This recipe for Air Fryer Cajun Spiced Salmon makes tender, juicy salmon with a crispy Cajun-flavoured crust. Cooked to perfection in your air fryer, this easy salmon recipe can be ready in less than 15 minutes!
❤️ Why you'll love this Cajun air fryer salmon recipe
- It makes a quick, weeknight meal that you can feel good about serving! Salmon cooks quickly, so this can be ready in 15 minutes or less.
- This recipe gives you one more delicious way to serve Omego-3-rich salmon!
- This salmon is a little spicy, it's smoky and it's full of rich Cajun flavours.
- Grill or roast corn on the cob and asparagus spears while the salmon is frying to round out your meal.
🛒 Ingredients
You'll find a complete list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But before we get to the full recipe, here are a few notes about some of the key ingredients.
- salmon: Choose wild salmon. I like to use sockeye when it's available, or Coho. You'll want a fillet with the skin on.
- oil for brushing on the salmon.
- fresh lemon for serving
- Cajun seasoning: use my homemade Cajun seasoning mix for the freshest flavours. See the list of spices in the photo below and the amounts of each in the recipe card.
Note: This recipe for Cajun seasoning mix makes a little more than ¼ cup of seasoning. You'll only need 2 - 3 teaspoons for this salmon recipe. Save the rest in a glass jar to make any of the following recipes.
- Easy Cajun Shrimp Fried Rice with all the flavours of New Orleans!
- Cajun Chicken Thighs with Zesty Quinoa - a quick weeknight meal with spicy, smoky flavours.
- Crispy Cajun Chicken Strips with Nectarine Salsa a light, gluten-free meal with baked chicken fingers.
- Grilled Cajun Prawn Kabobs with Pineapple (a zesty appetizer as a starter!)
🔪 Instructions
Here's an overview of what you'll do to make this recipe perfectly. You'll find complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Pat the salmon dry, brush it with oil, then sprinkle it with Cajun seasoning. Once your air fryer is preheated, air fry it for about 7 - 8 minutes or until it's cooked to your likeness.
That's it!
👍🏼 Helpful Tips
One of the best features of an air fryer is that it's easy to check to see if your food is cooked. If not, simply slide the basket back in for a minute or two more.
All air fryers work differently and frying times vary widely. It's best to always check the temperature of your food with an instant-read thermometer.
❓Reader's Questions
You can easily adjust the level of heat in this spice mix by reducing the amount of cayenne or dried chili flakes. You could also make it smokier by using smoked paprika instead of regular paprika.
It depends on how you like it. Salmon will flake easily with a fork when it's cooked. It's best to use an instant-read thermometer. I like to cook it until it has reached an internal temperature of 138°F. to 140°F., then remove it from the oven. It will continue cooking and to me, it's perfect at 145°F. However, some people like it a litte more rare. You do you!
Often salmon is flash frozen at sea. The fish are frozen at very low temperatures so they're processed and frozen solid within hours of being caught. There's no difference in nutritional value between frozen fish or fresh fish.
🍽 What to serve with Cajun spiced salmon
Corn on the cob makes a natural partner for air-fried Cajun salmon!
Serve with lemon slices, grilled corn on the cob, fresh asparagus, green beans, broccoli or broccolini.
Or add one of the following refreshing salads to your meal.
⏰ Storage Instructions
To store: Refrigerate leftover salmon in a covered container and use it within 2 - 3 days.
To reheat: Brush the air fryer basket with oil and use the reheat function on your air fryer to gently reheat it.
🗒 More wild salmon recipes
When you make this Cajun spiced salmon recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below. I love hearing from you! Thanks in advance. Subscribe to my newsletter and receive new recipes delivered straight to your inbox once a week.
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Cajun Spiced Salmon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound wild salmon fillet, with skin on
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning mix
- 2 teaspoons high-heat oil, like avocado oil
Cajun Seasoning Mix
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Remove the salmon fillets from the fridge 15 minutes before you plan to cook them so they have a chance to come to room temperature. In this way, they will cook more evenly.
- Pat them dry with a paper towel. Moist salmon has a tendency to stick to the basket of your air fryer.
- Brush the fillets on both sides with oil, or use an oil mister to spray them.
- Sprinkle the flesh side with 2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning mix, gently pressing it into the flesh with your fingers or the back of a spoon.
- Preheat your air fryer to 390°F. for 3 minutes. Spray the basket with oil.
- Place the salmon pieces skin side down and air fry for 7- 8 minutes. Air frying time will depend on the thickness of your salmon fillet. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer (see How do I know when my salmon is done? below) If it's not to your liking, one of the best features of an air fryer is you can simply slide the basket back in to cook a little longer.
Mandy
Air fryers are great!
Elaine
Agreed--salmon always turns out beautifully in an air fryer. Happy to hear you liked this recipe!