11 Fennel Recipes to Try at Home

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a common cooking ingredient that grows in mild, arid climates like those found in Italy, Australia, and California. This edible perennial herb has a large, bulbous base with thick stalks that sprout feathery leaves and bright poofs of yellow flowers. Its fruits (colloquially called seeds), pollen, and essential oils make aromatic ingredients for dishes all over the world.

Fennel has an anise flavor reminiscent of black licorice. Its thin, frond-like leaves add an aromatic, bittersweet pop of flavor to various dishes, from savory and sweet delicacies to salad vinaigrettes and sauces. Raw fennel has a toothsome, crunchy texture similar to celery but becomes silky with roasting or braising cooking methods.

Additionally, fennel is a great source of dietary fiber, folate, and potassium.

Home cooks and chefs can use every part of the fennel plant in their cooking. Add its flavorful seeds to a spice mix, or use the ingredient as the aromatic base for a soup or a sauce. Sprinkle fresh fennel fronds over rigatoni or grind them into a pesto. Here are some other recipes you can make with fennel, from side dishes to main dishes:

1. 1. Arugula avocado salad: Adding fennel to an arugula avocado salad brings some anise complexity to this gluten-free dish. To make arugula and avocado salad, toss cubed avocado, arugula, and red onion together with a lemon vinaigrette. Top the mixture with shaved fennel and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
2. 2. Baked fennel sausage: Traditional Italian sausage already contains fennel seed. For extra fennel flavor, roast baked sausage on a bed of fennel, peppers, and onions. Drizzle the dish with olive oil, season it with salt and black pepper, and toss the ingredients well to combine. Bake the dish until the sausage is crisp and juicy and the peppers are tender. Garnish the finished dish with a coarsely chopped fennel frond.
3. 3. Chinese five-spice powder: This Chinese cooking spice incorporates a range of flavors, including sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. The five ingredients in Chinese five-spice powder are fennel seed, star anise, cloves, ground cinnamon, and Szechuan peppercorn (though the mixture can vary). Use this spice to flavor Chinese BBQ pork (char siu) or crispy duck.
4. 4. Fennel apple salad: Pair this sweet and savory salad dish with many recipes, from pot roast to roasted chicken. To make a crunchy apple fennel salad, julienne your fennel and apples, then place them in a small bowl. Dress the fennel-and-apple mixture with a citrus vinaigrette to prevent the apples from browning. Cut up some mesclun greens and add them to the mixture. Season the salad with salt and a little olive oil, and serve.
5. 5. Fennel gratin: Gratin is a culinary technique that involves topping a dish with a mixture of breadcrumbs, cheese, and melted butter before baking it under a broiler to achieve a crispy brown crust. Prepare shaved fennel in a light cream sauce topped with a gratin topping, like you would prepare potatoes au gratin.
6. 6. Fennel-roasted chicken: Stuffing onion, lemon, and fennel wedges into the cavity of a roast chicken enables it to hold a nice rounded shape while roasting. Roast the chicken on your oven’s center rack for at least an hour, or until the chicken thighs and leg joint areas reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Let your roast chicken cool slightly before cutting, and pull out the silky, roasted fennel to enjoy.
7. 7. Fennel slaw: Common ingredients for coleslaw—a cabbage-based salad—typically include shredded carrots, onions, broccoli, and cauliflower. Julienned fennel adds a light licorice essence to your coleslaw.
8. 8. Roasted fennel: Cooking fennel under high heat in an oven softens the initially sharp notes of licorice, coaxing deeper anise flavor into the forefront. To make roasted fennel, simply cut the fennel bulbs into quarters, place them in a baking pan, and drizzle them with extra-virgin olive oil, black pepper, and kosher salt. Roast the fennel in the oven until the edges are golden brown.
9. 9. Salt-baked branzino: Anise-flavored fennel softens the taste of salt-baked branzino. Salt-baking is a cooking method that involves covering food in a mixture of salt and egg whites or water—which steams the food in its juices—then baking it. For a juicy, salt-baked branzino, stuff the fish with lemons and fennel tops.
10. 10. Sausage Bolognese: Sausage Bolognese is a take on the classic Bolognese pasta sauce, which features flavorful ground Italian sausage instead of ground beef or pork. Cooking sausage Bolognese sauce starts with sautéing a base of soffritto—an aromatic vegetable mixture—which you can add fennel to in place of celery for some complexity.
11. 11. Sous vide caramelized fennel: Cook raw fennel in a sous vide cooker with a seasoning of thyme and garlic for a flavorful, tender dish. Next, brown it in a butter-greased pan to achieve a caramelized flavor. Sous vide caramelized fennel makes a delicious side dish alongside a sous vide cut of meat.

Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Gordon Ramsay, Gabriela Cámara, Chef Thomas Keller, Dominique Ansel, Yotam Ottolenghi, Alice Waters, and more.