Main course

Air Fryer Salmon

Name: Air Fryer Salmon
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 skin-on salmon fillets, about 150g each; 2 tsp olive oil; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 1/2 lemon, cut into wedges; 1 tsp chopped dill (optional)

Ten minutes, crisp skin, no pan to wash.

15 mins total
Serves 2
Easy
American

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By Lush Editorial Team · Updated Sep 19, 2026

Good Food,
Happier You!

Ingredients

Scale

2 skin-on salmon fillets, about 150g each
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges
1 tsp chopped dill (optional)

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Quick Info

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time15 mins

Servings2

DifficultyEasy

Temperature400°F

We do not publish calorie or nutrition figures. Doing that properly needs lab analysis, and an estimate dressed up as data is worse than none.

Tips

Buy skin-on fillets. Skinned ones flake apart when you lift them out.
Go by thickness rather than weight. A 2.5cm fillet needs the full 10 minutes; a thin tail end wants 7 or 8.
Pull it while the very centre still looks slightly underdone, as it carries on cooking off the heat.
Do not drop the temperature: 400°F is what crisps the skin.

Step by Step Instructions

1 Dry and Oil 2 mins
Pat the fillets dry and rub the oil over both sides. A wet surface steams instead of crisping.
2 Season the Flesh 1 min
Season the flesh with the salt and pepper.
3 Preheat 3 mins
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes.
4 Place Skin Side Down 1 min
Place the fillets skin side down, not touching. Air has to reach all four sides.
5 Cook to Thickness 8-10 mins
Cook for 8 to 10 minutes depending on thickness. A 2.5cm fillet needs the full 10.
6 Check and Rest 2 mins
Check the thickest part with a fork: it should flake with slight resistance. Rest 2 minutes, then serve with lemon and dill.

Storing and reheating. Cooked salmon keeps 2 days in the fridge and is good cold in salads. Reheating tends to dry it out, so eat leftovers cold rather than warm.

Why this works

Skin on, skin down

Skin-on fillets hold together far better than skinned ones, which tend to flake apart when you lift them out. Skin against the basket, flesh facing the element.

Go by thickness, not weight

A thick centre-cut piece takes longer than a thin tail piece of identical weight. Ten minutes suits a fillet around 2.5cm at its thickest. Thinner tail ends want seven or eight.

How to tell it is done

Press the thickest part with a fork. It should separate into flakes with slight resistance. Salmon carries on cooking off the heat, so pull it while the very centre still looks a shade underdone.

400°F, not lower

A lower temperature gives you evenly cooked but pale fish. The high setting is what crisps the skin, and every model in our air fryer comparison reaches at least 400°F.