Crunchy Potato Chip Crusted Tilapia with Lemon Garlic Aioli

Welcome to your new favorite way to make fish! Flaky white fish is lightly dredged in seasoned flour, dipped in an egg wash, then liberally coated in crushed up potato chips, then baked. Serve it with an easy lemon garlic aioli to send this meal all the way over the moon.

It probably doesn’t take much imagination to understand how high this potato chip crusted tilapia ranks on the “delicious” scale. It’s high, super high. If you’re new to cooking fish, tilapia is a great place to start. Ask the fish counter person at your local supermarket for their most sustainable tilapia option (or, my favorite, check Seafood Watch for the latest recommendation), and then PROCEED!

After a quick dredge (where you dip the fish into flour that’s been mixed with some spices), you’ll dip it in an egg wash, then press chips onto all sides. A quick bake will reveal the crunchiest, most flavorful, most satisfying fish dish you’ve had a in a long while.

Ingredients Needed

You’ll need a handful of ingredients for the fish itself and then a couple of extras for the lemon garlic aioli. Find ingredient notes below and exact ingredient amounts in the recipe card.

For the Fish

• Tilapia filets
• Sea salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, and dried dill
• Eggs
• Flour – we used King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour here, but regular all-purpose flour will work too!
• Salt and vinegar chips – Siete’s salt and vinegar chips are our FAVORITE!
• Avocado oil spray
• Lemon wedges – for serving, optional

For the Lemon Garlic Aioli

• Mayonnaise – we like using Primal Kitchen’s avocado oil mayo.
• Garlic clove
• Dried dill
• Lemon juice

How to Make

I know that breading can sometimes feel intimidating, but I promise that this recipe is REALLY easy to pull off! Here’s exactly how you’ll do it:

1. Prep – preheat the oven to 400°F, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Season the tilapia – pat the tilapia filets dry, and then season them with salt and pepper.
3. Mix the flour mixture + whisk the eggs – in a shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, and dill. In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
4. Bread the fish – set up a breading station with the flour mixture bowl, bowl with the beaten eggs, and a plate with the crushed chips. Dip each tilapia filet in the flour mixture, then dip in the eggs and toss in the chips to coat the filets. Place on the sheet pan. Repeat for each filet.
5. Spray and bake – spray the top of the chip-crusted fish filets with avocado oil spray, and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Make the aioli – while the fish is baking, make the aioli dipping sauce. Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl, and whisk to combine.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

• Choose a thin fish filet – the thinner your filet of fish, the crispier the finished product will be, so when you’re at the fish counter, be sure to ask for a thinner filet, if that’s what you’re going for!
• Pat the tilapia dry – patting the tilapia filets dry before seasoning them with salt and pepper (and then coating them in flour, dipping them in the whisked eggs, and finally, coating them in the potato chips) may seem like a step that can easily be skipped, but it’s actually really crucial to get a crispy coating on the fish.
• Be sure to spray with avocado oil – to get the very crispiest tilapia filets, make sure you spray the top of each filet with avocado oil before baking. If you don’t have avocado oil spray, use a basting brush to brush regular avocado oil on top of the filets.
• Don’t skip the sauce – the lemon garlic aioli is EVERYTHING, y’all. If you have the time to make it (it truly takes no more than 5 minutes to pull together), MAKE IT! Trust me when I say that it takes the tilapia filets to the next level.

How to Serve

Serve your crunchy potato chip-crusted tilapia alongside any sides that you love! I personally enjoy eating this alongside sauteed green beans. Here are a few really great side options:

Veggie Sides

• Roasted Asparagus
• Steamed Green Beans
• Oven Roasted Broccoli
• The Best Grilled Zucchini

Salad Sides

• Italian Side Salad
• ​Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Best Spinach Salad with a Spicy Lemon Salad Dressing
• Lemon Sea Salt Arugula Salad

Starchy Sides

• Pan Fried Sweet Plantains
• Orzo with Roasted Vegetables
• Oven Roasted Butternut Squash
• Roasted Potatoes
• Chilled Spring Veggie Rice Salad
• Perfect Quinoa

How to Store and Reheat

This tilapia dish is definitely best enjoyed right out of the oven (as most seafood dishes are!), but if you have leftovers, you can absolutely save them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

For the crispiest reheat, pop the potato chip-crusted filets in a 390°F air fryer for 4-5 minutes. If you don’t have an air fryer, feel free to either pop the tilapia into a 400°F oven for 10 minutes or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use flavored potato chips for the crust?

You can absolutely use flavored potato chips for the crust! We used salt and vinegar chips in this recipe, but any flavored chip would work. If you’re looking to keep your ingredients in check, these Chile Lime, Fuego, and Chipotle BBQ flavors are all really great Siete options!

Can I use a different type of fish instead of tilapia?

Yes, you can definitely use a different type of fish! To be quite honest, any white fish would make for a great swap here. You’ll just need to adjust the baking time if you’re working with a thicker fish (like, say, halibut).

How do I prevent the potato chip crust from becoming soggy?

GREAT question! Patting the raw tilapia filets dry before seasoning them, and spraying avocado oil onto the filets before they head into the oven go a REALLY long way in keeping the potato chip crust nice and crispy.

More Favorite Seafood Recipes

• Easy Citrus Roasted Salmon
• Teriyaki Salmon Bowls
• Chili-Lime Seared Ahi Tuna
• Incredible Baked Red Snapper
• Easy Shrimp Scampi Recipe
• Baked Tilapia Recipe
• Lemon Garlic Baked Cod with Cherry Tomatoes