Air Fryer Salmon
on Sep 17, 2023, Updated Aug 06, 2024
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You will be amazed at how easy and delicious this air-fried salmon is — moist, tender, not at all dry, and ready in about 10 minutes!
The air fryer is magical when it comes to cooking perfect salmon. The high heat and the rotating air cook the fish evenly, creating a lovely browned exterior and a moist interior in just about 10 minutes. And as long as you keep an eye on the time and don’t overcook the fish, it will be tender and silky — no dry salmon here!
The salmon is delicious on its own with a squeeze of lime or lemon juice at the end or drizzled with lemon butter sauce. You can also pair it with other sauces, including remoulade sauce, dill sauce, horseradish sauce, or tartar sauce.
And if you’re as much of a salmon lover as I am (and that’s saying a lot), you might also want to take a look at Sheet Pan Salmon and Broccoli Rabe, Creamy Tuscan Salmon, and Honey-Ginger Salmon. And for another excellent basic salmon recipe, you can’t go wrong with Baked Salmon.
Table of Contents
You will be amazed at how easy and and delicious air fryer salmon is – moist, tender, not at all dry, and ready in about 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- Salmon filets – Skin on or off, your choice! Keep reading for buying tips.
- Lemon or lime juice – Use either citrus fruit, but make sure it’s fresh! Reserve a lemon or lime to cut into wedges for serving.
- Honey – For a hint of sweetness.
- Dijon mustard – Give the fish a tangy kick.
- Fresh parsley – Used as a garnish for a pop of color on the plate.
Salmon Buying Tips
- Buy salmon from a store with a high turnover, preferably one that specializes in fish or seafood.
- Look for salmon presented on ice in a refrigerator case vs. packaged in the prepared fish and seafood section.
- Note whether the recipe calls for filets with the skin on or off. In many recipes, either will work, but if you don’t like the skin or the skin doesn’t get crispy in the cooking method, you might want to remove it before serving the filets. In this recipe, you can use skin on or off filets.
- Fish filets should appear moist and not at all dried out. The deepness of the red color will depend on the type of salmon you choose. Check out the sustainability rating of the different kinds of salmon at SeafoodWatch (and think about wild salmon!).
- Fresh fish should be used within 2 days or frozen.
- You can buy a larger piece of salmon and cut it into smaller pieces yourself or ask a fishmonger to do that for you.
- Center-cut salmon filets will be thicker and more uniform in size and thickness. This is useful when cooking several filets, as they will all be cooked to your liking at the same time.
How Long to Cook Salmon in an Air Fryer
Salmon filets will take between 6 and 12 minutes to cook in an air fryer. The cooking time depends on:
- How thick your filets are.
- The model of the air fryer you are using.
- How many pieces of salmon you are cooking at one time.
- How much space you leave between the filets.
Allow about 9 minutes per inch of thickness for salmon filets in the air fryer at 400 degrees. Plan for about 10 or 11 minutes per inch of thickness at 375 degrees.
How to Air-Fry Salmon
- Marinate the salmon: Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard and salt and pepper in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Add the fish and turn to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerate for one hour, then let sit at room temp for 15 minutes to take the chill off.
- Prepare the air fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees. Place the filets, skin side down if applicable, in the air fryer with some space between them.
- Air-fry: Cook for 6 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filets, figuring about 9 minutes per inch of thickness.
- Serve: Remove the fish from the air fryer and serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and some lemon wedges.
Cooking Tips
- Choose filets that are of similar thickness and size so that they cook evenly and get to the desired level of doneness at the same time.
- Allow some space between the salmon filets.
- If your air fryer won’t hold all four filets, you may have to cook them in batches.
- Make sure the skin is on the bottom when you place the fish into the air fryer.
- Preheat the air fryer before adding the fish
- You do not need to flip the fish in the air fryer.
- Don’t overcook the salmon! Set a timer and check it often towards the end.
Leftovers and Storage
If you have leftover air fryer salmon, it will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 days. You can use it in Salmon Salad with Jalapeño Scallion Dressing, Salmon, Arugula, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, or Smoked Salmon Spread.
What to Serve With Air Fryer Salmon
More Air Fryer Recipes
- Air Fryer Steak
- Air Fryer Shrimp
- Air Fryer Italian Sausage
- Lemon-Garlic Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
- Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
- Air Fryer Green Beans
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Air Fryer Salmon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 (6 to 8-ounce) salmon filets
- 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- Chopped fresh parsley (to serve)
- Lime or lemon wedges (to serve)
Instructions
- Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard, and salt and pepper in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Add the fish and turn to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerate for one hour, then let sit at room temp for 15 minutes to take the chill off.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 F. Place the filets, skin side down if applicable, in the air fryer with some space between them. If your air fryer won’t hold all four filets, you may have to do this in batches. Cook for 6 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filets, figuring about 9 minutes per inch of thickness. Remove the fish from the air fryer and serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and some lemon wedges.
Notes
- Choose filets that are of similar thickness and size so that they cook evenly and get to the desired level of doneness at the same time.
- Allow some space between the salmon filets.
- If your air fryer won’t hold all four filets, you may have to cook them in batches.
- Make sure the skin is on the bottom when you place the fish into the air fryer.
- Preheat the air fryer before adding the fish
- You do not need to flip the fish in the air fryer.
- Don’t overcook the salmon! Set a timer and check it often towards the end.
- If you have leftover air fryer salmon, it will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 days.
