Skin-on is best in an air fryer — the circulating heat crisps it up, and the skin protects the flesh from drying out. Cook it skin-side down. If you prefer skinless, reduce the time slightly and watch closely so it doesn't overcook.

How do I know when it's done?

By flake and temperature. Salmon flakes easily when done; a thermometer reads about 50°C for a just-set, silky centre and 60°C for fully cooked. Start checking at 7 minutes — air fryers are fast and a minute or two of overcooking dries salmon out.

Why did my glaze burn?

Honey and sriracha are sugary and scorch quickly in the air fryer's concentrated heat. Brush on most of the glaze, then add the final coat only in the last minute so it caramelises and turns glossy without blackening.

How is this different from baked salmon?

The method and the finish. The air fryer's fast circulating heat crisps the skin and caramelises the glaze in a fraction of the oven time, and this version leans sweet-and-spicy with a honey-sriracha-soy glaze rather than a simple butter-and-lemon roast.

USA · Fish and Seafood Dishes · Quick

Air Fryer Salmon

Name: Air Fryer Salmon
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 300 g salmon; 30 g honey; 20 ml soy sauce; 15 g sriracha; 2 pcs garlic; 5 ml sesame oil; 1 pcs lemon; 3 g sesame seeds; 1 pcs spring onion; 1 g black pepper

Salmon fillets glazed in honey, soy, and sriracha and cooked in the air fryer in under fifteen minutes, with crisp skin and a sticky sweet-spicy top. No oven to preheat and no pan to watch — just pat the fish dry, hold back some glaze for the finish, and pull it a touch early so it stays silky in the middle.

15 min 380 kcal 2 serves Medium⚡Quick🇺🇸USA Jump to recipe★★★★★5.0· 1 reviews

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Ingredients

ServingsMetric

300 gsalmon
30 ghoney
20 mlsoy sauce
15 gsriracha
2 pcsgarlic
5 mlsesame oil
1 pcslemon
3 gsesame seeds
1 pcsspring onion
1 gblack pepper

Note from Sergei

Sergei Martynov

“The air fryer is genuinely better than the oven for a weeknight fillet: no preheating, circulating heat that crisps the top and skin, and salmon on the table in under ten minutes. The two things that make or break it are drying the fish and holding back the glaze. A wet fillet steams instead of caramelising, and honey-based glazes burn fast in that concentrated heat, so most of it goes on partway through and the shiniest coat goes on at the very end.”

Salmon carries over as it rests, so pull it a touch early — around 50 to 52°C at the centre for silky, just-set fish, up to 60°C if you like it firm and flaky. Every air fryer runs differently; once you know yours, note the exact time for your usual fillet thickness and it becomes a genuinely repeatable ten-minute dinner.

Method

Pat the salmon fillets completely dry — this is the single most important step for crisp skin and a glaze that sticks rather than slides off. Season lightly with black pepper.
Whisk the glaze: honey, soy sauce, sriracha, minced garlic, and sesame oil. It should be pourable but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside about a third for finishing.
Most air fryers don't need preheating, but if yours runs cold, run it at 200°C for 2 minutes. Line the basket with a small piece of parchment or lightly oil it so the skin doesn't stick.
Place the salmon skin-side down and brush the tops and sides generously with two-thirds of the glaze, reserving the rest.
Air-fry at 200°C for 7 to 9 minutes, depending on thickness. Salmon is done when it flakes easily and reaches 50°C for a just-set centre or 60°C for fully cooked — start checking at 7 minutes, since air fryers cook fast.
Brush with the reserved glaze in the last minute of cooking so it caramelises without burning. Adding all the sugary glaze at the start would scorch it.
Rest for a minute, then finish with a squeeze of lemon, a scatter of sesame seeds, and sliced spring onion. Serve with the lemon wedges.

FAQ

Usually not — most modern air fryers come up to temperature fast enough that a thin fillet cooks through without preheating. If yours tends to run cool, a two-minute preheat evens out the cook, but don't wait ten minutes for it.