8 Air Fryer Salmon Dinners Ready in 20 Minutes

It is 6:10, the salmon is the only protein in the fridge, and nobody in this house is waiting forty minutes for dinner. These eight air fryer salmon dinners are the answer we reach for on nights like that: eight different fillets — Cajun-spiced, honey mustard, maple soy, pesto-crusted, chili-lime, a Dijon herb crumb, miso-glazed, and smoky paprika finished with lemon — and every single one honestly ready in 20 minutes or less. That 20 minutes means the whole job, prep and cook together, so there is no marinade longer than five minutes anywhere in this post: rubs go on dry, glazes are brushed on, crusts are pressed on top, and the fish cooks while the table is set. Every time below assumes fillets about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick; thicker fillets simply need the extra 2 to 3 minutes stated in the rules under the recipe list. Salmon costs more than chicken, and this post says so plainly: $3.20 to $4.10 a serving, October 2026.

Quick Facts

• Prep time: 7 to 10 minutes per dinner — mixing a rub, a glaze or a crumb and preparing the fillets; the air fryer preheats during prep, so it adds no extra time
• Cook time: 8 to 9 minutes per dinner in the air fryer, in a single layer
• Total time: 15 to 19 minutes per dinner, prep and cook together — every dinner in this post is honestly ready in 20 minutes or less, with no marinade longer than 5 minutes anywhere
• Servings: Each dinner feeds 4
• Cost per serving: About $3.20–$4.10 depending on the recipe — based on standard supermarket prices, October 2026; yours will vary
• Equipment: Air fryer, 4-quart or larger — the one equipment angle for the whole post, big enough to cook 4 fillets in a single layer. A food thermometer, tongs and a small brush are assumed basics
• Best for: Weeknights when fish is what is in the fridge and dinner still has to land inside 20 minutes, start to finish

Why This Works on a Weeknight

• The clock is the whole recipe. Prep and cook together come to 20 minutes or less on all eight dinners — rubs go on dry, glazes are brushed on before or during cooking, and nothing in this post soaks, brines or rests.
• One basket, one layer, no flipping routine. Every dinner cooks in a single layer with the skin side down where the fillets are skin-on, and the top heat of the air fryer finishes glazes and crusts without turning the fish over and breaking it.
• Eight genuinely different dinners. A dry Cajun rub, two brushed glazes, a maple glaze, two different crumbs, a miso glaze applied twice and a smoky rub finished with lemon wedges — the same four fillets from the same shop, tasting like eight separate plans.
• Costs stated like they are. Salmon is the pricier protein in the week and this post does not pretend otherwise: every dinner carries its own dated October 2026 cost per serving, from $3.20 to $4.10.

These eight sit in the air fryer lane of this site alongside our 10 Air Fryer Dinners Ready Faster Than Takeout, the mixed set this post’s fish joins, and our 12 Air Fryer Chicken Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less, the chicken sibling — same basket, different timings, because fish cooks faster than chicken and this post never borrows chicken times. When the whole dinner, not just the protein, has to be fast, our 12 Easy 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Dinners That Actually Feed a Family are the hands-off opposite end of the week, and for more 30-minute dinners beyond the basket, that shelf starts with the post linked at the end of this one.

The 8 Air Fryer Salmon Dinners

1. Cajun Blackened Salmon — skin-on · 400°F · ready in about 17 minutes · about $3.45 per serving
2. Honey Mustard Salmon — skinless · 400°F · ready in about 15 minutes · about $3.55 per serving
3. Maple Soy Salmon — skinless · 400°F · ready in about 15 minutes · about $3.70 per serving
4. Pesto-Crusted Salmon — skinless · 390°F · ready in about 18 minutes · about $3.90 per serving
5. Chili-Lime Salmon — skin-on · 400°F · ready in about 16 minutes · about $3.40 per serving
6. Dijon Herb Crumb Salmon — skinless · 390°F · ready in about 19 minutes · about $3.65 per serving
7. Miso-Glazed Salmon — skinless · 400°F · ready in about 16 minutes · about $4.10 per serving
8. Smoky Paprika & Lemon Salmon — skin-on · 400°F · ready in about 15 minutes · about $3.20 per serving

