If you love grilled fish, this easy bacon-wrapped grilled tilapia recipe will make a delicious dinner. It is so easy to learn how to cook tilapia on the grill! I also include these directions if you prefer to bake the tilapia in the oven. Make this recipe in under 20 minutes.

Grilled tilapia wrapped in bacon on a baking sheet.

Bacon makes everything better, right?? It certainly does when you are talking about bacon-wrapped fish!! This recipe is easy to make with just 3 simple ingredients.

Here is my newest attempt to make fish edible for our kids. Tilapia grilled is a great way to prepare fish for little palates. I have had a few successes with this Gluten Free Cod Fettucine Alfredo. They ate this fish, gaining speed as they got used to the fact that it tasted like bacon. Neither child asked for seconds, but it was a huge success in the fact that they ate fish without complaints.

Get ready for some delicious seafood recipes. Here are 50+ delicious gluten free seafood recipes for you to try. During the colder months, you may enjoy this easy grouper recipe. It is pan-seared and is great. I have so many easy, delicious gluten-free budget recipes on my blog because gluten-free can be expensive!

Allergen Information:

This dinner recipe is gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free.

Photos of the tilapia ingredients.

Ingredient Notes:

  • Tilapia – Although this recipe features tilapia, you can make any bacon-wrapped fish. This is tasty with salmon, too!
  • Bacon – Use regular or turkey bacon to wrap the fish. Read the ingredients of the bacon you buy to ensure no gluten ingredients are used in the seasoning!
  • Cooking Oil – Use canola or avocado oil. These oils work well with high heat.
  • Salt and Pepper
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Step-By-Step Directions:

Step 1: Be sure your tilapia is thawed. Most tilapia is sold frozen, so it is important to thaw it before grilling. You can thaw tilapia by letting it sit in the refrigerator for a day or two or let the package soak in room temperature water for an hour.

Step 2: Wrap a piece of bacon around the tilapia. Preheat the grill to 400º F.

Tilapia wrapped for grill in a grill basket.

Step 3: Gently place the bacon-wrapped fish in a grill basket. This grill basket has made it a lot easier. When I used foil, the bacon didn’t get as crispy as it does with a basket.

Cooking Tilapia on grill.

This grilled tilapia will be good on the grill and ready to cook!

Directions to Bake Tilapia In Foil:

Preheat your oven to 400º F.

For oven baking, wrap your tilapia in bacon as described above in the grill directions. Place the tilapia onto the foil into a 9×13 baking dish. Fold the foil up around the fish so it catches the dripping. This will make cleaning up so much easier.

Do not cover the tilapia because you want the oven to brown the bacon. Bake for 12-15 minutes until done. The tilapia should be at 145º F internal temperature. Serve hot, and enjoy!

Sides to Serve With Tilapia:

  • This Gluten Free Mashed Cauliflower Casserole makes an incredibly flavorful side.
  • Air Fryer Twice Baked Potatoes are a quick and easy side dish to serve with fish.

Recipe FAQ:

How do you know when the tilapia is done cooking?

The tilapia should be at 145º F internal temperature.

Can you use different fish in this recipe?

You can definitely use different fish. My kids prefer mild white fish best, so any mild fish would work well like cod.

How do you grill tilapia so it doesn’t stick on the grill?

The two best ways to grill tilapia are to either use a grill basket or cook the tilapia on foil on the grill.

How do you store leftover tilapia?

Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Grilled tilapia will keep fresh for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

More Recipes With Bacon to Try:

Love This Recipe?

If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Include which flour blend you used. This helps others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!

cooked tilapia wrapped in bacon on a baking sheet

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Tilapia

Sandi Gaertner
How to wrap and grill bacon wrapped tilapia
5 from 8 votes
dairy free allergen icon
an egg free allergen icon
gluten free allergy icon
nut free allergen icon
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Gluten Free Dinner Recipes, Meal Recipes
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 347 kcal

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tilapia filets
  • 8 pieces long thick cut of raw bacon
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • parsley to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the grill to 400º F.
  • Spray coat a grilling basket with cooking spray.
  • Put the tilapia in a dish. Coat with salt and pepper.
  • Brush a small amount of olive oil onto the fish.
  • Take two raw pieces of bacon and wrap it around the tilapia.
  • Do this with all of the pieces of tilapia.
  • Put into the grilling cage.
  • (I kept a plate under the basket as I prepared the fish so it wouldn’t drip all over the kitchen.)
  • Put grill basket with the fish onto the grill.
  • Cook on one side for 5 minutes on high heat and then flip the basket to cook the other side.
  • Cook until the fish is flaky and white. Bacon may need a few extra minutes, and that is okay.
  • Serve warm with parsley sprinkled on top.

Notes

To Cook in the Oven:
Preheat your oven to 400º F.
For oven baking, wrap your tilapia in bacon as described above in the grill directions. Place the tilapia onto the foil and put it into a 9×13 baking dish. Fold the foil up around the fish so it catches the dripping. This will make clean up so much easier.
Do not cover the tilapia because you want the oven to brown the bacon. Bake for 12-15 minutes until done. The tilapia should be 145º F internal temperature. Serve hot and enjoy!
FAQ:
  1. You can use tilapia or another mild white fish like cod in this recipe.
  2. Feel free to use turkey bacon to make this recipe low-fat.
  3. This fish will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 347kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 40gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 380mgPotassium: 601mgVitamin A: 16IUCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg
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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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18 Comments

  1. Oh my goodness. This sounds delicious. I know my kids would love it, too. Fish and bacon are two of their favorite things. 😉 Thanks so much for sharing this at Savoring Saturdays, Sandi! Hope you link up again this weekend!

    1. Thanks Raia. Now that school has started I can get back into the swing of things 🙂 Have your kids gone back yet?

  2. I love both tilapia and bacon, so I’m sure I’d love this recipe, Sandi! 😉 I always worry about tilapia these days because it’s farm raised and the info on farm-raised fish is not encouraging, but despite that I do love both tilapia and swai. Have you tried swai? It’s really good!

    Shirley

    1. I have never heard of swai. Is it a firm fish? I will look for it when I am ready to torture my children with fish again 🙂

  3. Tilapia has been recommended to me by those who know where my seafood likes and dislikes lie. I like firmer fish, not the super soft, mushy type fishes. I might have to ‘just do it’ and make this fish because it looks great.

  4. This is a perfect recipe for my son-in-law who not only likes to BBQ fish but loves bacon. Can’t wait to share it with him.

    1. I hope he enjoys it Anita. If he likes to grill fish, I would love to get some tips from him 🙂

  5. I’ll bet that the saltiness of the bacon is fantastic with the fish! I’m going to have to give this one a try! I might try wrapping some herbs in there too, see how that goes.

    1. Hi Ellen, I would love to hear what herbs you try. My kids are notorious for hating fish. Do you have any tips?