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Air fryer salmon garlic butter ready to serve
Vagner Carvalho

Air Fryer Salmon with Garlic Butter and Lemon

Garlic butter works best here as a finishing sauce. Cooking minced garlic on top of the fish from the beginning can leave it dark and bitter before the salmon is done.
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Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Calories: 430
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 salmon fillets, 6 ounces (170 g) each, thawed
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter
  • 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Equipment

  • Air fryer
  • Instant-read thermometer
  • Small saucepan

Method
 

  1. Pat the salmon dry and check for pin bones. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Preheat the air fryer to 390°F (200°C) if required by the manual. Place the fillets skin-side down, leaving a gap between them.
  3. Cook for 8–12 minutes. Begin checking at 8 minutes; very thin pieces can finish sooner. Check the thickest part with a thermometer and continue until it reaches 145°F (63°C).
  4. While the fish cooks, melt the butter in a small pan over low heat. Add the minced garlic and stir for 30–60 seconds until fragrant, without letting it brown. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and parsley.
  5. Lift the cooked fillets carefully onto plates. Divide the warm garlic butter between them and serve immediately.

Notes

Planning times depend on batch size, thickness and appliance. The 12-minute cooking allowance includes the butter sauce made while the fish cooks. It assumes both fillets fit in one layer; extra batches add time. Nutrition is an ingredient-based estimate per serving (one fillet with half the butter sauce). Calculated for farmed Atlantic salmon and all the butter sauce. Wild salmon has a different fat content, so its calories can be lower. Illustrative images are generated, not a record of a personal cooking test.