The rules that apply to every dinner below: every recipe uses 4 salmon fillets of about 6 oz (170 g) each, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, and every stated time assumes that thickness — for thicker fillets, add 2 to 3 minutes to the cook time and check the temperature rather than the clock. Pat every fillet dry with kitchen paper before anything goes on it, because a dry surface is what lets a rub stick, a glaze cling and a crust crisp. Cook the fillets in a single layer, never stacked and never touching if your basket allows it, with the skin side down on the skin-on recipes and no turning over — the skin protects the flesh and crisps against the basket while the top cooks through. Skin-on or skinless is stated in every ready-in line and again in its ingredients. The air fryer preheats while you do the prep, which is why preheating appears inside the methods without adding to the totals. For more 30-minute dinners once these eight are in rotation, see our 30-minute dinners collection. Pantry staples — salt, black pepper and cooking oil — are declared under every recipe and are never counted in the costs.

1. Cajun Blackened Salmon

Ready in about 17 minutes (8 minutes prep, 9 minutes cook at 400°F / 200°C) · Skin-on · About $3.45 per serving · Feeds 4

The spicy one, first on purpose, because a dry Cajun rub at 400°F is the fastest route in this whole post to a fillet that tastes like it took planning. The rub is all dry spices — paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano and cayenne — pressed onto patted-dry, skin-on fillets and cooked skin side down, so the top darkens into a proper blackened crust while the skin crisps underneath and holds the fillet together. There is no sauce and nothing to stir: the seasoning is the dinner. If your house splits on heat, rub three fillets at full strength and hold the cayenne back on the fourth — the crust still reads Cajun, just quieter.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets, skin-on, about 6 oz (170 g) each and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick — about 1½ lb (680 g) total
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper — halve it for a milder crust
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) cooking oil, for rubbing over the fillets

Pantry staples you probably have: salt and black pepper — declared here, used in the method, never counted.

Method

1. Set the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) to preheat while you prep — about 3 minutes, inside the prep time, not on top of it.
2. Stir the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano and cayenne together in a small bowl with ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper.
3. Pat the fillets completely dry with kitchen paper, rub the flesh side of each one lightly with the oil, then press the spice mix firmly over the top and sides of each fillet until the surface is thickly and evenly coated — leave the skin bare.
4. Lay the fillets in the basket in a single layer, skin side down, not touching. Cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until the crust is very dark and the thickest fillet checks at the temperature in the safety line below — do not turn the fillets over.
5. Serve straight from the basket, skin side down, while the crust is at its crispest.

Food safety: Cook the salmon until the internal temperature reaches at least 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point, checked with a food thermometer — the flesh should be opaque and flaking easily. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Cost: about $3.45 per serving, October 2026.

2. Honey Mustard Salmon

Ready in about 15 minutes (7 minutes prep, 8 minutes cook at 400°F / 200°C) · Skinless · About $3.55 per serving · Feeds 4

The sweet-sharp one, and a two-ingredient glaze in the honest sense: honey and Dijon mustard, stirred together and brushed on thick, so it coats the fillets like a sauce rather than a marinade and caramelises at the edges in the basket. This is honey mustard, full stop — honey and Dijon doing the work together, the mustard’s sharpness keeping the honey from reading as plain sweet. Skinless fillets suit it best, because the glaze wants to cover the top and sides of the fish rather than sit on a skin side. Half the glaze goes on before cooking and a second, thinner brush goes on in the last two minutes, which is what gives the tops their glossy finish instead of a dried-out one.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets, skinless, about 6 oz (170 g) each and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick — about 1½ lb (680 g) total
• 3 tbsp (45 ml) honey
• 3 tbsp (45 g) Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp (5 ml) lemon juice — about a quarter of a lemon, for sharpness

Pantry staples you probably have: salt, black pepper and cooking oil (a light brush for the basket) — declared here, used in the method, never counted.

Method

1. Set the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) to preheat while you prep — about 3 minutes, inside the prep time.
2. Stir the honey, Dijon mustard and lemon juice together in a small bowl until smooth, and season the mix with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Reserve about a third of it in a separate small bowl for the second brush, so the brush that touched raw fish never goes back into the serving glaze.
3. Pat the fillets completely dry with kitchen paper and season them lightly with salt and black pepper. Brush the tops and sides thickly with the larger portion of glaze.
4. Brush the basket lightly with oil, lay the fillets in a single layer, not touching, and cook for 6 minutes. Brush the tops with the reserved glaze, then cook for a final 2 minutes, until glossy at the edges and the thickest fillet checks at the temperature in the safety line below.
5. Serve straight away — this glaze is at its best in the first few minutes out of the basket.

