Air Fryer Brown Sugar Salmon

Air fryer brown sugar salmon is a flavorful dish that is perfect for a weeknight dinner or easy lunch. The salmon cooks in less than 10 minutes, and the whole dish can be made in less than 15 minutes.

If you've cooked salmon fillets in the air fryer, you know how magical it is. The salmon gets perfectly flaky. The flavors are wonderful. And it's so easy.

This brown sugar salmon has easily become one of my favorite dishes. The sweetness of the brown sugar gets perfectly offset by the slight spice of the chili powder.

This air fryer salmon recipe is perfect for a weeknight or a healthy lunch. It cooks in less than 10 minutes, and is so flavorful. It requires only minimal prep time and cook time.

Ingredients

• Salmon fillet
• Olive oil
• Brown sugar
• Chili powder
• Salt

How to make air fryer brown sugar salmon

To a small bowl, add your brown sugar, chili powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

To prepare the salmon, thoroughly dry the salmon fillet, then remove any bones. Drizzle olive oil over the salmon and rub into all sides.

Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top of your salmon. Then place salmon in the air fryer basket, sugar side up! Cook at 400 degrees F for 6-8 minutes.

If cooking multiple salmon fillets at once, add them in a single layer to your air fryer basket and make sure to leave room in between.

Enjoy!

What to serve with the salmon

So many things pair beautifully with this brown sugar salmon. If you're wanting to make a vegetable in the air fryer, try these air fryer rainbow carrots, air fryer sesame green beans, air fryer Greek-inspired potatoes, or air fryer garlic herb zucchini.

If you're not looking for an air fryer side, the salmon pairs wonderfully with these side dishes. Try roasted harissa carrots for a touch of spice, roasted red cabbage, or these chipotle mashed sweet potatoes.

Can you use frozen salmon?

You can use frozen salmon for this recipe (I usually do!), but I do recommend thawing it before cooking in the air fryer for the best texture. You can also use Atlantic or sockeye salmon in this recipe for brown sugar salmon.

Recipe tips

• Always check your salmon fillets for bones. If needed, use fish bone tweezers to remove the bones from your salmon.
• This recipe can be cooked with or without skin. When I make this, I usually leave the skin on, but then discard as I'm eating it.
• All air fryers cook differently. Cooking times may differ depending on your air fryer and how thick your piece of salmon is. Salmon should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. This can be checked with a meat thermometer by inserting into the salmon at the thickest part.
• While this recipe is a single serving, this can easily be doubled (or tripled, or quadrupled), depending on the size of your air fryer.
• You can use parchment paper in the air fryer basket if you prefer. I always use parchment paper with holes specific for my air fryer.
• You do not need to preheat your air fryer for this recipe.

More air fryer salmon recipes

• Air fryer harissa salmon
• Air fryer gochujang salmon
• Air fryer honey garlic salmon
• Air fryer honey mustard salmon
• Air fryer salmon
• Air fryer garlic butter salmon