These Air Fryer Salmon Bites are a super easy weeknight dinner. Just mix your salmon with the simple marinade and air fry until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Toss the bites in a delicious sauce made from the marinade.
Quick
Air fryer fast
You’ll Learn: How to turn leftover marinade into a sauce
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: Air fryer option for faster cook time
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy weeknight dinner – This air fryer salmon is so easy to make and comes together in just 15 minutes. It is my favorite salmon recipe when I’m short on time. They have a crispy texture outside and are so tender inside.
- Quick clean up – One of the most important parts of weeknight eating is easy clean up. You’ll just need one bowl, one pan, and an air fryer for this recipe. Make your sides in the air fryer too to have a quick and easy clean up.
- Great for leftovers – I love eating the salmon leftovers in a salad for lunch the next day, or I make a sriracha mayo to dip them in. Leftover salmon bites would also be delicious for a twist on salmon tacos.
Serving suggestions
I love keeping things easy with this air fryer salmon bites recipe. If you have them on hand, green onions and sesame seeds are great garnishes. By themselves, these bites could make a great appetizer.
I also like to pair this protein as the main dish with microwave rice and air fryer brussels sprouts or air fryer asparagus for veggies. If you want to make the whole meal in the air fryer, you could make vegetables like air fryer red potatoes or air fryer butternut squash instead of rice.
For another fish option in the air fryer, try this air fryer halibut!
Ingredients
- Salmon – use whatever type of salmon filet you would like and cut it into 1-inch cubes. I like to use Atlantic salmon. You can buy skinless salmon fillets or use a sharp knife to remove the skin
- Soy sauce – I use low sodium soy sauce to avoid adding too much salt
- Rice vinegar – the rice vinegar adds a little bit of acidic flavor to the sauce
- Honey – the honey adds just enough sweetness to the marinade for your salmon
- Sesame oil – the sesame oil adds a bit of nuttiness and helps coat the salmon
- Ground ginger – to keep this recipe easy, I use ground ginger in the marinade rather than fresh
- Garlic powder – using garlic powder rather than fresh garlic keeps it quick and simple to make the marinade
- Water – the water is used to make a slurry with the cornstarch to avoid clumping
- Cornstarch – the cornstarch thickens your leftover marinade to make a tasty sauce to top your salmon
Ingredient Substitutions
I love using salmon fillets for this recipe because they are packed with fatty acids like omega-3s. If you do not like fish, you could also do this recipe with chicken bites. Just be sure to adjust your cooking time as needed to cook the chicken all the way through.
This recipe is already gluten-free, so you don’t have to make any changes for gluten free eaters in your house.
In place of the soy sauce, you could use tamari or coconut aminos. If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can substitute white vinegar.
For the ground ginger and garlic powder, you could substitute grated fresh ginger and minced garlic. You could also add a little black pepper and onion powder if you want. If you do not have honey, maple syrup or brown sugar will also work. Feel free to add any more seasonings to taste.
I like to use this base air fryer method to try all different marinades and seasonings for salmon bites. You can play around with spices like paprika, cayenne pepper, cajun seasoning, anything you would like. Add some fresh lemon juice or lime juice for some acid, and use avocado oil or olive oil instead of sesame.
These air fryer salmon nuggets would also be delicious in a garlic butter style sauce. You can have fun playing around with different flavors! Then pop your seasoned salmon bites in the air fryer for 6-8 minutes and enjoy.
How to make
Step 1: Make the marinade
Whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic (Image 1). Toss salmon cubes in this sauce and let sit for 5 minutes (Image 2).
Step 2: Air fry the salmon
Remove salmon from sauce, but save the sauce. Place salmon chunks in an even single layer of an air fryer basket (Image 3) and air fry at 375F for 6-8 minutes depending on salmon cube size (Image 4). Do it in batches if you have a small air fryer.
Step 3: Make sauce and serve
Pour leftover marinade into a small saucepan. Mix 3 tbsp of water with ½ tbsp cornstarch and pour that into the sauce pan. Heat over medium-low to medium heat until the sauce bubbles and thickens (Image 5). You know the sauce is thickened when the sauce easily coats the back of a spoon and stays on it. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Toss the cooked salmon cubes in the sauce (Image 6) and serve or serve with the sauce on the side for a dipping sauce. I like to drizzle some sauce over the rest of the meal as well.
can you make these in the oven?
Yes! You can put the salmon pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 400F for about 10-12 minutes. Prepare the sauce the same way as instructed below and toss the baked salmon bites in the sauce. If you’re looking for another baked salmon bite recipe try these Miso Salmon Bites.
Storage and reheating
Allow the salmon bites to cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in the air fryer until warmed through.
Check out these other Air Fryer Recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Air Fryer Salmon Bites
Ingredients
- 12 oz salmon – skin removed cut into cubes
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp water
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Toss salmon cubes in this sauce and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove salmon from sauce, but save the sauce. Place salmon cubes in an even layer of an air fryer tray and air fryer at 375F for 6-8 minutes depending on salmon cube size.
- Pour leftover marinade into a small sauce pan. Mix 3 tbsp of water with ½ tbsp cornstarch and pour that into the sauce pan. Heat over medium-low heat until the sauce bubbles and thickens. You know the sauce is thickened when the sauce easily coats the back of a spoon and stays on it. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Toss the cooked salmon cubes in the sauce and serve or serve with the sauce on the side for dipping.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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