Food safety: Cook the salmon until the internal temperature reaches at least 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point, checked with a food thermometer — the flesh should be opaque and flaking easily. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Cost: about $3.55 per serving, October 2026.

3. Maple Soy Salmon

Ready in about 15 minutes (7 minutes prep, 8 minutes cook at 400°F / 200°C) · Skinless · About $3.70 per serving · Feeds 4

The dark, glossy one — real maple syrup and soy sauce, brushed on as a glaze, never used as a soak. One distinction is worth stating on the page, because the two are confused constantly: maple-soy is NOT teriyaki (no mirin/sake/ginger profile) — this glaze is maple sweetness and soy saltiness and nothing else, which is why it tastes rounder and less sharp than the bottled profile people expect. The glaze goes on before cooking and again halfway through, so it builds into a proper coating instead of running off into the basket. A teaspoon of rice vinegar in the mix keeps it from tipping into candy. Skinless fillets, again, so the glaze can wrap the top and sides.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets, skinless, about 6 oz (170 g) each and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick — about 1½ lb (680 g) total
• 3 tbsp (45 ml) maple syrup
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) soy sauce
• 1 tsp (5 ml) rice vinegar

Pantry staples you probably have: black pepper and cooking oil (a light brush for the basket) — declared here, used in the method, never counted. The soy sauce carries the salt in this one, so no extra salt is added.

Method

1. Set the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) to preheat while you prep — about 3 minutes, inside the prep time.
2. Stir the maple syrup, soy sauce and rice vinegar together in a small bowl with a grind of black pepper. Reserve about a third of the glaze in a separate small bowl for the halfway brush.
3. Pat the fillets completely dry with kitchen paper — this glaze runs off a wet fillet, so dry matters more here than anywhere else in the post. Brush the tops and sides with the larger portion of glaze.
4. Brush the basket lightly with oil, lay the fillets in a single layer, not touching, and cook for 4 minutes. Brush the tops again with the reserved glaze and cook for a final 4 minutes, until dark and glossy and the thickest fillet checks at the temperature in the safety line below.
5. Leave the fillets in the switched-off basket for 1 minute so the glaze settles and clings, then serve.

Food safety: Cook the salmon until the internal temperature reaches at least 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point, checked with a food thermometer — the flesh should be opaque and flaking easily. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Cost: about $3.70 per serving, October 2026.

4. Pesto-Crusted Salmon

Ready in about 18 minutes (9 minutes prep, 9 minutes cook at 390°F / 195°C) · Skinless · About $3.90 per serving · Feeds 4

The crust one, where the texture is the whole story. Jarred basil pesto — the ready-made jar from a normal supermarket shop, used without apology on a weeknight — is spread thickly over skinless fillets and panko is pressed into it, so the top cooks into a green, crisp crust while the fish underneath stays protected from the direct heat and comes out tender. Two details decide whether this works: the pesto goes on thick enough to hold the crumbs, and the crumbs are pressed, not sprinkled, so they stay where they belong instead of blowing around the basket. The slightly gentler 390°F cook is deliberate — panko browns fast, and this temperature crisps the crust in the time the fish needs, rather than scorching it in less.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets, skinless, about 6 oz (170 g) each and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick — about 1½ lb (680 g) total
• ½ cup (130 g) jarred basil pesto
• ½ cup (30 g) panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp lemon zest — about half a lemon’s worth, stirred through the crumb

Pantry staples you probably have: salt, black pepper and cooking oil (a light brush for the basket) — declared here, used in the method, never counted.

