Making Frozen Salmon in Air Fryer is the best way to whip up a batch of perfectly cooked fish! It’s easy to prepare and it goes great with my homemade honey mustard sauce, which is made with pantry ingredients. I promise you that once you make this, you’ll want to enjoy it again and again!

Air Fryer Frozen Salmon
Being from Boston, my uncles were all fishermen. Therefore, I was treated to a LOT of seafood over the years. Nothing was better than my uncles dropping off the day’s catch to my mom, who would almost make something amazing.
My husband grew up as a good old midwestern boy, but he vacationed every year at Cape Cod where he also ate his share of great seafood.
In the spirit of these memories, I am bringing you air fryer frozen salmon recipe! I never really ate salmon until my mother-in-law made it for me one day. Cooking frozen salmon in air fryer will give you light, flavorful, and totally delicious results every time.
Making frozen salmon in air fryer is a wonderfully fast way to make fish. It’s easy, tasty, and with the use of parchment paper, there’s virtually no cleanup. Just simply rinse the air fryer basket and throw away the parchment liner. This can be served as the main entrée, over rice, or over a garden salad!
For more Air Fryer Fish Recipes, try my AIR FRYER SWORDFISH, AIR FRYER CATFISH NUGGETS, GORTONS FISH FILLETS IN AIR FRYER, and AIR FRYER BLACKENED FISH TACOS!
Why You’ll Love Cooking Frozen Salmon in Air Fryer
- Fast and easy
- Totally tasty
- Perfect for weeknight dinner
- Wholesome and hearty
- Next to no cleanup required
Ingredients Needed to Air Fry Frozen Salmon
- Frozen Salmon Fillets: Look for brightly colored fish in the supermarket. There should be no brown spots on the flesh and absolutely no bruising on the skin. Look for firm, smooth, and glossy flesh. Another thing to note is that the fish shouldn’t have an odor or overly “fishy” smell.
- Dijon Mustard
- Maple Syrup
- Minced Garlic
- Salt and Pepper
How to Cook Frozen Salmon in Air Fryer
Step 1: Air fry frozen salmon
Preheat your air fryer to 390 degrees F for 5 minutes.
Place the fish in the air fryer basket and air fry frozen salmon for 7 minutes.
Step 2: Make the honey mustard sauce
Add the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, minced garlic, salt, and pepper to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Step 3: Air fry again
Once the fish has cooked for 7 minutes, flip it over and brush on the honey mustard sauce. Air fry again for another 7-9 minutes.
Brush with more sauce right before serving and enjoy!
Tips for the Best Air Fryer Frozen Salmon
- Leave the skin on: It provides a great layer between the skin and the air fryer basket (or parchment paper). Since the skin crisps up, it’s easier to flip it halfway during the cooking process. The skin is perfectly edible, so you can choose to eat it or not…it’s totally up to you.
- Do not overcook: When cooking frozen salmon in air fryer, you need to keep a watchful eye on the clock. Once the fillets start to turn white, remove them from the air fryer…a white color means they’re cooked!
- The best way to cook air fryer salmon is medium-rare or medium. Anything more and it will be too tough and chewy.
Can I Put Frozen Salmon In My Air Fryer?
Absolutely! This recipe is all about how to cook frozen salmon in air fryer — working from frozen means that you don’t have to worry about cooking up your fish as soon as you get home. Store it in the freezer until you plan on using it!
How Long Does It Take To Cook Frozen Salmon?
It will only take about 16 minutes to air fry frozen salmon. It will take slightly longer if you cook the fish in the oven or on the grill.
At What Temperature Is Salmon Done In Air Fryer?
Remember that I suggest cooking your air fryer frozen salmon to medium-rare/medium. Use a food thermometer to make sure that it’s safe to eat — the internal temperature must be at least 145 degrees F.
Helpful Tools To Air Fry Frozen Salmon
- J.A. Henckels 6-Inch High Carbon Stainless Steel Chef’s Kitchen Knife
- Stainless Steel Measuring Cups, 5 Piece Set
- RSVP International Endurance (DILL) Spice Measuring Spoons, Stainless Steel
- Anchor Glass Measuring Set — this is one of the handiest tools in my kitchen!
- OXO Good Grips 12 Inch Stainless-Steel Locking Tongs
- And don’t miss my book! It contains everything you need to get started and be successful in air frying!
More Air Fryer Fish Recipes:
- GORTON’S FISH STICKS AIR FRYER
- AIR FRYER TRADER JOE’S BATTERED FISH NUGGETS
- AIR FRYER ROCKFISH
- AIR FRYER SWAI FISH
- AIR FRYER FROZEN FISH STICKS
- AIR FRYER FLOUNDER FISH

