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The Best Air Fryer Tuna Steaks

Delicious air fryer tuna steaks with an Asian ginger soy marinade that complements the sweet and creamy flavor of this yellowfin favorite.

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Air Fryer Tuna Steaks sliced on a rectangular plate with chopsticks

An air fryer is known to cook just about everything in it and fish is no exception. From everything from air fryer salmon to frozen shrimp to these ahi tuna steaks in the air fryer, you have plenty of seafood recipes to choose from!

I’m going to show you how to cook this delicious ginger soy tuna steak in an air fryer, explain exactly what ahi tuna is and how often you should eat it (and how), and how to cook frozen tuna steaks inside your air fryer.

Air Fryer I recommend: Large, easy to clean, square basket, burner on top and bottom. Click to see it.

What is Ahi Tuna?

“Ahi” comes from the Hawaiian word that basically means yellowfin tuna.

It can be found in many local grocery stores and compares to the similarly named bluefin tuna – it just costs less.

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Title and Shown: Air Fryer Ahi Tuna Steaks (sliced on a white plate with chopsticks and sauce on the side)

Is It Safe to Eat Raw Tuna Steaks?

Ahi tuna is commonly used in sushi – AKA raw fish, so it is completely safe to eat raw tuna in moderation.

These tuna steaks are intended to be cooked rare to raw in the middle and fried on the outside. It gives tuna the creamy texture that it’s loved for.

Is Ahi Tuna Healthier than Salmon?

The two fish are very comparable in nutrition and are healthy in their own ways.

Yellowfin tuna steaks contain less fat than salmon and provide 8 more grams of protein for every 4 ½ ounces. Salmon, on the other hand, contains more omega-3 fatty acids.

Whichever air fryer fish you choose, you’re still making a healthy decision.

Try out these other air fryer seafood recipes:

And check out all these other air fryer fish recipes you can make here!

How to Make Air Fryer Tuna Steaks

A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.

I recommend using wild-caught ahi tuna in this recipe. Wild-caught fish tends to contain more flavor and nutrients.

  • Pull your raw tuna steaks out of the fridge.
  • Put together your marinade by combining the soy sauce, minced ginger, rice vinegar, honey, and sesame oil. I like to mince my ginger by using an inexpensive Microplane.
  • Add the air fryer tuna steak to the marinade. Cover and place in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes.
Ahi tuna steaks with marinade in a bowl
  • You can also make this recipe without marinating the tuna – keep reading below to find out.
  • Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees.
  • Remove tuna steaks from marinade, shaking slightly to remove excess marinade, and place inside the air fryer.
Raw marinated ahi tuna steaks in air fryer
  • Cook for 4 minutes (for medium-rare tuna) then remove from the air fryer and let rest for about 5 minutes before slicing.
  • Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds if desired and enjoy!
Cooked ahi tuna steaks in air fryer

Ahi Tuna Steaks in Air Fryer Times

  • Rare: 3 minutes
  • Medium-Rare: 4 minutes
  • Medium: 4 ½ minutes
  • Well Done: 5 minutes

Can I Make This Recipe Without Marinating the Tuna?

Yes! We’ve all been there. You buy all the ingredients for dinner and then go to make it quick and realize it needs to marinade and don’t have time.

Here’s how to make this recipe without marinating it and still getting that ginger-soy flavor.

  1. Make marinade as stated above in the recipe.
  2. Remove half of the marinade and set it to the side.
  3. Toss the tuna into the remaining marinade while preheating your air fryer.
  4. Cook the tuna steaks as stated in the recipe.
  5. Remove tuna steaks from the air fryer, let rest, then baste some of the remaining marinade over top of the tuna.
  6. Use the remaining marinade after slicing to serve with the tuna.
Cooked whole tuna steak on white plate with chopsticks and sauce

How to Cook Frozen Tuna Steaks in an Air Fryer

Clearly, I’ve been here too. While I always recommend thawing the tuna in a fridge overnight, you can still cook the tuna from frozen.