Method

1. Set the air fryer to 390°F (195°C) to preheat while you prep — about 3 minutes, inside the prep time.
2. Stir the panko and lemon zest together in a small bowl with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
3. Pat the fillets completely dry with kitchen paper and season them lightly. Spread the pesto thickly and evenly over the top of each fillet, right to the edges — about 2 tablespoons per fillet.
4. Scatter the panko mix over the pesto and press it down firmly with the back of a spoon or your fingertips, so the crumbs sit in the pesto rather than on it. Any loose crumbs left on the board do not go into the basket; they only blow around.
5. Brush the basket lightly with oil, lay the fillets in a single layer, crust side up, not touching, and cook for 8 to 9 minutes without turning them, until the crust is golden at the edges and the thickest fillet checks at the temperature in the safety line below. Lift each fillet out with a wide spatula so the crust comes with it, and serve.

Food safety: Cook the salmon until the internal temperature reaches at least 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point, checked with a food thermometer — the flesh should be opaque and flaking easily. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Cost: about $3.90 per serving, October 2026.

5. Chili-Lime Salmon

Ready in about 16 minutes (8 minutes prep, 8 minutes cook at 400°F / 200°C) · Skin-on · About $3.40 per serving · Feeds 4

The bright one. Chili powder, lime zest and a little brown sugar are rubbed over skin-on fillets: the chili gives warmth rather than a Cajun-style burn, the brown sugar helps the edges catch and darken, and the lime works twice — zest in the rub before cooking, then fresh juice squeezed over at the table, because lime juice cooked for eight minutes loses the brightness that juice squeezed over hot fish keeps. Skin-on and skin side down again, so the fillet holds together through a rub that would slide off a skinless fillet being moved around. Keep the lime wedges big enough to actually squeeze, not garnish-sized slivers that give up two drops and quit.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets, skin-on, about 6 oz (170 g) each and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick — about 1½ lb (680 g) total
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp (8 g) brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Zest of 1 lime, plus the juice of ½ lime for the rub
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) cooking oil, for rubbing over the fillets

Pantry staples you probably have: salt and black pepper — declared here, used in the method, never counted.

Method

1. Set the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) to preheat while you prep — about 3 minutes, inside the prep time.
2. Stir the chili powder, brown sugar, cumin and lime zest together in a small bowl with ½ teaspoon of salt and a grind of black pepper, then stir in the lime juice and the oil to make a thick, spreadable paste.
3. Pat the fillets completely dry with kitchen paper and spread the paste evenly over the flesh side of each fillet, right to the edges — leave the skin bare.
4. Lay the fillets in the basket in a single layer, skin side down, not touching. Cook for 8 minutes, until the tops are dark red at the edges and the thickest fillet checks at the temperature in the safety line below — do not turn the fillets over.
5. Serve with the lime wedges on the plate, squeezed over at the table.

Food safety: Cook the salmon until the internal temperature reaches at least 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point, checked with a food thermometer — the flesh should be opaque and flaking easily. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Cost: about $3.40 per serving, October 2026.

6. Dijon Herb Crumb Salmon

Ready in about 19 minutes (10 minutes prep, 9 minutes cook at 390°F / 195°C) · Skinless · About $3.65 per serving · Feeds 4

The other crumb, built completely differently from recipe 4, and the difference is the point: here the binder is Dijon mustard spread straight onto the fish, and the crumb is panko mixed with parsley, dried herbs and a little oil so it toasts golden instead of staying pale. There is no pesto anywhere in this one — the flavour is mustard-sharp and herby rather than basil-rich, and the crust comes out lighter and crunchier because the crumb starts dry against a thin mustard layer instead of sitting in an oily spread. It is also the longest prep in the post, at ten minutes, and it still lands inside the 20 minutes with a minute to spare, which is stated here rather than rounded away.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets, skinless, about 6 oz (170 g) each and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick — about 1½ lb (680 g) total
• 3 tbsp (45 g) Dijon mustard
• ½ cup (30 g) panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried parsley)
• 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning (or dried thyme)
• 1 tsp lemon zest — about half a lemon’s worth
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) cooking oil, stirred through the crumb

Pantry staples you probably have: salt and black pepper (in the crumb and on the fish), plus an extra light brush of cooking oil for the basket — declared here, used in the method, never counted.

