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.
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Bacon makes everything better, right?? It certainly does when you are talking about bacon-wrapped fish!!
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 it tasted a lot 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.
Why This Recipe is Great:
- First and foremost, my kids eat it. I love when they are willing to eat new healthy foods, even if it is wrapped in bacon.
- This recipe is easy to make with just 3 simple ingredients.
- This grilled tilapia recipe is also a great recipe to make if you are on a budget.
I have many easy delicious gluten-free budget recipes on my blog because gluten-free can be expensive!
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.
- Cooking Oil - Use canola or avocado oil. These oils work well with high heat.
- Salt and Pepper
If you love to grill, this tool kit has everything you need! I love the tongs, marinade brushes, and easy grips for vegetables! It also cleans really well.
Recipe 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.
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.
On the grill and ready to cook, this grilled tilapia is going to be good!
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 and put it into a 9x13 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.
Storage:
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Grilled tilapia will keep fresh for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
The tilapia should be at 145º F internal temperature.
You can definitely use different fish. My kids prefer mild white fish best, so any mild fish would work well like cod.
The two best ways to grill tilapia are to either use a grill basket or cook the tilapia on foil on the grill.
More Recipes With Bacon to Try:
- Hearty Bacon Lentil Soup
- Gluten Free Maple Bacon Scones
- Mashed Potato Pie with Bacon Roses
- Bacon-Wrapped Cornish Game Hens
📖 Recipe
Grilled Bacon Wrapped Tilapia
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
- You can use tilapia or another mild white fish like cod in this recipe.
- Feel free to use turkey bacon to make this recipe low-fat.
- 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
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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Misty
I have never thought about bacon and seafood. May have found a new love!
Sandi Gaertner
LOL, it is the best way to get my kids to eat seafood!
Raia
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!
Sandi Gaertner
Thanks Raia. Now that school has started I can get back into the swing of things 🙂 Have your kids gone back yet?
janelle
My daughter would love this, and bacon wrapped anything is awesome! thanks for sharing
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts
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
Sandi Gaertner
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 🙂
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts
LOL on that last part, Sandi! Yes, it's firm, and thicker than tilapia. I made it for my support group a few months back and several members said it was their favorite part of our meal. 🙂 It's in the freezer section with the tilapia in our grocery store. You can read more about swai here: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2009/01/what-the-heck-is-swai/index.htm Hope that helps!
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist
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.
The Food Hunter
you just took fish to a whole new level!
Sandi Gaertner
I think the credit goes to the bacon 🙂
Anita
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.
Sandi Gaertner
I hope he enjoys it Anita. If he likes to grill fish, I would love to get some tips from him 🙂
Ellen @ From Scratch
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.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Ellen, I would love to hear what herbs you try. My kids are notorious for hating fish. Do you have any tips?