These Salmon Bites Are One Of The Easiest, Most Versatile Dinners You'll Ever Cook

Air fryers may have been just another novelty kitchen gadget when they first arrived on department store shelves, but they've quickly progressed from fad to feature appliance. In fact, many modern ovens include an air fryer feature as a selling point. It's really no wonder why — they're fast and convenient, like a microwave, while producing deliciously crisp oven-roasted results. Not only is the air fryer the perfect way to hack your toasted sandwich game, it's excellent for cooking more delicate proteins, such as salmon.

As both novice and seasoned home cooks already know, it's easy to make a long list of mistakes when cooking salmon, such as overcooking it or placing it in the wrong vessel. Fortunately, the air fryer takes much of the guesswork out of cooking salmon to perfection. All you have to do is preheat your model to between 380 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit and pop your cubed, seasoned salmon bites into the basket for about six minutes. That's right: six minutes for perfectly cooked salmon.

The key to getting your salmon bites beautifully crispy is cutting them to the right size (about 1 ½ inches cubed) and tossing them in shredded Parmesan cheese after seasoning them. In the air fryer's concentrated convection heat, the Parmesan shreds melt and harden into a delightfully nutty, cheesy exterior on each bright, briny bite of salmon. Pair these with spicy turmeric rice and steamed broccoli and you have an easy, delicious weeknight meal you may find yourself making on repeat.

Though it's technically possible (and definitely delicious) to air-fry a whole fish, this just isn't possible with larger fish, including salmon. Instead, this recipe breaks 1 pound fillets down into bite-sized cubes to ensure each one is fully cooked, tender on the inside, and beautifully crunchy on the outside. That does mean, unfortunately, that it's necessary to remove the skin, but the Parmesan crust makes up for the absent crispy salmon skin.

It's important to keep the size of your salmon bites consistent; cubes larger than 2 inches need longer to cook and may dry out, while cubes that are less than 1 inch can overcook very quickly. If your fillet has a particularly narrow end, consider saving the thinner pieces to make air fryer salmon jerky as a protein-rich snack for later since it's impossible to cut the right size bites from this area.

Since this recipe only takes six to eight minutes to fully cook, you have plenty of time to quickly marinate your salmon while you make other parts of the meal. Cut and season your salmon early to ensure the flavors have bloomed before coating them in Parmesan. Garlic and onion powder are always delicious, but it's also hard to go wrong with lemon pepper, zesty Tajín, or hot smoked paprika. In a pinch, you can even steal the seasoning packet from dried ramen since it's packed with salty, umami flavor.