Salmon Recipes: 12-Minute Air Fryer Maple Dijon Salmon Bites

Oct 27

3 min read

Updated: 15 hours ago

Crispy glazed maple dijon salmon bites in an air fryer basket with sesame seeds and green onion

12 minutes, six ingredients, sticky and crisp

Cubed salmon in an air fryer behaves completely differently from a fillet — more surface area means more caramelised edges, and it cooks in eight minutes. The maple and Dijon glaze goes on in two stages, half before and half after, so you get a sticky lacquer rather than a burnt one. Six ingredients total.

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Why this one works

Cubes give you roughly four times the caramelised surface of a whole fillet.
Maple syrup burns at air fryer temperatures if it goes on too early — half before, half after solves it.
Twelve minutes start to finish, and the basket is the only thing to wash.

At a glance

Prep time: 7 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Protein: 46g per serving
Calories: 412 per serving

Ingredients

Salmon

2 lb (900g) skinless salmon, cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Maple Dijon glaze

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3 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

To finish

Toasted sesame seeds
Sliced green onions
Rice or a simple salad, to serve

Instructions

Cube and dry the salmon. Cut the salmon into even 1 1/4-inch cubes — even sizing matters more here than anywhere, because small pieces overcook while large ones are still raw. Pat them dry and toss with the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Mix the glaze. Whisk the maple syrup, Dijon, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic and red pepper flakes together. Pour half into a separate bowl and set aside for after cooking.
Preheat the air fryer. Run it at 400F / 200C for 3 minutes empty. A cold basket means the salmon steams for the first two minutes instead of searing.
First glaze and cook. Toss the salmon cubes with the first half of the glaze. Arrange them in a single layer in the basket with space between each — work in two batches if your basket is small. Crowding is the one thing that ruins this.
Air fry. Cook 8 minutes, shaking the basket once at the 5-minute mark. The edges should be darkened and sticky and the centres just opaque, around 130F / 54C.
Second glaze. Tip the hot salmon into a bowl and toss gently with the reserved glaze. It turns glossy immediately and the residual heat thickens it onto the cubes.
Serve. Scatter with sesame seeds and green onions and serve over rice or alongside a salad.

Notes and swaps

Oven method: 425F / 220C on a parchment-lined sheet for 10 to 12 minutes, broiling the last 90 seconds.
Frozen salmon: thaw completely and dry very well, or the glaze slides off.
The same glaze is excellent on chicken thigh pieces; give them 16 minutes instead.