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This air fryer mahi mahi is a surefire hit. It is juicy and tender inside, and you can cut back on calories and fats while enjoying flavorsome, delicious food. This air fryer mahi mahi recipe also doesn’t require any breading.

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You’ll Need

  • Mahi mahi fillets: High quality mahi mahi fillets will have firm, pinkish skin.
  • Butter
  • Garlic: We don’t recommend to swap garlic for garlic powder.
  • Salt and pepper: You can use any seasonings you like. Season mahi mahi fillets or add the seasoning to the butter.
  • Lemon slices: Thick skinned lemons can make your mahi mahi taste bitter. Look for thinner skinned lemons that have less pith and would be less bitter when cooked in slices. You can drizzle lemon juice over fillets instead, top with garlic butter and air fry.
  • Fresh parsley and green onions to garnish

How To Cook Mahi Mahi in Air Fryer ( Tips)

We’ve got a few tips when it comes to ensuring the perfect mahi mahi comes out of your air fryer every time.

  • Be generous with your seasoning. We’re not actually frying the fish, instead allowing the rapidly circulating hot air inside the air fryer to cook the fish. Because a lot of the flavor in traditional frying comes from immersion in oil, you can compensate for this by increasing the amount of seasoning you do.
  • To get moist fish, place garlic butter on top of each fillet. This will melt into the fish and keep it nice and tender.
  • If you can, you should air fry your mahi mahi with its skin on. When you air fry fish with its skin on, it helps to lock the moisture and flavor inside the fish flesh. If you don’t like the skin, not to worry! As the fish air fries, the skin can stick to the bottom of the fryer. It’s easy to remove the skin from a cooked fish fillet if that’s what you prefer. If you’re a big fan of fish skin, you can use a spatula to pull the fish out of the air fryer without removing the skin.
  • If you feel that the bottom of your fish fillet is losing its crispiness, you can flip it over and cook for another minute. Don’t cook it for much longer, however.

How Long to Cook Mahi Mahi in an Air Fryer?

As a general rule, fish cooked in an air fryer will require about ten minutes at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). This, of course, will vary depending on the thickness of each fillet. Use an instant read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of your fish fillet. An internal temperature of 145°F ensures doneness.

Frozen Mahi Mahi in Air Fryer

You might be wondering how long you need to cook your frozen mahi mahi for, and what temperature you should cook it at.

Of course, the temperature and time might vary slightly when you have thinner or thicker fish fillets available. It’s really best to use a meat thermometer to have an accurate means of checking whether your fish is ready to eat.

As a guideline, you can air fry frozen mahi mahi for four minutes at 350 F |175 C , then top with garlic butter and air fry further for 13-14 minutes at 375 F| 190 C, as you flip halfway through to ensure even crispiness across both sides of your fillet. Don’t top the frozen fillets with lemon slices because cooking slices longer than 10-12 minutes will make your fish taste bitter.

You can cook mahi mahi at a lower temperature and for a longer time than you might with frozen salmon, for example. That’s because mahi mahi isn’t quite as naturally oily as salmon, and risks drying out more easily. To combat this, we start the fish at 350 F, which helps it to thaw a little.

Now you’re going to check your mahi mahi with an instant read meat thermometer. Your mahi mahi should reach an internal temperature of 145 F, which is when you’ll know it’s properly cooked through. You can cook for a little longer if it still hasn’t reached that temperature. Garnish with fresh parsley and green onions, and serve with your choice of sides.

Serving Air Fryer Mahi Mahi

This is a great recipe for serving with a simple side dish. Easy grains like Jasmine rice and bulgar. You could also try creating a taco bowl by starting with a bowl of rice, and adding air fryer mahi mahi, a dollop of guacamole, pickled onions and jalapeños and a sprinkling of a flavorsome cheese like cheddar.

Other Sides For Mahi Mahi

Crispy Air Fryer Green Beans

Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic

Air Fryer Asparagus

Cheesy Garlic Roasted Asparagus

Leftovers and Storage

Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. Fish, however, isn’t usually as nice upon reheating as it is when cooked fresh. It’s probably easier just to cook the amount of fish that you plan on eating in a single sitting.

You can reheat cooked fish from the fridge in the air fryer if you want. Air frying it fresh out of the fridge at 350 F for about four to five minutes should raise the temperature without drying your fish out. You could also try reheating on the stovetop with a little oil in the pan.

When serving reheated mahi mahi, a great tip is to serve with some lemon wedges.

More Delicious Air Fryer Fish Recipes

Bang Bang Salmon

Air Fryer Salmon Burgers

Frozen Fish in Air Fryer

Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon

Breaded Fish in Air Fryer

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Air Fryer Mahi Mahi

By: chefjar
This air fryer mahi mahi is a surefire hit. It is juicy and tender inside, and you can cut back on calories and fats while enjoying flavorsome, delicious food. This air fryer mahi mahi recipe also doesn’t require any breading.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients 

  • 4 5-ounces each mahi mahi fillets, skin on or off
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 lemon, sliced , optional for topping*
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped

Instructions 

  • Pat the mahi mahi fillets dry. Set aside.
  • Mix together the softened butter, garlic, salt and pepper.
  • Brush the air fryer basket with oil. Place the fillets in the basket. Top with garlic butter (about 1 tablespoon per fillet) and lemon slices ( optional).
  • Air fry at 375°F (190°C) for 10-12 minutes. The internal temperature should reach 145°F| 63°C.
  • Garnish with parsley and green onions.
  • Serve with air fryer basket juices and enjoy!

Notes

Lemon slices: Thick skinned lemons can make your mahi mahi taste bitter. Look for thinner skinned lemons that have less pith and would be less bitter when cooked in slices. You can drizzle lemon juice over fillets instead, top with garlic butter and air fry.
Storage: Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. Fish, however, isn’t usually as nice upon reheating as it is when cooked fresh. It’s probably easier just to cook the amount of fish that you plan on eating in a single sitting.
Reheating: You can reheat cooked fish from the fridge in the air fryer if you want. Air frying it fresh out of the fridge at 350 F| 175 C for about four to five minutes should raise the temperature without drying your fish out. You could also try reheating on the stovetop with a little oil in the pan.

Nutrition

Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 1481mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Chefjar

Hello there!

I’m Tatiana—your go-to gal for easy, tasty meals that won’t leave you crying over a sink full of dishes.
Let’s cook, laugh, and keep it real in the kitchen—aprons optional!

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