Spicy Mayo Salmon Bites are a quick and healthy way to enjoy salmon any night of the week. This easy and flavorful recipe is made under 15 minutes perfect for salads, and rice bowls!
🔍 Quick Look:
- What is it? The salmon is marinated in a spicy, creamy mayo sauce, then cooked in an air fryer or oven. The recipe is inspired by the Bang Bang salmon recipe.
- Why you’ll love this recipe: You can make this dish in under 15 minutes using minimal pantry ingredients, and you don’t need extra time to marinate the fish. This dish goes well with steamed vegetables, salad, or rice bowls. If you love salmon, my Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon and One Pot Creamy Garlic Salmon are also must-tries!
- 🕒 Total Cook Time: 10 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Method: The salmon bites are mixed with seasonings and spicy mayo, then cooked in the air fryer until golden brown. If you don’t have an air fryer, you can bake them in the oven instead.
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: The salmon is crispy, creamy, and packed with flavor from the seasonings, and spicy mayo marinade.
- ⭐ Difficulty: So easy! Just air fry the salmon until it’s golden brown and ready to serve.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is an air fryer recipe, but you can also make these salmon bites in the oven! This recipe is inspired by bang bang salmon, a trending flavorful twist that combines spicy, creamy sauce with crispy salmon.
- Quick to assemble – you don’t need extra time to marinate the fish. Immediately add the seasonings and heat up the salmon.
- Using pantry staples – the seasonings are minimal and should be found in your pantry and refrigerator.
- Flavorful and goes with everything – pair the delicious salmon with golden fried rice, cold sesame noodles or even plain steamed vegetables for a delicious meal!
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Ingredients
Here’s a look at what you need to make these Spicy Mayo Salmon Bites. The highlights are here but the full ingredient list and quantities of each are in the recipe card.
- Salmon – Using fatty pieces of salmon results in a juicier bite. Get the belly cut if you can. Got some leftover salmon? You can also try making Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon, 30 Minute Salmon Poke Bowl, Spicy Salmon Sushi with Crab, or Salmon Sashimi.
- Seasonings – use pantry staple dry seasonings like garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper to add flavor to the salmon.
- Spicy mayo sauce – is used for dipping and marinating the salmon. The sauce is made of mayonaise, sriracha, minced garlic, and sesame oil. All pantry ingredients you may already have in the fridge.
Substitutions and Variations
- Make it vegetarian! Use firm tofu and marinate it the same way as the salmon.
- Use your favorite hot sauce instead of sriracha. I think this dish is primarily asian so sriracha makes the most sense, but chili garlic sauce or even chili oil would work well!
- If you want to use a different type of fish, I recommend fattier cuts of fish like black cod or halibut.
How to Make Air Fryer Spicy Mayo Salmon Bites
Step 1: Preheat airfryer to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut out the salmon skin if you wish(optional). Then, cut salmon in 2 inch pieces.
Step 2: Add salt, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper on the salmon bites and mix together.
Step 3: Next, prepare your spicy mayo in a separate bowl. Add mayonaise, sriracha, minced garlic and sesame oil. Mix together. Add half of the spicy mayo in the salmon bites and mix together. Save the other half for dipping when serving.
Step 4: Place salmon on the air fryer tray or baking tray. Make sure they are not touching so they can all be toasted and golden brown.
Step 5: Air fry for 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees.
Step 6: Add the rest of the spicy mayo on the salmon. Serve with rice, broccoli, or even marinated cucumber salad!!
Oven Instructions
To cook the salmon in the oven, follow all the marinating and seasoning steps first. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Then put the salmon on a tray and bake for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. The salmon cooks very quickly.
Expert Tips
- Use a fattier cut of salmon so the bites can be juicy. The oil in the salmon also crisps up to achieve a nice golden brown color.
- Make sure you save some of your spicy mayo sauce to add at the end! This helps keep the salmon moist.
- The salmon can cook very quickly in the air fryer. If you overcook the salmon, it will be dry so keep an eye on it and don’t overdo the suggested cooking time.
Spicy Mayo Salmon FAQs
Yes, I like to remove the skin because I find it slimy. Also it’s easier to cube the salmon once you cut the skin off in my opinion.
Yes, you can use aluminum foil in an air fryer to make cleanup easier, but it needs to be used the right way. Make sure the foil never touches the heating element, and keep it weighed down with food so it doesn’t move around. It’s also best not to use foil with acidic foods like tomatoes or citrus, as they can react with the metal.
These delicious salmon bites goes great with hot white rice, quinoa and some steamed vegetables! You can also pair your salmon and rice with a warm bowl of Easy Tofu Miso Soup or Kimchi Soup (Kimchi Jjigae) for a complete meal. If you have leftover salmon, you can make my Salmon Poke or Teriyaki Salmon.
Spicy Mayo Salmon Bites
Ingredients
- 1.5 pound salmon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon mayonaise
- 1-2 tablespoon sriracha or chili garlic sauce depending on how spicy you like it
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon chili oil optional
Instructions
- Preheat airfryer to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut out the salmon skin (optional). Then, cut salmon in 2 inch pieces.
- Add salt, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper on the salmon bites and mix together.
- Next, prepare your spicy mayo in a separate bowl. Add mayonaise, sriracha, minced garlic and sesame oil. Mix together.
- Add half of the spicy mayo in the salmon bites and mix together. Save the other half for dipping when serving.
- Place salmon on the air fryer tray or baking tray. Air fry for 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees.
- Add the rest of the spicy mayo on the salmon. Serve with rice, broccoli, marinated cucumber!!
Notes
Expert Tips
- Use a fattier cut of salmon so the bites can be juicy. The oil in the salmon also crisps up to achieve a nice golden brown color.
- Make sure you save some of your spicy mayo sauce to add at the end! This helps keep the salmon moist.
- The salmon can cook very quickly in the air fryer. If you overcook the salmon, it will be dry so keep an eye on it and don’t overdo the suggested cooking time.
Sam says
This air fryer salmon bites are amazing! The spicy mayo coating gives the salmon a perfect kick, and they come out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside! They’re so easy to make and taste great on rice, in salads, or just as a quick snack.