Cook the BEST air fryer salmon with the skin on to perfection. Add our honey garlic glaze as an optional step. Serve the salmon in air fryer with air fryer asparagus and potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Salmon, 2 fillets (8 oz each)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼+ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 teaspoon minced garlic cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 F for 5 minutes.
- Make the honey garlic glaze and set it aside. Remove the salmon fillets from the packaging and brush them with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
- Place the salmon fillets in the air fryer basket with the skin side facing down. If you have a smaller capacity air fryer you might have to cook 1 fillet at a time.
- Air fry the salmon for 5 minutes. Brush the glaze on the salmon and cook it for 1-2 more minutes until the internal temperature tested with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the salmon reads 125 F for medium-rare salmon or up to 140 Fahrenheit for up to medium done salmon.
- Let the fish rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
A digital cooking thermometer is highly recommended so that the salmon doesn’t get overcooked. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, cook the salmon until it JUST flakes with a fork and is still slightly pink on the inside.
Medium-rare salmon has an internal temperature of 120-125 F, medium salmon is `125-140 F. The USDA recommends cooking salmon to 145 F but it’ll taste a little dry and overcooked if you let it cook that long.
Purchasing wild Pacific salmon is highly recommended, farm raised Atlantic salmon does NOT have as much flavor.
All air fryer models vary slightly, this recipe used a Cosori air fryer which is an 1800 watt air fryer. If your air fryer has less watt it’ll take a little longer to cook, if yours is a higher wattage it’ll cook faster.
It’s easy to vary the salmon seasonings, brushing it with olive oil and then sprinkling it with salt and pepper, McCormick’s garlic herb seasoning is fantastic, or lemon pepper and dill. The honey garlic glaze is optional.
Variations for the honey garlic glaze include using maple syrup instead of honey, or adding mustard to the mix for a sweet and savory taste.
Adding parchment paper to the bottom of the air fryer basket also makes for easy clean-up but is not required.
