Fresh salsa verde with ghee takes this Whole 30 tilapia to a level of addictively delicious. Aun and I describe it as crack fish. We eat a whole pound within twenty minutes and there’s a little sparring for the last bite. Usually, Aun just gives me the last bite. They’re amazing that way.
The turmeric ghee and the avocado oil combined make this tilapia recipe even more buttery and creates an explosion of flavor in the mouth. It turns a plain fish into a super butterfish and the fresh salsa verde makes it taste intense and juicy. If you like tilapia, or even don’t, you’ll love this dish. When roasted into the tilapia the salsa verde soaks into the fish and combines with the delicious fats. You get fresh roasted tomatillos, jalapeno, ghee, and oil with onion in the background. This makes the recipe sing with an abundance of flavor.
Making the fresh tomatillo salsa is what escalates this fish. You could use a store-bought salsa, but you’ll lose the freshness of making your own. Doing it yourself is incredibly easy and can be done in less than thirty minutes. Check out our whole 30 salsa verde recipe here.
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What is Whole 30?
Whole 30 is a body reset, and a mental one in many ways. For 30 days you eliminate grains, dairy, all sweeteners, and many additives. You replace those potential body irritants with fresh, whole, and delicious foods. You will be going gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free so look out for those ingredients when shopping. Basically, shop the outside aisle of the grocery stores. If you don’t feel like cooking there’s plenty of frozen meals out there and now even Walmart carries Whole 30 compliant meals that Melissa steamrolled.
For more information on Whole 30 check out their website. The book It Starts with Food is an important starter to learn the science and story behind the Whole 30.
After finishing 5 rounds of Whole 30 I composed these Top 12 Whole 30 tips for surviving and thriving. The Whole 30 has changed my knowledge of food on a personal level. I no longer fear sugar and feel like I can eat three cupcakes and then just stop. I have very few cravings and if I do I know where they come from.
How the Crack Fish Came to Be
We had a whole jar of fresh-made salsa verde ready to be devoured and a stack of fish that needed to be cooked. To make something quick and delicious I simply combined oil, turmeric ghee, salt, and brushed it onto the fish. Once the fish was oiled up we spooned a heaping spoonful of the salsa over the fish and baked it. The result was unexpectedly ah-mazing.
We tried the fish with jarred salsa instead of fresh. We tried it with ghee without the avocado oil. We tried it without the turmeric. All of it sucked compared to the addictive combination of turmeric, oil, salt and fresh salsa. When we experimented with different options they were so boring that the original combination was quickly devoured and we put the rest in the fridge to eat later.
We’ve been using Imperfect Foods for about two and a half years now and it creates a lot of adventure in the kitchen. They take vegetables and fruits and even fish that are rejected by supermarkets due to their looks. There’s a reason everything looks “perfect” at the store. They then sell people the ingredients to help fight food waste.
So far they’ve saved 139 million pounds of food from winding up in the trash just due to the way it looks.
Check out Imperfect Foods here. This post isn’t sponsored but you can use my referral link to get $10 off your first box 🙂 The tilapia and salsa we use in this recipe were all “imperfect” and tasted delicious. The fish was cuts that weren’t the “right-size”. The food comes directly from the farm so it’s even fresher than the store.
Why You have to Use Fresh Roasted Salsa Verde
We got a store-bought jar of salsa verde and it just tasted…old in comparison. Maybe you can find the magic jar that can mimic that roasted, fresh full flavor of making it yourself. The uplifting cilantro flavor in fresh salsa just blended in with the burst of fresh lime juice that came through. I haven’t found that same flavor in store-bought yet.
You’ll get 500 points to Gryffindor (from the books written by Daniel Radcliffe of course 😉 ) if you take that extra step to roast it yourself. Since you’re already roasting fish it will just take an extra 20 minutes and then you can make this recipe four times or just scramble eggs and fold salsa in. Just do it. It’s beyond worth it. Then you’ll know how easy it is to make fresh roasted salsa and can make it for years to come. Then teach your kids so generations know epic flavors.
