If you didn’t catch my Thaw-It-Thursday in yesterday’s Instagram stories, I explained that I cleaned out my freezer and made a meal plan for the weekend based off what I found hiding in there. It feels so good to have my freezer organized and to have stewarded my mystery freezer items well. (Insert applause).
And because I knew I had a busy afternoon with shuffling kids to their activities, I prepped it in the morning and all I had to do was put the olive oil and cheese mixture on the fish and bake when it was dinnertime. Easy peasy! Then I had a few extra minutes with my crew, instead of scurrying around in the kitchen…
My mini-me is not so mini anymore! She’s catching up fast! Most hugs from her end with her sizing herself up against me, but I still have her by an inch! 😂
Tilapia is the fish of choice around here (aside from our rare treat of Alaskan-caught halibut), because it is far less fishy smelling and tasting than most other types. I also have one child who will not eat most seafood, but she will eat tilapia if it’s prepared well! (And what’s not to love when Parmesan is the star ingredient?!). I buy a block of fresh Parmesan Reggiano at my local Whole Foods. It’s not cheap, but it’s a worth it, in my opinion!
A tried and true fast and simple way of grating fresh Parmesan is to put it in the food processor. First, I cut off the rind (you can use later in making soup, to thicken it up and give it lots of flavor), then chop the cheese into roughly 1 inch chunks…
Throw it in the processor and pulse until cheese is uniformly grated into the size of breadcrumbs…
Using freshly grated Parmesan is far superior in flavor and quality, as the store-bought grated stuff includes caking agents to keep it from clumping in order to give it a longer shelf-life.
This is a go-to for getting fish into our weekly meal routine, is keto-friendly, and kid-approved! Enjoy!
Easy Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia (keto-friendly)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs tilapia (about 7 fillets)
- 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan (see notes below for how I freshly grate)
- 2 tbsp lemon pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For garnish
- lemon wedges
- sliced green onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Mix together grated Parmesan and lemon pepper in a small bowl.
- Pat dry tilapia and place on foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle tilapia with olive oil, then coat with cheese mixture. Press mixture down lightly with fingers to ensure it sticks to fish.
- Bake until fish is opaque at the thickest part, about 10 minutes.
- To brown the cheese, broil for an additional 3 minutes (watch carefully to make sure cheese doesn't burn).
- Garnish with sliced green onions and serve with lemon wedges.
