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Parmesan
Elise Bauer

The sauce is fabulous with the fish, though I think it sounds kind of weird. Who puts a berry sauce on white fish?

It works because of the crust. It's acidic, and like lemon juice helps balance out the flavors. The sauce optional though. The tilapia is great all on its own, with just a little lemon juice drizzled over to serve.

Baked Tilapia with Sun-dried Tomato Parmesan Crust

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Servings 4 servings

Look for tilapia that has been farmed in the United States (see the Monterery Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch on the subject.)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fine breadcrumbs, seasoned or unseasoned, or 2 cups panko

  • An additional 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning if you are using unseasoned breadcrumbs or Panko

  • 2 teaspoons onion powder

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 2 teaspoons paprika

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

  • 8 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • 4 medium fillet (6 oz) tilapia fillets, about 1 1/3 pounds

  • Flour for dusting, about 1/3 cup

  • 1 beaten egg

Optional berry sauce

  • 2 cups mixed berries (frozen work well)

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 1/4 cup water

Special Equipment

  • Food processor

Method

  1. Make the breading:

    Place the breadcrumbs, seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and olive oil and pulse until the consistency of a coarse meal.

    breading for tilapia fillet in food processor
    Elise Bauer
  2. Prep the pan and preheat oven:

    Spread some olive oil along the bottom of a roasting pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  3. Dredge the tilapia fillets in flour, egg, breading:

    Rinse off the tilapia fillets with water and pat dry. Spread flour on a plate. Place beaten egg in a shallow bowl next to the flour. Place breadcrumb mixture in a bowl next to the egg. Put a large plate next to the breadcrumb mixture.

    Working one by one, dredge the tilapia fillets first in the flour until lightly coated, then dip in the beaten egg until coated and let the excess drip off.

    dredge tilapia fillet in flour
    Elise Bauer
    dredge tilapia fillet in beaten egg
    Elise Bauer

    Place a small handful of the breadcrumb mixture on the large plate and place the fillet on top of it. Sprinkle a generous amount of breadcrumb mixture over the top of the fillet and press down with your fingers. When both sides are well breaded, gently transfer the fillet to the roasting pan.

    press breading mixture over tilapia fillet
    Elise Bauer
  4. Bake:

    Place the baking pan with the tilapia fillets in the oven and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, until the tilapia is just cooked through, and the fillets easily flake with a fork. (If serving with berry sauce, you can make the sauce while the fish cooks.) Remove from oven and let sit for a minute or two before serving.

    tilapia fillets ready to be baked in baking pan
    Elise Bauer

    Serve with slices of lemon with which to drizzle over the fish, and/or the optional berry sauce.

  5. Make the berry sauce (optional):

    Place the berries in a small saucepan. Add a 1/4 cup of water and sprinkle with sugar. Bring to a simmer and gently crush the berries a little with a potato masher or the back of a fork, just enough to break up the larger berries. Cook gently uncovered for several minutes, until the sauce is reduced to a syrup.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
474 Calories
16g Fat
32g Carbs
52g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 474
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g 20%
Saturated Fat 4g 19%
Cholesterol 146mg 49%
Sodium 903mg 39%
Total Carbohydrate 32g 11%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 52g
Vitamin C 7mg 33%
Calcium 120mg 9%
Iron 4mg 22%
Potassium 879mg 19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.