Air Fryer Salmon Bites are about to become your favorite way to eat salmon! They come out crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and coated with amazing flavor.
I am a big fan of the air fryer. Whether it’s the main course or a side dish, air fryers generally take less time and leave you with a healthy meal.
These Air Fryer Salmon Bites make a delicious main dish and since it’s so quick and easy, you can make a busy weeknight meal in a short amount of time. Crispy air fryer salmon bites are so amazing because air frying is the easiest way to cook fish, plus you get a light crispy outside and a juicy center.
If you want to try another delicious meal, check out my Honey Garlic Salmon in the Air Fryer.
For some of my favorite side dishes you can add to make a complete meal, try my Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan or these delicious Air Fryer Rosemary Potatoes.
Why You’ll Love These Easy Air Fryer Salmon Bites
Simple Ingredients: You likely have all the ingredients in your pantry or they are easily found at the grocery store.
Easy to Prep: All ingredients are tossed into a single bowl to coat the salmon pieces and they are ready to cook.
Short Cooking Time: Making salmon bites the perfect weeknight meal.
Versatile: While I love this combination of spices, you can change them up to add variety to your menu.
Make it a meal? Before serving these seasoned salmon bites, make these oven baked crab balls recipe for the perfect appetizer or side dish. Prefer a cold salad? Then you’ll love this easy seafood salad.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Kitchen Equipment
- Deep Bowl
- Plastic Wrap
- Air Fryer
- Parchment Paper (I use these disposable parchment papers made for air fryers)
- Meat Thermometer (I use this meat thermometer for everything!)
Ingredients
SALMON: Salmon filets are easy to work with and so delicious! Make sure to bring them to this recipe already chilled. They should be really cold so they are easier to cut.
SALT: Salt gives a delicious seasoning and will help to bring out all of the other flavors.
OLIVE OIL: This creates the base to hold all of the seasonings to these crispy salmon bites.
SMOKED PAPRIKA: This spice is a fantastic combination of sweet, spicy, and smoky.
GROUND FENUGREEK: Fenugreek tastes somewhat like maple syrup with a little bit of bitterness. Don’t have this on hand? It can be substituted with a small amount of Maple Syrup.
GRANULATED GARLIC: Many good recipes call for garlic, and for good reason! It gives a delicious flavor to this easy dinner.
DRIED THYME: Thyme is another combination flavor, combining earthy, minty, and citrusy.
DRIED SAGE: Like thyme, sage is earthy, minty, and citrusy.
How to Make Air Fryer Salmon Bites
STEP 1: Carefully remove the salmon skin and discard.
STEP 3: Cut skinless salmon fillets into 1-inch cubes and put them into a large bowl.
STEP 4: Add all the remaining ingredients into the bowl with the salmon cubes and toss.
STEP 5: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. This allows the air fryer salmon bites absorb the spices and they’ll be more flavorful.
STEP 6: Place parchment paper in the bottom of the air fryer basket and place the salmon chunks in a single layer (here are the disposable parchment papers from Amazon I use)
STEP 7: Press the Fish/Seafood button (which should be 350 degrees F or 177 C, but all air fryers are a little different). Air fry salmon for 6-8 minutes. The first time you make these, check at 6 minutes and continue cooking in 1 minute intervals. Your air fryer may cook hotter than mine. To check, make sure they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F with your meat thermometer.
STEP 8: Serve these tender salmon bites hot with your favorite sauce and side dishes.
Tips and Tricks
- You do not need to preheat your air fryer for this recipe. Salmon cooks fast in the air fryer!
- Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook these bite-sized pieces in more than one batch to keep them in a single layer. If so, the second batch will need less time to cook.
- Get a stackable tray for your air fryer basket. This allows you to use the vertical space in your air fryer to cook more food at one time.
Variations and Substitutions
There are so many fun things your can change up to make these air fryer bites your own. Here’s a few ideas:
- If you don’t have an air fryer, you can follow the preparation instructions and then cook them on a baking sheet at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Try some air fryer teriyaki salmon bites by swapping the seasonings for some teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds and air frying it.
- If you want to serve these as salmon tacos, top them with a little lime juice and shredded lettuce and wrap in a tortilla or a large piece of lettuce.
- For some spicy bites, try Cajun seasoning, black pepper, or cayenne pepper as a substitute for some of the listed seasonings. These ones would be great dipped in hot sauce.
- Some other great seasonings to try are onion powder,
- If you don’t have granulated garlic, you can use garlic powder.
- If you are a cheese fan, try topping the bites with Parmesan cheese during the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.
Is Air Frying Salmon Healthy?
Air-fried salmon is actually healthier than many ways of cooking fish!
The air fryer is a great way to cook so many dishes because it doesn’t rely on oils and deep frying, but still gives you a lightly crisp outer crust.
In this air fryer salmon bites recipe, we are only using a minimal amount of oil, so it is still a healthy dish!
What is the Best Way to Serve Air Fryer Salmon Bites?
There are so many options for how to serve your air fryer salmon bites!
- A good creamy garlic sauce or other dipping sauce is always a great option.
- You could serve it with a side of rice pilaf and garlic butter.
- If you want to keep it super simple, squeeze some lemon juice on top of the air fryer salmon nuggets and enjoy with green onions as a garnish.
Air Fryer Salmon Bites are a simple recipe and a great addition to your weekday meal lineup! You may not be able to turn back after trying air-fried salmon, it’s that good!
Air Fryer Salmon Bites
Air Fryer Salmon Bites are about to become your favorite way to eat salmon! They come out crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and coated with amazing flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Salmon
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Fenugreek (can substitute with Maple Syrup)
- 1/2 teaspoon Granulated Garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/3 teaspoon Dried Sage
Instructions
- Carefully remove the salmon skin and discard.
- Cut skinless salmon fillets into 1-inch cubes and put them into a large bowl.
- Add all the remaining ingredients into the bowl with the salmon cubes and toss.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. This allows the air fryer salmon bites absorb the spices and they'll be more flavorful.
- Place parchment paper in the bottom of the air fryer basket and place the salmon chunks in a single layer (here are the disposable parchment papers I use)
- Press the Fish/Seafood button (which should be 350 degrees F or 177 C, but all air fryers are a little different). Air fry salmon for 6-8 minutes. The first time you make these, check at 6 minutes and continue cooking in 1 minute intervals. Your air fryer buttons may be set to cook hotter than mine. Make sure the salmon bites reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F with your meat thermometer.
- Serve these tender salmon bites hot with your favorite sauce and side dishes.
Notes
See recipe post for tips and variations.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 297Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 335mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 25g
Nutritional values are estimates and not exact.