Low Carb Pesto Tilapia Dinner

This low carb pesto tilapia dinner can be made in less than 20 minutes. The pesto is made from fresh spinach and toasted walnuts and adds lots of healthy color and flavor to this mild white fish. Only 1.5g net carbs

At this time of year, I am always looking for easy seafood dinners to make for my family. I always have some tilapia in the freezer and my go to is a pomodoro tilapia dish that my family loves but it’s not low carb. So today I put together this low carb pesto tilapia dinner that uses a simple spinach and walnut pesto. Start to finish this fish dinner takes only 20 minutes and tastes delicious. And with the leftover pesto you can use it for veggie noodles!

Why Spinach Walnut Pesto

The spinach walnut pesto is from an old spaghetti squash primavera recipe. I like it because it’s inexpensive and easy. Regular pesto often uses a lot of basil and pine nuts, both of which can add up. For this one I jus toast the walnuts in a dry skillet to give them a bit more taste and made sure to use a good deal of garlic!

How To Make The Pesto

To make the pesto, simple add the garlic and walnuts to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Then add in your spinach. I use a small food processor like this because it’s easier to clean and I just like it better than my big one. So if you use a smaller food processor you might have to put the spinach in batches. Once that chopped up well, add in the Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and olive oil. This should make a paste but if you want a looser pesto you can add a bit more olive oil. I like it as a paste because it’s easier to spread.

Time To Bake The Tilapia

Now place the tilapia filets in a sprayed baking dish. Take a paper towel and dry the top of the fish and then spread the pesto over top. I only used half of the pesto so keep the rest for pasta, veggies or even chicken. Bake for about 12 minutes and then broil the top for about 3 minutes. 

With the leftover pesto, pour a little olive oil over top and store in the refrigerator. This will keep it from turning brown. I hope you like this simple fish dinner. The nutritional information for 1 serving is:

363 cals / 24.4g fat / 2.4g carbs / 0.9g fiber / 35.3g protein = 1.5g net carbs

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Low Carb Pesto Tilapia Dinner

This low carb pesto tilapia dinner can be made in less than 20 minutes. The pesto is made from fresh spinach and toasted walnuts and adds lots of healthy color and flavor to this mild white fish. 

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Author Denise

Ingredients

• 2 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup walnuts, toasted
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated (fresh preferred)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 lb tilapia filets

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

   
   

2. In a food processor add garlic and walnuts and pulse. Then add in the spinach, salt, cheese and olive oil. Process until it all comest together.

   
   

3. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and lay out your tilapia filets. Take a paper towel and dry off the filets. Spread the pesto over the filets. I only used half of the pesto to make 4 filets.

4. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Then set under the broiler for 3 minutes or until bubbly and a little browned.

5. Serve immediately.