Ingredients for Whole 30 Tilapia with Salsa Verde
Avocado oil – Avocado oil has a high smoke point and is fairly neutral tasting. Used often in Whole 30 cooking and paleo. Because of the high smoke point, it maintains its structure and nutrients.
The combination of ghee and oil creates a layer of fat on the outside of the fish that slowly melts while the oil sinks in and cooks the fish from within. It creates an incredible texture.
Turmeric Ghee or Ghee with Turmeric Powder – The turmeric adds a gentle sweetness and incredible flavor. Often used in curry, this is a delicious staple to have around the house. You can add it to eggs for added deliciousness.
Check out our top ghee brands post where we tasted 10 ghees.
Turmeric also has detoxing powers, especially when combined with pepper and fat. If you want to add a dash of pepper the second time you make this fish go for it. The first time stick to the recipe so you get why it’s so addictive.
We used 4th & Heart turmeric ghee which already has turmeric swirled in. We also tried the tilapia with ghee and a dash of turmeric powder. They were very similar so you can go either way. Instructions are in the recipe notes.
Ghee – Ghee is an alternative to butter but really stands on its own. Ghee is used most often in Indian cooking. If you’ve had curry you’ve most likely had ghee. Ghee has a high smoke point and is lactose-free. While not dairy-free it can be used on Whole30 because the lactose has been strained out.
Fresh Salsa Verde – Roasted and delicious flavors marry with everything else. Regular tomato salsa would also work if you want to change it up.
How to Make Whole 30 Baked Tilapia with Salsa Verde
Create the salsa using this recipe. You can also halve the recipe if you don’t have other salsa plans. You can easily top scrambled eggs with salsa on Whole 30 or mix it into a sweet potato taco bowl (coming soon to Blissfull Eating).
Basically, you will take a pound of tomatillos, a jalapeno, a quarter of an onion, and two bulbs of garlic and add them to a sheet pan. Drizzle everything with a tablespoon of avocado oil. Roast everything at 400 degrees for eight minutes and then flip. Roast for eight more minutes then let rest for a few minutes. Add everything to a blender or food processor with the juice of half a lime (and its zest for more lime flavor if you like). Add 1/2 a cup of chopped cilantro, scissors make it easy. Then pulse to desired consistency.
For this recipe, you can pulse the salsa until fairly smooth to get an even consistency.
Lower the oven temp to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You don’t need to clean the pan unless there are charred bits since you’re going to be using the salsa for the main recipe.
Lay out the tilapia onto a sheet pan.
Brush with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of turmeric ghee and 2 tablespoons of avocado oil. If not using turmeric ghee from a jar use regular ghee and add an 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric powder.
Liberally spoon salsa on your fish. We used about a tablespoon per piece of fish. There is no overdoing it here.
Bake at 350 for eight minutes and remove.
Bliss out over the epic meal you’ve created.
Pin it for Later:
Looking for other Whole 30 Summer Recipes?
Whole 30 Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
or Oven Baked Whole 30 BBQ Chicken
Whole 30 Pork Chops with Lavender and Peaches
Summertime Sheet Pan Salmon with Cherries and Mint
Easiest Lettuce Wrapped Sandwiches
Whole 30 Tilapia with Salsa Verde
Ingredients
1 Pound of Tilapia (We used Imperfect Foods)
2 Tablespoons of Avocado Oil
2 Tablespoons Turmeric Ghee or
2 Tablespoons of Ghee with 1/8 teaspoon of Turmeric - see notes
1/2 Cup Fresh Roasted Salsa Verde
Salt
Instructions
1. Make salsa verde from the linked recipe or check out the visual tutorial in the above post for a quick description. You can halve the recipe if you don't plan on using extra.
2. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. You can use the same sheet pan for salsa roasting for this recipe, just remove any charred bits.Â
3. Lay the fish out and salt to taste.Â
4. Mix together turmeric ghee with avocado oil and brush onto the fish.Â
5. Spoon salsa verde over the fish liberally.
6. Bake for 8 minutes.Â
7. Serve immediately and bliss out over how delicious it is.
Notes
We tried both 4th & Heart Turmeric ghee and ghee with an added 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric. You can easily add your own turmeric and it's just as delicious.
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