Meal Prep
Lemon Garlic Butter Tilapia
Lemon Garlic Butter Tilapia is one of those simple meal prep recipes that somehow tastes way fancier than the effort it requires. Flaky tilapia gets baked in a bright lemon garlic butter sauce with a hit of fresh parsley and capers, then paired with roasted green beans and fluffy jasmine rice for a balanced, macro-friendly meal. It’s light, fresh, and packed with flavor- exactly the kind of clean, satisfying prep that keeps your lunches dialed in all week.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
High protein
Lemon Garlic Butter Tilapia
51.9g protein554 calories per serving
- Prep Time
- 5 mins
- Cook Time
- 25 mins
- Total Time
- 30 mins
Equipment
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Ingredient links open Walmart products from our grocery planner. Links marked “Walmart search” need your product choice. Confirm package details and local availability at Walmart.
For the Fish:
For the Green Beans
For the Rice
Instructions
Cook the rice
Prepare jasmine rice according to your preferred method (I always go with the rice cooker). Add the listed rice vinegar while boiling for extra flavor.
1 cup dry jasmine rice, 1 tbsp rice vinegar
Start the green beans
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Add green beans, drizzle with olive oil, and season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and roast for 10 minutes.
1 lb green beans, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp garlic powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
Prep the tilapia
2 lb tilapia fillets, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
Make the garlic lemon butter sauce
Add melted butter, olive oil, minced garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a small bowl. Stir until fully combined and set aside.
2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp olive oil, 3 cloves garlic, 1 lemons, 1 lemons
Add the tilapia to the pan
Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Push green beans to one side and place tilapia fillets on the other side. Spoon the lemon garlic butter evenly over the fish. Sprinkle capers over the tilapia if using.
1 tbsp capers
Finish baking
Return the pan to the oven and bake for 12- 15 minutes, until the tilapia is opaque and flakes easily and the green beans are tender with lightly blistered edges.
Finish & portion
Remove from the oven and garnish tilapia with parsley if using. Portion jasmine rice into containers, top with tilapia , add green beans on the side, and spoon any extra lemon garlic sauce from the pan over the fish and rice.
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Notes
Nutrition uses an estimated 8.6 g per tablespoon of drained capers. Grocery quantities assume about 50 g drained capers per 3.5 fl oz jar; actual yield varies. See the caper nutrition source.
Nutrition
Per servingEstimates for one serving. Changing the recipe yield scales the ingredients and keeps these per-serving amounts the same.
- Calories
- 554 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 50.2 g
- Protein
- 51.9 g
- Fat
- 17.1 g
- Saturated Fat
- 6.08 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 7.67 g
- Trans Fat
- 0.27 g
- Cholesterol
- 129 mg
- Sodium
- 808 mg
- Potassium
- 1,067 mg
- Fiber
- 4.9 g
- Sugar
- 4.5 g
- Added Sugar
- 0 g
- Vitamin A
- 93 mcg RAE
- Vitamin C
- 29.09 mg
- Vitamin D
- 7.03 mcg
- Calcium
- 97 mg
- Iron
- 4.96 mg
Estimated ingredient cost
$3.94 per serving · $15.74 for this batch
Estimated US grocery prices for the amounts used, including purchase waste and discarded marinade. Your store, brands, and package sizes may cost differently. Buying full packages can cost more. Price sources and methodology.
Ingredient costs and assumptions
Quantities without exact weights use the nutrition library’s portion estimates. Purchase yields are estimates. Separate citrus ingredients are costed independently; reusing the same fruit for juice and zest can lower your cost. Labor, utilities, and delivery are excluded.
- tilapia fillets: $8.87
907.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Tilapia Skinless Boneless · Price checked 2026-09-21
- butter: $0.24
28.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 14.2 g Salted butter reference; unsalted uses this as a substitute estimate.
