Teriyaki salmon air fryer style is the best way to air fry fish. With a homemade sauce, Ninja Foodi salmon teriyaki is both sweet and savory.
This one has become a family favorite and doesn’t take very long to make either. You can use our homemade or bottled sauce to make air fryer teriyaki salmon too. Either way this air fryer recipe will become flaky and tender. (affiliate links present)
Ninja Foodi Teriyaki Salmon
You can use any brand of machine you like. I have a Foodi, AirWave and Cosori I experiment with and they all take the same amount of time. The biggest difference is the size and shape of the basket. For larger families you’d want more than our 5 quart but for the 4 of us it works out just fine.
I cannot tell you how much I love this flavor, on all the things. First I experimented with air fryer teriyaki chicken and that came out so amazing I used it on other meats. Since we cook a lot of easy fish recipes this just had to be done, period. I should have done this SO much sooner because it was amazing.
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- This is the best air fryer cookbook. It’s important to know and remember how to preheat air fryer for best results.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
- It has temp. and times for making the best frozen foods for air fryer too.
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Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon
This go around we are using fresh or thawed out pieces of seafood. That is my preference all the way around no matter what type it is. You can not only get something like a salmon dry rub or salmon sauce to stick nicely but the meat is a bit more tender than if it started out rock hard, but it can be done.
That depends on how large your fillets are and whether or not you have frozen salmon or fresh / defrosted pieces. In general you should set aside 5-11 minutes to get flaky.
Timing will depend on the thickness, and the lower your temp. is the longer it will take. Ideal internal temperature for salmon should be no higher than 145 F or it will dry out.
Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon Frozen
Does it take longer to cook if it starts out rock hard? Slightly. You’re looking at closer to 10-12 minutes to cook frozen air fryer salmon. If you want to use this sauce I would brush it on halfway thru ideally. You wouldn’t be able to marinate it beforehand as you could with a fresh piece but it will still be delicious.
Air Fryer Salmon with Skin
As far as the homemade teriyaki sauce goes there are many teriyaki sauce from scratch recipes out there, you might have your own. You could buy a bottle at the store too and follow the same temperature and timing below.
You’re going to boil this in a pan over medium heat on your stovetop first. Remove from heat, allow to cool, then add it to the top of your filets. OR let it cool completely and use as a teriyaki marinade. You’d want to do this in a freezer bag, in the fridge for up to an hour before adding into your air fryer basket.
Ingredients
- Soy sauce
- A pinch salt
- Minced ginger
- 1/3 tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
- Onion powder
- White wine vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Cornstarch
- Water or vegetable broth
- 2″ wide sliced salmon fillets
with bottled sauce
I recommend veri veri myself if you want to get it ready made. That is the closest to homemade, not too thick and not thin like a marinade either.
Placing the salmon skin side down in air fryer helps protect the delicate flesh from direct heat, which can prevent it from overcooking or drying out. It also makes it easier to remove from the basket once cooked, as the skin will prevent sticking and the flesh will stay intact.
Albumin is a protein found in the flesh of fish. When raw, albumin is invisible, but it becomes white and opaque when it coagulates, which is why it appears as a white substance on the surface of cooked fish. It is just a protein and is safe to eat and doesn’t affect the taste or safety in any way. If you find it unappealing you can simply scrape it off before serving if desired.
If making homemade sauce – Combine your soy sauce, vinegar, minced ginger, brown sugar, salt, granulated onion and garlic in a saucepan. Wait until the sugar granules dissolve. Mix water and starch, pour into saucepan and stir over low heat until it thickens. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool. Choosing bottled sauce would skip this entire step and you’d continue to these steps;
How to Air Fry Teriyaki Salmon
- Rinse and dry salmon pieces with skin. Divide the teriyaki sauce into two parts, leaving one part to serve the fish. With the second part, spread the salmon on top and sides.
- The basket of the air fryer can be covered with parchment paper. Lay pieces skin side up on the parchment. Air fry at 320 F for 10 minutes.
- Flip the salmon to the other side and brush with about half of the teriyaki sauce.
- Bake for 5 more minutes.
- When salmon is cooked, carefully transfer to a plate. Easy to use cooking tongs.
- Before serving, spread more teriyaki glaze on your salmon filets and sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
Now I have made this at a higher temperature for less time but this time I really wanted low and slow so the flavor could really seep in. I do a similar technique with an easy mustard sauce.
Salmon Bites in Air Fryer
Ok so if you want to bread the pieces a bit you can do that too. Use the sauce to make the Panko stick well for an added crunch, bite size. Follow our salmon bites recipe we have here for temperature and timing that works for that version.
How Long to Cook Ninja Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon
I would set aside about 30 minutes from start to finish to make this air fryer salmon recipe for your family. With prep and all it is a quick way to make a healthy meal that everyone will also think is amazing.
Once you have enjoyed this you might have some left over, I hate wasting food. With this said I have suggestions when it comes to how to save leftover cooked fish. Don’t throw anything out, you’ll need it to enjoy it for lunch the next day.
How to save leftover fish so it doesn’t dry out
I really like freezer bags to keep your pieces nice and moist. Slide your leftovers inside with a bit of sauce on top and suck all the air out. You can keep in your fridge for up to 2 days. Store your sauce in a covered container as well, you’ll want more of that for sure. To reheat it is best to steam in a pan with some olive oil.
Microwaving fish isn’t so great because it can dry out really easily, and fast. Instead if you add it into a pan with a lid it can steam fro cold to warmed again. Spoon a few tbsp of your sauce on top, and then when served add a bit more then too. You want to keep it moist, point blank.
It is precooked so you could in fact enjoy it right out of the fridge, kinda’ like you would with smoked salmon. I have done that served on top of crackers the next day and it is seriously so good, even my girls will eat it this way. High in protein, low carbs and keto friendly for everyone to enjoy.
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Teriyaki Salmon Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon cut into 2" wide pieces
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/2 c soy sauce skip below if you are using bottled sauce
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tssp minced ginger
- 1/3 tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 1/3 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water or vegetable broth
Instructions
- For homemade teriyaki sauce – Combine soy sauce, wine vinegar, minced ginger, brown sugar, salt, granulated onion and garlic in a saucepan. While stirring, wait until the sugar granules dissolve. Mix water and starch, pour into a saucepan and stir the sauce over low heat until it thickens. Then transfer the teriyaki sauce to a bowl and let it cool.
- If using bottled sauce start from here – Rinse and dry salmon pieces with skin. Divide the teriyaki sauce into two parts, leaving one part to serve the fish. With the second part, spread the salmon on top and sides.
- For convenience, the basket of the air fryer can be covered with parchment paper. Lay the salmon skin side up on the parchment. Air fry at 320 F for 10 minutes.
- Flip the salmon to the other side and brush with about half of the teriyaki sauce. Bake for 5 more minutes. Carefully transfer the cooked salmon to a plate. Easy to use cooking tongs.
- Before serving, spread salmon pieces with more sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
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