How to Air Fry Salmon Fillets (Fresh or Frozen)

I’ve had a series of great successes air frying various fish and shellfish but this salmon is the true triumph. The beautifully plump fillets crisp up on the outside whilst the inside remains juicy and tender. I don’t think you can really go wrong with a perfectly cooked salmon fillet.

I don’t tend to cook salmon in the oven as I don’t find that I can get the outside nicely sealed without overcooking the inside. So I usually pan fry at a high heat, turning the salmon so it crisps on all sides.

The downside of this is that salmon is an oily fish and a lot of those oils are released during cooking – it has a tendency to splatter all over the stovetop and I hate cleaning. So not only can I be hands off while the salmon cooks, clean up is easier too.

How to Serve

Salmon is super versatile. I flake it and add to tacos for the tastiest fish tacos ever (don’t forget to add canned peach salsa and guacamole).

I sometimes add it to creamy pastas and risottos or serve simply with steamed new potatoes and broccoli like in the images here. Or switch in garlic pea puree and roasted potato cubes with rosemary.

A great deal of the time I serve salmon with rice and Asian flavours. You can switch the salmon cooking instructions in my sweet chilli salmon recipe or even use the cooked salmon in place of raw in salmon maki sushi rolls.

I serve with sticky rice or chow mien and mix and match veggies like edamame beans and tenderstem broccoli and sauces such as satay sauce.

All of these meals use the salmon served hot but salmon is incredibly delicious too. This makes it a great centrepiece for picnic spreads or buffets. It’s delicious added to salads too – Classic Caesar Salad is always my favourite.

Butter

I use butter on the salmon to add flavour and to help in the crisping/colouring process. Butter has a lower smoking point than most fats so this gives the best chance of getting some colour and crisp on the skin in the short cooking time.

You should avoid using spreadable butters and margarines as these contain a lot of moisture along with fat – this will hinder the crisping, not help it.

If you prefer to use an olive or other vegetable oil, please do. This becomes even easier if you are using a seasoning rub or sauce as the smoking point becomes less important.

Try to match the flavour of the oil with the seasonings. For example olive oil with rosemary and lemon or vegetable oil with a drop of sesame oil for a Japanese inspired dish.

Salt

I’ve kept these instructions for air fryer salmon fillets very simple using just butter and a little extra salt. You can use any other seasonings you like but you should make sure that it has a salty element whether that’s sea salt, soy sauce or similar.

Allergen Information

This recipe is free from egg, gluten and nuts.

Dairy Free: Simply replace the butter with a dairy free block butter, olive or vegetable oil to made this recipe dairy free.

Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.

How to Air Fry Salmon Fillets From Frozen

Salmon fillets only take a fraction longer to cook from frozen as they do from fresh. I’ve included the cooking instructions in the recipe card below.

When cooking from frozen, more moisture can be released. To combat this I recommend rinsing the salmon fillets under some cold water to remove any surface frost. Dry the fillets really well then butter and season as usual.

Check the cooking halfway. If there looks to be a lot of surface moisture you can use some folded kitchen paper to mop any of that off.

Leftovers – Storage & Reheating

You can actually air fry salmon fillets the day before serving if you are looking to serve them cold. Cooked salmon will keep for a total of two days if kept in the fridge in an air tight container.

You can also freeze cooked salmon, it will be ready to eat or reheat as soon as it is defrosted.

I don’t love reheating salmon fillets as you always lose some of the soft pinkness in the middle but you can either in the microwave or put back in the air fryer. To reheat in the air fryer you should allow around 5 minutes at 200c/390f.

The Air Fried Feast Community

Come on over to Facebook and join my community discussing all things air fryer. Get involved in sharing your experiences and trials, help out others and find out what wonderful things everyone is cooking in their air fryers!

What Exactly is an Air Fryer?

Very simply, an air fryer is a small convection (fan) oven. The benefit is that the hot air is circulated all around the food being cooked which speeds up the cooking time and cooks the food more evenly.

What are the Benefits of Using an Air Fryer?

