Roasted Fennel Recipe (Easy) - Wholesome Yum (2024)

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Why You Need My Roasted Fennel Recipe

• Sweet, caramelized, and tender – Raw fennel has a strong flavor and a texture similar to celery, but when you roast it, it becomes sweet, buttery, and caramelized, and the edges get crispy. If you think of how different caramelized onions are from raw ones, this is the kind of difference you’ll see!
• Simple and easy – I kept this roasted fennel recipe super basic: just the fennel bulbs, olive oil, and simple seasonings. Very little effort! But I’ve got variations below if you want to add extras.
• New veggie side dish to try – If you get bored with the same sides like I do, add this healthy side dish to your rotation for something different.

What Is Fennel?

Fennel is a cool-weather vegetable with stalks that look like celery, fronds (leaves) that look like dill, and oblong seeds. Its earthy flavor tastes like star anise or licorice. To help you imagine what it tastes like, think about the flavors in Italian sausage or pizza sauce — those usually have the seeds in them! Fennel recipes can be raw or cooked, and I’m partial to cooking it, which makes it sweet and buttery.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Here I explain the best ingredients for my roasted fennel recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.

• Fennel – A.k.a. finocchio. I can usually spot these vegetables at the grocery store in the fall, winter, and early spring. They are typically sold whole, including the bulbs, seeds, and fronds. My fennel recipe uses the bulbs, but I’ll suggest what you can do what the other parts below.
• Olive Oil – Oil gets you that beautiful caramelization! I like this mild brand, but you can also use extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil.
• Spices – Use sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder like I did here, or try one of my variations.

How To Cut Fennel

I like to cut the fennel bulb into thin wedges, because this creates a lot of surface area to brown and caramelize. Here’s how to do it:

1. Trim the stalks. Just slice them off with a sharp knife.
2. Remove the root ends. Trim the end of each bulb, like you’d do it for an onion.
3. Cut in half. Slice each fennel bulb in half lengthwise.
4. Chop into wedges. From the halved bulbs, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices or wedges. I usually get 8-12 pieces from each bulb, depending on their size. Now you’re ready to use them in this fennel recipe!

1. Season the veggies. In a large bowl, gently toss the sliced fennel with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder, until evenly coated.
2. Spread on a sheet pan. I lovethis baking sheet because it gets me nice browning and doesn’t stick, even after the coating isn’t perfect anymore!

3. Roast until caramelized. Cook fennel in the oven, until it’s fork tender and soft, with nice browning on the outside.

My Recipe Tips

• Be careful not to cut off too much of the bulb. When cutting off the root end, you want to keep the bottom intact, so that the fennel bulb doesn’t fall apart into petals.
• Make sure all the pieces are touching the pan. If they are crowded, they’ll steam instead of roasting, and you won’t get that browning action.
• A bare pan or foil works better than parchment paper. I find that roasted veggies, including fennel, don’t brown as well using parchment paper, but you can use it if you don’t mind this.
• Give it enough time. Although it’s not a root veggie, cooking fennel takes a similar amount of time to root vegetables. The time can vary depending on exactly how thick your fennel wedges are, and even the pan you use. Look for browning and caramelized edges, like my pictures in this post.
• What to do with the fronds? I like to use them to garnish this fennel recipe! They taste a lot like the bulbs, but more delicate and herby. You can also use them to garnish other foods, like soups, salads, or even my crustless quiche.
• What to do with the seeds? There are multiple ways to use them, but most fennel recipes that use the seeds call for them dried (and that’s how they’re sold at the store if you buy them separately), so I like to dry them. Just spread them out on a sheet pan for a few days until they are dry. Then, you can use them in any recipe that calls for them — I use them for my sugar-free pizza sauce.

Flavor Variations

Like I mentioned above, this is my most basic fennel recipe, but I’ve also made it with different add-ins! You can add any or all of these for extra flavor:

• Parmesan – You sprinkle on a few tablespoons after roasting, or toss the roasted fennel with grated parmesan cheese in the last 10 minutes of roasting to get a crispy parm texture on the outside. I don’t recommend adding it in the beginning, as it will burn.
• Citrus – If you want to balance the sweet anise flavor, add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice along with the olive oil. You can even add orange or lemon zest.
• Herbs – Throw in 1-2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning, or individual dried herbs, like rosemary or thyme. You can also use 1-2 tablespoons of fresh herbs instead, or even just the fennel fronds!
• Sauces – Drizzle this fennel recipe with my lemon butter sauce or tahini sauce, or dunk it into marinara.
• Garlic – If you want to add fresh garlic instead of garlic powder, add it in the last 10 minutes of roasting. Or you can roast heads of garlic on the same pan for the entire time.

Serving Ideas

One of the things I love about this fennel recipe is that it can be a side on its own or you can use it as a yummy add-in for other dishes. Here are some options for you:

Serve Fennel With:

• Chicken – I like to pair this sweet side with Italian-inspired chicken recipes, such as my chicken piccata, balsamic chicken, or slow cooker chicken cacciatore.
• Seafood – Try my Tuscan salmon or shrimp scampi. You can drizzle their sauce over the roasted fennel, too.
• Pork – My pork steaks or baked pork tenderloin make simple, flavorful options. Toss some sausage and peppers in the slow cooker for an Italian make-ahead meal.
• Steak – Simply cook your steak on the stove when your fennel is almost done.

Add Roasted Fennel To:

• Eggs – Chop it up and add to your omelette or frittata.
• Salad – Some fennel recipes just use it in salads raw, but I actually love roasted fennel tossed with mixed greens, crumbled bacon, shaved parmesan, pine nuts, and my lemon vinaigrette.
• Soup – Toss it into my vegetable soup, stuffed pepper soup, or pork stew. (You can add the cooked leftovers or just cook raw fennel with the other ingredients.)
• Noodles – My favorite combo is baked spaghetti squash with roasted fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan.

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Roasted Fennel Recipe

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