Method

1. Set the air fryer to 390°F (195°C) to preheat while you prep — about 3 minutes, inside the prep time.
2. Stir the panko, parsley, dried seasoning, lemon zest and the tablespoon of oil together in a small bowl with a pinch of salt and black pepper, until the crumbs look evenly damp — dry patches of panko are the ones that stay pale.
3. Pat the fillets completely dry with kitchen paper, season them lightly, and spread the Dijon mustard in an even layer over the top of each fillet, right to the edges.
4. Press the crumb mix firmly over the mustard on each fillet, a generous layer, pressing with your fingertips so it holds as one crust.
5. Brush the basket lightly with oil, lay the fillets in a single layer, crumb side up, not touching, and cook for 8 to 9 minutes without turning them, until the crumb is deep golden and the thickest fillet checks at the temperature in the safety line below. Lift out with a wide spatula and serve straight away, while the crumb is crispest.

Food safety: Cook the salmon until the internal temperature reaches at least 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point, checked with a food thermometer — the flesh should be opaque and flaking easily. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Cost: about $3.65 per serving, October 2026.

7. Miso-Glazed Salmon

Ready in about 16 minutes (8 minutes prep, 8 minutes cook at 400°F / 200°C) · Skinless · About $4.10 per serving · Feeds 4

The one with the restaurant finish, done the weeknight way. White miso and a touch of honey, loosened with rice vinegar and a splash of soy, make a glaze that caramelises in patches under the air fryer’s top heat — the closest a basket gets to a broiled finish. Two rules carry this recipe and both are stated plainly: the glaze is applied twice, once before cooking and once halfway through, because a single coat cooks down to almost nothing; and the fillets are never marinated — the glaze goes on and the fish goes straight into the basket, because miso left sitting on fish pulls moisture out and turns the surface soft instead of letting it caramelise. This is also the priciest serving in the post, because a tub of white miso is not a cheap jar — it keeps for months in the fridge, but the cost here is charged honestly to this dinner anyway.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets, skinless, about 6 oz (170 g) each and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick — about 1½ lb (680 g) total
• 3 tbsp white miso paste
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) honey
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar
• 1 tsp (5 ml) soy sauce
• 1 tsp (5 ml) water, to loosen the glaze if it is very thick

Pantry staples you probably have: black pepper and cooking oil (a light brush for the basket) — declared here, used in the method, never counted. The miso and soy carry the salt in this one, so no extra salt is added.

Method

1. Set the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) to preheat while you prep — about 3 minutes, inside the prep time.
2. Stir the miso, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce and water together in a small bowl until completely smooth — miso straight from the tub is stiff, and a lumpy glaze brushes on in patches. Reserve about a third in a separate small bowl for the second application.
3. Pat the fillets completely dry with kitchen paper and add a grind of black pepper. Brush the tops and sides with the larger portion of glaze, in an even coat, and put the fillets straight into the basket — no standing time, no marinating.
4. Brush the basket lightly with oil first, lay the fillets in a single layer, not touching, and cook for 4 minutes. Brush the tops with the reserved glaze and cook for a final 4 minutes, until the glaze is caramelised in dark golden patches and the thickest fillet checks at the temperature in the safety line below. Watch the last minute: miso and honey both darken fast once they start.
5. Serve straight away — the glaze sets and shines as it stands for the first minute on the plate.

Food safety: Cook the salmon until the internal temperature reaches at least 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point, checked with a food thermometer — the flesh should be opaque and flaking easily. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Cost: about $4.10 per serving, October 2026.

8. Smoky Paprika & Lemon Salmon

Ready in about 15 minutes (7 minutes prep, 8 minutes cook at 400°F / 200°C) · Skin-on · About $3.20 per serving · Feeds 4

The simplest dinner in the post, and the cheapest, because almost everything in it is already in a spice cupboard. Smoked paprika — the smoked kind specifically, not sweet paprika, because the smoke is the flavour here — is rubbed over skin-on fillets with a little garlic powder and oregano, and the lemon stays entirely out of the cooking: wedges go on the plate at the end and are squeezed over the hot fish at the table. Lemon is a finish here, not a marinade, and that is a deliberate choice rather than a shortcut — fish that has sat in lemon juice starts to cure at the surface and cooks up with a chalky edge, while lemon squeezed over at the table stays bright. If you make one of these eight first to test the timings against your own basket, make it this one: nothing on it can hide an overcooked minute, and nothing on it needs to.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets, skin-on, about 6 oz (170 g) each and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick — about 1½ lb (680 g) total
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) cooking oil, for rubbing over the fillets
• 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges, to serve

Pantry staples you probably have: salt and black pepper — declared here, used in the method, never counted.

