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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!

Plate with rice topped with cubed salmon tossed in sweet chili sauce and garnished with scallions and chilies.

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

Wooden serving board with raw salmon fillets on top and pinch bowls of grated garlic, ginger, and soy sauce.

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
Bowl of cooked salmon bites next to pinch bowls of chopped chilies, scallions, sesame seeds, sweet chili sauce, and limes.

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

Bowl of uncooked salmon bites in bowl and in marinade.
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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
Salmon chunks in air fryer basket.

More Salmon Recipes to Try

Have You Made This Recipe?

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5 from 49 votes

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!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Marinating time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 36 minutes
Servings: 2 people
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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
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5 from 49 votes

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93 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I love your air-fryer recipes, so decided to give this one a go for dinner! We are obsessed! So tasty, and has a perfect amount of heat for us! And I love the ginger that comes through ever so slightly in the marinade! Perfect with noodles and Asian-style veggies!

  2. 5 stars
    We had these salmon bites for dinner last night and everyone loved them! Already can’t wait to make them again! 

  3. 5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe twice in the last two weeks. It’s so good! My husband loves it and he’s not much of a salmon guy. So that speaks for itself.

    1. Funny, my husband has never been much of a salmon gyu either and this is his favorite dish. It’s all in the flavors! :)

  4. 5 stars
    I had everything in stock, and these salmon bites were done in a flash. Dinner was fabulous!

  5. 5 stars
    This was SO flavorful and super easy!! I love how it’s just a few ingredients! Everyone loved it!!

  6. 5 stars
    Fast, flavorful and perfect for these busy, end of school days! I love that this recipe is ready to go in just 30 minutes!

  7. 5 stars
    I am always looking for new salmon recipes and am so happy to find this one! Everyone in the family loved it. Thanks!