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These sweet, spicy, and savory Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites are incredibly addicting—and they’re ready in less than 30 minutes!
About My Air Fryer Salmon Bites
This salmon might taste like it came straight from a restaurant kitchen, but the ingredients are available at pretty much any grocery store.
The marinade is a blend of salty and citrus—which honestly leaves the salmon bites delicious without even tossing them in the sauce—but I still recommend it. You don’t want to miss out on that sweet and spicy goodness!
Lastly, the way these tender salmon bites cook to flaky perfection in the air fryer seems like actual sorcery. Imagine all of the texture and flavor of a pan-seared salmon done up in a healthier, quicker, and cleaner fashion.
How Long to Cook Salmon Bites in Air Fryer?
Cooking salmon bites in an air fryer is super quick. This recipe clocks in at just six minutes, yielding super tender and flavorful bites!
What to Serve With Air Fryer Salmon Bites
- My favorite thing to serve these air fryer salmon bites on is this Coconut Ginger Rice!
- For a cool and crunchy veg side, this Smashed Cucumber Salad is perfection, as is this crunchy Thai rainbow salad.
- More of a potato person? These Honey Miso Roasted Sweet Potatoes will prove to be a hit.
- Sesame Seared Baby Bok Choy is also a great option. It’s unfussy and nourishing.
Ingredients
- Salmon fillets, preferably a fattier species like King salmon, Faroe Island, or Scottish.
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Limes
- Sweet Chili sauce
- Scallions
- Sesame seeds
- Chilies or hot peppers
Recipe Tips
- While the salmon is marinating, leave it on the counter to come to room temperature. Bringing fish to room temperature before cooking results in a more even cook.
- Because we have lime in the marinade, be sure not to marinate the salmon for longer than 20 minutes. Citrus breaks down the proteins in fish and will ruin the texture. If you plan to let the fish marinate all day, leave the lime juice out of it and add it 20 minutes prior to cooking.
- Cook the salmon bites skin-side up for the first 3 minutes so that the skin cooks and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the air fryer.
- If you don’t want too much heat, use a milder pepper. Instead of Thai chili, use Serrano pepper or jalapeño, or you could forego the pepper entirely.
How to Cook Salmon Bites in the Air Fryer
- Prep your salmon. Gently tap the fillets with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Make sure to get the skin, too. Then, cut the fillets into bite-sized chunks with a sharp knife or kitchen shears.
- Marinate! Whisk the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and transfer the salmon chunks to the bowl. Give the salmon a gentle toss to coat, then set aside for 20 minutes. Leave the salmon on the counter—you want the fish to come to room temperature before cooking it anyway. This results in a more even cook.
- Time to fry. Lightly grease the bottom of the air fryer basket with olive oil. Then, carefully place the salmon chunks into the air fryer, skin-side up, with tongs. Skin-side up allows the skin to cook a bit and prevents it from sticking to the bottom of the fryer basket. Cook the salmon for 3 minutes at 350º F. Then flip the salmon chunks over and cook them for another 3 minutes. You’re looking for an internal temperature of 140-145º F.
- Time to shine! Remove the salmon chunks from the air fryer basket and place them in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the sweet chili sauce over the salmon and add the scallions, sesame seeds, and sliced chilies to the bowl. Give everything a gentle toss to evenly coat the salmon.
- How to serve it? We love eating these salmon bites over Coconut Ginger Instant Pot Rice with a vegetable on the side. It’s also great with this cool and crunchy smashed cucumber salad.
More Salmon Recipes to Try
- Teriyaki Sheet Pan Salmon With Veggies
- Healthy Teriyaki Salmon Bowl
- Easy Miso Salmon
- Curry Salmon With Coconut Milk
- Air Fryer Salmon With Orange Honey Glaze
- Salmon Burgers
- Poached Salmon In Tomato Wine Sauce
Have You Made This Recipe?
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Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites
These sweet, spicy, and savory Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites are incredibly addicting—and they're ready in less than 30 minutes!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 6 oz salmon fillets, Preferably a fattier salmon like King, Faroe Island, or Scottish
Marinade.
- 1/4 cup Low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 3 cloves of garlic, grated
- 1 tsp grated ginger
Sweet Chili Glaze.
- 2 TBSP Sweet chili sauce
- 2 TBSP thinly sliced Thai chilies, Or, if you want less heat, a Serrano pepper or jalapeño
- 1 TBSP sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
Instructions
- Gently pat down the salmon fillets, skin and all, with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Cut the fillets into bite-sized chunks with a sharp knife or kitchen shears.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients, and then transfer the salmon to the bowl; gently toss to coat and set the bowl aside for 20 minutes. You can leave the salmon on the counter since you want the fish to come to room temperature before cooking it. This will result in a more even cook.
- With olive oil or cooking spray, lightly grease the bottom of the air fryer basket and, with tongs, place the salmon chunks into the air fryer skin-side up.
- Air fry the salmon for 3 minutes at 350º F, and then flip the salmon over and cook for another 3 minutes. You want an internal temperature of 140-145º F.
- Remove the salmon from the air fryer basket and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Top the salmon with the sweet chili sauce, scallions, sesame seeds, and sliced chilies. Gently toss to coat the salmon and serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
This was super easy to make and the salmon came out nice and tender. The marinade made is super flavorful. I don’t know if I’ll oven-bake salmon again!
That’s how I feel about roasted salmon! Love it but I think this is the way now.
That was super easy to make and so delicious! Thank you! I had it with steamed Jasmine rice and it was a hit on our table.
It’s so good with steamed rice :)
We love the taste of the sweet chili on the salmon bites. I make more of the sauce to pour over the rice too!
Love that!
These came out so delicious and worked perfectly with the green tea noodles I served them with. Definitely a repeater recipe!
Sounds like a delicious combo!
Wow! This salmon is bursting with flavor. I’ve never cooked salmon in the air fryer before so thanks for all of the detail you provide!
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed it :)
Wow! The salmon bites sounds super delicious 😋 can’t wait to make it I have some salmon in my fridge!
Keep me posted :)
Love that beautiful glaze on the salmon! So flavourful! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us :)
Really glad you enjoyed it, Michelle!
Oh my gosh. That glaze!! SO good! We love making salmon in the air fryer, but hadn’t made it like this before. Will make again!
I’m so happy to hear this!
Excellent recipe and I love that you added lower sodium this was perfect for me
Lower sodium is definitely the way to go! You don’t even lose out on flavor :)
Holy wow! That looks and sounds so delicious. I love healthy recipes that are also full of flavor. This one ticks all the boxes.
Thanks!