Sheet pan tilapia and potatoes
Crispy golden potatoes and lemony dill tilapia roasted together, a whole dinner with one pan to wash.
- 45 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.41 a serving
- 370 calories
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ lb baby potatoes, halved
- 4 tilapia fillets, thawed if frozen
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lemon, half juiced, half thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped, divided
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper, divided
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Each serving has about 370 calories, 32 g protein, 29 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $3.41 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No baby potatoes? Red potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No tilapia fillets? Cod fillets work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
the potatoes on a large with the oil, ¾ teaspoon of the salt, half the pepper and the garlic powder, then turn them cut side down.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
for 20 minutes, until the undersides are .
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: Cut side down against the hot pan is the whole trick for crisp potatoes.the butter, garlic, lemon juice and half the dill together.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
the tilapia dry and with the rest of the salt and pepper.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Flip the potatoes and push them to the edges. Lay the fish in the middle, spoon the lemon butter over it and top with the lemon slices.
10 to 12 minutes more, until the fish flakes easily and a fork slides into the potatoes.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Timer: 11 min
Food safety: Fish is done at 145°F, when the middle looks opaque and flakes apart easily with a fork.
Scatter the rest of the dill over and serve from the pan.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