Size, time and energy usage. Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller quantities. Heating up a space that the food just fits into requires less energy and means that the heat source is much closer to the food. Combining these two things can speed up the cooking time.

Rotary types are not usually good for recipes where the food is breaded, glazed, likely to break up or in a tray/container. They do however make the best chips and roasted veg.

My 2 in 1 version like the one I’ve linked also has a rotating tray for things that could be broken up by a paddle, but the height clearance with the lid isn’t deep enough to use it to cook some items like sausage rolls. I’ve now actually retired by Actifry in favour of having my two basket type fryers.

Mini Oven Air Fryers

These usually have a glass door, shelves and overall are really quite large. You can cook quite a decent quantity of food in them so are best if regularly cooking for multiple people. They often come with extra features like a rotisserie spit or kebab skewers.

Multicookers with Air Fryer Functions

Some like Ninja 11 in 1 and some of the earlier versions with a few less functions, have an air fryer option. They mostly operate the same as a basket fryer but the basket drops in the top rather than sliding in like a drawer.

Some electric pressure cookers like Instant Pots can also air fry when used with a specific lid.

Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?

As much as I do love air frying, the honest answer to this is no. And the more detailed answer is that it will always depend on what you’re cooking, how much of it you’re cooking and what type and size of air fryer you have.

Once you need to cook in more than 2 batches, it often makes more sense to use an oven. If you already have the oven on to cook other items, it may make more sense to throw one more item in rather than using an additional appliance.

I don’t think either method is often necessarily better than the other. The important point to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the finished product.

Do Air Fryers Need to Be Pre-Heated?

The answer to this is rather annoying – it depends. It depends entirely on your model and type of air fryer. The best advice I can offer is to check your manual and follow their guidance. My Cosori models have a preheat function. I press a button and it heats at 205c/400f for 4 minutes.

It’s also worth noting that regardless of whether you are supposed to pre-heat or not, if you are cooking in batches, it is quite likely that anything after the first batch will cook a little quicker because of the retained heat. It is best to check on them before the cooking time is completed.

What is the best temperature to Air Fry at?

It will always depend on what you are cooking and from what state. All of my air fryer recipes don’t use temperatures above 200c/390f because many of the most common fryers in the UK don’t go above this. Mine goes to 230c/450f and I use this temperature a lot but it is no help for me to share recipes which many people can’t use.

What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…

Not all air fryers have different settings like this. When they do it usually relates to the fan speed. The default setting to use will always be “air fry” so unless something else is specifically stated in the recipe, always use the air fry option.

There are other air fryers that have an additional heating element which cooks from underneath rather than just the top. Just as with the other settings, unless you are using a recipe which states to use a second heating element, stick with just using the top down air fry option.

Of course if and when you become more confident with air frying, using recipes and the settings of your air fryer, you can start adapting them to suit.

Can Food Be Cooked From Frozen In An Air Fryer?

Absolutely! To cook from frozen you usually will need to reduce the cooking temperature and increase the time to make sure your food is cooked right through to the middle.

It is best to check my individual recipes for cooking from frozen advice as some items are a little different. And there are occasionally exceptions to the rule.

Can I Reheat Food In An Air Fryer?

Yes. As a general rule I reheat food for roughly 1/3 of the original cooking time at the same temperature. Or at 10 degrees lower for half the time for larger items.

Are Air Fryer Liners a Good Idea?

Unless otherwise stated, I do not use liners when air frying. Basket and rotary type air fryers are designed to be used without liners. Mini oven types will generally require some kind of tray like with a regular large oven although most come with crisper racks to use.

There are many air fryer liners available including quite thick silicone ones. These will affect the cooking times and possibly temperatures of your cooking/baking. I also don’t like how cooking juices are prevented from dripping through the basket rack. This can stop food from crisping all the way around.

When I do want to collect the juices, I mostly use some foil, or occasionally a foil tray which can be washed and reused.

If you do prefer to use them, once you have got a feel for how they affect your cooking and baking, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe accordingly.