Walmart: Great Value Salted Butter · Price checked 2026-09-21
- olive oil: $0.18
13.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 13.5 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 17 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic: $0.16
9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
3 clove = 9 g; USDA SR Legacy household weights used as an approximate physical conversion for the current ingredient profile; nutrition remains from its own mapped record. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Spice World Fresh Peeled Garlic, 6 oz, Pouch · Price checked 2026-09-21
- lemons: $0.52
120 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 120 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
Editorial medium/large edible fruit and juice-yield estimates. Juiced fruit uses 45 g each; the whole-fruit nutrition profile remains an approximate proxy. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Lemons, 2 lb Bag · Price checked 2026-09-21
- lemons: $0.52
120 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 120 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
1 lemon (medium) = 58 g; size=medium; Editorial medium/large edible fruit and juice-yield estimates. Juiced fruit uses 45 g each; the whole-fruit nutrition profile remains an approximate proxy. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Lemons, 2 lb Bag · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.05
1.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- chopped fresh parsley: $0.51
3.8 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 3.8 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Parsley, 0.5 oz Clamshell · Price checked 2026-09-21
- capers: $0.34
17.8 g purchased · Owner-approved estimate: 50 g drained capers per 3.5 fl oz jar. Existing 1 g/mL purchased-weight cost normalization is approximate; adjusted yield makes cost use 50 g per jar. Prior observation retained.
1 tbsp (drained) = 8.6 g Owner-approved estimate: 50 g drained capers per 3.5 fl oz jar. Existing 1 g/mL purchased-weight cost normalization is approximate; adjusted yield makes cost use 50 g per jar. Prior observation retained.
Walmart: Great Value Nonpareil Capers, 3.5 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- green beans: $3.29
453.6 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Marketside Fresh Green Beans · Price checked 2026-09-21
- olive oil: $0.18
13.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 13.5 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 17 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.11
9.7 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 9.7 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.05
1.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- dry jasmine rice: $0.59
185 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 185 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Jasmine Rice · Price checked 2026-09-21
- rice vinegar: $0.12
14.9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 14.9 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Mizkan Rice Vinegar, Mild Japanese Cooking Vinegar, 12 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
Make it yoursRecipe notes & meal-prep tips
Macro breakdown
- Protein51.9g37%
- Carbs50.2g36%
- Fat17.1g27%
Per serving · Share of calories from macros
Calculated using 4 calories per gram of protein and carbs, and 9 for fat. Rounding and fiber can affect the listed calorie total.Triple B's Meal Prep Notes
Give the green beans their head start before the tilapia joins the tray. That staggered cooking is the useful part of this one-pan meal prep: the vegetables begin roasting while you mix the lemon-garlic butter, then the fish goes in for the shorter final stage. Keep enough room on the sheet so the fish sits in one layer rather than on top of a pile of beans.
Zest the lemon before juicing it, and distribute the sauce across the fillets before baking. When the meal is cooked, spoon the tray juices over the fish and rice as you pack. Capers add a salty, briny finish, so taste before adding extra salt at the table. Fresh parsley can be kept for after reheating if you want a brighter finish.
For a refrigerated serving, microwave on high for 90 seconds, stir, then heat for another 45 seconds. Use that as a starting point and continue in short intervals as needed until the food reaches 165°F throughout. Stir the rice and green beans gently around the fish during the pause, checking the center of the fillet before adding more time. Another white fish is an option already allowed by the recipe, but a thicker fillet will need its own cooking time. Rice and green beans keep the base simple; if you are choosing from the gluten-free collection, check the labels on your broth and seasonings too. For more meals built around a different fish or sauce, browse the fish archive and Mediterranean-inspired recipes.
Notes from your kitchen
Tried it? Tell us how it went.
Leave a rating and tell us how it turned out. Swaps, tips, and questions welcome.
From the community
★★★★★
Talk about a low-effort banger! I made this recipe because I had such a busy Sunday and I needed something super low effort. This one delivers! All you've gotta do is bake- no babysitting a stovetop. The capers are a must, btw. Let me know how this turned out for you!