In just 13 minutes, these can be yours—and what an air fryer does for these delicious and beyond-crispy Air Fryer Salmon Bites has to be witnessed and TASTED to be believed.
I was a skeptic. Now, I am not just a believer. A strong believer. Air fryers, so I learned this week, are the bomb-shahizzle when it comes to foods you might fry or deep fry. I learned this when I had to cook some tater tots up fast because I burned mine. So I quickly Googled, “How do you use the air fryer on a 13-function Instant Pot?” and quickly found that I insert this and top it with a different, bigger lid, and in ten minutes, I had the crispiest tots I’ve ever made, even with advanced methodologies, like double frying.
So, I’m sold. And with these salmon bites, the crispy skin the air fryer creates against that luscious pink salmon is just so swoon-worthy that I lack descriptive words. I mean, I’ve checked every food thesaurus and regular thesaurus there is. So here goes—these Air Fryer Salmon Bites are scrumptious, delicious, palatable, mouthwatering, flavorful, tasty, and ding-dang good. I forgot healthy—this is the most delicious, fun recipe I know of that helps you get your Omega 3s in there.
Why You and Your Family Will Go Crazy for Air Fryer Salmon Bites
Okay, with just 5 minutes of prep and 8 minutes of cooking time, we’ve already got a recipe winner here. But once you taste how delicious these are, you may be hard-pressed to get your family to eat salmon any other way than in these crispy little squares of deliciousness.
And these salmon bites aren’t made with just any old salmon; you use a whole, nutritious salmon fillet and cube it up.
Beyond the fact that they’re super-fun finger food for kids, everyone loves salmon bites. They’re like salmon patties, but with the kind of crisp on them that usually only comes from deep frying. So they’re heavenly. And you can dip them in just about anything from cocktail sauce to tartar sauce to just plain ketchup or mustard.
These Salmon Bites taste oh-so-crispy on the outside because the air fryer takes the olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder coating and turns it into this magic, crispy coating you’d think could only come from a thick breading. But that’s the magic of air fryers, right?
How to Make Ahead and Store?
Air Fryer Salmon Bites are great because they both refrigerate and freeze well. If you seal them in a really air-tight container, they’ll last three days in the refrigerator—if everyone doesn’t nibble away till they’re gone. To reheat them, throw them back in the air fryer for 2 minutes. You can also freeze salmon bites for up to three months and reheat them in the air fryer for 2 to 3 minutes. I would thaw them a bit first to ensure they crisp up beautifully.
Serving Suggestions
When I’m cooking for busy, hungry families with children, I make these with some hefty, filling sides since they’re pretty light. I suggest these Stuffed Zucchini Boats, which kids love because they’re fun, delicious, and stuffed with all their favorite ingredients like sausage, marinara, and cheese. Now, so far, we’ve got a lot of red, brown, and orange colors going on on our plate. Let’s get some lighter-colored starchy veggies on this plate to round things out with these delicious Easy Twice Baked Potatoes—these are creamy and fluffy all at the same time. For dessert, how about this lovely No Bake French Vanilla Chocolate Eclair Cake? This is my favorite dessert on aboutamom.com, and, as my roommate Sherry says every time I make it for her, “they got the custard filling just right…. just like a Boston Cream Doughnut.”
Air Fryer Salmon Bites
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon fillet skin removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the salmon cubes with olive oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Toss to coat evenly.
- Place the seasoned salmon cubes in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Avoid overcrowding for even cooking.
- Air fry the salmon bites for 8 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through to ensure even cooking.
- Serve the salmon bites hot with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over the bites.
Leave a Comment