27 Fennel Recipes for Crunchy Salads and Savory-Sweet Sides
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The best thing about fennel is how it transforms. Raw fennel recipes lean on the bulb’s crisp anise flavor, but when cooked, fennel develops a delightfully mellow, earthy sweetness that pairs well with luscious meats and cheeses. The dishes below highlight both aspects, making the most of the crunchy bulb, fragrant fronds, and dried seeds too. Scroll down for salads that pair fennel with both fruit and veg, dinner-party-worthy mains and starters, plus desserts and drinks that highlight fennel’s best characteristics.
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- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich1/27
Fennel-Orange Salad
We love fennel recipes that straddle the sweet-and-savory line, like this crisp fennel salad, which pairs thinly sliced fennel ribbons with juicy oranges, refreshing mint, and briny olives.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Molly Baz2/27
3-Ingredient Orecchiette With Sausage and Fennel
This easy fennel and sausage pasta is a crowdpleaser—and the perfect quick Tuesday night dinner solution.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop and Food Styling by Ali Nardi3/27
Creamed Pearl Onions and Fennel with Crispy Spiced Breadcrumbs
Sweet, tender pearl onions are the star of this reimagined classic, which gets an elegant update with fennel, citrus, and Parm.
- Photo by Sophie Hansen4/27
Caramelized Fennel and Brie Dip
Baked Brie is never bad, but pairing the gooey cheese with sweet, caramelized fennel means a party snack that'll disappear in the blink of an eye.
- Photo and Food Styling by Joseph De Leo5/27
Braised Chicken Legs With Grapes and Fennel
Rich braised chicken legs nestle into a bed of sweet fennel, burnished grapes, spicy Calabrian chile paste, and red wine vinegar for brightness.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson6/27
Spring Salad With Crispy Chicken and Bacony Croutons
This hearty dinner salad pairs thinly sliced fennel with chicken thighs, bacony croutons, escarole or frisée, peas, and radishes.
- Photo by Alex Lau7/27
Clams in White Bean Sauce
Top lemony steamed clams with a crisp fennel and parsley salad for an easy, summery dinner. A can of white beans makes it even more satisfying.
- Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Claire Saffitz8/27
Cast-Iron Pizza With Fennel and Sausage
The sausage that goes on pizza often has dried fennel seed in it—here, you'll up the fennel flavor by adding half a thinly sliced fennel bulb on top. Store-bought pizza dough makes this a speedy dinner.
- Eva Kolenko food styling: Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling: Kalen Kaminski9/27
Skillet Roast Chicken With Fennel, Parsnips, and Scallions
One skillet, but so much flavor.
- Photo by Alex Lau10/27
Fennel-Celery Salad With Blue Cheese
We believe that both fennel and celery deserve more love. Here, they're paired in a crunchy salad with sweet dried figs, toasted walnuts, and crumbled blue cheese. Serve with grilled chicken or pork chops.
- Photo by Nicole Franzen11/27
Slow-Roasted Char With Fennel Salad
Slow-roasting a salmon or arctic char fillet means luscious fish with a luxurious texture. Offset the richness with crunchy pickled fennel on top.
- Photo by Marcus Nilsson.12/27
Plum-Fennel Salad with Honey-Ginger Dressing
Fennel's sweet side means it partners well with summer fruit, like the ginger-spiced plums in this salad.
- photo by Roland Bello13/27
Candied-Fennel-Topped Lemon Cake
Topped with fans of candied fennel and bathed in a golden syrup, this lemony upside-down cake looks as cheery as the sun.
- Photo by Peden & Munk14/27
Blondie Sundaes With Fried Walnuts and Candied Fennel
Fennel, candied in a lemon-vanilla syrup, is the dessert topping you never knew you needed.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi15/27
Sheet-Pan Cumin Chicken Thighs With Squash, Fennel, and Grapes
Fennel wedges caramelize beautifully on a sheet pan in the oven. In this weeknight dinner, they're roasted with half moons of acorn or delicata squash, seedless grapes, and spiced chicken thighs.
- Photo by Frankie Gaw16/27
Chicken, Fennel, and Apple Guo-Tie
Change up your dumpling game with these seasonal guo-tie from First Generation by Frankie Gaw, one of our top cookbooks of 2022. The filling: diced fennel, grated apple, ginger, garlic, and freshly ground chicken.
- Photo by Alex Lau17/27
Fennel Gratin With Walnut-Thyme Breadcrumbs
A doubly crunchy topping marks a breakthrough moment for creamy roasted fennel.
- photo by Con Poulos18/27
Roasted Fennel With Olives and Garlic
Roasting brings out fennel's sweet side, while roasted kalamata olives add savory depth. This fennel side dish is delicious at room temperature, so you can make it ahead.
- Marcus Nilsson19/27
Tomato, Fennel, and Crab Soup
Tomato and fennel add rich flavor to this simple, elegant seafood soup. Serve with bread for dunking.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson20/27
Gin Rocket
There are some pricey liqueurs and spirits that you can use to add anise-like flavor to cocktails, but in this spin on a gimlet, a little muddled fennel does the trick.
- Gentl & Hyers21/27
Heirloom Tomato Salad With Pickled Fennel
Summer's not complete until you've had your fill of tomato salads, but the same combo over and over can get a little tired. Pickle some fennel in a mixture of rice vinegar, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and crushed lemongrass, then spoon it over the top of some well-seasoned tomatoes.
- Photo by Monte Farber22/27
Angel Hair with Fennel Pesto
This pasta dinner has fennel four ways: toasted seeds for depth, sautéed chopped fennel for sweetness, blanched cores and outer layers to flavor the pasta cooking water, and fresh fronds to garnish.
- Peden & Munk23/27
Red Rice Salad with Pecans, Fennel, and Herbs
This is one of those crunchy salads that gets even better as it sits. Pack for lunch at work or bring to a picnic.
- 24/27
Braised Fennel
Sometimes, simple is best. Quickly braising fennel bulbs in chicken stock coaxes out their sweetness; garnish with the reserved fronds for a pop of freshness.
- Photo by Christopher Testani25/27
Roasted Carrots and Red Onions With Fennel and Mint
When you're roasting vegetables, adding fennel is always a good call. This melange gets a crunchy topper of sunflower seeds, coriander seeds, Aleppo pepper, and paprika stirred into sherry vinegar and lemon.
- Photograph by Joshua Kissi, food styling by Roscoe Betsill, prop styling by Amy Wilson26/27
Collard Greens Salad With Pickled Fennel and Coconut
This dish is guaranteed to be your new favorite bbq side. The crunchy, tangy fennel just loves a spicy vinaigrette.
- Alex Lau27/27
Honeydew and Fennel Salad With Basil
Looking for fennel recipes to make at the height of summer? Melon, basil, and fennel are made for each other.
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By Joe Sevier and The Editors of Epicurious
By The Editors of Epicurious
By Joe Sevier and The Editors of Epicurious
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By Joe Sevier
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