This macadamia nut crusted tilapia is covered in a delicious salty, nutty, and crunchy topping, and pan fried to flakey perfection. Serve with a yummy lemon herb butter sauce with some veggies for an amazing dinner.
The tilapia is crusted in a mixture of bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, chopped macadamia nuts and some herbs and seasonings. It’s deliciously crusted, and pan fried, giving it a nice golden, slightly crunchy crust.
It’s so good on it’s own, or served with the lemon herb butter sauce. It’s a delicious combination of flavors, and perfect for a tasty dinner. Don’t let the list of ingredients intimidate you, a lot of the ingredients are things you probably have on hand in your pantry or fridge already!
This Macadamia Nut Crusted Tilapia is so good, for tilapia lovers and non-seafood lovers alike. Tilapia is a mild fish, and with the macadamia nut crust, and all the herbs you will hardly even notice it’s fish.
I got this recipe from my friend Peggy, and it’s become a favorite for me ever since the first time I made it.
The tilapia is so good served with some rice, a side salad, or some roasted veggies (I love asparagus or broccoli).
How to make Macadamia Nut Crusted Tilapia?
Combine the ingredients together for the macadamia nut crust, you’ll need panko crumbs, chopped macadamia nuts, parmesan cheese, basil, garlic powder, and thyme.
Sprinkle the tilapia fillets all over with salt and pepper. Then cover them all over in the bread crumbs.
Cook the tilapia in a skillet, heated up with a little olive oil. Cook both sides of the fillet for a few minutes until the sides are golden and crispy and the fish is cooked completely through.
Serve with lemon herb butter sauce if desired.
Tips for making Macadamia Nut Crusted Tilapia:
- If you don’t like fish, you could also use this yummy nutty topping on chicken.
- You could also use the crust and lemon sauce on a variety of other fish options – mahi-mahi, salmon, or halibut would all be delicious.
- You can chop the macadamia nuts up with your knife and hands, or blend it up in a food processor or blender if you want the crumbs a little finer.
- Dip your filets in coconut milk before dipping them in the coating to give them even more of a tropical taste.
- This recipe makes just enough breading to coat about 2 tilapia filets, but more than enough lemon herb butter. Double or triple the coating if you’re serving a bigger group.
More fish recipes:
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Macadamia Nut Crusted Tilapia
Ingredients
For the Macadamia Nut Crust:
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup unsalted macadamia nuts (finely chopped)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (finely shredded)
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp thyme
For the Tilapia:
- 2 fillets tilapia
- 2 to 3 Tbs olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper (to taste)
Lemon Herb Butter
- 1/4 cup white grape juice
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 TBS finely diced chives
- 1 TBS dried parsley (crushed)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup butter (softened - and cut into cubes)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
For the Macadamia Nut Crust:
- In a flat bowl (one large enough to bread your fillets in) add the panko crumbs, macadamia nut pieces, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, and thyme. Stir them together until evenly combined.
For the Tilapia:
- Pour the olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold your fillets, and heat it over medium low heat.
- Sprinkle the tilapia with the salt and pepper.
- Place the tilapia fillets into the bowl with your crust and press them into the breading. Flip the fillets over to coat them on both sides completely.
- Lay the crusted fillets in the preheated skillet and cook for about 4 minutes on each side until fish is cooked through. It should be opaque, or to 145 F.
- Serve with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce, if desired.
Lemon Herb Butter Sauce
- In a small saucepan add the white grape juice, lemon juice, onion, parsley, and chives.
- Heat the liquid over medium heat until it is reduced to half to one-third of what it was originally.
- Stir in the cream and bring the mixture to a simmer, then simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Reduce the temperature to low
- Add the butter and let it melt completely.
- Remove fthe sauce from the heat.
- Stir in 1 tsp lemon juice and salt.
- Serve the lemon herb butter sauce over tilapia, of desired.
Nutrition
This macadamia nut crusted tilapia was first posted on February 17, 2014. The photos and text were updated for clarity on January 18, 2022.
wendy @ ABCs and Garden Peas says
Oh man, I made this once with a little coconut, too, and my husband doused it in ketchup before he even took a bite. I was SO mad!
Ellen Garrett says
That is like salting everything before tasting it. I have changed my ways. He missed out. Coconut sounds like an awesome addition.
Becky @ lovetobeinthekitchen says
I’ll be honest- I’m not a fan of seafood but this recipe seriously looks so good! Especially with the lemon herb butter sauce. Pinned!
Ellen Garrett says
Tilapia is good seafood to start with because of its mild flavor, but try it with chicken I think it would be as good.