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With just 10 minutes of cook time and a ton of flavor, this easy Air Fryer Honey Sesame Salmon is sure to blow your mind! Salmon fillets are air fried to flaky perfection and smothered in a mouthwatering, savory and sweet honey sesame glaze!
At this point, I think I’ve cooked just about everything I can in my air fryer. I mean, it preheats in no time and cooks food WAY faster than in a conventional oven – what’s not to love? It’s one of the hottest kitchen tools right now, and it’s definitely not hard to see why.
I’m a huge salmon lover, and I’ve cooked it in just about every way I can! From tossing it on the grill and making Grilled Coho Salmon to baking it in a conventional oven with my Baked Salmon with Honey Dijon and Garlic recipe, I haven’t met a salmon dish I haven’t liked. This air fryer recipe, however, might just be my new favorite!
Besides being flaky and cooked to perfection in about 10 minutes (sometimes less), the glaze that it’s smothered in is the definition of mouthwatering. It’s made with savory and sweet ingredients like honey, sriracha, and soy sauce… Are you drooling yet?
Ingredients
- Sesame oil – This oil is slightly nutty, but still neutral enough to just give you the perfect hint of sesame.
- Honey – Any honey will do just fine, but I love using local organic honey from the farmer’s market when I can. Save the bees!!
- Sriracha – Want your salmon to have more of a spicy kick? Add another tablespoon of sriracha!
- Soy sauce – Use tamari if you want less sodium.
- Garlic – Pre-minced will work just as well as freshly minced for this recipe.
- Black pepper – As always, freshly ground black pepper will give you the best flavor.
- Salt – Just a tiny dash to taste. You already have the soy sauce in there, so don’t go crazy with the salt!
- Salmon fillets – You can use salmon with the skin on or off. I cook my salmon with the skin on, as it comes off easily once cooked.
How do I know when the salmon is fully cooked?
The cook time is entirely dependent on the thickness of the salmon fillet and the brand of air fryer.
Use an instant read thermometer for check for doneness. Once it reads 140°F in the thickest part of the meat, the salmon is fully cooked and ready to eat!
How long will air fryer honey sesame salmon stay fresh?
In an airtight container in the fridge, this delicious dish will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
To reheat it, do NOT use the microwave! Especially if you’re at work – no one likes the coworker who makes the break room smell like fish! The best way to reheat this salmon is to pop is back into the air fryer at 375°F for just 2 minutes or so.
Get more use out of your air fryer with these other easy, delicious recipes!
Air Fryer Parmesan Crusted Fish Sticks
Air Fryer Spicy Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Air Fryer Honey Sesame Salmon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup (85 g) honey
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- 4 salmon fillets
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together ingredients 1-7 to make the marinade.
- Put salmon fillets in a large bowl and pour half the marinade over them. Coat well.
- Pre-heat air fryer to 375 °F (191 °C)
- Line air fryer basket with foil, and make some holes in the foil to match the air fryer basket holes (You could skip this step and just spray basket with cooking spray or use parchment paper liners with holes if you have them)
- Transfer the salmon into the air fryer basket, making sure the fillets are not touching each other. Air fry for 8-10 minutes. Salmon is done when it flakes easily.
- Meanwhile, pour the rest of the marinade into a small sauce pan and cook on stove over medium heat for a couple of minutes, until it thickens to form the glaze
- When ready to serve, transfer salmon to plate and brush with glaze and sprinkle with chopped green onions and sesame seeds (optional).
- Best served warm.
Curious on your thoughts of cooking the sesame seeds with the salmon instead of topping when serving. Would they become burnt or just be a bit toasty due to the moisture of the sauce. A bit new to air frying, but enjoy the flavor of toasted sesame seeds and have recipes where they are cooked with the meat.
i would suggest leaving the sesame seeds off while air frying and toasting the sesame seeds in a separate small pan and then sprinkling it on top after the salmon is done cooking.
@Julie Chiou, thank you for your prompt response. Also, I know I can buy already toasted as well. Thank you again.
Best salmon I’ve ever eaten. Thank you for sharing
Can you do this in the oven if you don’t have a air fryer ? What temperature and how long
Typically I cook salmon in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, depending on thickness of the salmon filet.
So easy and a truly wonderful salmon for dinner, This recipe is being added to my favorite go to recipe file!
I just made this salmon recipe, served with rice and vegetables and we all really loved it. Definitely will make this more often ! So easy, yet delicious!
In case someone needs conversion to ml, this is what I used:
15 ml sesame oil
85 ml honey
15 ml sriracha sauce
30 ml soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic
Pepper/salt, to taste
Not sure if these conversions are a 100% accurate, but it worked for me :)
So yummy!
My husband determined this was his favorite salmon recipe!! I didn’t have sriracha, but didn’t really miss it. Served with rice, and cucumber salad. Thanks for an amazing recipe!