Method

1. Set the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) to preheat while you prep — about 3 minutes, inside the prep time.
2. Stir the smoked paprika, garlic powder and oregano together in a small bowl with ½ teaspoon of salt and a grind of black pepper.
3. Pat the fillets completely dry with kitchen paper, rub the flesh side of each one lightly with the oil, then rub the spice mix evenly over the top and sides — leave the skin bare.
4. Lay the fillets in the basket in a single layer, skin side down, not touching. Cook for 8 minutes, until the rub is deep red and the thickest fillet checks at the temperature in the safety line below — do not turn the fillets over.
5. Serve skin side down with the lemon wedges on the plate, squeezed over at the table.

Food safety: Cook the salmon until the internal temperature reaches at least 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point, checked with a food thermometer — the flesh should be opaque and flaking easily. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Cost: about $3.20 per serving, October 2026.

What It Costs

Based on prices checked in October 2026 at a large US supermarket. Your cost will vary by store and season — the point is the ballpark, not the penny. Per serving: Cajun Blackened Salmon about $3.45, Honey Mustard Salmon about $3.55, Maple Soy Salmon about $3.70, Pesto-Crusted Salmon about $3.90, Chili-Lime Salmon about $3.40, Dijon Herb Crumb Salmon about $3.65, Miso-Glazed Salmon about $4.10 and Smoky Paprika & Lemon Salmon about $3.20 — so the full set runs from $3.20 to $4.10 a serving, and the batch-of-four totals behind those figures run from about $12.80 for the paprika fillets to about $16.40 for the miso fillets. In every dinner the fillets themselves are nearly all of the cost: the rubs are cupboard spices, the glazes are a few spoonfuls each, and the two crumbs are half a cup of panko apiece. Pantry staples — salt, black pepper and cooking oil — are not charged in any of these figures, the same rule this blog uses everywhere, stated here so you can add them yourself if your cupboard is bare. Salmon night costs more than chicken night on this site and always will; what these figures show is that it costs that much on purpose, for fish cooked properly, rather than by accident at a takeaway counter.

Storage & Reheating

• Fridge: cooked salmon keeps for up to 2 days in a sealed container in the fridge. Cool it and refrigerate it within 2 hours of cooking, and keep crumbed fillets (recipes 4 and 6) uncovered for the first 10 minutes in the fridge so the crust does not steam itself soft before the lid goes on.
• Freezer: cooked salmon freezes for up to 1 month in a sealed container, but it is the honest truth that it comes back drier and is better used flaked into something than served as a fillet again. The glazed fillets (recipes 2, 3 and 7) freeze best of the eight; the crumbs do not survive freezing as crumbs. Thaw overnight in the fridge, never on the counter. Raw fillets you do not cook tonight simply stay frozen or refrigerated by the date on their pack — nothing in this post is written for fish cooked from frozen.
• Reheating: reheat cooked salmon in the air fryer at 350°F (175°C) for 3 to 4 minutes, or in a covered pan over a low heat, until steaming hot throughout (165°F / 74°C for leftovers) — and stop there, because reheating past steaming is what turns a good leftover fillet dry. The crumbed fillets reheat best of all in the basket, which brings some of the crunch back; the glazed fillets benefit from a fresh half-brush of their glaze after reheating, made fresh, never saved from the raw batch. Reheat leftovers only once.
• Glazes and crumbs: an unused portion of any glaze that never touched raw fish keeps for up to 3 days sealed in the fridge — the honey mustard and maple mixes double as sandwich spreads, stated plainly because they do. Any glaze the brush carried from raw fish is used in the cook or thrown away, never saved. Mixed dry crumbs keep in a sealed jar for a few weeks.