  1. Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees and cook the frozen ahi tuna steaks for 4 minutes. This will help thaw the tuna, but not cook it.
  2. Put the marinade together as shown in the recipe and set half aside in a small bowl.
  3. Remove the yellowfin tuna steak from the air fryer and marinade it in the remaining marinade. I recommend marinating it for at least 10 minutes, if possible.
  4. Place marinated tuna steaks inside the air fryer and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Let the tuna steaks rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

How To Use Leftover Tuna Steaks

Since tuna is a very lean fish, it tends to become dry and tasteless when overcooked. For this reason, I do not recommend reheating tuna steak in an air fryer or reheating it at all.

Leftover tuna steak tastes great when eaten cold mixed in a salad like this Grilled Tuscan Tuna Salad recipe.

Sliced air fryer yellowfin tuna steaks on a white plate with chopsticks and sauce on the side

What Should I Serve with Tuna Steaks?

Since tuna steaks cook quickly in the air fryer, it’s a great recipe to make alongside other air fryer side dishes.

Here are a few options:

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Yield: 2 servings

Air Fryer Tuna Steaks

Air Fryer Tuna Steaks sliced on a rectangular plate with chopsticks

A simple yet tasty tuna steak recipe in the air fryer marinated in a flavorful ginger soy sauce.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 minutes
Total Time 24 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 (6 ounce) boneless and skinless yellowfin tuna steaks
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

Optional for serving

  • green onions, sliced
  • sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Remove the tuna steaks from the fridge.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, grated ginger, sesame oil, and rice vinegar.
  3. Place tuna steaks in the marinade and let marinate for 20-30 minutes covered in the fridge.
  4. Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees and then cook the tuna steaks in one layer for 4 minutes.
  5. Let the air fryer tuna steaks rest for a minute or two, then slice, and enjoy immediately! Garnish with green onions and/or sesame seeds if desired.

Notes

How to Cook Frozen Tuna Steaks in Air Fryer

1. Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees.

2. Cook frozen tuna steaks for 3 minutes then follow recipe above.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 422Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 127mgSodium: 1832mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 44g

This nutrition information is based on the exact products I used in this recipe. Brands and sizes of products could alter exact nutrition and should always be calculated independently. This nutritional calculator also includes ingredients for the full amount of the marinade while some will be tossed after the marination process takes place.

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samantha

About Samantha

I’ve always had a love of cooking and creating new recipes, so it only made sense to create a food blog so I could share those recipes with you. This site is designed to provide easy and flavorful recipes with as little ingredients as possible. That means you still get great flavor combinations without all that extra time and effort. Read more...

8 thoughts on “The Best Air Fryer Tuna Steaks”

  1. Hi, well, I am grateful that I found this recipe, especially the marinade. I had bought frozen tuna steaks from Costco UK. Also recently purchased a Gourmia air frier from Costco too, so was experimenting with different foods. First tuna steaks were so bland, ok I’m no expert, but I thought I’d do them plain to start. Anyway, tonight I had two more with the marinade. Defrosted them first, didn’t think about cooking from frozen.
    Results were excellent.
    Thank you.
    I will check other recipes, no doubt.
    Sorry to be so long winded, but I am impressed.

    Reply
    • I’m so glad you loved them, Kevin! Thawing the seafood (or meat) will always taste best, but yes, in those moments where dinner is in the oven, cooking from frozen in the air fryer has become a game-changer to me!

  2. First off, this tasted great! The only thing that we missed was the blackened crust. The marinade was great and the ahi was rare in the middle. Very good recipe! Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Made this tonight for dinner and everyone loved it . We’ve never had tuna steaks before only the stuff in a can . We’ll be having it more often I can tell you that. The marinade was so good . Just wanted to say thank you for a yummy recipe!

    Reply
  4. Question: I bought a small wild tuna steak just to try it out in the air fryer. It’s only 5.3 ounces. Does the time in the air fryer change based on the number of ounces / pounds being cooked? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Ilana, yes, the sizing will matter when it comes to cooking the ahi tuna. Since it’s fairly similar in size, I would check it after about 3 minutes.

    • Hi Tally,
      The time is the total time. This recipe does not require you to flip the tuna because the air fryer was preheated and will evenly cook it on both sides.
      Thanks 🙂

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