Salmon fillets are coated in a sweet and spicy sauce and then air fried until perfectly juicy and tender in this easy air fryer honey garlic salmon recipe. Ready in under 15 minutes and exploding with flavor, this is a must-make easy seafood dinner!
Why This Is the Best Honey Garlic Salmon Recipe
This honey garlic salmon is so moist and tender thanks to being cooked quickly in the air fryer – there is no time for the fillets to dry out! Here’s why you’ll love this juicy, mouth-watering honey glazed salmon.
- Fast & Easy: We love easy dinners, and that’s exactly what this air fryer salmon recipe is. You only need 7 ingredients to make this recipe and other than the salmon, they’re all pantry staples that you probably already have on hand. Plus, the entire recipe takes just 13 minutes from start to finish!
- Flavor: The sticky sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, with lots of Sriracha and fresh garlic rounded out with sweet honey and salty soy sauce. That irresistible sauce is cooked into each flaky layer of your salmon making it irresistible!
- Restaurant-Quality: Most people think of a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant when they have a piece of salmon. These sticky and tender salmon fillets taste like something you’d order at your favorite restaurant, but thankfully they’re fast, easy, and affordable to make at home!
Ingredients Needed
With aromatic garlic, rich honey, umami-filled soy sauce, and a kick of heat from Sriracha, this sauce will have you licking your plate clean. For full ingredient amounts and directions, scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Salmon Fillets: We use skin-on salmon, but you can use skinless if you prefer.
- Honey: If you do not have honey, you can also try maple syrup or brown sugar, to taste.
- Soy Sauce: Feel free to use tamari or coconut aminos to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic, do not use jarred or pre-minced garlic as it will be bland.
- Sriracha: You can use sriracha or any spicy chili sauce or hot sauce that you prefer.
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Black Pepper: Freshly-cracked black pepper will give your fish the most flavor.
How to Make Air Fryer Salmon
It only takes 13 minutes to make this fancy and mess-free meal. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for detailed instructions on how to make honey garlic salmon.
- Prep: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F, wash your salmon fillets, and pat them dry.
- Season: Mix the honey, soy sauce, Sriracha, garlic, chili flakes, and black pepper together, then brush half of it over the salmon.
- Cook: Air fry the salmon for about 8 minutes, adding the rest of the sauce halfway through, then serve hot.
Tips for the Best Air Fryer Salmon
- Parchment Paper: For easier cleanup, line your air fryer basket with a piece of parchment paper or air fryer liners. That will keep the honey-based sauce from sticking to the air fryer and burning, saving you from having to scrub later!
- Adjust The Heat: This recipe has a lot of spice from sriracha, chili flakes, and black pepper. The honey balances out the heat, so don’t worry, it’s not as spicy as it sounds. If you don’t like spicy food, feel free to reduce the amount of chili flakes and sriracha. And if you’re all about the heat, add more chili flakes, or Sriracha, to taste!
- Meat Thermometer: The size of your salmon fillets will change the cooking time. We used 7-ounce fillets, and they cooked in 8 minutes. For best results, use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the temperature of the fish, starting around 7 minutes. Stop cooking the fish as soon as it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F and it will stay perfectly juicy and tender.
- Garnish: Most entrees are best with a garnish, and this recipe is no exception. We recommend topping the juicy and spicy salmon with sesame seeds, green onions, cilantro, or chives!
- Have Your Sides Ready: Salmon is best eaten as soon as it’s done cooking as it tends to get cold quickly. Make sure that the rest of your meal is fully prepared, or with only a few minutes left to cook, before you start air frying this honey garlic salmon. That way you can enjoy your fish as soon as it is ready.
What to Serve With Honey Glazed Salmon
- Starch: We love serving this salmon over our cilantro lime rice or coconut rice. It is also great alongside our parmesan butter noodles or these amazing garlic mashed potatoes.
- Vegetables: Try these air fryer Brussels sprouts, refreshing cucumber tomato salad, or some classic roasted green beans.
- Salad: You can over serve it over any salad you enjoy, we highly recommend trying it with our shaved Brussels sprouts salad or our warm wilted lettuce salad.
Yield: 2 servings
Air Fryer Honey Garlic Salmon
This air fryer honey garlic salmon is juicy, tender, and flaky, and covered in a sweet, spicy, and sticky sauce. It's so flavorful, quick, and easy to make in under 15 minutes!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
- Rinse the salmon filets and pat dry with a paper towel and set aside.
- In a small bowl add honey, soy sauce, garlic, crushed red pepper and black pepper. Whisk until well blended.
- For easy clean up, line the air fryer tray with parchment paper or an air fryer liner. Lay the filets skin side down on the parchment paper.
- Use about half of the honey sauce and brush over each filet, reserve the remaining sauce for later.
- Cook the salmon on 400°F for 8 minutes. Halfway through cooking, at the 4 minutes mark, add the other half of the honey sauce to each filet. Continue cooking for 4 more minutes, until filets reach an internal temperature of 145°F on an instant-read meat thermometer.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Storage: Store leftover air fryer honey garlic salmon in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, place the salmon skin side down in the air fryer, and cook at 350°F for about 3 minutes, until warmed through.
Freeze: Place cooled fish in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, transfer frozen fish to the fridge to thaw for 24 hours before reheating.
Adjust The Heat: This recipe has a lot of spice from sriracha, chili flakes, and black pepper. The honey balances out the heat, so don’t worry, it’s not as spicy as it sounds. But if you don’t like spicy food, feel free to reduce the amount of chili flakes and sriracha. And if you’re all about the heat, then you can add more chili flakes or Sriracha, to taste!
Garnish. Most entrees are best with a garnish, and this recipe is no exception. We recommend topping the juicy and spicy salmon with sesame seeds, green onions, cilantro, or chives!
Have Your Sides Ready: Salmon is best eaten as soon as it’s done cooking as it tends to get cold quickly. Make sure that the rest of your meal is fully prepared, or with only a few minutes left to cook, before you start air frying this honey garlic salmon. That way you can enjoy your fish as soon as it is ready.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 fillet, Calories: 430kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Sodium: 1156mg, Potassium: 1068mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 35g, Vitamin A: 234IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 41mg, Iron: 2mg