Frozen Salmon in Air Fryer
Description
Ingredients
- 2 6 oz frozen salmon fillets
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
Instructions
- Start by preheating the air fryer to 390 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Add the frozen salmon to the air fryer basket.
- Set the timer for 7 minutes.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together the mustard, maple syrup, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together the mustard, maple syrup, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Right before serving, brush with more of the sauce.
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Cooking Spray
- Parchment Paper, optional
Nutrition
Share this recipe
We can’t wait to see what you’ve made! Mention @forktospoon or tag #forktospoon!
Don’t Forget To Pin:

Jason Evenson
Wow! I just found this and tried it. That sauce is such a great addition to the salmon! Thank you!!
Lara Chape
Super recipe! Did take five more minutes flipping again in my air fryer to the other side from frozen. The sauce was spot on!
Radhika
Divine. I honestly have never enjoyed salmon this much and love that it’s a recipe from frozen. plan to make it weekly until i’m sick of eating salmon. thank you for this simple yet super tasty recipe. i will be checking out more of your recipes moving forward. very much appreciated.
Judi
Absolutely delicious and QUICK! My fiancé’s friend was visiting his family and unexpectedly dropped by our home. I had left overs for dinner and had nothing defrosted to make him a fresh meal. I always have salmon in my freezer, so I googled “frozen salmon air-fryer recipes” and yours caught my attention. I followed your recipe and made a salad and rice to go with it. They loved it! So quick and easy. Thank you,
Nicole
This was delicious! I used this as my very first air fryer recipe and the skin stuck to the tray. What should I have done differently? Thanks!
Laurie
I would use a piece of parchment paper or a silicone parchment liner.
Billie
Getting ready to make this now! My family LOVES all fish- and we live in the Midwest! I was wondering if you would possibly share your mother in law’s creamy dill dip to try next time? Thanks so much!
MB
Which setting did you use? My choices are Max Cris, air fry, air roast, air broil, bake, reheat, dehydrate. I am just going to go for ‘bake’ and hope it turns out. Wish me luck!
JA
Made tonight in our new airfrier. Big hit. A keeper. Will take skin off after first cook and crisp up next time.
KCJorj
This was fantastic! I have a bag of salmon from Costco in the freezer, and usually forget to thaw it, so this was super helpful, easy, & quick. I was unsure of the sauce, but is was delicious. I will be eating salmon more often now as your recipe turned out juicy & flavorful. Much thanks.
Sanja
Wow!! I have made this every week!! Thank you!!!
Don
Terrific Thank you
Much better than pan
Victoria
Absolutely delicious and so easy! I drizzled balsamic vinegar over each piece and we savored every bite.
Marcia
Thank you for sharing!! Can’t wait to try!
Dennise Babin
Wow! I didn’t that you could air fry fish. Amazing I must say and the sauce is good combo with the salmon
Carla
Thank you for this recipe and instructions. I must try this in my new air fryer!
Maria Heather Perez
Amazin!
Bethany B
The sauce really surprised me with how good it is! This was a quick/ lazy meal for me so I used garlic powder in place of fresh- still super tasty. I also added a touch of (hear me out) MSG. Couldn’t recommend this method enough. Delicious.
MaryJane
I have never enjoyed a filet of salmon more! The sauce is amazing! I made this for myself, but now I need to have people over so I can share this recipe! Thanks!
John Robertson
first day with a air fryer and the first thing cooked the Salmon steak was terrific
Kathy
YUMMMMY!! I LOVE this salmon recipe! I’m not much into spicy and did not have Dijon mustard, so I used regular mustard and used the other ingredients. I will make this every time I air fry salmon!
Nancy
Love all your air fryer recipes. Thank you