These air fryer salmon bites are so easy and fast to make! Done in under 10 minutes, with simple ingredients and full of flavor, these salmon bites in the air fryer are perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or lunch meal prep. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free and just absolutely delicious!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Air Fryer salmon bites are quick to prepare! The marinade has easy, common ingredients and the salmon only has a cook time of 8 minutes.
- This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free, and can easily be made paleo, so no matter who’s eating it, everyone can enjoy!
- Salmon bites in the air fryer are perfect for busy weeknights when you just need to get dinner done without the hassle or tons of dishes!
- Love salmon? Check out these other delicious salmon recipes! Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon, Spicy Salmon Bowls, Oven or Air Fryer Greek Salmon, Shrimp Stuffed Salmon, Cajun Salmon Pasta, Air Fryer Salmon Patties
Ingredients for Air Fryer Salmon Bites
The main ingredients you’ll need are for the marinade. For this, you’ll mix together a bit of soy sauce or coconut aminos, honey, oil, garlic powder, onion powder, sesame seeds and a bit of Teriyaki sauce. If you don’t have Teriyaki sauce and don’t want to buy any, you can instead use a bit more soy sauce, sesame oil and apple cider vinegar in place of it for this recipe.
Salmon: You will need 2-3 fillets of salmon, or about a 1-pound fillet that can be divided into individual portions. If you’re looking for a high quality salmon option, you can get wild Alaskan salmon straight from the source from Surrender Salmon. You can use the code BAILEY10 at checkout to save 10% off your order, which is over $20 off the salmon fillet portions, and free shipping on orders over $125. It’s the best salmon you can find, flash frozen on the boat!
Prepping and Cooking Instructions
Making salmon bites in the air fryer couldn’t be easier. There’s only 3 simple steps to cooking these up for lunch or dinner.
Step 1
The first steps are to whisk together the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and then prep your salmon. You can remove the skin prior to cooking, or leave the skin on. It’s up to you, though I personally think it’s much easier to peel off the skin after they cook. Then slice the salmon into the “bites”. To do this, simply use a sharp knife to cut each fillet so you have about 1-inch pieces of salmon.
Once the salmon has been sliced into the bite sized pieces, add them into the bowl with the sauce or marinade. You could also add the sauce and the salmon into a large bag to marinade it instead if that’s easier for you.
Step 2
The salmon doesn’t need to marinate long to get great flavor, simply let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then transfer each piece to the air fryer basket or tray. They can be close, but leaving a bit of space between each will give you the best results. If your air fryer isn’t large enough, you may do this in two batches so you don’t have to put the salmon on top of each other.
Step 3
If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat it to 400 degrees F., and then cook the salmon bites in the air fryer for 6-8 minutes. The cook time will depend on the size and thickness of the pieces you cut. If they are thinner and smaller, check them closer to 6 minutes and then add a minute or two if needed!
Step 4
Once the salmon is done, remove them from the air fryer and transfer the salmon bites onto a plate or bowl to immediately remove them from the hot surface so they don’t keep cooking. If you left the skin on and want to remove it, while you’re transferring each piece is an easy time to peel it off and discard.
How to Serve Salmon Bites
After you’ve removed them from the air fryer and they’ve finished cooking, there are a ton of delicious ways you can serve your salmon bites! They are great in salads with spinach or arugula, bowls with rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa, over pasta or orzo, or with sides of air fryer or roasted vegetables!
They make such a quick and easy lunch or dinner to throw into a bowl with fresh veggies, and you can reserve some of the marinade to use to drizzle over the bowl if you enjoy this as a salad, with rice or with vegetables.
Vegetable Ideas for Serving:
- Air Fryer Green Beans
- Instant Pot Artichokes
- Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash
- Instant Pot Couscous
- Steamed Broccoli in the Instant Pot
- Healthy Broccoli Casserole
- Air Fryer Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Storing Instructions
To store air fryer salmon bites, first you will want to let them cool completely. Then you can divide them into meal prep containers with your sides if you want to use the leftovers for easy lunches. Or, put them all into a storage container that has an airtight lid. I do not recommend freezing your salmon bites after they’ve been cooked.
Other Air Fryer Recipes You’ll Love:
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs (Air Fryer or Oven)
- Air Fryer Twice Baked Potatoes
- Easy Air Fryer Apples
- Air Fryer Meatloaf
- Buffalo Chicken Thighs (Air Fryer or Oven)
- Sausage and Peppers in the Air Fryer
Air Fryer Salmon Bites
These air fryer salmon bites are so easy and fast to make! Done in under 10 minutes, with simple ingredients and full of flavor, these salmon bites in the air fryer are perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or lunch meal prep. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free and just absolutely delicious!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2
- Category: Fish
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1-pound salmon fillets (about 2–3 large salmon fillets)
- 2.5 tablespoons teriyaki sauce (see notes for quick substitute)
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Optional to garnish: parsley flakes, green onions or additional sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare your salmon by removing the skin if desired (I think it’s easiest to do this after cooking). Dice the salmon into bite size pieces that are about 1-inch by 1-inch
- Combine all of the remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Then you can either add the salmon to the bowl to marinate for 10-15 minutes, or brush the marinade over the salmon generously if you don’t have time to let it sit
- Place the salmon bites into the air fryer basket or tray, leaving a bit of space between them. If your air fryer basket is too small for all of the pieces, you may need to do two batches
- Cook the salmon bites on 400 degrees F. for 6-8 minutes. Cook time will depend slightly on the size and thickness of your salmon. If your salmon fillets were on the thinner side, check them at 6 minutes and add a minute or two as needed
- Once done, remove the salmon bites from the air fryer (peeling the skin now if desired), and serve in salads, over rice, couscous, quinoa, cauliflower rice, sautéed vegetables or roasted vegetables.
Notes
Quick teriyaki sauce substitute: You can use 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar or coconut sugar in place of the 2.5 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce called for.
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Tori says
Bailey! Oh my LORT this was amazing. We’ll be making these over and over and over and over! So thrilled how easy and quick it is too
paleobailey says
Soo happy you enjoyed!! Thank you!