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You have to try this fish casserole! I knew it was a winner with the first bite. The recipe was given to us by my Mama-in-law and her friend shared it with her. When a recipe gets shared over and over, you know it’s good. Seriously, this is MOUTH-WATERING! It also tastes healthy and light. The tilapia is juicy and flaky without a hint of fishiness.
The sweet veggies complement it beautifully. If you aren’t a fan of tilapia, you can easily substitute your favorite fish and get the same delicious results. I want more! We ate it up real quick! This dish is perfect for company. It is easy to make, smells and tastes delicious and your guests and family will love it.
Tilapia Ingredients:
2 lbs (about 6-10 count) Tilapia fillets, thawed
Olive Oil to saute
1 Tbsp ketchup (several readers had great results with Sriracha instead of ketchup)
1 Tbsp mayo
Marinade Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Salt and 1/8 tsp Pepper
Vegetable Ingredients:
2 medium bell peppers (red, orange, or yellow)
2 medium/large carrots, julienned or grated
1 medium onion
How to Make Tilapia and Vegetable Casserole:
1. Whisk together marinade ingredients. Combine with tilapia in a large ziploc bag or bowl and marinate in the fridge at least 1 1/2 hours.
2. Slice onions into thin half circles, slice bell pepper into thin strips and julienne or grate carrots. In a large skillet over medium/high, heat 2-3 Tbsp oil and saute onions for 3 minutes or until softened. Add sliced bell peppers and carrots and saute another 4-5 min or until softened. Remove from pan and set veggies aside.
3. Once fish is done marinating, drain and discard marinade. In the same empty skillet over medium/high, add 2-3 Tbsp oil and saute fish lightly on the skillet just until golden on the outside (about 2 min per side) – it’s ok if it’s not cooked through completely at this point. Also, it probably would have been easier to turn the fish on a non-stick skillet :-O.
4. Layer the casserole dish with 1/2 of the vegetables on the bottom. Place fish over the vegetables. Stir together 1 Tbsp ketchup and 1 Tbsp mayo and brush this mixture evenly over the top of the fish. Cover fish with remaining veggies. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper to taste then cover tightly with foil or lid and bake at 375˚F for 15 min.
Tilapia and Vegetable Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
Tilapia Ingredients:
- 2 lbs about 6-10 count Tilapia fillets, thawed
- Olive Oil to saute
- 1 Tbsp ketchup, several readers had great results with sriracha instead of ketchup
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
Marinade Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp Salt and 1/8 tsp Pepper
Vegetable Ingredients:
- 2 medium bell peppers, (red, orange or yellow)
- 2 medium/large carrots, julienned or grated
- 1 medium onion
Instructions
- Whisk together marinade ingredients. Combine with tilapia in a large ziploc bag or bowl and marinate in the fridge 1 1/2 hours.
- Slice onions into thin half circles, slice bell pepper into thin strips and julienne or grate carrots. In a large skillet over medium/high, heat 2-3 Tbsp oil and saute onions for 3 min or until softened. Add sliced bell peppers and carrots and saute another 4-5 min or until softened. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Once fish is done marinating, drain and discard marinade. In the same empty skillet over medium/high, add 2-3 Tbsp oil and saute fish lightly on the skillet just until golden on the outside (about 2 min per side) - it's ok if it's not fully cooked through at this point.
- Layer the casserole dish with 1/2 of the vegetables on the bottom, then Place fish over the vegetables. Stir together 1 Tbsp ketchup and 1 Tbsp mayo and brush this mixture evenly over the top of the fish. Cover fish with remaining veggies. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper to taste then cover tightly with foil or lid and bake at 375˚F for 15 min.
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
* It’s so handy to have multiple sizes of liquid measuring cups.
* This is my favorite baking casserole dish. I love that it has a lid!
* We search high & low for a perfect julienne slicer. This Swissmar is it!
* If using a slicer or mandolin, you have to try these safety gloves!
Hi Natasha ,
So if I want to bake salmon fish what temperature would I
Bake it on and also how many minutes? Also would I fry it first
And than put it in the oven?
Good looking recipie, just yummy!!!
I haven’t tried with salmon myself, but a few of my readers have reported good results withs salmon. I’d follow the same method and the same baking instructions for salmon. I hope you love it! 🙂
N I love your blog with all of my heart. The pictures you provide are very helpful
Your comment made my afternoon. Thank you so much 🙂
This recipe is amazing!! Just made it with trout and my whole family loved it. Thank you so so much! It is definitely a keeper! My mom told me to write to you in her little Ukrainian accent it’s: “Unbelievable good!”
Wow, what a great review :). Thank you for writing in, I’m so happy to hear that everyone loved it, enjoy.
Can i prep everything and layer everything up but not bake it right away? If yes, for how long?
You can prep everything ahead of time and just keep it in the refrigerator overnight or until ready to bake. Just make sure it’s covered in the refrigerator.
How long should i bake it for from the fridge?
You might give it an extra 7-10 minutes.
Thank you very much!! It turned out great! Definately a keeper! God bless you!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing that with me and God bless you also!
Made this dish today and it was AMAZING! Thank you!
I’m so happy you loved it :). Thank you Mariyana!
