Our Air Fryer Frozen Salmon comes out just perfect in less than 15 minutes! It’s an easy way to get a healthy dinner on the table and everyone loves this salmon topped with a lemon dijon sauce!
Salmon is a super popular fish. In fact, it is the second most popular fish to eat in the United States, behind only tuna.
There is good reason for the popularity of salmon. It is easy to find fresh, frozen, or canned. There is a lot you can do with flavors to enhance the meat, like we did with our Teriyaki salmon in the past. For this recipe, we didn’t want the sweetness we had with our Teriyaki so we changed it up.
Enter this Lemon Dijon Salmon in the air fryer! So darn good and you literally start with frozen salmon – no need to thaw it first. Love recipes like this, because they’re perfect for busy nights, but tasty enough to serve any time.
Highly recommend serving this air fryer frozen salmon with our air fryer green beans! Simple and tasty meal!
Ingredient Notes:
Salmon– We prefer 4 oz salmon fillets without the skin. You can use king salmon (thick but narrow fillets) or sockeye salmon (flatter, wider fillets shown here).
Seasonings– You need melted butter, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic powder, paprika, and salt!
Salmon Varieties:
King Salmon- King salmon has a rich flavor, is high in fat, and the fillets are narrow but nice and thick. This is our preferred salmon, as it’s so flavorful and holds up well in the air fryer. Many find this to be the best salmon out there. It’s not always easy for us to find here in the Midwest and that may be true in other areas as well.
Sockeye Salmon- This salmon is flavorful and lean. This is a much more economical salmon, but still quite delicious. The fillets are wide and thin and cook fairly quickly. Easy to find and always tasty.
How to Make Frozen Salmon in the Air Fryer:
Season the salmon- Grab a small bowl and add in your butter, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic powder, paprika, and salt. Stir them all together and set aside. Spritz your air fryer basket with oil and place your salmon in a single layer in your air fryer basket. Now brush your butter liberally on the salmon.
Cook the salmon- Air fryer your salmon for 5 minutes at 390 degrees F. Then brush more of your sauce on the salmon. Now cook one more time, again at 390 degrees F, for another 8-12 minutes for thick King salmon fillets or for 5 minutes for thin sockeye fillets. The salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork and has an internal temp at 145 degrees F or higher.
FAQ:
Your salmon fillets should last about 2 months. If you thaw them, which isn’t necessary for this recipe, you need to eat them in a day or two.
King salmon is thought to be the best variety of salmon, but can be pricey and a little harder to find. We often use sockeye salmon, which is also delicious and a bit more budget friendly.
Salmon has a rich flavor and fatty mouthfeel, so we like to serve something light on the side, such as steamed or roasted vegetables. It also goes well with rice or potatoes.
More Air Fryer Seafood Recipes:
Air Fryer Frozen Salmon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 frozen salmon fillets see notes
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Brush air fryer basket with oil. Place the salmon in a single layer in the basket, leaving space between each piece for air to flow.
- Add the butter, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder, paprika, and salt to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Brush the sauce liberally over each piece of salmon.
- Air fry at 390 degrees for 5 minutes. Open the air fryer and brush with more of the sauce. Discard any remaining sauce.
- Return salmon to the air fryer and continue cooking at 390 degrees for another 8-12 minutes for thick fillets or 5-8 minutes for thin fillets. Salmon should flake easily with a fork and reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
- Serve with fresh lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
David Barnes says
Great taste 👌 with so little prep. I divided recipe in half and it was delicious! And… I needed an excuse to cook those frozen green beans, they have been in the freezer for way too long.
Karly says
So glad you gave it a try! 🙂
Also, I think we all have a bag of green beans that have been lurking in the freezer for too long! haha
Priscilla R Ulin says
I have a Breville countertop oven which claims to do everything, including AIR FRY. But air fried recipes, like fish and chicken, never get very crisp. Can you tell me please if a countertop oven with an air fryer basket can get the same or similar results to what your website describes? Thank you.
Karly says
Hi Prscilla! This recipe doesn’t really crisp up. It’s more of a baked/roasted fish – we just use the air fryer because it cooks quickly and easily. In other recipes, like our fried cod or catfish that have a breading on them, your countertop oven should crisp up a good bit. We also have that same Breville oven, though, and we find the basket style air fryers do a better job of making food taste more like it was fried. The Breville is convenient and does so many things, but if you really want crispy fried food, the basket style air fryers seem to do best.