These sweet, spicy, and savory Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites are incredibly addicting—and they’re ready in less than 30 minutes!

Plate with rice topped with cubed salmon tossed in sweet chili sauce and garnished with scallions and chilies.

A Sweet and Spicy Glazed Salmon You’ll Keep Forever. And Ever and Ever.

This is totally one of those even-my-picky-husband-loved-it recipes. It starts with a quick but solid marinade and ends with a sweet and spicy glaze. And the way these tender salmon bites cook to flaky perfection in the air fryer? Actual wizardry. Imagine all of the texture and flavor of a pan-seared salmon done up in a healthier, quicker, and cleaner fashion.

The Ingredient List Is Exciting *AND* Accessible!

This salmon might taste like it came straight from a restaurant kitchen, but the ingredients are available at pretty much any grocery store. Easy peasy! The marinade is a blend of salty and citrus—which honestly leaves the salmon bites delicious without even tossing them in the glaze—but we still recommend this bomb glaze made up of sweet and spicy. When it come to flavor, this recipe offers it all. Here’s your ingredient list:

  • Salmon fillets, preferably a fattier species like King salmon, Faroe Island, or Scottish.
  • Low-sodium soy sauce
  • Garlic
  • Fresh ginger
  • Limes
  • Sweet Chili sauce
  • Scallions
  • Sesame seeds
  • Chilies or hot peppers

I typically use Bird’s Eye/Thai chilies in this recipe, which bring on quite a punch of heat. This pepper variety falls just beneath the Scotch Bonnet on the Scoville Unit scale. You can definitely swap this pepper for a milder one, however. Serrano peppers are great in this recipe; you could also opt for jalapeño. If you don’t want any heat at all, go ahead and skip the pepper all together.

Wooden serving board with raw salmon fillets on top and pinch bowls of grated garlic, ginger, and soy sauce.

Bowl of uncooked salmon bites in bowl and in marinade.

Here’s the Gist on How to Make Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites.

Considering the flavor and the beautiful, colorful presentation of this dish, it’s astonishing just how quick and simple it is to bring together. The marinating time is a mere 20 minutes, the finishing glaze is made up of four ingredients, and the cook time is six minutes. SIX MINUTES. So yeah, this beauty? Ready in less than 30 minutes. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Prep your salmon. Gently tap the fillets with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Make sure to get the skin, too. Then, cut the fillets into bite-sized chunks with a sharp knife or kitchen shears.
  2. Marinate! Whisk the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and transfer the salmon chunks to the bowl. Give the salmon a gentle toss to coat, then set aside for 20 minutes. Leave the salmon on the counter—you want the fish to come to room temperature before cooking it anyway. This results in a more even cook.
  3. Time to fry. Lightly grease the bottom of the air fryer basket with olive oil. Then, carefully place the salmon chunks into the air fryer, skin-side up, with tongs. Skin-side up allows the skin to cook a bit and prevents it from sticking to the bottom of the fryer basket. Cook the salmon for 3 minutes at 350º F. Then flip the salmon chunks over and cook them for another 3 minutes. You’re looking for an internal temperature of 140-145º F.
  4. Time to shine! Remove the salmon chunks from the air fryer basket and place them in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the sweet chili sauce over the salmon and add the scallions, sesame seeds, and sliced chilies to the bowl. Give everything a gentle toss to evenly coat the salmon.
  5. How to serve it? We love eating these salmon bites over Coconut Ginger Instant Pot Rice with a vegetable on the side. It’s also great with this cool and crunchy smashed cucumber salad. 

Salmon chunks in air fryer basket.

Bowl of cooked salmon bites next to pinch bowls of chopped chilies, scallions, sesame seeds, sweet chili sauce, and limes.

Glass mixing bowl full of salmon bites topped with sweet chili sauce, scallions, sesame seeds, and Thai chilies.

Equipment You’ll Need:

Recipe Tips + Tricks.

  1. While the salmon is marinating, leave it on the counter to come to room temperature. Bringing fish to room temperature before cooking results in a more even cook.
  2. Because we have lime in the marinade, be sure not to marinate the salmon for longer than 20 minutes. Citrus breaks down the proteins in fish and will ruin the texture. If you plan to let the fish marinate all day, leave the lime juice out of it and add it 20 minutes prior to cooking.
  3. Cook the salmon bites skin-side up for the first 3 minutes so that the skin cooks and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the air fryer.
  4. If you don’t want too much heat, use a milder pepper. Instead of Thai chili, use Serrano pepper or jalapeño, or you could forego the pepper entirely.

Plate with rice topped with cubed salmon tossed in sweet chili sauce and garnished with scallions and chilies.

What to Serve With Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites:

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Plate with rice topped with cubed salmon tossed in sweet chili sauce and garnished with scallions and chilies.

Get the Recipe:

Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites

Yield: 2 people
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Marinating time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 26 minutes
These sweet, spicy, and savory Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites are incredibly addicting—and they're ready in less than 30 minutes!
5 from 48 votes
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Ingredients

  • 2 6 oz salmon fillets, Preferably a fattier salmon like King, Faroe Island, or Scottish

Marinade.

  • 1/4 cup Low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, grated
  • 1 tsp grated ginger

Sweet Chili Glaze.

  • 2 TBSP Sweet chili sauce
  • 2 TBSP thinly sliced Thai chilies, Or, if you want less heat, a Serrano pepper or jalapeño
  • 1 TBSP sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Gently pat down the salmon fillets, skin and all, with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Cut the fillets into bite-sized chunks with a sharp knife or kitchen shears.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients, and then transfer the salmon to the bowl; gently toss to coat and set the bowl aside for 20 minutes. You can leave the salmon on the counter since you want the fish to come to room temperature before cooking it. This will result in a more even cook.
  • With olive oil or cooking spray, lightly grease the bottom of the air fryer basket and, with tongs, place the salmon chunks into the air fryer skin-side up.
  • Air fry the salmon for 3 minutes at 350º F, and then flip the salmon over and cook for another 3 minutes. You want an internal temperature of 140-145º F.
  • Remove the salmon from the air fryer basket and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Top the salmon with the sweet chili sauce, scallions, sesame seeds, and sliced chilies. Gently toss to coat the salmon and serve.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 385kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 37g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 9g