Awesome dish ! Tilapia is flaky and flavorful ! Another great dish from Natasha ! I meant Five stars !!!
Thank you so much Leeza!! 🙂 I’m so happy you loved it 😉
I just made this dish last night adn it was amazing. Thank you for the recipe!
You are welcome Olga, I’m glad you enjoyed it :).
Just a warning about Tilapia fish, most of it is farm raised in China, and as with most food from China, the conditions and handling is not done to proper standards, The fish are raised on animal faeces! Don’t eat this fish.
I live in Australia and there is a huge problem with purchased frozen berries, which are so convenient, however, there are cases of hepatitis A, caused through the berries being washed in contaminated water, in China, omg, we really need to read our labels and try to buy local as much as we can.
You can use other kinds of fish with this recipe such as salmon – one of my readers was actually raving about salmon in this dish. But even with that, you have to look for wild rather than farmed.
I wonder if mashrooms can go in this dish?
Tanya, you can substitute the vegetables for mushrooms and instead of adding ketchup and mayo to the fish, try drizzling with heavy cream and season to taste. Hope this helps :).
looks delicious. can i make it ahead of time. like in the evening and bake it in the morning?
Tatyana, that should work, it also reheats well :).
made. loved . pinned .
thank you so much for sharing the love 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I’ve made this recipe and my husband loved it! Thanks for the recipe
You are welcome, and thank you for the great feedback :).
hey, looks delicious 🙂 on my list to do i really like white fish fillets “swai” & i would like to share with you how i do one of the ways 🙂
grease the baking sheet or casserole dish with a little bit of olive oil put fish and season with salt & pepper both sides and put in fridge…in separate bowl cut the veggies, tomatoes, bell pepper and fresh basil add salt & pepper to taste add a little bit of olive oil & basil vinegar (its like a salad)…and let it sit in fridge to marinate 30 minutes to an hour it can be more ….top the fish with veggies and bake uncovered 350 25-30 minutes after that top with shredded cheese and bake until cheese melts
i prefer to use a mini bell pepper and cherry tomatoes cut in half or home grown they taste amazingly
Wow that sounds really really yummy! Thank you so much for sharing that with me 🙂 I’m excited to try it!
Natasha, thank you so much for this recipe! I made it last weekend, and my family liked it a lot. Even though i forgot about mayo and ketchup, because i was in a hurry, anyway it was very tasty! Thank you again!!! 🙂
I’m so happy your family enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for sharing that with me. The mayo/ketchup definitely adds some nice juiciness – I think you’d love it even more :).
I made this dish today!! Very tasty with the tilapia loins fom costco… I also added 1/2 cup whipping cream to the vegetables while they were frying so it made it more the whole dish more juicier 🙂 thank u for recipe
Oooh that additional of whipping cream must have taken this over the top! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Made this today. It was delicious! I am totally going to make it again!
I’m so happy you loved it. Thanks Julie 🙂
Made this last night with some quinoa on the side…OMG!!! it was delicious!! thank you for sharing!! my husband is not a big fish eater but he did like this one, that mayo and ketchup mix goes very well with this fish!! good job!
Thank you so much for the awesome review! I’m so happy you both enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Natasha i dont have buttermilk can i substitute with something else?
You can mix milk with a little bit of lemon juice or vinegar to create a type of buttermilk. You can also try leaving it out and just use the soy sauce but don’t marinate too long or it might end up a little salty with just soy sauce. The buttermilk really just helps to remove any fishiness from the fish. I’ve had readers report good results without using the marinade at all, they just seasoned their fish and that was it without marinating.
Natasha, I didn’t have buttermilk on hand as well, so I used 1/2 milk, 1/2 sour cream and a teaspoon of lemon juice instead. It worked really well. Thank you for another delicious recipe, it’s a keeper for our family!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it and thank you so much for sharing your modifications! 🙂
We made the fish over the weekend with fresh cod fillets instead of tilapia and added sriracha to the mayo/ketchup mix and it turned out delish! Had leftovers for lunch today and it was perfecto. Saving this one. And btw your split pea soup is a regular in my house like every week almost. One of our fav’s. Keep those yummy russian recipes coming ’cause I sure can use some 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you love the split pea soup :). Thanks for sharing that with me :). Someone else mentioned the sriracha and it sure sounds yummy!
I love this! So many ways you can go depending on what you have on hand! I added sririacha to the mayo mixture and added a little fish sauce to the marinade..also used egg beaters instead of eggs!, great recipe!,, thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing your modifications. The sriracha is brilliant! I love it!!
Tilapia is a great fish to cook with for everyone who is inexperienced in cooking seafood. It does not have an overly powerful fish taste and goes well with almost anything. This dish looks like a great meal featuring this seafood!
Hi Shelby! I couldn’t agree with you more! It also has a great flaky texture which I LOVE and isn’t super pricey either. Thank you! 🙂
MYmom made this last nightfory dad, they both loved it. She called me and told me today ams now I’m making it:) can’t wait to try it. Love your recipes;)
Word of mouth is the best advertising :D, thank you for your sweet comment Aly.
Update. Finally had this for dinner. Sooooo good. Yummy.