Pan-Seared Tilapia with Balsamic-Cherry Tomato Quick Sauce
by Mallory • January 26, 2011 • Dinner, Fish, Healthy Noms, Sauces, Total Noms Exclusive • 9 Comments
So I have a confession to make. I’ve succumbed to the New Year’s Resolution bandwagon and have joined a gym this week. I KNOW. Total noms all the times + healthy living = not so much.
But I’ve already been three times this week… and it’s only Wednesday! That’s good, right? Well anyways, I figured I should start sharing some healthier recipes to help bolster this new attitude. That said, do expect a decidedly un-healthy meal later on this week… but more about that later.
This might sound weird, but this dish was actually my go-to quick cooking meal in college. Not too many ingredients, easy enough to throw together in a pinch, and I usually had the majority of the ingredients on hand- all I needed was some tilapia and the cherry tomatoes. Old habits die hard!
Pan-Seared Tilapia with Balsamic-Cherry Tomato Quick Sauce
Serves 2
Total Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tilapia filets
- 3-4 tbsp flour
- salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp butter (or olive oil, if we’re being healthy).
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped into quarters
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Directions
1) Preheat an oven (or toaster oven if you have it) to 250-degrees.
2) Lightly coat the filets in flour on both sides. Season with salt and pepper.
3) In a pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter (or heat up the oil). When hot, add the tilapia, searing on each side for 2-3 minutes. When both sides are nicely browned, transfer to a 250-degree oven to continue cooking while you make the sauce.
4) Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the chicken broth and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the quartered tomatoes and let simmer for 5 minutes. You’ll see the tomatoes starting to stew in the broth- this is a good thing!
5) Add the capers and balsamic vinegar, and let sauce cook for another 1-2 minutes.
6) Place tilapia on a plate, and serve topped with the tomato sauce. Enjoy!
I’d pair this with some rice pilaf and spinach- but any sides will do! Also, feel free to substitute the chicken broth for some white wine- I only had the broth on hand but both taste great 
Happy Eating
mally
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Nice dishes! I’m very impressed with your blog and pictures. A few recipes
I think I can handle:)
THANK YOU for the dishes Claudia!!! They are still my favorites! Miss you!
After trying your delicious recipes I had to join the gym too! This is a great site!
Miss you too and only wish you the best. Much success with this site. I know I’ll be
looking in from time to time. Can’t say I’m joining a gym………
Hi Mallory, great blog, that tilapia recipe sounds great.
I’ve been looking to incorporate more fish in my diet for more protein. I’ll definitely be trying this one
Cooked this dish last week, and it was amazing. Very easy and tasty. Highly recommended.
Made this last night with my roommate for our girlfriends and it was a awesome! The fish came out perfectly and the sauce was phenom. A few modifications:
- To the flour, I added some cayenne and garlic powder
- we salted & peppered the fish before coating it with out flour mixture
- we used a chardonnay in place of chicken broth completely
Otherwise, we followed your recipe exactly… and we served it with a rice+quinoa pilaf. Superb. Thank you so much for the recipe! Will send pics soon!
This was absolutely the easiest and quickest dish I have ever prepared. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity of the fish yet so enjoyable. Simply deliciouso…..A “go to” dish for sure!
Thank you so much Diana! I am so glad you enjoyed the tilapia. I love to hear when people try my recipes out… Thank you so much for letting me know!