This Easy Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon is super quick to make and comes out perfectly cooked every time! A quick homemade teriyaki sauce is drizzled over the top and it pairs perfectly with rice and a green veggie! Simple, flavorful and healthy–what more could you ask for?!
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I love fish, but I feel like cooking it can be a little tricky! I think I have flashbacks to scraping burned fish off the bottom of skillet before I knew anything about cooking. Ugh–not a good look. But cooking is all about practice — you have to keep at it and practice DOES make progress!!
HOWEVER! That practice time decreases significantly with the entrance of the…AIR FRYER!!!!!! I use my Cosori 12-1 Air Fryer EVERY SINGLE DAY. Not exaggerating. This thing is a Godsend.
If you love salmon but have any apprehension about cooking it, let the air fryer ease your anxiety! While cooking salmon (or any fish) in a pan, requires a few tricks, cooking salmon in the air fryer is a breeze!
Serve this teriyaki salmon with a side of my Chinese Style Air Fryer Green Beans or Bacon and Garlic Fried Rice and you have a perfect, easy weeknight meal!
If you love fish, try my Panko and Parmesan Crusted Cod with Cherry Tomatoes. Such an easy weeknight meal! Date night? You can’t miss making this Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Herb Butter!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- It’s FAST! Your salmon will cook in about 7-10 minutes flat!
- Only 6 simple ingredients!
- It’s healthy! Hardly any oil is used in this recipe making it healthier than cooking it in the pan!
- Zero mess and hardly any clean up! A lot different than cooking it in the pan!
- Firm, flakey and flavorful salmon every time. I hate mushy fish!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this delicious Teriyaki Salmon in the Air Fryer:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Salmon: My personal preference is wild-caught salmon that is cut about 1/2″ thick or less for quick and easy cooking. Thicker cut salmon works just fine too. Just keep in mind you’ll need to adjust the cooking time 🙂
Soy Sauce: Since the sauce will be boiled down and concentrated, low sodium works best.
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Whisk all ingredients for the teriyaki sauce and set aside.
Step 2: Cut salmon into equal(ish) pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Brush lightly with teriyaki sauce.
Step 3 & 4: Place salmon onto air fryer tray lined with parchment paper or parchment paper air fryer liners like these.
Air fry at 400 for about 7-10 minutes until salmon is done…look for an opaque color on the side of the salmon. Or check internal temperature–it should be at about 130-140 at the thickest part, depending on how you like your salmon.
While salmon is cooking, cook the teriyaki sauce 2-3 minutes on medium heat until thickened.
Step 4: Remove salmon from air fryer, drizzle on lots more teriyaki sauce and serve over rice!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Yes! Cooked salmon can be frozen for up to 4 months in an airtight bag or container. Keep in mind, though, that if it is heavily covered with teriyaki sauce, the texture may suffer when reheated and the salmon may be a bit mushy. It’s best to freeze it without sauce of any kind.
This cooked air fryer salmon will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. If you plan on storing for more than a day, wrap salmon tightly with plastic wrap or foil and put it in an airtight bag or container to maintain maximum freshness.
To reheat, pop salmon back in the air fryer at 375 for about 3-4 minutes until warmed through.
Most recipes call for marinating salmon. While this gives good flavor through the salmon, I feel that it really messes with the texture, making it less firm and a bit more soggy, for lack of a better word!
The teriyaki sauce in this recipe is super flavorful and brushed over the top while cooking AND drizzled on (heavily!) after cooking leads to be best flavor AND best texture! Plus, it saves marinating time! #winning
Fish cooks quickly in the air fryer! Of course it depends on the thickness of the fish, but with 1/2 inch filets, 7-9 minutes at 400 should be about right.
There are a few ways to test to see if you salmon is done:
1) Use an instant read thermometer!! This is the easiest way to gage doneness when you first start cooking fish. I don’t recommend eating rare salmon so look for a temp of around 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above about 140 or 145 will give you dry fish!
2) Look the the filet sideways. Is the fish slightly opaque in color? As it cooks, salmon changes from a translucent more “shiny” red color, to a more opaque pink color. I personally like my salmon barely opaque all the way through, while others prefer theirs on the more “rare” or translucent inside. If the salmon is tooooo pink, then it’s probably overcooked.
3) Take a knife and cut into the thickest part–look for the opaque or barely-opaque color.
4) With a fork, see if the fish flakes on the outside. If so, chances are, it’s done.
Yes! When using frozen fish, skip brushing on the sauce and put the fish directly into the air fryer. You’ll need to cook it for about 12-15 minutes. Brush lightly with sauce about halfway through.
Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve up this teriyaki salmon:
1) Over rice with a side of sautéed spinach and lots of the sauce drizzled over everything!
2) In a “bowl” with brown rice, avocado and fresh veggies (edamame, cucumber, red onion, etc). Again, drizzled with lots of sauce!
3) To low carb it, whip up these Air Fryer Green Beans and call it a day!
4) Over this delicious Bacon and Garlic Fried Rice!
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- If you are worried about the salmon being done, use an instant read thermometer like this one to check the temperature. Temp should be about 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Make sure your salmon filets are not crowded in your air fryer tray or basket. Cook in batches, if necessary.
- Try to find salmon filets that have a similar thickness. Length of the filets isn’t as important as thickness for even cooking. However, if you have some thinner pieces, just keep an eye on them and know you will have to pull them out a few minutes sooner. No biggie.
OTHER AIR FRYER RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
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Easy Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 lb. salmon filets, approx. 1/2 inch thick cut into 4 pieces See Note 1
For the teriyaki sauce
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1/4 cup water
- scallions and sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400. If your air fryer doesn't have a preheat setting, just turn it to 400 and give it about 3-5 minutes to come to temperature.
- Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and ginger in a small bowl.; set aside.
- Cut salmon into 4 equal pieces, about 1/2 inch thick. Brush lightly with sauce.
- Air fry salmon for 7-9 minutes. Internal temperature should be 130-140.
- While the salmon is in the air fryer, transfer sauce to a small pan and whisk in water and corn starch. Over medium heat, bring sauce to a boil and cook about 1 minute until sauce has thickened.
- Remove salmon from air fryer, serve over rice and drizzle lots and lots of teriyaki sauce over the top! Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds if you like!
Lindsey says
Delicious! I just use it as a marinade and skip cooking the sauce – plenty of flavor and perfect for that tik tok salmon bowl!
Casey Rooney says
Great idea, Lindsey! xo