Easy Swaps & Variations

• Skin-on for skinless, and back: any dinner here works with the other fillet type at the same weight and thickness. Skinless fillets in the skin-on recipes lose the crisp base, so brush the basket well with oil and lift them out with a wide spatula; skin-on fillets in the glaze recipes should still be glazed on the flesh side only, skin side down as usual.
• Trade the tops between dinners: the Cajun rub works on the skinless fillets from recipe 2, the chili-lime paste works skin-on in place of the paprika rub in recipe 8, and either crumb can top the other crumb’s fillets — what does not travel is the timing logic, which stays with the fish: about 1 inch thick, single layer, and the same cook times.
• No panko in the cupboard? both crumbs work with fine dried breadcrumbs at the same volume — the crust is thinner and less craggy, stated plainly, but it presses on, holds and crisps in the same time. Crushed plain crackers, blitzed to a coarse crumb, are the other honest stand-in.
• Make it milder, make it hotter: halve the cayenne in recipe 1 and the chili powder in recipe 5 for a mild batch; add ½ teaspoon of cayenne to the recipe 8 rub, or a pinch of dried chilli flakes pressed into either crumb, for a hotter one. The glaze dinners change heat least willingly — extra spice unbalances a sweet glaze — so heat lives in the rubs and crumbs in this post.
• Halve or double honestly: every dinner halves cleanly for 2 fillets with the same times. Doubling to 8 fillets means two single-layer batches cooked one after the other, never one stacked basket — keep the first batch loosely covered somewhere warm while the second cooks, and add about 1 minute to the second batch if the basket has cooled between rounds.

FAQs

Can I cook the salmon straight from frozen?

Not on this post’s clock, and not to these timings. Every dinner here is written for fresh or fully thawed fillets, patted dry — a frozen fillet steams in the basket, rubs and crumbs slide off its wet surface, and the outside overcooks while the centre catches up. Thaw frozen fillets overnight in the fridge, or sealed in a bowl of cold water for about an hour, then pat them completely dry and follow the recipe exactly as written. A dinner that starts frozen needs its own timings, and this post will not borrow them and call it 20 minutes.

What if my fillets are thicker than 1 inch?

Add 2 to 3 minutes to the stated cook time and judge the finish by the thermometer reading in the safety line under the recipe, not by the clock — thickness is the whole variable, and two fillets of the same weight can differ by half an inch. Thinner tail-end fillets go the other way: check them 1 to 2 minutes early, because they reach the finish while a thick centre-cut piece is still cooking, and an overcooked thin fillet is the driest outcome in this post.

How do I keep the skin crisp and stop the fillets sticking?

Three things, all already in the methods: pat the skin completely dry, cook skin side down in a single layer, and do not turn the fillets or try to move them early — skin releases from the basket as it crisps, and a fillet lifted too soon tears and leaves its skin behind. A light brush of oil on the basket helps skinless fillets most. If the skin still sticks in your particular basket, a small square of baking parchment under the fillets, cut to leave the basket edges open for airflow, solves it without changing any timing.

My basket will not fit 4 fillets in one layer. What do I do?

Cook in two single-layer batches of 2 rather than stacking or squeezing all 4 in — a crowded basket steams the fish, and steamed salmon with a damp rub is a different, sadder dinner. Each batch takes the same stated cook time; keep the first batch loosely covered somewhere warm while the second cooks. The prep does not double, so the whole dinner lands a few minutes over the stated total, which is said here plainly rather than hidden inside a single-layer rule most small baskets cannot follow.

Can I get ahead on any of this?

The dry parts, yes. The Cajun rub (recipe 1), the chili-lime dry mix before the juice and oil go in (recipe 5) and the paprika rub (recipe 8) all keep in small sealed jars for weeks, and both crumb mixes can be stirred together a day ahead. The glazes can be mixed a few hours ahead and kept in the fridge. What never happens ahead in this post is fish sitting in anything: no marinade longer than 5 minutes, glazes brushed on at cooking time, and the miso fillets in particular go straight from brushing into the basket, exactly as recipe 7 states.

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You might also like:

• 10 Air Fryer Dinners Ready Faster Than Takeout — the wider air fryer dinner set these fillets belong to, for the nights the basket is out but fish is not the plan
• 12 Air Fryer Chicken Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less — the chicken sibling post: same basket, its own longer timings, worked out for chicken rather than borrowed
• 12 Easy 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Dinners That Actually Feed a Family — the flagship five-ingredient slow cooker set, for the nights dinner needs to cook itself instead of landing in 20 minutes